She's Just Getting Started ® - Tips for Starting a Business, Starting a Podcast, Strategies for Online Business

Ep 281: Ashamed your business isn't making enough money yet? Here's 3 steps to BREAK FREE!

• Kimberly Brock: Business Coach, Podcast Coach, Strategist

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In today's episode, I take you through how to stop the shame of not making enough money yet in your business. I know it can be very hard and even feel defeating not to make what you need, but today I'm sharing with you 3 steps to overcome the shame now! READ MORE HERE!

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Speaker 1:

Well, hello, friends. Now we're going to have some fun, so let's get started.

Speaker 2:

Well, hello friends, it's episode 281 and I am so glad that you are here today. We are talking about how to remove any and all shame that you may have that you're not making the revenue that you think you should be making. Today we're going to talk about this. So many of you feel like a loser because you're not making six figures or a million dollars or whatever. It is Okay, whatever you have in your brain and it's hurting your business and it's hurting how you approach your business every day. Today we're going to talk about it. You're going to stop doing this. By the end of it, you're going to see that this is not the way to approach your business every day. Today we're going to talk about it. You're going to stop doing this. By the end of it, you're going to see that this is not the way to approach your business. I'm going to give you three tips for fixing this now and realize that you should be proud of wherever you are at right now in terms of revenue for your business.

Speaker 2:

If you're new here, welcome. I'm so glad that you found this podcast. I have no doubt it's going to help you along your business journey, whether you are in the idea stage starting or growing. Maybe you're even starting a podcast. I'm so happy you're here. I have free resources for you. I almost said Reese's Pieces. I have free resources. I have free resources for you down below. So just scroll down in the show notes right now. So, like if you're on Apple Podcasts, like scroll down, like push on the little page, scroll down and you will see that I have a link over to my free tools. So, for example, if you're starting your business, I have a free 16 step checklist. If you're starting a podcast, I have a free training for you and there's other stuff all in between. So make sure you check it out, because I don't want you going about this alone or taking longer than it needs to take to reach your success. Okay, also, too, I have a free Facebook group called Women Starting Businesses Doing what we Love. I would love to have you in there. It's also for new podcasters as well. So if you're listening right now and you're like well, I haven't even really started my business, but when I have a podcast, make sure you get in that group, I'd love to have you. We have fun posts each week and you can ask questions or get help anytime.

Speaker 2:

So if you've been listening a while. Thank you so much to all my loyal listeners. Y'all are wonderful and kind and I'm so grateful for you. I'm so proud of you, each of you, for pursuing this dream that you have and listening to a podcast like this. And I'm sure you listen to others as well. Maybe you watch YouTube videos, maybe you listen to audiobooks, whatever it is. I'm so proud of you because you are seeking out how to make your life better and how to pursue your passion, and I think it's such a great example for all those around you and people that know you. So congrats, I'm so happy for you.

Speaker 2:

So if you are listening too and you realize, you know what I do find value in this podcast but I've never given it a review would you be so kind right now to hit the five-star rating? If you were in Apple Podcasts to hit five stars, and if you have 30 seconds or a minute to write a review, that would mean the world to me. I read each and every one of them and they make me so happy and I just appreciate them more than you ever know, and I can't help but think that Apple and Spotify see these reviews as validation that this podcast is great and to show it to other people just like you, who want to do what they love and make money doing what they love. So, anyways, if you can do that, for me that would be an awesome, awesome thing and that is it.

Speaker 2:

Okay, on to the episode. Well, hello friends. How are you? How's everything going in your business? I'm dying to hear. I need an update. If you're in our Facebook group, make sure y'all update me when of them are hard. I just think, though, that every opportunity that you can, you should be gleaning insights from everything that happens, good and bad. What did we do right? What could we have done better? What will we do different from now on? I'm just so happy for all of you. Y'all are all pursuing your passion, and I think it's just such a great thing you may have that your business isn't making a bazillion dollars.

