There are so, so, so, many blogs and online businesses out there. So how the heck do some succeed while others fall flat on their faces? And if you’re in the latter, how do you revive your business or blog?
I’ve been there.
Nitpicking at every stat, every analytical number trying to figure out what is working, what isn’t, and what needs tweaking.
And to be perfectly blunt, it’s exhausting!
What Went Wrong with My Blog/Business?
A ton of people get hung up in this phase. They start their blog or online business with the best of intentions and an endorphin rush of inspiration.
Six months later they’ve netted enough money to buy a tank of gas or none at all. Their numbers are hardly reflective of their efforts and the inspiration is running on fumes or has flat out turned into desperation.
What went wrong usually boils down to 1 of 5 common mishaps. Maybe only one applies, maybe all five, but the good news is your business CAN be revived.
- You went into the wrong niche thinking you could make some fast money by going into something super popular or only creating what “market research” tells you to.
- You attempted to save money by going with all the free resources like hosting and email. And are now likely now paying the price for that “frugal” decision.
- Trying to do it all alone. You refused to invest in some much needed help in certain areas of your business that could have shaved months or even years off your growth. (I did this in the beginning)
- You didn’t start an email list or if you did your opt-ins don’t bring in the ideal audience (my original opt-in was a debactle)
- Your mindset around business and making money needs a serious makeover. (yep, had to do this too)
Do You Want to Revive Your Business?
So not for nothing, but do you want to revive your business?
Some people get so exhausted and fed up, nothing they do to remedy the situation helps because in their mind, they’ve already figured out the reasons they will fail yet again so moving forward seems futile.
This becomes one of those self-fulfilling prophesies in that, the more things you try to do to “fix it”, the worse the situation becomes.
This is usually because they run straight to strategy and skip over the mindset, which more often than naught, is the real reason behind most business failures. And if you’re a blogger, that too, is a business.
Once you get some mindset mentoring you may decide to revive your business or create an entirely new plan. In my 1:1 intensive we talk about this in depth because it’s important that the business you create supports the lifestyle you really want.
Yes! I Want to Revive My Dying Business.
Be unapologetically you.
Way, way, way, too often online, people are copying other people’s business model thinking if this worked for them, why should I reinvent the wheel?
This thinking is very true if used correctly, but it’s usually not.
People end up not only following someone else’s business model, but they end up following their voice and messaging as well.
How many young men do you think have attempted to recreate the Tony Robbins style of success? Thousands. And how many of them have succeeded?
None.
Imitating someone else is usually an epic failure and if a person is able to gain some success, the rug is pulled out from under them later when they can no longer keep being someone they aren’t.
If you are questioning if you are cool enough, experienced enough, or if people will actually listen to what you have to say, I’m here to tell you that yes, you are. And when you nail YOUR messaging, they will.
Stop All the Market Research
This is where some of my advice gets a little controversial with my peer groups.
I don’t do market research.
As my chillpreneur buddy Denise Thomas puts it, business should be easy. Market research is a lot of hard d*mn stressful work!
Not one time ever, has market research felt “in flow or alignment” with my business.
I don’t believe that anyone (unless you are selling physical products) should be polling audiences and creating “what the people want”.
Why?
This type of content creation, course creation, or whatever other business model you may be selling SETS YOU UP FOR FAILURE!
I’m fully aware that I am a minority in believing this. Hundreds if not thousands of coaches will tell you not to create a course until you know it’s going to sell. (FYI-market research does not guarantee sales)
But when you poll the audience and create “what they supposedly want”, you are not creating from a place of alignment. You rarely speak from the heart or a place of deep knowledge, and burnout comes very quickly.
Don’t Be A People Pleaser
Polling audiences or waiting to hear back from beta testers prior to launching a program, course, or other service is a hidden form of seeking validation.
You don’t need others opinions to tell you what to create.
While it’s okay to seek out coaching to help you define your area of expertise or define a business plan that will lead to the lifestyle you are aiming for, individual market research for every single product or program will have you EXHAUSTED!
No one else can tell you what’s on your heart to share on any given day.
They have no clue what your experience and educational background are until you start being authentic and sharing those things on a regular basis…something you will never do if you only create what market research tells you to.
Beef Up Your Resources
Look. I get it.
When you are first starting a business, the last thing you want to do is start dumping money before it’s coming in steady.
This unfortunately is a trap.
If this is you, you likely have some money blocks that need working through AND, using free hosting and email is likely to drag out the length of time until you see real results.
Free hosting is a no-no for many reasons but none bigger than the fact that a free host owns your site and can shut it down whenever they please. They control what you can and cannot have on your site, and they always rank lower in search engines.
You need traffic and free hosting makes it very difficult. I use BlueHost. I have several articles as to why but this one is the most popular.
You can see my top-recommended tools here or here.
Email is another no brainer. If you don’t have one that’s a huge strike. Using a free service like Mailchimp sounds great until you realize all the limitations of it and the pain of migrating over to a more robust system down the line.
I use Convertkit. The owner is a stellar dude who treats his employees and customers well. The platform is easy to learn to use and has loads of features.
Yes, the money is in the list and I know first-hand. It took me forever to gain traction with mine because of the next reason.
Invest in Yourself
The above resources are very affordable for running a business. My overhead for the first year was under $50/month.
And it’s no wonder I barely made that back each month.
I was trying to do everything by myself and wasn’t investing anything into getting my business moving faster.
Look, you cannot get a refund on the countless hours turned months spent on YouTube or Google trying to learn how to do everything on your own.
Stick to what you’re good at, what you enjoy, and HIRE out for the rest. There are a ton of affordable VA’s that can do those tasks in a fraction of the time you can.
I could have put so much more effort into my email list if I hadn’t spent months trying to learn some technical crap that glazed my eyes over from boredom and frustration!
Revive Your Business Mindset
If you’ve been trying “all the things” and not making a whole lot of progress, it could be your strategy…
…But it’s more likely your mindset.
We don’t realize all the baggage that comes with us from our childhood, relationships, news outlets, and all the other sources of money woes.
That stuff sticks like hot gum on the bottom of a shoe.
I’m a straight A student with a ton of experience and education, yet when I first started my business journey, I began a cycle of succeeding and falling flat on my *ss over and over.
I was financially free and thriving twice before age 30 and had many other spikes in victory along the way but the ‘other shoe’ so to speak kept kicking me back down.
It wasn’t until I invested in some serious mindset and personal development work that I started to break that cycle and create a new pattern. To actually have my success last.
Revive Your Business or Blog Today
So here’s the pitch, and I don’t do this often.
I’m a financial mindset and success coach. I can help with identifying what’s really been holding you back, working through it, and creating a plan that has you running a business aligned with your REAL goals.
Because your goals are ALWAYS bigger than just more money.
And my aim is to create time and money in your life in equal measures. You know, turn a 40+ hour work week into 25.
If you’ve been working a day job and trying to build a business this is more likely been 60+ hours. Add a commute to that…you get the idea.
Time is precious. We don’t get to roll back the clock.
If you have been trying all the things, maybe it’s time to invest in yourself and a mentor/coach. I have three main offers that aim to help people with any budget. My entry level 1:1 is a great place to start for those who struggle with investing in themselves.
But if you are ‘ALL IN’ with your desire to make a real success of your business and your life, I encourage you to consider the Crush it With Confidence Transformation.
If it happens we aren’t a good fit, I will certainly point you in the direction of someone who is. I know some good peeps and I want you to succeed!
xoxo-Deanna