Hey there, my fabulous listener, welcome to episode 181 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.

Thank you for lending me your ears today – I know you have lots of choices, so I sincerely appreciate me being one of them!

If you’re enjoying this podcast – I’d love to you take a screen shot and share it on your socials and tag me in it.  How cool would that be!

Don’t forget you can get the show notes for this podcast at www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/181

Before we get started this week, I wanted to tell you about a fabulous event that I am MC-ing at the end of March.

It’s called SMB Digital, 30-31 March in-person at ICC, Sydney.

• Free to attend
• Two days conference 55+ speakers (including me!)
• Exhibition featuring all the best digital tech solutions for SMBs

If you’re keen to attend, and we can meet in person (how super freaking cool would that be) – then head to: https://www.smb-digital.com.au/welcome and get your free ticket.

I know it’s going to be amazing event for us small business owners.  See you there?

So, today’s episode is a little “tongue in cheek!”.  I was having a conversation with one of my online dearest business besties and we started to joke about the top 3 reasons why businesses fail.

It was a silly little conversation we were having that came from a comment I made.

You see, I cleaned up my desk and cupboards the other day and found my “to do list” from 2021.  It’s the list I divide things into urgent, semi-urgent, must do, nice to do, if I ever have time – that’s actually a category yes!

And I was telling Sarah that in my semi-urgent list was what I would qualify as a “money making activity” that clearly I hadn’t done!

Hence the joke, yep, let’s just post on social media and book things in rather than doing ACTUAL money making activities – jokes on me!

So that set us into a conversation of all the things we do in business that, collectively and if we aren’t careful will set us up to fail.

So as a lesson to myself and to you, I am going to list a few things we chatted about, just in case you need a nudge for doing them too!

Firstly, and as mentioned before, NOT doing your money making activities FIRST!

Now, I have already admitted that I failed at this – it was on my list – but still didn’t get done for whatever reason.

Please don’t do this!  Please take a look at your to-do list and do your money making activities FIRST!

I will if you will!!?!?

Second thing we do to set ourselves up for failure – we are reactive rather than proactive!  We react to situations inside our business, mostly because there’s no plan, rather than being proactive, goal orientated and focused on where we want to go.

So if you want to fail, stay reactive.  If you want to succeed, be proactive!  Set goals.  Review goals.  Be goal focused in business.

Third thing that will help you fail in business is to always be chasing BSOs – bright shiny objects!  Or as we say with my fav 19 year old son – chasing squirrels!

Some bright shiny objects are good to chase – some are just distractions dressed as opportunities.  You need the wisdom to know the difference and if you can’t tell the difference, you need to ensure you chase them to the end – not half hearted, not half done, but done done – whether it works or not!

If you are always swapping and changing your business model, your products or your services, then (a) your customers are probably way confused and no idea what you are selling at any given point and (b) you will burn out long before anything can make you the money you deserve.

Only chase the BSOs that are worth it – some you just have to say “NO” too!

Fourth thing that you can do to help your business fail – and this is a biggie – under value yourself!  Or even your products/services.

Undervaluing what you bring to the table, what you can offer your customers or clients – is a massive hurdle I know so many small business owners (and maybe you) struggle with.

You have to charge what you are worth.  I’ll repeat that – you HAVE to charge what you are worth.

You are NOT for everyone, and therefore your price point is NOT for everyone.

You will attract the right customers if you charge what you are worth.  Charge to little and you will fill your business with customers you would rather give to the opposition! 

Charge what you are worth!

And finally, the fifth way you can ensure failure of your business is to fail to launch at all!  Be so caught up in needing things to be perfect, needing ALL your ducks in a row, needing everything and everybody to be lined up, sorted, procedures done, process perfect that you never manage to launch your business.

Perfection is a trap and it’s one that cripples so many small business owners who don’t value themselves and/or their products enough to get them to market.

They are too concerned about what people will think, that no one will buy their product, that it’s not “ready”.

You know my advice don’t you!  If you’ve listened to my podcast for any length of time, you know what I am about to say

READY, FIRE, AIM!

It’s what my mentor always taught me and it’s the wisdom I am passing on because it’s served me SO well in business.

Get ready. Fire before you are have it all sorted and aim (sort it out) as you go along – tweaking, perfecting and changing as your customers and prospects give you feedback – positive and constructive!

READY, FIRE, AIM

I know you know this stuff.  You’re amazing but sometimes, like me, you need a nudge to say “hey are you self sabotaging your business by doing xxxx (insert which one applied to you – mine is clearly money making activities!).

I hope these gentle reminders have been useful.  Maybe it’s an episode you would like to pass onto another small business owner to ensure they aren’t doing any of these as well.  It would mean the world to me if you would share this episode! 

Ok, that’s it for another episode of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.

Let’s continue the chat in my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – you can join on Facebook if you haven’t already.

Oh and talking about my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – I have some amazing guests coming in there to do lives with me this year.  I am super excited by this.  From finance experts to PR and marketing experts (besides me) to Law experts – they are all coming on to give you their time and do some Q&As with the group.

Another amazing reason to come and join that community!

Remember you can find the links in the show notes at www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/181

See you next week on the podcast for episode 182.  But in the meantime, let’s hang out on social and get social on social – you’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook and my fav LinkedIn.

But whatever you do,

……..remember small business peeps, as my opening song says, there’s no point in dreaming small!