Speaker 2:

I think so many of you do feel this. I mean, do you, do you feel ashamed that maybe you don't make as much money as you would love to be making Right, or that it's not making as much money as other entrepreneurs that you meet? Or even in any of my groups, in GrowGetters, or maybe in the new pod squad, you know people will be making more money than you, and it's a fact of life. You will never be the person that makes the most money. I think we've got to get rid of the shame surrounding it, because that's the problem. The problem is not that you're not making enough money or what you need to make. Okay, there's got to be strategies that you can put in place and you can do all of that. That is solvable, okay, it is solvable. What you have to do is take care of the mental side of this while you're on this journey and realize that there will be times that you aren't making the money that you feel like you should be making, and that's hard, y'all. It's so hard. I know the feeling. I've been there. I've been there in times with my other online boutiques. I had one called In this Very Room and one called Kids Are Fans Too, and if you've heard my story, you know all this, so I won't rehash it all. But there were years when I wasn't making as much money as I wanted, right, and the markets would shift and things would happen, and then I would put strategies in place and then things would get better, better. But it's hard because you now, in this world of, like social media and even group coaching programs, you are privy to what other people are claiming that they're making. I will say y'all.

Speaker 2:

I have heard so much about some of the big online coaches, I guess you could say, or just online businesses where they talk about all the money that they're making, and I think some of them are legit. I have no reason to doubt some of them, but others I keep hearing stories that you know I guess it's coaches, you could say. Or you know some of the entrepreneurs will say, oh, in my latest launch, or I did this and I made a million dollars and I made $500,000. But what they didn't tell you was they spent $800,000 on ads or they're losing money this round and hope to make it up next round. There's so much we don't know to make it up next round. There's so much we don't know. You may hear that a fellow grow getter or someone in the pod squad when we kick that off soon or in other coaching programs that you're in, are making a lot of money and what you have to do is realize that at that moment that they are in, at that stage of their business, they get to celebrate that and that's awesome, but in no way is that a reflection on you or what you are doing. Every person's path is different. Everyone's journey to their dream dollar amount is different. Everyone's situation is different. Everyone's time that you have in your life is different Y'all. There are so many factors it's not even funny.

Speaker 2:

Some businesses that I work with take years to get profitable, and that's okay. I need to look up. When did Amazon become profitable? Have I looked at this before with y'all when? Look, I'm Googling it right now. When did Amazon become profitable? Y'all are hearing me like real time here. First became profitable in 2003. But when did they start? It took 14 years to make a net profit. Now that's Amazon and they actually knew what they were doing. Right? They're a huge corporation. They knew it's going to take this many years. I'm sure they had that all figured out, that once they got the right customer base, once that hit, they were going to make a lot of profit, right? You just have to remember that every business is different.

Speaker 2:

Some of the clients that I work with, they are profitable out of the gate and usually and I've said this before, so y'all pay attention Usually it's because they already had a large network and they were somehow in this industry prior. They either worked for a company that did this or they worked you know, they were around people in this industry, or they're really connected. That's usually. I'm not saying that's 100%, but usually they were already connected to that industry because they worked in it or they were. They were well-networked within that type of industry and it was just easy Okay.

Speaker 2:

For a lot of y'all it's not like that. It takes a while to get this engine going, especially if you have a product or service that no one really knows that they need, and you have to do a lot of education. It takes a lot longer and the feeling when those businesses that took a long time to become profitable become profitable, it's the best. It is so worth celebrating because it took them a lot to get to that. So today we're going to talk about it because I want to remove any shame that you may be carrying, any pressure, any just like feeling of you're not good enough, that your business isn't good enough.

Speaker 2:

There's three things we're going to go through today and I hope this kind of talks you off the ledge. It makes you see that it's okay, like your situation is different and that you should not be ashamed. You should be actually extremely proud of where you are right now because you've learned lessons. You are learning lessons and you are being smart enough to be listening here today and to other people in your life, other mentors that you have or that you listen to online or YouTube or whatever. You are being smart enough and strategic enough to be aware of that and try to become better, and I'm so proud of you for that. But I want you to please own that for a minute. That it's amazing what you're doing and what you've accomplished. Okay, I know you need to make a certain amount of money, so I know you're sitting there going, yeah, that's great, but I need to make more money and that's fine, you can get there. But just know that everybody's journey is different. You absolutely cannot compare yours to anyone else's. So let's go through these. There's three tips that I'm going to give you today, and I really do hope that this changes your perspective and that you see that you can get there. It's just everybody's not on the same timing.

