Recently I shared a video where I showed my utter frustration with seeing so many talented entrepreneurs who are trained, brilliant and filled with passion for their fields but who are not sharing those gifts with the world.
I have seen and experienced just how frustrating it can be – coaches and mentors say that you need the right brand and business plan, a fully optimized website, business cards, social media plan, landing pages, custom shopping cart, professional video studio… and the list goes on.
While I recognize that each of these components makes up the bigger picture of a successful business, I kindly call bullshit. I’m sure you’ve seen the infographic claiming the internet is made up of “marketers selling marketers” and for the most part it’s true!
But I ask : do you really need all that extraneous stuff to announce and sell your offers?
Especially if you’re just getting started, your ideal clients don’t always care that your business cards match your logo and your Twitter page background. They just care about how you’re going to help them reach their goals.
So if you’re not getting out there by launching in a big way there are three common reasons:
1. You’re scared and can’t get past the fear to launch.
Many people assume that a fear of failure is paramount but I also see a deep fear of success as brilliantly identified in this quote from Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
No matter what the fear may be, if it’s keeping you from moving forward with decisive action and you need a little push.
2. You’re selfish and want to be the student for as long as possible.
I believe in lifelong learning but also wholeheartedly understand that the best way to learn is to put your knowledge to action and teach. It’s an incredibly intense process to put yourself out there and teach what you know, admit what you don’t and guide others to success.
It’s much easier to play the part of the student, but once you get caught in that mode it’s very hard to break out – there’s always something new to learn and I’ve seen talented entrepreneurs avoid launching their businesses for years because they’re still “not ready.”
Understand that if knowledge exists on a scale of 1 to 100 and you place your knowledge level for a particular skill at 30 then there’s plenty of clients in the world with knowledge ranging from 0 to 29 who can learn from you. And the sooner you begin to teach and put your knowledge into practice the faster you’ll accelerate your own skill level.
3. You’re stingy and don’t want to put yourself out there and share.
Personally, I don’t think this is often the issue internally. Most of the entrepreneurs I know, whether healers or coaches, trainers or marketers, are driven by the desire to support others. So what does this apparent stinginess boil down to? I think it comes back to a common fear of being too braggy or showy as you’re sharing what you know.
But the problem is that you look stingy when you have so much expertise, skill and knowledge and you’re not sharing it with those who are struggling. Because the truth is there are thousands of people out there who are stuck – they may understand that something’s not working and might have and idea of the outcome they want but they’re absolutely lost figuring out how to get there. And you have the answer but you’re not sharing it.
No matter which of these reasons is holding you back, there is just one single solution: launch. As I shared on Friday, it’s time to get off your assets and make a big splash. To stop putting yourself through class after class and take some action.
So I challenge you to launch and don’t let selfishness, being scared or stinginess hold you back any longer.
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