Here are some things I hear from business owners, which drive me crazy!
“My business can’t survive COVID-19”
“I can never make sales during the pandemic”
“I’m losing all my customers”
“Shifting to a work from home set up is not for me”
The above statements are what I refer to as ‘success blockers’. These stem from negative self-talk which business owners who are stuck in a post-coronavirus pandemic world find running through their heads on a daily basis.
How to Overcome Negative Self-talk
Having worked with over 50,000 business owners and helped many of them turn around a struggling business, it can be so frustrating to hear people who don’t believe they can survive this economic crisis.
These business owners are being held back by their limiting beliefs and they let negativity and fear get in the way. If you are allowing excuses to stand in the way of evolving in the post-coronavirus pandemic, here are some facts to give you a jump-start to move past them.
- If you want to survive, you can’t make excuses
- You can improve your life at any time
- Your knowledge is not fixed at any age
Instead of sitting around letting negative self-talk keep your progress in neutral, here are some tips to change your mindset and start focusing on success:
Change your perspective
Instead of constantly thinking “I can’t survive this crisis…”, start thinking “How can I survive this crisis?”
The first step is to assess the financial damage COVID-19 may have put on your quarterly sales. You have to work closely with your accountant to review your sales, profits and cash flow statements. Aside from keeping track of your hard numbers, you also need to consider other aspects of your business that have been affected by the economic downturn. This includes your marketing plan, business plan and contingency plans.
Set new goals
Many business owners fail to keep track of their goals when self-doubt starts to set in. They roll on, day in, day out, often leaving their business results up to chance.
In these changing times, revisiting your goals can make a big difference. You have to make sure that your goals are still realistic, given the current circumstances.
Once that goal is in writing, hold yourself accountable and come up with ways to achieve it.
But what if you don’t achieve your goal?
There’s that success-blocking negative self-talk again!
Let’s say you decide to raise profits by just 10 per cent this quarter. To do so, you implement a low-cost Facebook remarketing campaign, reminding people who have already shown an interest in your product to come back to your website.
At the end of the quarter, you have only achieved a five per cent lift in sales.
Is that really a failure? It’s certainly better than where you were a month ago, and now you can build on your strategy and keep moving.
Think of your WHY
When negativity overwhelms you, it helps to remember why you are running your small business in the first place. It may be to support your family and give them the best opportunities, or it may be because you have an overwhelming desire to make a difference in the world.
Think of your ‘why’ when negativity is holding you back. Unless you take action, you’ll never produce the results and deliver on the promises you have made yourself.
Get the right support
Everybody experiences negative self-talk, especially entrepreneurs who are pushing the boundaries and trying to survive in this unprecedented time.
To overcome those horrible messages going through your mind, gather a team of cheerleaders around you. Find people who can give you the right advice, motivate you to do more and empower you to reach your potential as a business owner. These helpers won’t let you talk yourself out of things because of fear or lack of confidence, and you can do the same for them.
With the right knowledge and education, ANYBODY CAN DO IT. As well as being on my own continuous journey of discovery, I have helped thousands of business owners to break free from the everyday and achieve incredible things.
If you want to have access to business experts who can help you survive this crisis, you should talk to us about joining our award-winning business program. Or, you can come along to our Free 1-Day Business workshop, New Rules of Business.