Speaker 2:

Okay, it's just like let me say this first of all, before these three things it's just like, if any of you have had kids, certain ones talk at different ages. Certain ones crawl at certain ages, certain ones you know, every kid is different exactly when they walk. I know my third child, ava, talked so early. It was unbelievable. I mean just really talkative, and I can't remember what the doctor asked me at like a year or maybe it was 18 months, like they had to say some certain amount of words and it was 10, whatever it was, it was like 10 words and I was like I literally counted the other day and it was over a hundred. Like she was just out of the gate, a quick talker. Okay, other kids are quieter longer. I had two other children that were more on the normal scale of when they talked. Does it mean anything? No, they're both, they're all three talking just fine. Today they talk rather well. Right, there's no problem with them talking, it doesn't matter. They got there but they were on a different timeline. Okay, so let's go through these three things. Y'all remember that Every kid is different. Okay, let's remove the shame.

Speaker 2:

Number one realize that you have to start at zero and actually a lot of us start at negative. We start at negative. I know when I started this business, y'all, I was starting up a coaching business and my podcast and I invested in a coach right at the beginning. I told y'all that for the first two months I had a coach for eight weeks straight and it was fantastic, but I had to invest in things and my equipment and coaching. And then I got in some other programs. I got in a podcasting program. I was starting at negative, so I wasn't even starting at zero, y'all. I was starting at negative and it took a while. It took a while to recoup that. I don't know exactly when I'd have to go look at all my data but it took a while, longer than I think I wanted, because I was so used to a product business where you could just like sell more products and do more things and do more shows and get more revenue. Like it was totally different than my other businesses. Like I have to actually sell myself and sell my services.

Speaker 2:

Everyone starts at a different number. Some business owners can literally start at zero, not invest in anything, and just start talking around and selling their services and start making money. Some have to invest a little bit maybe it's like $2,000 or $3,000, and they get sales right away and they already make their money back. Everybody's different. I started at way negative. I think I was closer to maybe negative like $5,000 or or 6,000 in the beginning. It might have been even more than that. Again, y'all, I'm getting amnesia and I can't remember. I'd have to look back, but this is just to make you feel good that we start at zero.

Speaker 2:

Some of you, as I said, are well-connected in your industry and you have the highest chance of making a profit really quick, and so some of those people out there will make money and if you're comparing yourself to them, when you have a totally different type of business that you have to educate people on or whatever it is, it's going to take a while and that's okay. That's amazing. You're putting your heart and soul into this, but everyone starts at zero. You learn how to ride a bike. You start at zero when you are running and you want to run a marathon. I mean, you started running at some point. Most people haven't been running their whole life, since they were little. They had to pick it up.

Speaker 2:

When I was in my 30s I was like 37 or 38, it was the first time that I was running a half marathon. It was after I had Ava, my third child, and me and my sister decided we were going to run a half marathon, and so I was like, oh my gosh, I can run like maybe a mile and I had to work up to that. It was really hard. I started at not totally zero, but it felt like zero. Right, we all start at a zero and it may take a few years for you to profit. Some of you, it may be the first year. Okay, your situation is different than the person's next to you, but we all start at zero.

Speaker 2:

When I started this business, I started with zero, everything Zero. Instagram followers, zero Facebook group members, zero email subscribers, zero speaking experience, zero podcasting experience, zero coaching experience. I started at zero, but I just kept going. I'm like here we go. Sorry, this is going to be the most painful part. It's literally the most painful part. If you get through the beginning, you're golden. So many people quit before they even start. Okay. So remember, you have to start at zero. Everyone does, okay, but you can't compare everyone else's, because some people are actually starting at negative, like I did, and some people are so well-connected that they make profit right away, okay. So that's number one, that you have to start at zero or even negative. You have to. That's what starting means.

Speaker 2:

Number two you are in a season of life that is determining what you have time and money for right now, and if you do not own that, you are hurting yourself, you are sabotaging yourself because you're in your mind, having this negative self-talk that your business isn't making enough and you're ashamed. And then, when I have coaching calls with you, I realize you hardly have any time. How the heck are you even doing what you're doing when you have a full-time job, you have kids and you fit this on the weekends. You are doing amazing. You have to fit this business in your unique season of life. Do y'all know my clients all have different seasons of life. People are different ages. Some are wanting to retire from their full-time job and do this business full-time. Some are working full-time, they have children and they are, you know, trying to do this on the weekends and they're helping with elderly family members. Some are new parents trying to juggle a baby, volunteering everything else that's going on in this business.

