Ep 124: 3 Biggest Mistakes Crushing Your Growth

Join LET'S GO GIRLS, my space for daily audio trainings, lessons, strategy and more here.

Join us inside the TRENDSETTER UNIVERSITY here.

Follow the Ali Dee on TikTok and Instagram @ali.dee.ceo

Transcript

Welcome And Why Growth Stalls

0:00

All right, everybody, welcome to the Ali D Show. I am so excited for today's episode. This is going to be a good one. I have been seeing some mistakes popping up time and time and time again, and I have written down what I believe are the three biggest mistakes that I see on repeat that boutiques and brands are making that is crushing your growth. So that's what we're gonna break down on today's podcast, and I'm so excited to share this with you. We were just talking about this inside our Trendsetter University Zoom call today. I literally live for helping you guys. Like, I live for this. I am, like, so obsessed with this. My clients always laugh at me, 'cause I'm like, "Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your journeys." I know so many of you listen to this podcast, and maybe you haven't DM'd me yet, or you haven't joined Trendsetter University, and you're just out there kinda like, "Oh, I don't know." I love that this podcast even has a chance to help you. And I have gotten DMs. I, I just got one this past weekend, where literally all she's been doing is listening to this podcast and implementing everything I'm teaching, and she's seen her engagement go up, her sales go up, and everything. And so this, this stuff is so powerful for you, you guys. So please, when you're listening to these podcasts, not to get dramatic or to be too bossy on here, don't just listen to these and let them go in one ear and out the other. Listen and take action, okay? That is the biggest thing I want you to know about these podcasts. And listen to them over and over again. Like, that's how you actually get to absorb this information. And so, um, I'm really excited about today's episode though, because I just think this is gonna be one for the books, because I want you guys to understand that these mistakes I'm seeing over and over and over and over again, so we can squash them, so we do no long- so we no longer do these, and we actually put our effort into things that are gonna make us money. Who wants to do that instead? Raise your hand. Me. Okay.

