Something that has been coming up a lot recently in my business circles and also with my clients is that this season feels particularly tough.
The industry in general is contracting and a lot of business owners are taking notice. Why? Because leads are down, sales are down, and revenue is down. Now this is not true 100% across the board, I still have a lot of friends in the business world and several clients who are absolutely crushing it and having their best seasons ever.
BUT I do want to acknowledge the flip side of the coin that there are a lot business owners who really are struggling right now.
And if you fall into that category, this episode is specifically for you. So if you’re wondering what the hell you’re doing wrong now and why you can’t grow or why this is one of the hardest seasons or years you’ve had in business? Buckle up. We’re diving in. Today, we’re chatting all about WHY your business is stagnant and not scaling, and some things that you can do to fix it.
Let’s back up a couple of years to the pandemic. When covid hit, online business boomed. People were shifting online at unprecedented rates, which makes sense because the entire world was shut down.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shares interesting insights on how Covid led to a small business boom and startups surging during the pandemic, which makes total sense.
But, things that worked 2 or 3 years ago are NOT working now.
When I see people bragging that they started their business during covid and they’ve been booked out for 3 years solid, I smile just a little. And if this is you, amazing. I have no doubts whatsoever that you are phenomenal at what you do and you really support your clients in getting results. With that said, it’s really important to note that you came in on a HIGH. Things are different now than they were a couple of years ago and the industry is contracting.
So first and foremost, if this is you – you are not alone. Fact. That does NOT mean that you cannot make a shit ton of money. Again, I still have clients who are absolutely crushing it and have barely noticed a blip.
But I also have clients whose business has been decimated this past year, and I have seen online businesses close at record paces. And of course we want to mitigate that as much as possible, which is why we’re chatting about this today.
Now the two primary types of businesses that I see who have had the most challenges this year are 1) those who came in during covid and entered on a high. Their businesses got booked out quickly and stayed booked out. And 2) Businesses who have been around for several years, but they’ve been doing the same things for a majority of that time.
Now there could be other outliers and other examples, of course, but again these are the two primary camps that I have witnessed over the past several months. So let’s talk about each of these.
If you did come in during covid and your business was booked out quickly and consistently, it can feel incredibly demotivating to now be struggling to get leads, sign clients, and having your cashflow have a significant dip. After all, you’ve been crushing it for the past 2 to 3 years, what in the world is happening? Right.
You’re at a bit of a unique disadvantage because things did “work” when you first started out. So you don’t necessarily have that experience of going through the really tough seasons, getting creative, and flexing that muscle of resiliency. So it can feel especially hard and discouraging that now things aren’t really working.
Now for the second type. If you have been in business for a few years, and I’m talking pre-covid, and you’re now struggling with sales and revenue, you’ve probably experienced this in some way before. Not necessary in this same scenario, but you’ve likely experienced challenging seasons, even if it was just when you first started out, and you weathered the storm and are still here in business today.
You’ve got experience in your back pocket and you’ve shown grit in order to still be running your business, and it’s annoying now that you HAVE been around the block and things just aren’t really working.
Why?
Why are those newer businesses (remember by newer I’m talking 2-3 years here) that got booked out quickly and consistently AND those seasoned businesses both struggling so much right now?
Because consumers are smarter and more selective about what they invest in these days. And gone are the days where showing up minimally and throwing out a couple of sales posts means you convert clients. That just does NOT cut it anymore.
Repurposing old content you wrote years ago that isn’t really relevant anymore? Yeah that’s going to do it.
Randomly throwing up a sales post here or there and expecting to fill your program? It’s not going to cut it.
Using the exact same tactics that were successful for you a few years ago? It doesn’t work anymore.
Not having complete clarity in who you’re helping and what the transformation of what you’re doing is going to provide them? Forget it.
Letting yourself go down the rabbit hole of uncertainty and not believing you have what it takes anymore? It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The successful versus struggling business boils down to:
-actions
-mindset
-value
And at the end of the day, why are things no longer working for you, even if they worked really well in the past?
Uncomfortable truth here: They’re not working because you’re not doing the shit you need to.
If your business is stagnant and you’re struggling right now, here are 6 ways you can shift that.
1. Go back to basics.
This one sound so cliche but it is so impactful. If your business is stagnant and you’re still showing up in the same way that you have been for months or years, it’s a really great time to take a deep breath and go back to your foundations.
