I’ve been sharing with you some common Mindset Traps that keep entrepreneurs from having a business that makes them happy and profitable.  Trap #1 was “I have to do it all myself” and Trap #2 was “People won’t pay higher fees.”  Let’s look a little deeper and finish off our list…

#3 – Everyone already knows this
Oh, the dreaded, “What makes me so special” mindset trap. Just because things come easy to us or we do it naturally, we can’t believe that people would value it, or even need it. The key trap here is that you are undervaluing what you bring, thinking that since it’s so easy or natural for you, or maybe Tony Robbins talked about it on a tape years ago that what you offer is old news! Not true my friend…..But believing this will cause you to pull back, dim your light and not stand in the place of being the rock star that you are.

#4 –It needs to be perfect
Guess what…the folks who struggle with #1 almost always struggle with this one as well. I had a coach once who said these three magical words: DONE IS GOOD! Meaning, just get it done and out and refine later. But the mindset trap that we sometimes fall in is those little places where we don’t quite feel good enough on the inside, so if our stuff on the outside is perfect, then maybe no one will know. This isn’t to say that you should do schlocky work, but the trap here is that I see too many entrepreneurs holding their ideas back and refining, refining, and refining because secretly they are afraid it’s not good enough. The trap is that they think they are working on something, but the reality is that they are scared to get it out in the world. Next issue we’ll talk about what criteria to use to blast thru this monkey in your mind problem.

#5 – I don’t have enough _______ to make this a successful business
Oh, if I had a dollar for every time a client tried to justify their not being able to grow more because they didn’t have enough education, training, money, help, etc……

Mostly this trap comes from the underlying (and often unconscious belief) that we aren’t quite enough. This looks like the person who says, “If I just go to one more work shop, or read one more book, or follow so and so’s new blueprint, THEN I’ll be ok.” See the trap?

It’s like we are running on the hamster wheel, always going, but not getting anywhere because that bugger of “who I am isn’t good enough, so something outside of me will fix this.” I was shocked to hear that Ted Turner (the gazillionaire) never felt like his accomplishments were good enough. So he did more and more, purchased more and more, and then realized that inside this mogul was a scared little boy who really just wanted to please his dad, and he never could. By realizing that, he was able to stop the ‘chase’ of this feeing and finally just be content with what he had.

There ya go. Five mindset traps. And in the next weeks I’ll give you the solutions. In the meantime, feel free to post on my blog (http://www.happyinbusiness.com/blogfree-articles/) your comments and any additional traps you see.

Blessings,

Therese.

Last post I described an all-too-common scenario. A fellow business owner spent a fortune on the “necessities” of building her business (website, branding, top-level coaching, etc.) only to be frustrated because she had not dealt with the mindset issues that were holding her back.

Here are 2 of 5 Entrepreneurial Mindset Traps you must overcome to enjoy the success you’re looking for in your business.

#1 – I have to do it all myself
Raise your hand if you are a first born child. For most of us (me included) the role of being first born makes us the natural choice to be at risk for this mindset trap. If you have ever refused help, hated to ask for support, or just were frozen at the idea of you not being in charge of everything, you qualify. It’s pretty standard in the entrepreneurial psyche by now, but Michael Gerber in his classic book EMyth Revisited tells of the three roles that a business has to have in order to run – the technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur. Often in start up phase we are all things because there is no cash flow. But if you are a few years into your business and still doing your own books, we have to talk!

Let me give you an example. I was at an event where the keynote speaker sat next to me and shared that on Sundays she always did her bookkeeping. Here she was positioning herself as a rock star in her area, but had huge trust and delegation issues, so took the whole day on Sunday to do something that she could have outsourced easily. On stage she was selling $25,000 programs, but I could see huge reasons why her business didn’t work (nor her sales) because of this pattern of having to do it all herself. For me her presentation was an integrity disconnect because she was teaching people how to be powerful in one area, but in her own business she was defaulting to some old patterns. (And again, no judgment here because we all have some of this.)

#2 – People won’t pay higher fees

This is a revenue killer. It happens when a business owner is well meaning and tends to look at a prospective clients financial situation and decides for them what they can do and cannot do. Part of it is from a place of compassion, but it may come from poor boundaries, care-taking, or even the reality that YOU wouldn’t pay higher fees. It also could come by not having a clearly defined niche because if you are working right, your people will pay for what you offer. Good marketing, clarity on your value and who you serve best are the key here, but until you get this, the cost of this mindset trap is that you are under charging, under earning, or possibly working with people who aren’t your idea market because of the fee structure. The truth is that while the economy is sluggish, there are lots of people still spending lots of money! In a few weeks, I’ll show you how to shift your mindset to start getting more comfortable asking for your slice of the pie.

Do these sound familiar?  Keep an eye out for my next post where I’ll share the final 3 Traps.

Blessings,

Therese