10 myths from the business space not to fall for
If you’re working to grow your business and are finding yourself held back by negative self talk, one of these myths may be adding fuel to the fire.
- You should always be pushing yourself
Not every uplevel requires you to push yourself into your next big growth area. And sometimes, your business will call on you to simply deliver on what is already on your plate instead of pushing yourself into anything new at all.
Simplifying your business model, stepping away from something that isn’t working, making certain business operations routine or systematic, delegating things that you were once doing on your own — these are all examples of growth that actually require you to step back rather than push forward.
Most of us got into business because we wanted flexibility, freedom, and options — so don’t make yourself wrong for chilling out every now and then.
2. You shouldn’t give things away
Sometimes giving too much away or undervaluing your offers will hold you back. And other times, offering to do things for free or at a reduced rate can help you form connections, gain valuable insight, give you a chance to work out the details of a new offer, or simply help you gain some momentum.
William Hewlett was quoted as saying “never stifle a generous impulse”. If you want to make a generous offer, check in and ensure that the impulse to give is truly coming from generosity rather than a need to fix things for others, codependency, obligation, or guilt. If you truly want to give and aren’t expecting anything in return, do it!
3. The overnight success story
Marketing requires us to boil down stories and get to the point, so expect that people’s success stories will be missing details. When a particular opportunity comes through, it’s usually after a long period of forming connections, learning, skill building, iterating, refining, etc.
The entrepreneurial journey typically requires deep, inner work, personal growth, technical skill/knowledge, business acumen, and networking. For some people, this journey starts when they start their business. For others, it started long ago in a different business or at a different job. Boiling the success story down into a shareable tidbit will never reflect the full journey, so don’t take it at face value and use it as a point of comparison.
4. You need to curate and optimize all of your thoughts and feelings to be successful
People who struggle with their mental health or have been affected by trauma run successful businesses without erasing or “fixing” their “negative” thoughts and feelings.
Allowing yourself to feel a full range of emotions, and getting comfortable with that experience, is important for your mental health and thus, your business.
There are certainly thoughts that may be motivating behavior that is hindering your business growth, but rather than trying to make them go away, it can help to simply bring your awareness to them and ask yourself if now is the time to act, or remind yourself that your thoughts are not always an indication of what is really going on.
Labeling trauma responses as “low vibe” or “mindset blocks” can cause a secondary wave of shame or guilt that can actually cause even more mental drama and further distract you from taking sustainable, aligned action.
5. Making money makes you an authority
The power of what you do is not determined by your income. The business space is largely made up of business coaches who, to show that they know what they are doing, are sharing their own business success. If you are not a coach who is promising to help people make more money, your income level is irrelevant.
What problem do you solve? Your ability to solve that problem is what makes you an authority in that area, not the amount of money you have.
6. “Multiple 6 figures” means the business owner is making multiple 6 figures
When people talk about how much their business makes they are usually referring to top line sales. This does not account for what they are paying for contractors, team members, coaches, advertising, platforms, cost of goods, or any other investments they’ve made to create those sales. What a business owner is paying themselves is a much different number than what the business is making, and it is entirely possible to have a multiple 6 figure business that is losing money.
Further, these statements rely on the business owner’s ability to accurately track their earnings, interpret reports, and can depend on what they are even referring to when they say “multiple 6 figures”. For example, are they referring to annual revenue or all time sales? Are they sharing projections or money they’ve actually made?
7. Business should be easy
There is a corner of the online business world that, in response to hustle culture, will say if you’re doing it right business should be easy and fun. I hope it goes without saying that the “no pain no gain” narrative is bogus, but equally as misguided is the view that if it’s meant for you it should come easily.
Effort will always be an essential element of learning anything new, building something that will last, and achieving things that you’ve never achieved before. It is certainly possible to make things easier on yourself while you’re showing up and putting in the effort, and in my experience, ease and sustainable growth are usually found when you finally accept that this is going to require effort and simply show up consistently without the expectation of effortless results.
In her book Mindset, Carol Dweck shares her research on fixed mindset thinking. A fixed mindset is the view that your qualities are fixed and your results somehow prove your inherent ability. People with this mindset typically avoid challenges and don’t take opportunities for growth. Believing that success will come easily if you’re really cut out for it is a marked characteristic of a fixed mindset and will keep you from facing challenges head on.
Instead, try to remind yourself that through effort comes learning and growth.
8. Charge what your worth
Your worthiness as a human being can not be quantified, so don’t take pricing so personally. Everyone starts somewhere with their prices, and over time you will learn what rates are right for you based on where you are in your business, your demand, your goals, etc.
It may be time to raise your rates, or it may be time to simply get people through the door, but either way — your rate is not a reflection of your worth.
9. When you’re really doing a great job, someone will notice and feature you in one of those “top 10” lists
This is a tough one, because I know some amazing entrepreneurs who have been featured on these lists and my intention is in no way to undermine how fantastic they are at what they do. But for the sake of transparency, it’s good to keep in mind that many of these lists are actually paid publicity opportunities.
Representatives from these outlets will usually send DMs to people whose social media profiles match what they’re looking for and will offer to put them on one of these lists for pay.
Participating in paid publicity does not mean that someone is not fantastic at what they do, and not every feature like this is paid. But if you’re comparing yourself to people on those lists, or if you want to be featured yourself, it’s worth noting that it may be as simple as getting in touch with one of those publications and paying for a feature.
10. If people aren’t investing in you, it’s because you’re not investing in yourself
Growing a business will require you to invest in your growth and get support. And being invested does make a difference to your commitment and the way you show up.
But sometimes, this is nothing but a marketing line to get in your head and make you think “I don’t really know if this person can help me, but maybe simply ‘betting on myself’ will make something happen?”
For your investments to come back to you, you need to be intentional. Don’t expect the simple act of investing in yourself to “make something happen”. Instead, ask yourself what support you need to make things happen and then invest accordingly.