This may feel like you’re going backwards, but you’re actually taking a tiny step backwards in order to go forward. Here’s what I mean.
Going back to basics means you’re getting crystal clear on exactly who you’re serving, how you’re supporting them, and you’re getting rid of all of the extra fluff that is no longer serving either of you.
Oftentimes we can get so caught up in the day-to-day and the nitty gritty and we just keep doing the same thing. So going back to basics can be like a shock to your system and you can start to get more creative ideas, more strategic about the content you’re putting out and the ways in which you’re showing up, and it can just be a good reset overall, which can help you gain momentum in a newer, fresh way that isn’t bogging you down and actually start to move the needle forward again.
2. Analyse your data.
This one is always surprising to me how many business owners aren’t comfortable with their data or don’t know their numbers, especially women CEOs. This isn’t a generalisation, this is literally what I have seen with my clients. But analysing your data is a great step in seeing WHERE your actual results are.
If you’re cranking out content and spending 80% of your marketing time on Instagram and 20% on LinkedIn, yet you get 6 clients per month from LinkedIn and 1 from Instagram, it’s really helpful to actually see the numbers to KNOW that. Because once you know your data, you can make more informed decisions, maximise your resources – including your time, and increase your revenue.
Analysing your data can also include seeing where the gaps are in your funnels, your sales pages, your emails, etc. If you’re getting a ton of people on your sales pages but you’re not converting, it’s helpful to know that. Oftentimes it can be a small tweak that you make that can make a huge difference. So again, analysing your data can be really helpful if your business is stagant right now.
3. Be willing to pivot.
Industries change. Trends shift. As we’ve already mentioned, what was working 12 months ago isn’t working today.
Not being afraid to pivot can breathe new life into your business and help you move out of stagnancy. Now I’m not telling you to go burn your business down and go find a new niche or redevelop your entire offer suite, but I am encouraging you to not be afraid of change and to embrace shifting things up, in whatever way that means for you.
4. Work on your mindset
This one is a big one and it’s oftentimes an annoying one we hear over and over and over. But if you are approaching things like the economy sucks and the industry is contracting and you’re going to keep struggling, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And what you’re putting out is literally that you’re going to keep struggling – so you of course you will.
But if you’re working on your mindset and you’re willing to do what it takes to navigate this season, you will. And it doesn’t matter what stage of business you are in or how long you’ve been at this, mindset is always an important tool in your arsenal. Work on your mindset like it’s your full-time job, because it is.
5. Speak directly to your client.
This one sounds obvious, but it sort of goes along with back to basics. Audit your content. Are you speaking directly to your clients, or have their needs shifted and journeys started looking a little different? Take a look at your offers. Are you still meeting a need, or have things changed that now need to be addressed?
Take a look at this and make sure you make those small tweaks if you find there are gaps. Speak directly to your client and on the transformation you are providing them.
6. Show up.
One thing that I have learned – the hard way I might add – after nearly a decade in business is that there are peaks and valleys and there are seasons. And some of those valleys can be hellaciously HARD. But you CAN weather that storm. But you HAVE to be willing to stick it out and you have to be willing to shift.
It is VERY likely if you are struggling with growing or scaling right now, you KNOW why you’re not growing. At least subconsciously. You KNOW where some of those gaps are. And more often than not it’s the uncomfortable shit that we don’t want to do, that we keep pushing off… that’s the very thing we need to do. And this is true no matter what level of business you’re at. One difference though is as you start to weather the storms and seasons of business, you develop a muscle of just doing the stuff anyways. But that isn’t always the case, especially if the industry is shifting and what you used to get stellar results from just isn’t landing anymore. And that can be super frustrating.
So with this I just want you to take a good, hard look in the mirror, and answer yourself honestly. Are you showing up in the way that you need to? Why not? What’s holding you back there? If you knew that you were going to continue to grow your business even when things feel tough, how would you show up right now. And then go do that.
As we wrap up this episode, I just want to leave you with some encouragement. We have all been there. But in order to get where you want to go, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable and do things that you may not have done before. And that’s just part of business.
But I can guarantee you if you go through these steps and you identify where the problem is and what tweaks you can make, you will start to shift out of being stagnant.