Speaker 2:

Your season of life is totally different than the person next to you. So if you are comparing yourself and feeling shame because your business isn't making the revenue theirs is again, you are unnecessarily self-sabotaging yourself. You are self-sabotaging because you're talking to yourself negatively about something that is a totally different situation. Their business is totally different than yours. They sell different stuff. They're a different season of life, they have different hours. They work the whole nine yards.

Speaker 2:

So what are you doing? What are you doing talking to yourself so negatively? Would you talk to a friend as negative as you talk to yourself? Like? Would you tell your friend like you do really stink? I mean, you are not making any money. And Jane Doe over here is making $10,000 a month with her product business and just because you have a service business and you have kids at home and you're working full-time, you should be making as much as her. And that is not necessarily true. Every, everyone's situation is different. Y'all, you're being so mean. You're being so mean to yourself. Give yourself some grace. Give yourself some grace.

Speaker 2:

You are in a season of life that is going to change, just like the seasons change, like right now we are embarking on spring. I can feel it. It's 70 degrees today. I'm so happy. I'm in the best mood. It's sunny. I'm like oh yes, here we come. Spring is near. Let's get excited. It's a new season. It's the same with your business. You will have a new season because you will have a different life state coming up. You also may pivot what you offer, and that will bring a new season. So there's a lot of things that bring new seasons and it's coming, but right now you're in a certain season. You got to hunker down, just like in the winter. Hunker down everybody, get ready. It's cold out, it's going to be cold. We're not going to make that much money, but we're going. We're doing this. We're doing what we can with what we can, while we can, when we can, with who we can. That's what we're doing.

Speaker 2:

You have to give yourself some grace and realize that you are in a specific season that will change, either due to external life situations or what you're actually offering. Give yourself some grace and stop being ashamed. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. It's not fair to you, it's not fair to business, it's not fair to the people that are waiting on you right now. Okay, let's get to number three. So number one was remember that everyone starts at zero, or even negative zero, like me. Number two you are in a certain season of life that will change, but we have to own this season of life.

Speaker 2:

Okay, number three you are admired more than people are looking down on you. Right? I don't know the best way to say that? You're admired more than you're being looked down upon. You're the one who's looking down upon yourself. I think people are admiring you. They're like look at her, go, she's pursuing her passion. She is trying to still be a great mother, a great wife, a great daughter, a great husband. You may be a man here listening and you're trying to run your full-time job and be a dad and start your business on the side. Kudos to you. This is amazing. You are being admired by the people around you. You don't even know it. You're the only one that's ridiculing yourself.

Speaker 2:

Other people are not going. Oh my gosh, he or she is just not making any money. I mean, how ridiculous to have a business that doesn't make money. That is not what people are saying. They don't know how much money you make. Okay, right now, at this season, early in your business, they don't know. All they know is you're going for it. You're pursuing your dream. You are helping people through a business, you are getting to use your creativity, you are making a difference in people's lives, you are impacting the world and you are on your way to making the money that you want to make.

Speaker 2:

Realize here that everyone has a different definition of what is a successful business in terms of revenue. Now we could go talk about on the tangent of what makes a successful business. It's not all about the money, and we know that. We're not talking about that today. I'm saying we all have a different yardstick.

Speaker 2:

Some people are excited with $500 a month. That's what I was excited for when I started my online boutiques. I'm like, literally, if I can profit $500 a month, I'm jumping up and down right. Then it got more and more as time went on. For you, it might be $1,000 a month is like amazing. $1,000 profit, it's awesome. Others of you it's $2,000. It's $4,000. It's $5,000. Maybe it's $10,000. That's what you need, right?

