Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

  • Home
  • Shop
  • About
    • Advertise with Us
    • Inside Conversations
  • Affiliate Offers
  • Events
    • Virtual Valentine’s Paint Party
    • MarketPlace
  • Resources
    • Market Research
    • Community Hubs & Co-working Spaces
    • Tech Resources
    • Human Resources
    • Financial Resources
    • Small Business Toolkit
  • Innovation
    • Clean Technology
    • Green Technology
    • Medical Technology
  • Blog

Jun 11 2016

Is Fear of Failure Holding You Back?

CHuntly

You have your fabulous business idea, you have your goals written out, and you have written a killer business plan. The next step can be the most daunting one when it comes to launching any business – you have to tell people about what it is you do.

Once you start marketing your business one of three things can happen:

  1. You are an “instant” hit – it looks like you are going to meet or surpass your goals.
  2. Nothing – no one seems interested in buying what you are selling, or perhaps you aren’t reaching them in the right ways.
  3. Your audience vocally doesn’t like what you are offering – this is pretty rare unless you have completely misread your audience.

Often, for an entrepreneur, the fear of failure can hold you back from putting together the best marketing strategy you can. You are afraid that if you put yourself out there completely you won’t be received well. The best way to get over your fears is strategic planning and focus.

I know what you are thinking…  I read this blog for THAT?! As simple as it might seem, the one thing that gets pushed aside is great planning. You may have a lot of great ideas for a marketing plan, but is it a full strategy? And do you have a plan to keep yourself on track?

Here are 5 things to consider to help get over the entrepreneurial fear hump and get your marketing strategy in order:

  1. Have you considered your target audience’s needs and behaviours? Your audience should always dictate how you market your business. For example, if you are targeting an audience that isn’t very tech-savvy, that Twitter Q&A you have planned is the wrong place to invest. You may want to consider more traditional tactics like direct mail or event-based marketing.
  2. Do your selected tactics fit within your overall business goals? It’s easy to get caught up with what your competitors are doing or the latest and greatest technology that is on the market, however you should take a step back and consider those goals and objectives in your business plan. If your goal is to become an industry leader in your field but you hadn’t considered a strong content marketing or PR plan, then you should reconsider your planning.
  3. Focus is your best friend. It is easy to look at all of the things you have to do and find smaller, less important tasks that you “just have to” complete first. While cleaning out your junk drawer in your desk can probably wait as well, I am talking about all of the things that can derail a great strategy. For example, you have set out to market your business on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but you heard about how neat Snapchat is and you thought you would “just set up” an account. Before you know it, you have spent half a day on something that you hadn’t planned on.
  4. Are you evaluating your strategy on a regular basis? Changing your original strategy isn’t a bad thing as long as it comes from a strategic evaluation of what is working and what isn’t. If you aren’t getting the traction you expected from Facebook, maybe you should consider a different social channel or focusing your time and resources into a different strategy altogether. It’s important to track the success of your efforts so you can look at your success over time and tweak your strategy as necessary.
  5. Are you trying to be an island? This is a huge cause of entrepreneurial fear (and failure). You may be the biggest champion of your own idea, however, sometimes it’s good to bring a third party in to look at your strategy with an unbiased eye. You don’t have to hire someone to do your entire strategy and execution for you (your budget might not allow for that!) but you can work with a consultant or coach to make sure you are on the right track. Your hesitation in starting your marketing outreach could stem from not feeling confident in your strategy and this will help with that.

As a business owner you should always give yourself enough space to take a step back, take a deep breath, and get back to the basics of what makes your business a business – your idea, your goals and objectives, your brand story, and your target audience. As long as you have a good foundation in the basics, you can approach everything else with confidence.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: audience, behaviour, business idea, business plan, Candace Huntly, entrepreneur, Facebook, failure, fear, fear of failure, goals, Instagram, marketing, plan, Snapchat, Songbird Marketing Communications, tactics, target audience, Twitter

Dec 29 2014

Why We Keep Getting Limited Results, and What You Can Do Differently Starting Now in this Year!

yvonne

Have you ever wondered why you’re not getting the results you want despite doing your best or following the ‘guaranteed’ formulas and products everyone else is using and getting results?

Do you feel procrastination, lack of time, fear of failure or lack of finances is holding you back?

Or why when you have been working so hard to get promoted or kick-start your business idea, but still not happening?

Or you can’t seem lose weight and keep it off, yet others are experiencing great results?

It may not be what you think!

I too have struggled. I know the feeling. But thankfully my outcomes are now different because of the simple but foundational principles I was fortunate to apply, and I began to see fantastic outcomes; getting multiple promotions in my career, kick-starting my business and seeing the results and momentum build, and the hardest had to be losing up to 90lbs.

I have discovered from my life, and working with many individuals and organisations that a significant part of getting our desired results is not in finding the solution to the problem or knowing ‘how-to’, but lies with the person and mindset of the person who has the solution.

Have you heard the story of the two salesmen who were sent to a foreign place to sell shoes? The first salesman arrives and sees that nobody on the island wears shoes, and he immediately sends a message back to the office saying “Dead end. Nobody wears shoes here”. The second salesman arrives, sees the same situation and immediately sends a message back to the office saying “Magnificent opportunity! Loads of shoes to be sold”. What was the difference between these two salesmen? Mindset!

Yes, their mindset. Mindset is what differentiates two people with the same opportunity. Mindset is what allowed the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, Michael Jordan, President Barack Obama and Albert Einstein recognise opportunities that others did not, made them persist, and succeed in the face countless rejections, adversity and opposition. Mindset is also what finally allowed me achieve success using existing knowledge and ‘how-to’ information available in the public domain.

A right mindset is foundational to us getting and exceeding the outcomes we desire; it will turn things around and help us become creative in finding solutions to barriers such as procrastination, overcoming fear, finding the time and resources we need, and more.

In my book coming out soon on mindset, I go into more detail on mindset principles and examples that individuals like Walt Disney, Michael Phelps presently regarded as the greatest Olympian, and Nick Vujicic, born without arms or legs, have used to achieve significant success and how you also can easily apply these same principles to your specific situation and take your outcomes from good to great!

Please leave a comment below: Have you been successful in achieving your goals, what worked for you? Or what are you currently struggling with, and what barriers are you coming against?

Comment below. I would love to hear, discuss and share insights with you.

 

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on Changing your Mindset for greater results, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to provide the tools and help implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta · Tagged: adversity, Albert Einstein, business idea, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, career coach, entrepreneur, fear of failure, foundational principles, keep it off, kick-start, lack of finances, lack of time, lose weight, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, mindset, momentum, Nick Vujicic, OliveBlue Inc, Olympian, Oprah Winfrey, Persistence, President Barack Obama, principles, Procrastination, rejection, results, salesman, small business, small business owners, struggled, the office, the office saying, Walt Disney, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Stay Social with Canadian Small Business Women:

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Login

© Copyright 2012 Canadian Small Business Women · All Rights Reserved

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.