Friday, October 8, 2010

5 Reasons Why You Aren't Making Any Money

You are not running a business, unless you are actually making money. That money doesn't necessarily have to be all profits, but there should be some type of ongoing cash flow - even if you're just breaking even. Business means commerce, and commerce means the exchange of money for services and products.

Sadly, many minority-owned businesses just aren't producing revenue like they should. Some will open their doors for business and close just a year later - having never made a dime. In rare cases, it can be for legit reasons. But most of the time, if your business is not making money - it's because of one or more of the following five reasons:

1) Your Web Site Sucks

Time and time again, this proves to be a common blunder amongst aspiring and established business owners. Your web site absolutely has to be professionally designed, must be simple with a balanced amount of text and images, and must have easy-to-understand navigation. If not, this alone can kill all of your chances of ever doing business with a customer. If you are not a professional web developer, you need to invest and hire someone who is.

2) You Have No Marketing Plan

You can not expect to have customers, if you have not developed an effective plan of action for your advertising. Shockingly, many people do very little to actually promote their business. This makes no sense because there are many ways to promote a business - online and offline. If you are having trouble with ideas, you should consult a marketing professional or buy a marketing/advertising book at your local book store.

3) You Keep Making Excuses

Just how long are you going to continue to blame the economy for why business is bad? Business owners all over the country are facing the same economic situations as you, but many have figured out how to overcome it. You can do this also, but you need to stop making excuses and start looking for creative solutions. Despite the economy, millions of consumers are still spending money. You need to figure out how to get them to spend it with you.

4) You Have No Work Ethic

You think you work hard, but maybe you spend more time watching reality shows, talk shows, and award shows. Maybe you are easily distracted, and spend more time playing video games or watching sports. Maybe you spend more time going out to eat, at the movies, hanging out with friends, planning vacations, etc. Remember that you only get out what you put in. If you're spending minimal time to build your business, you will only get minimal results. Learn to develop a "work now, play later" attitude.

5) You Don't Believe

You want to be successful and you want to enjoy the benefits of owning a profitable business, but deep down you really don't believe that you can do it. Maybe you are easily discouraged by friends and family, or maybe you can't seem to stay motivated when the money isn't coming as fast as you would like it. Remember that success starts and ends with your attitude, and your attitude defines everything. Having high self-esteem and confidence, and being able to stay motivated are very critical components to being an entrepreneur.

9 comments:

  1. man what happened to the picture with your collar poppin'?

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  2. Once again you have provided some great content and once again I will do my best to help you spread such a timely message.
    Funny I have a blog prepared that I wrote on Friday that deals with almost the same issue. However, mine is specifically catered to my business. It is a true fact that some people just don't have what it takes and are not willing to learn.

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  3. Excellent post! You are definitely keeping it VERY Real here. I am new to your work but I read your bio and some of your posts and I give you alot of credit for your skills and your success. Check out our new website and let me know what you think. AfroDaddy.com - The Black Man's Survival Guide.

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  4. thanks for that, I can claim at least three out of the five as being my fault. will do better planning . thanks again

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  5. Interesting post, in particular I thought your comments on what holds people back were informative. Once we remove the things (excuses) that hinder our growth, we will be on our way to success. Stop making excuses and get to work.

    Please visit my blog:

    http://anwarsreflections.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was a really great post. I have clients who give me all kinds of reasons why they are not succeeding and when I ask them did they do the marketing tasks assigned to them the answer is always no. I have a client who is in a great network marketing company. One of the best I've seen yet and I've seen the money that can be made if he puts forth a little effort instead of complaining and all he does is make excuses.

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  7. 5 for 5, as someone who has been working on getting his business off the ground for the last 5 years, your post has been like looking in the mirror. Thanks for the awakening, Its time to adjust my collar and start making some major changes. GO BSU!!!

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  8. Thanks for the post, it really is great advice, I think a big problem also is that people buy into the philosophy of needing to be lucky to make it in business however with all the luck in the world if you don't put in the hard graft you will not succeed.

    I would also advise that you KNOW your product! otherwise people will not have the confidence to buy from you!

    www.9javatar.blogspot.com

    Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete