How Most Business Owners Sabotage Their Success

Owning a business is a challenging endeavor. If you're like many novice small business owners, you've taken numerous risks with your time and your money, only to see all of your efforts producing little or no result. This can leave you frustrated and ready to give up. That's no surprise. The more we focus on the negative parts of owning a small business the more negative results we will attract. Learning how to deal with obstacles is the key to avoiding failure. Those small business owners who never learn to deal with obstacles will often become overwhelmed and end their business. Negative thinking is the center of the small business failure scenario.

So how do you stop being so negative? By consistently staying focused on success you can start attracting in your life the results you desire. Now if you've ever read a self-help book or watched a talk show you've heard all this before. And you probably feel like it's all talk. But there's a reason why you have heard so much about changing your outlook. Quite simply, there's truth to how our own thinking impacts our environment.

It's often difficult to hear super-successful individuals talk about thinking positive. Inside you feel like it's easy for them to say because they're successful. But many successful business owners today have built their businesses from the ground up. Many of them started with little or no money, which may be your situation as well. What makes them different from the countless number of entrepreneurs that try and fail each year is one thing. Their belief in themselves. So take some time evaluating that inner-voice that's always telling you that you're not going to make it. If you tell your self you won't make a successful business, you're absolutely right. If you tell yourself there is no way you will fail, you're still absolutely right. Below is a quick guide to changing your outlook and which will help you change your results.

  • Take note of any negative thinking and immediately correct yourself.
  • Focus on all you've managed to accomplish:Write a daily to do list and continuously praise yourself every time you've managed to check something off. Think about other accomplishments as well such as obtaining a new customer or creating a new product.
  • Create a new set of realistic goals: Re-write your business plan based on solid research. For example, the average click through rate for a banner is 1% - 2%. So you wouldn't want to set a goal of receiving 10% from your banner campaign.
  • Visualize your success daily:See yourself as having reached your goals. How does it feel? What would you do? How would you treat yourself? Keep this in mind every time you feel self-doubt emerging.
  • Retreat from negative people and surroundings: Log on to small business forums and talk with people who share your struggle. Offer and accept suggestion on time management, working with family, and minimizing costs.

    • Consistency is the key. Don't let a day go by when you don't put in practice the things listed above. Better yet, try adding things to the list above that you know will keep you in a good mood such as exercise, daily walks, and time with your family. You'll be able to change your business and see results immediately.

    Copyright © 2005 Rhonda Winn - All Rights Reserved. Rhonda Winn has been helping small business owners since 2000. She is the author of the popular eBook, "How to Live Your Dreams and Achieve Unlimited Wealth in Small Business" Receive the first chapter free, when you join her bi-monthly newsletter today: SmallBizStartupKit.com.

    You are free to publish this article as long as the content remains unchanged and copyright notice and byline is not removed from article.

    In The News:

    pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Top 10 Record Keeping Mistakes Business Owners Make (and How To Avoid Them)

    If you interviewed business owners of failed businesses, a majority... Read More

    How to Protect Yourself & Your Business

    As a business owner, you already know how important it... Read More

    Bad Regulators Cost Small Businesses

    When a regulator finds a target to go after to... Read More

    Chamber Membership will BOOST your Business

    When is the Chamber ideal for your business?Joining a Chamber... Read More

    The Key to a Successful Business

    Where would a business be without a business plan? A... Read More

    Pressure Washing Business and Post Fire Cleanups

    Many have not experienced a fire up close. One year... Read More

    Entrepreneurs Ask: What Can a Virtual Assistant Do For Me?

    Great question!Freeing your time is an indisputably key element in... Read More

    Tips For Successful Home Show Businesses

    Opportunities for home show businesses have never been more abundant.... Read More

    Getting Grant Funding For Your Nonprofit Organization

    Do you need grant funding for your nonprofit organization? If... Read More

    Pressure Washer Companies and Steam Cleaner Maintenance

    If you run a pressure washing business it is a... Read More

    Quality Controls for Franchising Companies Sample Outline

    Quality control in franchising companies is paramount and all franchising... Read More

    Awning Cleaning Business Case Study: Entrepreneurship 101

    It is most fascinating to study how entrepreneurs spot opportunity... Read More

    Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000 -- You Never Knew You Had

    There is a rather famous true story called "Acres of... Read More

    The Single Most Powerful Small Business Marketing Tool On The Planet

    Let me get right to the point. The single most... Read More

    Who Does Over Disclosure Really Hurt In Franchising?

    Costs of over regulation and over disclosure end up hurting... Read More

    Five Break-through Ideas to Immediately Increase Profits and Improve Cash Flow

    Too often in business we get trapped into reviewing our... Read More

    Business Success - The 42 Greatest Business Tips

    What does it take to grow a business and run... Read More

    Retail Customer Opportunities for Pressure Washing Companies

    Pressure washing companies must look for customers in the retail... Read More

    Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown

    There is a continual trend we are seeing which I... Read More

    Maintaining Your Carpet Extractor in Your Auto Detail Shop

    Auto Detailing: Maintaining A Commercial Carpet ExtractorYou should drain your... Read More

    Do You Microbifer in Your Cleaning Business?

    Microfiber cleaning towels have been around for about ten years... Read More

    Explode Your Consulting Income

    Here are just a few ways to increase and diversify... Read More

    Small Business Checks ? Money Saving Options

    When you go into business for yourself, there are many... Read More

    Government Does Not Pay Its Bills on Time

    Many small companies work very hard to get new accounts.... Read More

    Build Credibility, Value, and Trust on a Shoestring

    Setting priorities in your business? Your first job is to... Read More

    Top 10 Lessons for Small Business Success - As learned From My Twin 3 Year Olds

    Small business success is very similar to learning to walk,... Read More

    Collection Agency Selection

    Frankly, given the legal and regulatory requirements involved in attempting... Read More

    Small Businesses With Work Trucks; A Warning

    If you are a non-operator owner of many work trucks,... Read More

    A Look at Incorporating a Business in Florida

    As you may know, there are many ways to incorporate... Read More

    Modern Clear Coats, Auto Detailers and visit to Lexus of North America

    We visited Lexus USA, home of the Lexus North America... Read More

    Joint Venture Your Way to Extraordinary Sales!

    You know what makes me really happy? Drinking a Starbucks... Read More

    Is This The Way Its Always Been Done?

    Let's face it, we all tend to get stuck in... Read More

    To Buy A Fat Pig

    What does buying a fat pig have to do with... Read More