We don’t walk into our business with the intent to do damage or sabotage our business, but in reality, it does happen. In almost 20 years of business coaching, I’ve seen it happen an awful lot. Business self-sabotage can stem from personal fears, limiting beliefs, self-doubt, and other counterproductive behaviours. Let’s look at some examples where your brain, habits and mannerisms might be damaging your business.
Business Self-Sabotage
Negative Mindset
One of the worst. We tell ourselves that the economy is lousy or people just don’t need my services so much at present, or there is too much competition these days. We’re making excuses, being the victim and living from a place of negativity. For a start, you’re probably not attracting people (who want to hang out with you, work for you, or do business with a ‘Negative Nelly’, but you’re also setting yourself up for failure. If you’re listening to that negative little voice on your shoulder, then you won’t get ahead, won’t attract good business and won’t be successful. When I’m coaching someone like this, and they have a habit of saying something like “I’m hopeless at computers”, then I say to them, stop saying that and think about my voice on your other shoulder instead – “YOU ARE GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY AT TECHNOLOGY!” It’s funny when they come back to me later and say how my voice in their head, pushing them to be positive, really helped.
Limiting Beliefs in your Skills or Value
This is also often called ‘imposter syndrome’. Again, something I hear fairly often is the person who feels they can’t charge more because they are not worth it. There is often guilt at charging a very reasonable fee, or otherwise, doing a heap of free work that is just chewing up your bottom line, wearing you out and deflating your self-worth. If your client reviews say how wonderful you are and how much you help them, then why don’t you believe it too? However, if you don’t believe your worth, and that you are not an imposter, and actually are good at what you do, then how will others around you believe it?
Self-Sabotage
Ok, we know sometimes people fear failure, but I’ve also experienced clients who fear success. One excellent example was a client whose marriage nearly failed the last time her business was thriving. So, in the back of her mind, if she worked on the business and got in new leads, then she’d potentially lose her husband. So instead of calling back prospects promptly, she would delay and delay so that they went elsewhere. Instead, I worked with the client to put boundaries in place, so she still controlled her time, without killing her business.
Fear of Failure
As I mentioned, many of us fear failing, so some simply don’t start. Our brains worry about what people will think if we don’t do well, or what we might lose. If I start this business, I could lose money, or if I quit my job, what if the business fails? Yes, I always say to clients to do their due diligence and make sensible decisions, so that failure is less likely to occur. Having a great business coach removes a lot of that risk of failure. In the scenario of quitting a job to start a business, I know businesses take on average 6 months to take off, so potentially, cutting back your ‘job’ days might be an excellent solution until things take off the ground and you’ve got enough work you don’t need the job to fund your living costs.
Forgetting Things
Yep, the poor old brain can get into overload and we forget things. This is why I guide clients to develop great systems and processes, so that with the use of excellent checklists, important steps don’t get missed or overlooked. Simple things like notes, writing things down, sending yourself reminders … all simple strategies to remember what you need to.
Perfectionism
It’s not perfect, so it can’t go out yet. Being 97% perfect is good enough most of the time and still leaves clients very happy with your work. As a ‘recovering perfectionist’ myself, I have strategies to help business owners overcome that perfectionism. The reality is that the extra time (and time = money) to be 100 (or 110%) perfect is not justified. In fact, likely only you will even notice it’s perfect.
Lack of Knowledge
We don’t know everything. However, surrounding yourself with experts in their field, being always open to learning and improving and taking time for self-education is a smart move (pun intended). Even just reading 10 minutes a day or listening to a podcast can, in time, really expand your skills. If finances are your weakness, then learn that, ask lots of questions and believe you can get good at reading and understanding your financial reports. Stop saying “I can’t” and start learning how to.
Decision Paralysis
When we lack confidence, or don’t really have a decision-making process, we can fall into strong hesitancy and not take action. Sometimes, as a leader and business owner, we need the ability to make quick decisions, pivot on a dime and think on our feet. Ask yourself, why are you hesitating? If it’s the wrong way forward, then decide that. Deciding not to proceed is a decision.
Micro Management
Thinking that no-one else can do it as well as you might be good for your ego, but it’s not good for your business, or your team. You need to train, nurture and support your team in making their own decisions and doing things you might have previously done yourself. When I had 25 staff in my prior business, I frequently told new clients that many of my team would do XYZ as well as I, if not better, as I’d taught them everything I know.
People Pleasing
Over-servicing clients, or believing you have to jump when a client says jump, or have to take business calls at 10 pm, or cannot possibly say no to a client, is a good way to create burnout for yourself. I work with clients to set fair and reasonable boundaries. One excellent example is that in my welcome email to new clients, I specify my work hours … never saying “call me any time” and if someone (usually new) does ring, I’ll send back a text “Happy to help Jack, I’ll call you in the morning after 8 am.” I’ve set the boundary, they know I’m on it, and I’m not managing a problem at 10 pm, when I’m not at my peak and wouldn’t be providing the best service anyway.
As you can see, there are many ways that our brains, mindsets, and behaviours can self-sabotage our business endeavours and negatively impact our business success. However, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and change your mindset, even if you’ve been behaving that way for years or decades, IF you want to. That’s the big thing; you need to want to change, improve, grow and succeed.
If you have a particular trait outlined above (or something different) then take some time to research how to remedy that. It might start with a Google search, or checking out many of my blogs which cover a massive range of subjects, or engaging a coach like myself. You may find even hypnotherapy or psychotherapy is something which might work for you. There is something called ‘tapping’ which is science-based. There are many options for improving your mindset, habits and behaviours – YOU simply need to take the first step and begin. If you do need any help, please reach out to me via Contact Page whether it’s Business Coaching or Life Coaching; I’m here to help. My passion is your potential!
Read 9 Things to Ask Yourself Before You Start (or Buy) A Business.
