When you own a business, you understand what it means to “figure it out.” You might not have the experience, education, or confidence in what you’re doing, but your business requires you to make it work and find a solution – no matter what. When you hit the threshold of success, it doesn’t really matter how you got there.
Along the way, though, you may have started buying into some myths, that are ultimately stunting your growth and your ability to move to the next level. If you’re feeling like you’re struggling to rise to the next challenge, it may be time to self-examine and rewrite a few scripts.
MYTH #1: You can do it all.
When you started your business, you hustled and made it work – and it got you where you needed to go. But, what got you here, won’t get you to the next place. If you’re feeling resistance as you try to grow, see if there are jobs that you’re still doing that you should be firing yourself from – and hiring a specialist for. The investment in a qualified specialist on your team – even for things you, yourself are great at – will pay off exponentially and free up your time to focus on growing your business.
MYTH #2: Your staff understands the vision, and how to get there.
Communication is one of the biggest pitfalls we see among business owners. When you’re in the work all day and all night, you just know what’s going on, and probably assume everyone around you does as well. In many workplaces, employees feel uncomfortable telling their boss they don’t know what’s going on – or may think they’re at 100% when in actuality they’re closer to 60%.
You can diagnose this issue in your business in reverse. When you’re consistently seeing people miss the mark, setting goals that seem out of left field, or focusing on the wrong problems, you have not effectively communicated your vision.
MYTH #3: Your team is fueled by what fuels you.
When you own a business, you’re simply running on different fuel than your employees. You take the risks and reap the rewards, so the business’s success prevails above all. For an employee, even when they really believe in the business, the vision, and the mission, at the end of the day they’re motivated to keep their job and – thereby – their personal life in order. Neither motivation is the wrong one, you just need to be aware of it as a business owner so that you can tap into what motivates someone without the assumption that you’re approaching things from the same perspective.
MYTH #4: Your customers know what you have to offer them.
You might think you know what your customers think and know, but you probably don’t – especially if your growth is stunted. One of the missteps we see a lot is listening to the loudest voices and expecting that to be representative of the crowd. For example, one negative review can send some small business owners into a tailspin, even if there are 10 positive reviews surrounding it. One customer mentioning that they heard your ad on a radio station can be enough for some businesses to overhaul their advertising strategy. Why does this happen? Because we’re letting one loud voice echo in our heads and calling it market research.
If you’re experiencing frustration or setbacks with your business, start with educating your customers about what you do in a way that delivers value. Rather than forcing hard calls to action at every turn, tell them stories of success thanks to the products you have to offer.
At the end of the day, Retriever Digital Signage is a communication strategy – and we know that all of these myths can be things of the past for your business, which will grow with excellent communication strategies. We know that you can only do so much as a business owner, though, so we created an effective and efficient system that’s easy to manage and super flexible. We’d love to show you more – click here to connect and we’ll show you how digital signage can revolutionize your business’s communication.