Mistake One, Too Many Priorities

1:55

So the first big mistake that I see that happens in our, in our industry, the retail industry, the brands, the boutiques, the girlies trying to sell your products, whether it's in person or online, this is one of the, the biggest mistakes that I see. Trying to learn and master a zillion things at once Okay, how many of you out there just went, "Yep, that's me"? And I totally get it. This is like the mind of a high-achieving woman. We think we're gonna learn it all and do it all and get r- quick results from it all because we are amazing, and we put in all the effort, and we deserve results. The cold, hard truth is though I, I, I, I love your effort, I love your vibes, this is not how it's actually going to make an impact on your business, and this is why so many business owners don't grow. Because they are stuck trying to do a million zillion different things at once. Do you guys hear that little kitten? Hold on. Let me... I have one of my little kittens in here with me. He's gotten locked into the podcast room, and he is not happy about it. So if he meows again, I will let him out. But he's... I don't know. He's disappeared under the rocking chair. So trying to learn and master a zillion things at once is so common, but it will 1,000,000% crush your growth. Because what it does is you will end up spreading yourself way too thin trying to do a million things and getting crappy results doing all the things, and that is not a fun place to operate from. It is very discouraging and disappointing and... Oh, you wanna go back out? You wanna go out? Look, I'm gonna try to get him, and he's gonna... Here, let me just, let me just open the door. Hold on, guys Open the door a little bit so now he can go outside. This is real life, okay? This is real-life podcasting. But when you're trying to do so many things, and this is the exact trap that I felt it- that I fell in, and this is why I know that this happens, and then I see this with my clients all the time, and I see it with high-achieving women that I coach all the time, and I'm like, "Okay, we cannot master a million things at once." As hard of a pill that may be to swallow, you are not going to get good at TikTok, and Facebook ads, and SEO, and product descriptions, and master Shopify, and master email marketing, and get... figure out Pinterest. Like, you're not gonna do it all at once. And by you trying to do it all at once, you are crushing the growth of your business. Instead, what I'd rather you do, and what will actually help you grow, is focus on getting good at just a few things at first. Oh my gosh, I know. Ring the alarm. Some of you are like, "No, I, I don't wanna do a few things. I wanna do everything." I get it. I'm the same way. But I'm telling you that's not how you're gonna have success, and it's not how you're gonna see growth. So instead, like I said, get really good at doing a few things. Go, "You know what? I'm gonna master, like, Facebook. That feels really good to me. My customers are already on there. I'm growing an audience. I'm gonna learn Facebook and email, and, like, I'm gonna get good at both of those." And then maybe after that, you add TikTok. Maybe after that, you start going live. Maybe after that, you add in the little, like, SEO vibes in your product description, right? But you cannot do it all at the beginning. Y- like, y- the thing about business is you get good at some things, and you learn as you grow. And that's the most important thing. It's not mastering everything at once. That, that's literally impossible. It's literally impossible. So can we just let go of that idea? So for you, what are those few things that you're like, "Okay, you know what? I have been very scatterbrained. I have been spreading myself too thin. I have been all over the place. Where do I think I can make the most impact?" And I usually tell my clients to start with what they're most comfortable with first. Like, don't go in on, all in on TikTok if it feels super weird to you. If Facebook feels, like, more comfortable, let's go there. Let's feel good about that. So that's always where I, like, lead from. There's some basics you need to have in place, like you need to have your, your email marketing down, and you need to have a presence on social media. But you're in the driver's seat. You get to decide where you want your presence based on your skill and your comfort level first. And then we can add from there. And once you master content on one platform, it's pretty much similar on other platforms. We just change the format a little bit. But the idea and the strategy still is pretty close to being the exact same thing, and it will feel so much easier. And guess what the best part is? You're gonna make way more money when you do this. Like, way more. I have clients that are so all over the place when they come to me, and I'm like, "Okay, where are the sales actually coming from?" We look, and I go, "Let's just focus on that for the next four to six weeks." And then all of a sudden, their sales skyrocket because it feels good for them. They have momentum. They can show up. They, they don't feel, like, that pressure of, like, having to be perfect. They, they, they, they can actually create momentum for their business. When you focus your energy, this is where you will see success, but you have to learn how to focus your energy. You cannot be all over the place. You cannot try to learn a z- and master a zillion different things, okay? So that's the first one I wanna talk about, the first big mistake. The second

