7 REASONS YOUR HOLISTIC BUSINESS
HASN'T TAKEN OFF YET
Written by Angel Quintana Photo: Laura Jade Stone
It's those days when you're doubting your business you wish you had that trusty crystal ball to tell you WHEN your business is finally going to explode! Am I right? We start Googling key phrases like, "business astrology" or "how to get more customers fast" and perhaps even invest a measly $47 for a psychic to give us some much needed hope. I get it. We've all been there. And it does provide temporary relief.
So what is the real reason your business hasn't taken off yet, and where the heck are all those customers!? So here it is: the 7 real reasons you're business isn't growing and why new customers aren't knocking on your door with their credit cards in hand.
You don’t write enough emails
I know, this sounds absolutely absurd because let's face it-- who doesn't get enough email? We're all drowning in unread emails in our inbox, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about here. Drumming up new business means you're meeting new people: online and offline. The best part about meeting new people (and the part that actually produces results) is the follow-up email where you set-up a time to chat. When is the last time you set up a time to go to coffee or speak via Skype about potential business opportunities? If it's been awhile, it's time to pony up.
Here's a helpful suggestion:
Write at least 20 emails per day to potential business opportunities or follow-up with prospects. Yup, you heard me right-- 20 emails per day. And no, setting-up a facial at Burke Williams doesn't count.
You don’t know who your Kismet Client is
This seems like a no-brainer, but a lot of business owners are spending money on advertising and tons of time social media, but are they marketing to the right customer. The majority of us are not being specific enough when it comes to marketing to our ideal customers (or what we refer to as a Kismet Client®). We are thinking about people like they are walking around with a dollar bill sign on their back instead of treating like a human being. Before you can get your business to take-off, you've got to nail down who your Kismet Client is -- not just some demographic who likes Mind Body Green Facebook page. There are layers you need to uncover in order to truly understand the pain point of your ideal customer and what they are already purchasing to try and get their problem solved. Make sure you've spent enough time really understanding who this person really is before you spend hours scrolling Twitter or creating beautiful advertisements in Canva.
You keep “rebranding”
As if I haven't heard this one a thousand times before... Everyone seems to think that "rebranding" is going to solve their slow rise to fame; I assure you it isn't. Just because you pretty-up your website or create a new color story or get new head shots, doesn't mean the customers are going to pour in or your business will magically take-off. Not a fat chance. The truth is, you have to be consistent in your branding and changing it up all the time is just like starting over. Yup, you heard me right; it's like starting from scratch. So the next time you're bored because your business isn't taking off and revamping your website (logo included) to hopefully attract more customers, stop yourself in your tracks and then go back to Tip #1 and start writing some emails instead.
You have commitment issues
One day you want to sell relationship coaching and the next day you want to have a nail polish line-- well, which one is it? It's not that you can't have a nail polish line and be a relationship coach, but every time you start a new project or want to create a new product, that just screams, "I have too much time on my hands". I call it busy work. Get your first product off to the races and THEN start that nail polish line. Trying to get one product to sell like hot cakes is hard enough, throwing in a brand new product just because it sounds like a good idea is really just deterring you from finishing what you started: project #1. When in doubt- go back to writing emails.
You don’t have a strategic plan
Come on, let's be honest. You've thrown a few pieces of shit at the wall just to see if it would stick, am I right? It's okay, it happens when we're just getting started in business. We don't really have a strategic plan in place, so we do the best we can with what "we think we know" about marketing: posting all over social media, writing blog posts, and offering free discovery sessions. But that's not really a plan-- that's a hope for the best strategy, which really isn't a strategy at all. As I teach in The Academy, there is a 4-layer strategy funnel to winning over customers and every business is different. The next time you go to write an article or make a YouTube video, ask yourself: "What is my strategy for turning this content into a paying customer?" If you can't answer that, don't bother creating it. If you need help creating the right strategy for your business, check out the orientation for The Academy-- you'll hear how many of our students are creating their master plans inside the certification program, where strategy is the name of the game!
You have too many products
When you first launched your business you feared you didn't have enough "products" on your site to feel like a legitimate business, so you created a whole bunch of products. The problem is, the way the internet is going to whole "ADD TO CART" idea is becoming a thing of the past and long sales pages? Well, they better be standing on their own without any distractions from menu tabs and they BETTER have great sales copy. Otherwise, you're going to need a nifty sales funnel to do your heavy lifting for you. It's best to showcase the #1 product you want your customers to start with and then gradually (over time) introduce your other products. Don't bother having a collection of products on your website and expect that people will click on them and buy them. I assure you they will not.
People don’t understand what you do
The last time you went out and some random person asked you what you do for a living, were you a deer in headlights? Did you say something out loud that kinda didn't make sense? Did the person go a little cross-eyed? At least you tried, but now it's time to try harder. If you find yourself giving long, drawn out descriptions to strangers that are interested in knowing what it is you do for a living and you notice their attention span starting to drift, it's time to start practicing and STOP winging it. It makes you sound like an amateur and no matter how little you charge, no one wants to hire or spend money on a product or service that is half-baked.
It hasn’t been 7 years
Okay, so here's the real reason you business hasn't taken off! Are you ready? Firstly, many years ago I was reading an interview with Gwen Stefani (it was probably over 2 decades ago), but it was an interview I will never forget. When No Doubt hit the music industry they weren't an overnight success, but there was one forecast front woman Gwen Stefani received from a music industry professional and it went something like this, "You're going to be wildly successful, but it's going to take 7 years." Why is this important? Clearly, you may not be a ska female singer with abs to kill, but the moral of the story is success takes time. All those internet marketers who are selling you KOOL-AID on how they earned $149,000 in a day (which may or may not be true) have been doing their business for at least 7 years! So why in the world are we expecting to be an overnight sensation when the majority of us have only been in business for under 5 years-- myself included?
In closing, if you've reached the end of this article and you're having a few epiphanies, I know you're an over-achiever and you have some serious goals you're looking to achieve. It's now time to refine (NOT REBRAND) your business and hold your head up high and let time work it's magic. Keep doing what you're doing, only make it better-- streamline and setup your sales funnels with a strategy that has been well-thought through.
And when you're feeling down or impatient as hell, join us in The Club to grab a dose of inner wisdom from one of our holistic lifestyle classes. And remember this: You're going to be successful; it's only a matter of time. Don't give up and stop being a commitment-phobe.
ABOUT the FOUNDER
Angel Quintana is the founder and CEO of Holistic Fashionista®, a business academy and magazine helping philanthropists build boutique brands so they can help change the world. In The Holistic Fashionista Academy, she helps clients discover their Kismet Clients®, develop a product collection that represents their cause, and build well-thought out sales funnels to change more lives and make more money!
In her book, Funnel Foreplay, she teaches change makers how to successfully quickly warm up cold leads and turn them into buyers. While her tattooed exterior shows her creative tough side and her road to success has been difficult, it is her thoughtful approach to brand building and unique selling approach that has won her thousands of raving fans. Angel and her businesses have been featured on: Apparel News, Examiner.com, Law of Attraction Radio, and spoken on stage at Digital Marketing for Business, At The Helm, and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, CA.