4 Reasons Your Business Isn’t Growing

Has your business hit a standstill? It can be frustrating to feel like you’re working so hard but your business isn’t growing. There may be a few reasons why your business isn’t growing, which I’ll go over with you in this article.

These are by no means easy changes. They take intentional effort to implement into your routine. But trust me – it’ll be so worth it when you see the tremendous growth in your business. Keep reading to learn how to grow your business!

1. You Aren’t Working ON Your Business

There’s such a big difference between working IN your business and working ON your business. 

Working IN your business: The day-to-day client work.

Working ON your business: Making improvements and plans for your business to grow.

Working on your business has to be a priority. You’ll never grow otherwise. I like to think of my business as another client. I assign business tasks to myself in Asana just as I would for a client. Things like:

• Writing a blog
• Pitching clients
• Following up with prospects
• Social posts
• Video creation
• Paying contractors

I find that if I don’t keep myself accountable with a task and due date, it doesn’t get done. Plus, it shows up as a task next to the other client tasks I have, which puts me in the mindset that I can’t let it slip. 

I also recommend having a CEO day! You set aside one day (monthly or quarterly) to work solely on your business. The key? NO CLIENT WORK! This is a day only for your business so don’t take any calls and plan on completing client work a different day. Here are a few ideas of tasks you could do on your CEO day:

• Batch content
• Bookkeeping/finances
• Review analytics
• Internal business projects
• Strategize

2. You Aren’t Raising Your Prices

I know… the dreaded finances talk. You knew it was coming 😉 The longer you’re in business, the more experience you get and the better you get at delivering your services. Therefore, it makes sense to raise your prices as your services improve! You can also raise prices when you add more services to your packages or earn certifications that give you an extra skill set. 

You’re in charge of your business. I know it’s easy to undermine your capabilities and expertise. Heck, I do it to myself all the time. When you know your worth as a service provider, you charge accordingly. If your business isn’t growing, take a look at your prices. I’m guessing it’s time to increase them!

My good friend Val at Val Marlene Creative taught me how to manage my business finances so I could pay myself fairly, save for taxes, and plan for business expenses. I highly recommend her coaching!

3. You Don’t Work With The Right Clients

This goes along with pricing. If you’re undercharging your clients, you probably aren’t attracting the right clients. There are two types of clients:

1) the startup that knows they need a service and wants the cheapest option just to get started and

2) the business that values the expertise of others and is willing to pay high ticket prices for it. 

Let me just say… Both are fine! We’ve all been the startup who just needs help getting up and running with a particular service. But you hit a point where those clients aren’t what you’re looking for anymore. And that’s okay! You’re allowed to grow as a business and who you choose to work with. Again, it’s your business! You get to choose who to work with and if you want to grow, it should be high-ticket clients.

I think it’s also important to mention that short-term contracts with clients may be hindering your growth. In my experience, long-term relationships with clients build trust, which means they’ll hire you for more tasks and/or refer you to their network of other boss biz owners. These are the types of clients you want to work with! 

4. You Aren’t Marketing Yourself

I have a background in marketing, so it seems obvious to me to market yourself to grow, but I know that for others, marketing doesn’t come naturally. It can be scary to put yourself out there but it’s necessary to grow your business. Try promoting your business on places like:

• Social media: Create content on any platform your ideal clients are active on.
• Email marketing: Start building an email list through freebies.
• Facebook groups: Join groups that allow self-promotion and job posts.
• Blog: Blogs are great for SEO, which puts your brand in front of more people on search engines.
• Pinterest: If you have content to share, you should be on Pinterest! Pins can last for years, which puts you in front of millions.

If your business isn’t growing, you aren’t doomed for failure but changes do need to happen. Try the suggestions in this article and let me know how it goes for you!

Want more tips like this? My weekly newsletter is full of blog, SEO, and business advice! Join the list today.