Top 10 business challenges
At Wild we have two tiers of memberships that offer 121 time with me, Jess, the Founder - Plus One (1 hour of support) and Plus Two (2 hours of support).
I have been working with some members for years, some have had one-off sessions but I have noticed some themes occurring, which seem to happen at any stage of business.
Take a look at the top 10 challenges our members face, along with my responses (although this depends case by case, of course), and let me know what you think.
Click below to expand each point.
-
Do you really not have the time? Or could you delegate and ask for help? That could be within your business or at home. If you don’t have anyone to support you, and you can’t afford to pay someone to do that, then is this really the best time to be starting a business? Sometimes we’ve got to accept the timing isn’t right - but only when we’ve been honest with ourselves. Are you prioritising other stuff right now? Maybe you just need to accept that the growth will be slow when you’re genuinely time poor. I would never ever advocate for you to be working through the night either, so think only about the time you have available that doesn’t take away from rest or sleep.
-
There is one word for this most of the time and that’s procrastination. I have known people to start successful businesses just by letting friends and family know where they can buy their products. A handful of people is better than none, just start and the rest will follow. I like to call this ‘a soft launch’ because I find it not only eases the pressure but it also gives you a chance to see where the gaps are, what’s working and what isn’t - who likes what? Your ‘launch’ will never be perfect, just know that you can adapt and change everything as you go along.
-
Great. Go for it. That is absolutely possible - we just need to work out how much you need to take from the business every month for that to become a reality and decide on the small steps that will get you there. It seems straightforward but this is a really hard thing to do by yourself! Which is where I come in.
-
This is something that has stopped so many people just giving it a go. It makes me so sad! You will never be ready, you will never know everything, you will make mistakes, just take a leap. But make sure you surround yourself with people who get how scary that is, people who make you feel seen when you feel lonely in those scary moments of starting a business.
-
If you increase your prices and your clients leave, then they’re not the right clients for you. You will find new clients, if your prices reflect your skill (like, properly reflects them) then you’ll begin to work with clients who need someone who knows what they’re doing and realise they need to pay for good quality work.
-
There are loads of different brands of bread, but there’s something for everyone. Those other businesses aren’t you. Don’t copy them, do your own thing, stay in your lane and realise collaboration wins over competition every single time.
-
Ok, this is an important stage to ask for help. What is it that you’re aiming for? Are you solving a problem and providing a solution for your customers? I think people assume you need some kind of in-depth business plan, investment, and a team. You don’t need any of that to start. To be honest, thinking about it is a start. So define your product, trial it with a small group of people that don’t know you that well. Do your research. Then start communicating to potential customers/clients. There isn’t one way to start, every business is different. But ask for support - book a call with me!
-
If I had a penny for every time I thought about this, I wouldn’t need to work. This is your brain and body telling you you need a break. You must step back and rest. Take a look at this blog that I wrote a while ago about what you should do when you feel like giving up. Giving up is also fine by the way. If you’ve fallen out of love with what you’re doing, it’s not giving you the feeling or the life you were aiming for and you’ve tried all other options, then throwing in the towel is actually very powerful and a good business move. After all, we start businesses so that we can create the life that we want, right? So if that changes, something needs to change.
-
Money! A big reason why lots of people, especially women, don’t start a business/become self employed. Yes, we need money to start a business. Yes it’s hard to get hold of. It’s something that isn’t spoken about enough. I found out pretty late into my career that most businesses are in debt of some kind. That’s not necessarily the way to start a business but there are ways and means to find what you need in order to take the first step eg. local government grants. I’m not a financial advisor, so please go and find one if you’re looking into borrowing money! What I would say is, If you’re happy with your business growing slowly, then allow that to happen without as much money. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the comparison with those ‘overnight’ successes you’ve seen on instagram, you don’t know the full story.
Always put money away for tax each month - at least 20% of your income. And give financial forecasting a go. Your accountants might also be able to help with this.
-
Nope. You can do what your skills allow you to do. Maybe you’d like to learn how to do other aspects, but if you’re going to pay for education or a self-led course, you should perhaps consider paying for an expert to get on with it straight away.
So, do you relate? What would you add?
If you’re in need of some 1:1 time, have a look at our appointments below.