3 Common Excuses People Use To Limit Their Business Success

Excuses people use to limit their business success

In the online hustle and bustle of the business world, it could be easy to get lost in a sea of competitors. It’s also easy to make excuses for what might not be working. Then hideout behind those excuses and no longer serve yourself or your clients.  Frequently people put in barriers to limit their business success.  Here we look at the reasons people use to limit their success.

Why you should listen to me

What makes me an expert? Well, I’ve had my business for eleven years as an online business manager and virtual assistant. In 2013, I received a diagnosis of abductor spasmodic dysphonia.   This is a condition that is neurological in origin and life-altering in its effects. In short, the state has rendered my voice nearly inaudible.  It has left me unable to do so many day-to-day tasks that a business owner requires, such as using the phone or speaking and being heard when out and about running errands.

Indeed, I could have made excuses for myself and stuck my head in the sand and given up.  However, that’s not who I am as a person. Instead, I dug deep and found alternative methods to operate my business, attract clients and be in the flow of abundance of the new business model that I work for. I began to understand the excuses people use to limit success when it comes to business.

Three excuses people use to limit their success

I’m going to briefly share three excuses I could have made along the way.  Instead, I busted through to the other side to find peace, calm, and happiness. Not to leave you an illusion of a false sense of security, I certainly still have challenges and have bad days. That’s not what this is about. This is more fundamentally about not throwing in the towel when you feel all hope is lost.

1. I’m different. Why would someone want to do business with me?

And let me clarify here – maybe you’re feeling like you’re different and not in a good way. We’re all different. We’re all unique and individual. I believe all of our quirks, nuances and idiosyncrasies make us the beautiful beings that we are. Whether a business owner, a homemaker, a direct seller or a high-powered corporate executive. I believe this quote sums it up best:

“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God”. – Leo Buscaglia

I share that because I think we sometimes tend to hide part of ourselves in the business world.  If we’re spiritual, we shy away from sharing that when wearing our “business hat.” I think it’s a true disservice to each of us individually and to your connection to your higher power, whatever you may call it.

How to know?

How do you know if you’re hanging out in this excuse? Take a look at your calendar.  How many networking functions have you been to in the last 30 days? How many new client appointments have you had? Are you willing to release yourself from the outcome of needing to keep everything separate for the sake of feeling like you might offend someone? In truth, everywhere you are holding yourself back by not being 100% authentically, beautifully YOU, you are not serving yourself, your clients or anyone.

2. It’s too hard

So my first question here is, “really?” When you got into the business, did someone tell you it would be easy? You’ve heard the saying anything worth doing is worth doing, right, haven’t you? Several years ago, I had the fortunate opportunity to see Zig Ziglar speak at a conference I attended. I remember him sharing, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”.  He let this what seemed like 5-minute pause lapse before he finished by saying, “Until you can learn to do it well.”

Wow. That was potent stuff. I remember that being something that helped me start turning the brain-washed ways that I had been hearing how “I should run my business” to being flexible and ok with the fact that I might not know how to do something flawlessly yet – and that’s ok. Now I embrace the fact that some things still go out and have a mistake in them. Alternatively, I send a newsletter to the wrong list. And that’s ok.

Finding a way that works

As I have grown my business every year: In particular, since 2013 with my vocal disorder, I have continued to grow my business. I found innovative and new ways to meet with clients. For example, instead of meeting by phone, I now use Skype and Google Hangout.  I type while the other person talks, and it works well. I’m pretty expressive, so I have learned that I don’t need my vocal cords to help me express and articulate feelings or emotions – my body language, facial expressions, and hand gestures help me do that. This wasn’t something that happened overnight; it took trial and error.

And you know what else? It has helped me understand who I am meant to work with and who I am not. When someone introduces me to a colleague or friend of theirs, I immediately explain my condition and explain that communication with me is different from how they may be used to working. It’s been a beautiful experience, and I am so grateful, honestly, that my condition has forced me out of the box of “what used to work is no longer working” and has supported me in finding new and fun ways that are working.

So I ask you – where are you afraid to fail? Where do you hold yourself back from your true brilliance? Where could you let go and have fun with the process, knowing that “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly — until you can learn to do it well?”

3. No one will support me

This is one I hear A LOT. This is a fundamental issue of confidence. It starts with believing in yourself. Think back to when you were incredibly confident about something; everyone was instantly drawn to you and wanted to hear all you had to say about that particular topic? As it relates to your business, YOU are the expert at what YOU do. Your clients are drawn to work with you for your expertise and experience when working with you.

Be yourself

When you begin believing in yourself, others will start to support you and believe in you. It may be an initially arduous journey, but trust me when I tell you that this one begins as an inside job. You have to support yourself, believe in yourself and know that you deliver an excellent client experience every time – and that’s why new clients are attracted to you and why existing clients stay on to work with you. Oscar Wilde shares this beautifully in his quote:

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”.

You don’t have to do business like everyone else. When you do that, you’re not of service to you or your clients. You are out of alignment with what is authentically you.

To drive this point home, I’ll share that when people learn about my condition, they have strange reactions (from questions like like “is it contagious?” to comments like “I bet your husband likes it”)…and I have shared with some people that the condition hasn’t affected my false vocal cords, which are those that are used to sing. On several occasions, people have shared that I ought to sing everything in conversation, which feels entirely unauthentic for me. Maybe because I’ve never been a singer, perhaps it’s because I’m uncomfortable thinking of how others would perceive me singing all the time…and ultimately, I remember that I am living authentically as me, believing in myself where I am right now, and that’s all I can ask for of myself.

Take some time to debunk your excuses.

So there you have it. I’ve heard three common excuses people use to limit their success over the last few years while growing my business without practical use of my speaking voice. I encourage you to embrace whichever excuse you have been clinging to, get to know it – ask it questions and then gently and gracefully kick it to the curb because it isn’t serving you or your business. You were put on the planet to make a difference, and your business is one way you’ve chosen to do that. So no more holding back and subscribing to the excuses people use to limit their success.  OK? I believe in you. Do you believe in yourself?