Mistake Two, Generic Branding Loses Everyone

7:26

one, this is probably actually the biggest mistake that I see across the board. You're being too generic with your branding and your content because you're worried you won't reach enough people. You're worried that if you get specific or you start talking to one person, you're gonna eliminate or alienate 99% of the population, and you're gonna think, "Well, those people could, could maybe possibly buy from me. Why would I wanna alien- alienate them? I wanna have a big, huge customer base. I want my boutique to be famous. I want my brand to be famous, and the way I get famous is by having, you know, mass appeal." Ugh, that is absolutely wrong, and it is a massive mistake. If you are generic, you will literally reach no one, especially online. Generic is the straight path to the content graveyard because that's not how these algorithms work. That's not how marketing works, okay? People aren't generic. People are specific humans that have specific lifestyles and have specific things that appeal to them. So you need to pick who is your person, who is your customer that you can most likely appeal to? Usually, it starts with who you are as a business owner, right? What is your lifestyle? That's typically like, especially when you're like an entrepreneur that ha- doesn't... You know, you haven't been in the game very long and you don't really understand sales and marketing that well, you can always look to yourself as your best example at first. Why did you start your business? What are the problems that you have? What are the things that your business helps solve? What type of lifestyle do you live? You know, are you a mom? Are you retired? Are you, you know, in your like college years where you're partying? I don't know, probably not if you're listening to this podcast. But we're all in different places in our lives, and the way that we can appeal to our customers is by connecting with them and it's almost like an I see you, I get you mentality. When you're generic, nobody feels seen and nobody feels like they get you, and that is a recipe for disaster. You will see no growth. So you've got to get clear and speak to your customer. This is one of the biggest foundations in business. For example, I am creating a new brand right now. It's called Club Game Day. The first thing I did was figure out who the customer is, like before I even had a T-shirt or sweatshirt or anything for sale. Who am I delivering the product to? 'Cause every single question, every single thing that comes up will go back to that as the answer. So for you, the products you make, the products you curate, the products you sell, how you speak to your customers, your marketing language, what platforms you're on, what your social media looks like, what you're saying, like everything goes back to that question being a definitive answer. If that is not a definitive answer, you will not see the success that you want Period. I don't wanna be dramatic about it, but it's the fricking truth, right? Like, my whole goal here with this podcast is to give you guys the truth, the information. Then you can do with it as you please. If you say, "Okay, maybe she's right. I don't know. I'm gonna keep being generic," fine. Let's see what happens six months from now. You're still gonna be in the same place with no growth. I love you, but I don't want that for you. I would rather you go, "This is literally exactly how to do it. I have to figure out who my customer is, and I have to stop being generic with my branding and my content. I cannot be worried anymore that I'm not gonna reach, quote, unot- quote, unquote, 'enough people.' I have to go all in on who I think is going to be my customer." This is what you need to say to yourself, okay? It is going to be the absolute best way for you to see growth, and fastest growth. Like, once you switch to this, everything's gonna feel easier, faster, more connected. It's gonna make sense, all the things. But if you stay stuck in, like, the, "Uh, I don't know. I don't- I can't figure out who my customer is. I don't know who my customer is," you will never be able to grow like you're supposed to, and people won't see your products that are supposed to see them, which would be a big fricking bummer, 'cause I'm sure your products are absolutely the cutest things on the planet, or the best things on the planet. We want people to be able to see them, okay? So get this part figured out. The third

