Three reasons why you fail to make progress as an online entrepreneur
- You identify with the desired result more than living in the process
- No sustained action or action on the wrong things
- No clearly defined purpose, topic or offer
- You equate success with the end result, or symbols of success more than the process.
Every goal you set is a dream you are trying to achieve until it becomes a reality. The wheels start in motion from just the idea at the end of the path. This is true of college goals, buying a house, moving to another state or starting an online business.
An online business sometimes is more challenging than those other items because the path is a bit more ambiguous. Different people may arrive at success as internet entrepreneurs from different paths. If you only look to the end result keeping you motivated, when the grind appears, you may not have enough left in the tank to see it through. Frustration could take hold and derail you.
In order to succeed in the space of online business, you have to do these things.
- Shift away from only thinking about the one-time successful event.
- Shift into the space of the learning mindset.
- Shift into the space of being in the process.
- Shift into embracing strategic failure as part of the process.
- You have no sustained action or action on the wrong things
No sustained action
Do not fail to take sustained, regular action. Sustained action is one of those qualities that once you mention it seems so obvious to you, but many people still fail to act as if they understand this principle. In order for you to succeed you have to deliver on this promise to yourself.
Imagine that you set a goal to get into shape or loose 20lbs. if you fail to take consistent action whether its eating healthy or going to the gym, you will fail to see results. The action your take has to be consistent and allow you to build in the prior work. That is how going to the gym works and that is how entrepreneurism works as well.
Once your direction unfolds, you are clear on your purpose, you are developing your offer and you are providing content and/or products that serve a particular need, the momentum builds, and you are on the way. This can only happen with regular and consistent action. You have the capacity to refine all of these things because you are thinking about them daily.
Action on the wrong things
In line with taking regular and consistent action, you have to take the right action in the right way. You have heard the saying that ‘practice makes perfect.’ This is not entirely true. Practicing the correct things in the correct way leads to getting you closer to being perfect. If you spend time in incorrect practice, you reinforce the things that will cause you to fail.
Be wary of shinny object syndrome. This is where you fall in love or get distracted by a new software, marketing method, guru, or brand new business idea. It is possible to jump from thing to thing and now you have the illusion of progress. You are doing all this work and gaining all this new insight but none of it has brought you closer to actually providing anything to your target market.
- You have no clearly defined purpose, topic or offer.
You can have a great deal of activity, without any measurable results. Your central goal should be to arrive at being clear about the value you bring. Everybody starts off not being clear about this but not everybody makes this a central goal to go after.
The #1 secret to arriving at this clarity
This may be counter intuitive for some, but you do not wait until you are clear about the value you intend to bring before you take action. You act in doubt; you act in fear and in confusion and keep refining from there. What does this look like? I am not saying to start a full-blown business without being sure of what it is.
I am saying that you try out ideas by writing or making videos that you don’t send anywhere. You ‘play’ in the space of creativity, whatever that looks like for you. This approach allows you to develop ‘your voice’ in whatever medium you choose. This holds true whether it’s podcasting, video production, or writing.
Be deliberate, schedule time to think, write, talk and unpack ideas either alone or in a ‘safe group’ of like-minded people. See what content attracts you. Who do you pay attention to and why? How could you do that better or put your spin on something that is already being done?
Put it all together.
In short, embrace the process, bring a growth mindset, see calculated failure as the path to success. Schedule deliberate action that adds true value to your desired end result. Don’t let not knowing, paralyze you. Play with the process and see yourself as a creator not just a consumer of material. Work toward arriving at your unique selling proposition. Walk into this with an open mind. Your regular action will cause things to click for you. You will see our path unfold.