Are You Making Any of These Mistakes In Your Business or Side Hustle?
Building a business or side hustle is not for the faint-hearted, and we all recognize that progress is not a straight upward line, but rather a tangle of loops and swirls, some going up, and some going down. Rather like a ball of wool after a kitten has enjoyed an afternoon of play!
However, what's also true is that we can (and do) make life more difficult for ourselves. I have made all the mistakes outlined below at one stage or another, and some I am still making!
Awareness is key though. If we realise we are making a mistake, we can take steps to change things.
What ones are you struggling with?
Overanalyzing
Sometimes referred to as perfection procrastination, this is when you work on something but never quite get it launched. Or you launch and then you endlessly tweak.
Yes, we all want to do the best we can in that product or blog post, but sometimes 'good enough' is good enough. Press publish or send the newsletter - there is no such thing as perfect, so do the best you can and move along. Many a business is lost in the haze of overanalyzing.
Not Reusing Content
You have slogged over that blog post for what seems like an eternity. Then you hit post and promptly forget about it, moving on to pastures new.
No, don't do that! There are so many ways you can reuse that content to grow your audience. You don't have to do all these, just choose what's right for your business.
Send out a newsletter linking back to the blog post or including all the content in the newsletter.
Use as a social media post - or break it up into sections.
Use the key facts of the content in a reel or TikTok.
Create a YouTube video.
Record a podcast.
Create a Pinterest pin or two linking back to it.
Add the post to your evergreen batch of social media content so you continue to share it.
Veering Off Course
Boy on boy, am I guilty of this one. Veering off course, shiny object syndrome or how I like to refer to it - multi-passionate solopreneur If I had stayed on track I would be in a very different situation right now, but as we all know, hindsight is 20/20.
This isn't to say you can't try new things or pivot, but think very carefully before each new thing you start. Is it going to take me away from what I am working on now and cause that to fail?
The best advice I can give you here is to get one thing working and bringing in income before you move on to the next.
Getting Caught In a Negative Cycle
It's easy to think that something is not going to work, that we are going to fail, so why even bother? Once that cycle starts it can be difficult to shake off.
My advice here, if you find yourself in that situation, is to think about the smallest thing you can do to move forward - and then go do it. Don't think, just do.
By finding the smallest step you take the pressure off yourself and by taking action you get the ball rolling, which usually helps you to put aside those doubts for a while.
Not Focusing
Are you working, or are you thinking about working? There is a not-so-subtle difference.
Sometimes we just need to set a timer and dive into the work at hand. I have a timer on my PC that I set in increments of 30 minutes. I then work for that allotted time and it's amazing how much more focused it makes me. If you are struggling with procrastination just try it and see the effect it has. Oftentimes just starting on something can shake us out of a slump.
I hope highlighting these mistakes has helped you to avoid them - or at least made you feel you are not alone in making them!