Mistake Three, Quitting Before Traction

11:55

mistake... Oh, gosh. Okay, this is a big one You tend to disappear when you don't get immediate results or immediate satisfaction from whatever action you took. Okay? I see this all the time. You post a few times on social media, you don't get the results, you disappear. You post a product, it doesn't sell, you never speak of it again. You send an email, no one buys, you think it's a failure and it's never gonna work. Listen, guys, the cold, hard truth is you have to do these actions over and over and over again, months, even years sometimes, okay, before you start seeing the traction that you want So you cannot think, "Oh, I'm just gonna post a product once," or, "I'm just gonna show up here. I'm gonna try something and give up in a month." Like, it's not gonna work in a month. And I... Like, this is the annoying thing to me on social media, not to go on a rant here, but people are selling you these quick fixes, and it's not reality. Like, this is not how this works. And I just want you guys to understand, like, I'm speaking the truth here that you need to know that things are not gonna get fixed in your business because you tried something for a month. So is it helpful for you to have the right strat- strategy? Yes. And the right actions? Of course. I don't want you doing the wrong things over and over and over and thinking that you're gonna get results, right? Which a lot of you are in that position, which all it means is you just have to learn the right thing. It's not, it's not be dramatic about it. You don't have to shut down your doors or, like, quit or think everything's a failure. You just need the right strategy over an extended period of time. And you know what the funny thing is? Is eventually it starts to feel like almost so simple that it's like, "Is this really all it takes?" But you have to see the proof. I get it. Like, everyone wants to see the proof that it's gonna work, but you cannot get the proof without actually doing the process. So you cannot do something for a few days or once or try something for a month or two and then think it's not going to work. You have to be in it for the long haul. You have to understand that this takes time, okay? You're asking people to give you your cr- to give you their credit card information. It takes time. Almost 99% of people do not buy the first time they find you. Like, that's not a stat I'm making up. That's real life. Like, that's literally real life. 99% of people that find you will not buy from you the first time they find you They're gonna have to hear from you again, and again, and again. I was just saying this morning in my Trendsetter University call that I have a customer that was on my email list for a year before she purchased. Okay? So give yourself a little bit of time here. Stop needing the adrenaline and the dopamine of an immediate result to feel like it's successful, because that's not how it works. You have to be in it for the long haul. You cannot disappear when things feel hard or you feel like you're not getting, you know, whatever, you know, ego hit that you wanna get. And listen, I'm saying this from a loving place because I'm talking to myself here too. I was like this. I thought, "Oh, well, if it's not working, it's not working. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Get all up in my head about it. And then I realize, no, actually... I, and, and you, and you might, you might... The funny thing is, is you might even see results, but they're not exactly what you want them to be yet, so you still go, "Oh, I don't know if this is working," 'cause I've been there too, when I'm like, "Oh, okay, well, it kind of worked. Okay, well let's, let's see if we can, we can get it to really work." And nine times out of 10, the more time and effort you give something, the better it's going to work out for you. And so I don't want you to stop doing things that could actually have incredible potential to really give you a lot of success, and you stop doing them way too prematurely This would be horrible. Do you guys know that meme where it's like the guy with the pickaxe and he's in his tunnel, he's trying to find gold, and he's got this long, like tunnel that he's been pickaxing at trying to get to the gold, but right before he gets to the gold, he gives up and he turns around and walks out of the tunnel? That's how this is. Literally that... Welcome to business. You're at... You're with your fricking pickaxe every single day underground in a tunnel, and you're just making little, little tiny strides, little tiny stri- You can't see. You don't know where the gold is. But you know that if you, if you eventually continue on, you're gonna get to where you wanna be and you're gonna see the success, you're gonna find the gold. This is how it is with business, okay? So do not turn around in that fricking tunnel too early. Get yourself some snacks, get a fun beverage, and know that you're gonna be in that tunnel for a while. I love the imagery of that. Okay,

The Three Fixes To Commit To

16:49

so these, these are the three mistakes I want you to think about. And I don't want you to just listen to this podcast, and then, like have this go in one ear and out the other. I want you to really think about these things, okay? Stop trying to learn and master a zillion things at once. That's the number one mistake. Number two: stop being too generic with your branding and your content because you're worried that you're not gonna reach enough people, okay? Get specific with that. And number three: stop disappearing when you don't get immediate satisfaction. Stop posting and ghosting. Stop selling a product, just talking about it once, and then disappearing. The more you talk about it, the more you go all in on what you should be doing for the longer amount of time, the better your results are gonna be, right? That's why I have $100,000 months. It's not because I just showed up and hit the fricking jackpot. I've been doing this for years and years and years, and it compounds. And this is why our sales are fricking amazing, at least I think it's amazing, because I have allowed myself to stay in the game long enough to see these results. But what if I would've quit in the first year or the second year when things were not like this? When I was doing like 2K in sales per month, right? I never would've allowed myself to get to the point of where the gold is. Now I'm planning a vacation next month. I'm gonna take my kids to like this fancy-ass Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to say ass. This fancy cabin. We're gonna have like the time of our lives. I'm gonna, you know, get like the nicest cabin I can find. Like, I get to do all this stuff that's so super fun now because I put my time and effort into the long game, and that's all this is All right, you guys. I

How To Reach Me And Next Steps

18:37

love, love, love hearing from you. Thank you, by the way, for those of you that DM'd me last week that listened to the podcast and were like, "Hey, I wanna say hi." I love when you guys say hi. So please DM me on Instagram, ali.d.ceo. Tell me about yourself and your business. Say hello. This community is really for you. It's for all of you to see growth and success and confidence so you can actually build the business that you've always dreamt of building, 'cause you deserve it. We just gotta get you a little strategy. We gotta get your head in the game. We gotta get you on the right path. All right, talk to you next time