Are You Oblivious?

I frequently will ask questions in my Women’s Entrepreneur Facebook Group and on my other social media accounts that are designed to make people stop and think.

And it is incredibly clear from the answers that a lot of the respondents are completely oblivious. And so it becomes abundantly clear on why they are struggling.

One question- Are you running a business or a hobby? I get back that they are running a business. And yet. If you look at the effort that is expended to market the business, and the actual productivity and sales, the answer becomes VERY clear, that it is nothing more than an expensive hobby.

Fact is, if you are not making sales, for most small businesses, after a period of time, this is just a hobby.

There are lots of reasons why. But no sales over a period of months to years tells me you’re not serious.

That may seem harsh, but the reality is that we can always make more money, and we can make lots more things, and if something is making us happy, then that’s awesome. Make no mistake about what is making you money, and what is not.

Likewise, I asked a question about what you’d find if you looked the business owner up online or Google them.

Can I find you easily? Does your message match with the reviews? Does your story, your website, and all of your collateral match? If there is a fundamental mis-match, then sales are going to suffer. I’m not saying that you have to be the most beautiful person out there, or have the prettiest pictures. What I am saying is that all of the messaging needs to be consistent across the board.

If you say that you’ve done XYZ, then the social proof and reviews should support that. In fact, if you’re trying to sell me an expensive service- I’m going to go Google you, and your online reviews. I’m going to look you up on linked in, and I MIGHT even want to check references.

Will your business stand up to the scrutiny?

You’d be amazed at the number of online coaches that I‘ve sent running for the hills because I took a little bit to go Google them and find reviews, and I also asked for a reference. (I mean- if you want to sell me a 5, 10, 15K program- do you have proof of results?)