Speaker 2:

But you are admired not because of that money, because you're probably not walking around telling everyone or wearing a sign that says I'm only making this much money each month. I mean it might be freeing if we did. Actually, I'm sitting here thinking about it like wouldn't it be awesome? You just wearing to be like, yeah, this is what I'm making, but we're not. We're actually not. Nobody knows unless you tell them. And if you tell them and you say, yeah, I'm only making X amount a month, which they're going to be like that's amazing. It's more than they're making with a business because they don't have a business. Stop being ashamed of it. Start being strategic about how you're going to fix it, about how you're going to fix it. Stop being ashamed. Start being strategic about how you're going to make more.

Speaker 2:

But sometimes you just have a plan and it takes a while until it breaks. Sometimes it takes a few years. Amazon took 14 years, but they knew that. I know that. They knew that. I know that they knew maybe they reached it faster. Maybe they thought it was gonna be 20 years, maybe they thought it was gonna be 10 years and it was 14. I don't know, I'd have to read up on it. But my point is sometimes that's part of the plan, because you're having to switch people's behavior. You're having to change the way that they do something or to enlighten them on a new product. For a lot of you, if that's the case, it does take a while. Amazon was shifting everyone from going in stores and not trusting online at the time to start trusting this online source. That's going to get it to you really quick. They had to shift people's behavior.

Speaker 2:

If your business is shifting behavior or is introducing a new genre, a new type of product that people didn't know about, it takes a while. It takes a while and create a plan. Be strategic and say, by this time we should be profitable or we should be making X amount, but don't be ashamed of it. People are looking at you right now going, how awesome is he or she that she had the wherewithal and the tenacity to pursue a business. I wish I could start my business, but I'm scared. I guarantee you that's what people are saying. They have so much fear around starting a business because they don't know what. We know that you can start super simple, super easy, super low cost. If you would like to, there are ways I can help you and you can get going. And it's not that scary. You're not. You're not mortgaging your home, you're not taking out a half a million dollar loan if you're doing it this way. And you're not opening a store. Y'all know I never opened a store, so I don't know what all that takes.

Speaker 2:

But my point is you are being admired more than you are being judged, and I think you think you're being judged. You're actually being admired by your family members, by your spouses, not spouses. Do you have multiple spouses? You know what I mean? I'm saying all of you, your spouses. Hopefully, you only have one spouse, each Right family members. You are being admired by friends, colleagues and other entrepreneurs that you bless with your presence. I can't tell you how awesome it is in my group coaching programs to see other entrepreneurs help other entrepreneurs and support them and motivate them. It has been the most amazing thing to watch.

Speaker 2:

You are admired for what you are doing. So stop judging yourself. People are not judging you. People are not judging you. They admire you for this. So let's review Y'all. Stop the shame. Tell yourself that you're going to stop the shame today about not making whatever revenue you think you should be making.

Speaker 2:

Number one everybody starts at zero. They really do At some point. You start at zero. Number two you are in a specific season of life that will change and you're actually in a specific season of your business that may change as well. And number three you are being admired. You are not being judged, and if you're being judged, you don't need those people anyways. I guarantee you the people around you admire you so much. I'm so proud of you.

Speaker 2:

Stop focusing on the exact number. It's like focusing on the weight on a scale when you weigh yourself. It's stupid. Your self-worth is not based on that. You have got to just focus on strategy instead of the shame, and I'm telling you you will reach your goals. You will get there If you're smart about it. You have mentors and you're doing the right things.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I'm so excited for you. I'm so glad you're here. Thanks so much for being with me. Make sure, if you are looking to start a podcast or maybe you've just started yours, you're starting yours now and you want it to grow your business, but you also want to transform lives with your podcast, whether it be in a fun way or a serious way make sure you get on the waitlist for my PodSquad, because right now, I'm going to be starting a beta program, which is group coaching for those of you that are adding a podcast to your business, so you can get it growing that way instead of having to rely on social media or other ways. So I'm so excited for you. Scroll down in the show notes, do that. Get my free tools if you're new here as well, and I can't wait to meet you and hear about your business.

Speaker 3:

So that's it. Y'all have a great day and until next time bye now and until next time, bye now. Now this episode may be over, but our relationship does not have to end here. Head on over to KimberlyBrockcom and, yes, you can get more valuable information for your journey and you know what. You don't need to go through this alone. I would love to help you. Thank you so much and have a great day. Bye.