When you’re just starting out, it often feels as though your business is all but buzzing with momentum – after all, why not? You’ve got great ideas, motivation, maybe even a few good deals under your belt… but somewhere down the line, whether it’s six months in or a couple of years later, things can slow to a crawl, and the big problem is that it doesn’t always get noticed – sometimes it’s really subtle. You might find that sales dip a bit, your energy fades, and everything just feels harder than it used to, and that can happen at any time.
The question is, why do some businesses stall and more importantly, how do you get back on track? With that in mind, keep reading to find out more.
You’ve Forgotten Why
This is actually a big issue, so it’s worth thinking about whether or not it might be what’s affecting you. When your business is brand new, you’ve usually got a clear reason for starting it – maybe you wanted more freedom, perhaps you needed a specific amount of money in a certain amount of time, maybe you just wanted to prove to yourself you could do it, and so on. The problem is that over time, the day-to-day still can pile up, and if you’re dealing with emails, accounts, and customers, you might forget about the bigger picture, and without that original drive, decisions are harder, and it can be a challenge to work out why you’re doing things at all.
To move forward again, it helps to think about what made you excited in the first place, and remind yourself of the reason you began all this hard work. That way, you’ll be able to see where you’re making mistakes or where you could push forwards, and that’s going to help bring back your motivation.
Getting Stuck In Old Habits
One of the sneakiest traps in business is doing the same thing over and over just because it used to get results. Yes, you might have had a social media post that went viral, or a special offer that boosted sales massively, but these are only short term things, and audiences changes, platforms have updates, and ideas were perfect a few months ago might not be working anymore.
The issue is that unless you realise that, you’re going to be using those same old ideas just because they worked once, only this time you won’t be getting the same results. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to what’s happening, and to test new things as well as admit when something isn’t working anymore. The fresher you can keep things, the better you’ll move forward.
Thinking Marketing Is A One Off Job
This one catches a lot of people out all the time, so it’s well worth thinking about. You create a logo, launch a website, write a few posts – and then you get back to ‘real’ business. That’s enough, isn’t it? No. The truth is that marketing isn’t something you can tick off the list once and forget about – it’s how people find you, connect with your story and your business, and build trust, so it’s got to be consistent and long term if it’s going to work. It’s also got to change as your business changes, and you’ve got to keep on top of trends. You also need to make sure it continues to fit in with the style of business that you are running. That means if you have a car wash, get some car wash bay wall panels that are going to help with your branding. These are the kinds of details that really matter.
That’s where tools, data, and fresh, new ideas are always going to be useful, and, of course, if you’re unsure where to begin, getting help with small business marketing is always a good option – you’ll be sure you’re working in the right direction and doing the right thing, and the results will speak for themselves.
Avoiding The Scary Stuff
When you think about it, business growth (or any kind of growth, come to that) usually means doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable. In business, that might mean putting your prices up, or perhaps launching a new product without knowing quite how it’ll go. It could even be letting go of a service that’s no longer making you money, even though it’s a safe thing to offer.
The thing is, it’s easy to delay these decisions and come up with all kinds of excuses about why you’re taking your time, but the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to act, and one small, brave step sooner can create a lot more momentum than weaks of waiting and being cautious ever could. Of course, you’ll need to still make sure any risks you’re taking are calculated, but taking them is absolutely crucial.
