“The thing always happens that you REALLY believe and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” -Frank Lloyd Wright

If you want to know what your CORE beliefs are about your business, look at your business results.  That’s a hard statement to take, isn’t it?

The reality of core beliefs is that, for many of us, we’re not even clear about what it is we REALLY believe.  For a lot of us, it is our limiting beliefs that drive our businesses and not the beliefs we “hope” we’re holding.  The first step to changing core beliefs comes in identifying what beliefs are running your show.  The only way to do that is to take some time to get real with where you are in your business, the limitations you’ve put on your business model and what it is you “think” you MUST do in order to be successful.  When you get down to the core of those things, the sabotaging beliefs become clear.

To avoid spending weeks in analysis paralysis, let’s talk about the top 3 beliefs that are sabotaging your business/business model (and by business model, I mean the approach you’re taking to build your business- examples: 1:1 work with clients, membership site, online or digital product, group coaching program, etc.).

LIMITING BELIEF #1: The way I’m currently running my business is the BEST AND MOST EFFICIENT WAY for me to make money.

Buying into a specific way to do business WITHOUT fully investigating the options is a surefire way to extend the amount of time it’s going to take for you to get to maximum profitability.  There are always going to be fads in business models, sales funnels and marketing approaches.  Teleseminars used to be THE thing; now the thing are under the helm of webinars.  Twitter was THE place to connect; now it’s Facebook.  You can attend every free training out there and here each of the “experts” tell you the “BEST” way to make money fast and, before long, you’ll be totally confused and completely overwhelmed.

The BEST AND MOST EFFICIENT way for you to monetize your business is going to come down to 3 things:

1) Your current skillset (i.e. your strengths, experience, and where your marketing/sales talents lie right now).

2) Your current resources (both material and human).

3) What your target market needs and how they can best receive what they need.

Your target market might not like webinars so why use them?  Your target market may not be watching YouTube videos so why spend thousands on a camera crew and lighting?  Your target market might not even know what group coaching is so why develop a year long group coaching program?

Before you get overly committed to ONE WAY of doing business, be sure that you’ve assessed the needs of your target market, your skillset, and the extent to which you can tap into the resources necessary to run your business in that way with efficiency and excellence.  And be willing to change your mind on that in the future.  Like I said, teleseminars were the rave two years ago.  Now it’s webinars.  You have to be willing to flex and flow with your business model.  Getting overly committed to any one strategy will lead to inflexibility, outdated thinking, and a lack of sales.

LIMITING BELIEF #2: Taking ANY client is better than having NO clients.

Working with any client is going to take time and energy from you.  You’re investing in them as much (and more) than they are investing in you.  There’s a serious temptation, at the start of a business, to want to take ANY client just to say you have a client (or to earn a few bucks).  Not a good idea… When you take on a client who’s really not your client, the level of negativity, drama, hassle and pain they bring will end up costing you 200% more than whatever amount of money they paid you… and, when all is said and done, your client will still be who NOT for you and you will have lost valuable time, energy, and opportunity that could’ve been spent with another client who you’d want to work with again in the future.

Bottom line:

Get good at firing clients that aren’t yours and rejecting clients who do not fit your client profile.  

Money will come but your energy doesn’t need to be sucked up by a client that really isn’t meant for you.

LIMITING BELIEF #3: I have to offer my product/service at a cheaper rate because I’m not as established as other people in my industry.

This gets new entrepreneurs EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Stop it!  Even if you’re new to your business, step back for a moment and assess how many YEARS you’ve spent using the skills, talents, gifts and abilities that are central to your business.

What’s your professional background?  

Educational background?  

How many years did it take you to get that degree?  That certification?  

How many family members, friends, and associates have you helped with these exact problems (even if you didn’t get paid for it)?  

How many books have you read on this topic in your business that you can now quote line by line?  

The reality is this: most new entrepreneurs are an expert IN their business but a novice in how to run a business.  You’re charging based on your expertise IN the business so charge what you’re worth.  Really assess the value that you’re offering and be sure to charge what you would charge five years into your business.  Why?  Because customers have a hard time adjusting to super high price hikes.  If you introduce your business with bargain basement prices now and then try to go to a price point worthy of your product in 6 months or a year, your customer base will revolt.  Don’t make that mistake.  Charge what you’re worth the FIRST time around.

Okay, so you now have the top 3 beliefs that are sabotaging your business model.

Here are 3 things you can do to change those beliefs:

1) Write down 3 new beliefs to replace these 3 limiting beliefs.  For example, limiting belief #1 could easily become, “There are always going to be better and more efficient ways to run my business.  I stay on top of the latest trends and models and change easily and effortlessly as I see fit.”  Say this every time you feel yourself being too stubborn about a process or approach in your business.  Over time, you’ll start to become what you speak.

2) Get an accountability partner.  Find a mentor who’s attained the level of success you want and ask that person to be your accountability partner, the person who can see when you’re falling prey to a limiting belief and call you out on it.  EVERY entrepreneur needs a mentor.  Whether it’s a mastermind group, an entrepreneurship coaching program, or a 1:1 mentor who’s as successful (as an entrepreneur) as you plan to be, you need guidance so you can take massive action without also making massive mistakes.  When you have a mentor, you can avoid making mistakes that your mentor made.  You can also seek advice and get an objective perspective on making changes that you wouldn’t have access to if you were going it alone.  A mentor is critical to your success.  If you don’t have one, make this you NEXT step, period.

3) Deal with your fears around building and growing a business.  Having coached thousands of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, what I’ve learned is that the #1 thing that keeps entrepreneurs from building their business to the success level they say they want is FEAR.  I could develop the most elaborate, amazing action plan with a client but if fear is running the show, no action would be taken.  I created a 5 week fear transformation course called LOSE YOUR FEAR, BUILD YOUR BUSINESS because I wanted to help entrepreneurs turn their fear into MASSIVE Daily Action and make that fear transformation technique a reflex within entrepreneurs.  When you build your fear transformation muscles, you learn how to turn fear into fuel.  If fear is keeping you stuck in your business, sign up for LOSE YOUR FEAR, BUILD YOUR BUSINESS  –>HERE<–.

I’d love to hear from you.

What beliefs are sabotaging your business success?

What steps are you taking to change that?