The Top 10 Solo-Business Blunders that Sabotage Successby Christine Kane

Whether graphic designer, author, or coach – there’s NOTHING better than having a business that provides freedom and an unlimited potential for income!

However, many solo-business owners get quickly burnt-out and disillusioned on this path. If that sounds like you, don’t feel bad! It’s probably because no one ever taught you how to run a business AND be creative all at once.

But it IS possible! (I am living proof! So are my clients!) It’s just that you might have to let go of a few old habits that are holding you back and blocking your success.

Here are the Top 10 Solo-Business Blunders that Sabotage Success:

1 – Not scheduling Vision-Time.

If you don’t take time away from your business for visioning and thinking, it’s easy to become a reactor, not a creator.

A business is dynamic and organic. (So are you!) Shape and create your business by taking time out for planning and visioning your desires and new directions.

2 – Too much Vision Time!

Some people are forever analyzing and planning, afraid of doing the wrong thing or of failure. At some point, you must take action. Just know that failure is only failure if you give up!

3 – Waiting for rescue.

Book deals. Hit records. Getting on Oprah. A huge IPO.

Hey, great things can and DO happen all the time in life. However, waiting for something to “sweep you away” is a surefire path to frustration.

Having a business is an on-going relationship. It can be remarkable! But like any relationship, it requires attention and action. Hoping for rescue is a sign that you’re afraid of the potential of your own power!

4 – Living in the “Field of Dreams.”

Remember these amazing words?“If you build it, they will come.”

Really? I can do that, and everything else will be taken care of?

Well, sort of. There IS truth in that famous line.

But too often, people think it means, “All I have to do is hang my sign - and the world will rush to my door.”

This can lead to disillusionment. That’s because “building it” is not a one-time thing!

Here’s another way to look at it:“If you build it they will come. But if you build it and market it, they’ll pay you!”

5 – Making problems a problem.

Donald Trump advises something that contradicts every positive thinking tenet out there.

He says to expect problems.

Yes, even if you’re a mindset junkie!

Glitches, hiccups, snafus. Hey, they happen. Too often, we let problems paralyze us, and steal our time and emotions. Successful people expect “problems,” and always put their focus on finding the solution!

6 – Taking numbers personally.

Much of business is a numbers game. Sometimes the numbers are low. Sometimes they’re high!

Numbers are just numbers. (They’re not the Universe’s way of telling you that you should give up and get a job at The Gap!)

7 – Waiting to “feel like it.”

Creative types often don’t market themselves until they “feel like it.” Which - let’s face it - is never!

Marketing works best as a system. Robert Middleton says, “Marketing is not only about being known, it's about not being forgotten.” In other words, learn how to market so you won’t have to dread it!

8 – The Cycle of Reactivity And Panic

Is this you?

Every now and then, you realize you have no clients. You react. You go on a marketing/cold-calling binge. You fill your schedule. And for months, you panic – you can barely breathe, let alone hire someone or continue marketing.

Sure enough, it shifts. The projects end. The clients are gone. Suddenly, your calendar is empty. The cycle begins again.

I call this the Cycle of Reactivity And Panic. (C.R.A.P.) It is one of the unhealthiest habits out there. You must set your business up so that the flow is constant and automated! (And yes, this IS possible!)

9 – Status-before-Spotlight Thinking.

All too often, we wait to “deserve” the spotlight. We hope for enough status, letters after our names, or training before we’ll make the slightest move toward a bigger opportunity.News Flash: No amount of outside status can create worthiness. Success happens when we take chances and play bigger, regardless of outside status.

10 - Not investing in yourself.

Every successful entrepreneur invests time and money in herself and her business. She attends workshops and teleseminars. She hires coaches.

Too many of us go it alone. This leads to limited thinking, isolation, and burn out. When an opportunity arrives, don’t ask: “How much does it cost to do this?” Ask instead: “How much will it cost me NOT to do this?” This simple question has changed my life!