Ep. 21 The Stern Truth: The Number ONE Thing That May Be Holding You and Your Business Back

What do you want to achieve? Is it what you SAY you want to achieve? Be honest. 

Now ask yourself, what is holding me back from achieving what I truly desire?

In this episode, I go over the common hurdles that small business owners and entrepreneurs face in achieving their goals. The struggles that hold them back are all too common.

If you do every role under the sun to make your business work, you’ll get burnt out. 

Cashflow can be a killer, and many entrepreneurs and small business owners live in a bubble of ignorance when it comes to their finances. 

Working and trying to grow without systems in place can stop a lot of businesses from growing.

All of these have one thing in common – going at it alone. I say, make a tribe, be in a group, join a team of entrepreneur friends, or get a mentor. It makes such a difference. 

I get into why your daily agenda can be your outline for success (inspired by my mentor, part of my tribe, John Maxwell). I also talk about the way that administrative tasks can drain us and take us further away from the needle. 

There are so many ways that you can be sabotaging your own business without meaning to, but I’m here to help with that. I even share what I think stalled me in the past. This is the NUMBER ONE thing that might even be stalling your business right now. 

Grab a pen and a paper for this episode, write down the key points, and don’t forget to reach out if you need help being the leader you’re meant to be. 

I’m excited to bring back the ONtreprenur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - Marshall@marshallstern.net.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] ​If you've ever felt, you know, overwhelmed in your business and like you're spinning your wheels, you keep doing the same thing, or even trying different things, but you just don't see the way forward and you're exhausted, grab a pad of paper and a pen. This episode is for you. Enjoy.

[00:00:30] Hi, I'm Marshall Stern and I've spent over 35 years leading and growing multiple small businesses. I know firsthand the struggles of entrepreneurship, feeling isolated, lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling like you have to do all by yourself. I've been through multiple recessions, and I have felt the highs and the lows. 

[00:00:49] I've been there, and I get it. This podcast is here to change that every week. I will bring you straight talking advice, real world strategies, and honest conversations about what it takes to succeed in business without the fluff, the gimmicks, or the sugar-coated. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress, then you are in the right place.

[00:01:13] This is the Stern Truth. Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Stern Truth Business Unfiltered. Okay, so today we're talking about what may really be holding you back from achieving the success you desire and deserve and in preparation for this episode, because it might actually shock you. Okay.

[00:01:42] I did some research and, based on what some of the struggles out there are for small business owners and what really holds them back. And it's funny because when I ask people what is holding them back from achieving what they truly say they want to achieve. Those who actually respond to that question and are honest almost every single time, it's one of two answers, and the one which I get the least of is lack of clients.

[00:02:19] The question is, what is holding you back from achieving what you truly say you desire? What you truly want, your vision, your goals for the business, and how almost everyone, to a T says “themselves”, and there's some truth to that, but what does that really mean? So I went in and I did a little bit of research and here's what I came up with.

[00:02:46] And, overall, I agree with it, but we're going to dive deeper because I think there's one specific area which is not covered in here specifically. Number one, this is the response I got was from my research: wearing too many hats. Absolutely a hundred percent agree. I people wear too many hats in their business and they get burnt out from doing that.

[00:03:09] They spend way too much time in rather than on. We're going to get to that in a second. And because of that, they don't have room for strategic growth. Okay. Number two, lack of a clear strategy. Sure. If you don't, first off, if you don't know where you want to go in your business, where you want to get to the ultimate destination, how can you even have a strategy?

[00:03:29] So you need clarity of where you want to get to, and then reverse engineer back to clear strategy. For sure. That's the reason why people struggle. Cashflow problems. Hell yeah. I'm glad this one came up in my research because so many small business owners don't really see that. They don't get it. They don't understand it.

[00:03:46] They don't focus on the numbers. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to the numbers, and it shouldn't be because cashflow is a killer. It's why they say cash is king. Cashflow can be a killer, and I know this from experience, my friends. I struggled with it for years in one of my businesses. You need to stay on top of it.

[00:04:07] You need to have the right systems and people in place for that. Okay, let me move on. because I want to get to really what I believe is one of the biggest reasons for most people, most small business owners. The fourth one here, we talked about this two weeks ago on Episode 19, mindset and limiting beliefs.

[00:04:27] Okay. It's understandable. You don't think, you don't value yourself, you don't value your services. You think you're an imposter. Obviously, you're the way you, you think is going to affect your actions. We all know that, right? Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Okay, let's move on. Lack of systems and delegation. Another one, a hundred percent agree with that for sure.

[00:04:48] Number six, weak lead generation in sales. Oh, that's a big one that came up. Weak lead generation in sales. Yeah. That's definitely a reason what might be holding you and other small business owners back. Okay, we'll get to that in a second. Number seven, marketing overwhelm. Oh, hell yeah, right? There's so much marketing overwhelm.

[00:05:09] What do you do? Where do you put your marketing dollars? Should you put your marketing dollars somewhere? We're in a down economy. What should we do? All the experts are saying. This is canceled. This is canceled. This is canceled. Do this, do that. Facebook ads is over dead. TikTok is dead. Instagram's dead.

[00:05:26] Buy my course. Do this. Put all your money into Instagram. Don't put all your money into Instagram. Put it into LinkedIn. YouTube advertising is the way to go. Whatever email is dead. No email's. Number one. Email's the best. The biggest. It's overwhelming because everyone's shouting out there. This is the way to do it.

[00:05:44] So I get it. Number eight. Poor time management. We're going to come back to that one. And number nine, lack of support and mentoring. Yes, being in business is alone, is lonely, and we need to have a supportive team around us, whether it's a coach, whether mentor. We're strong inner circle of advisors and people who can support us and guide us all along the way.

[00:06:11] But my friends, all this is beautiful. I love it. Yes, I would say yes to every single thing on this list. And if you want me to send you this list in detail because it breaks it down even further, just send me an email. My email is below, but here is what I think is the biggest thing.

[00:06:34] Some things to do, some of it, it really it has to do with all of it. Grab your pad of paper and a pen. This is the number one reason I believe this is my Stern Truth over what has stalled me in the past and what might be stalling you right now. And that is you have an employee mindset, not finished yet. So it's a little bit about mindset, but you're acting like the employee in your business and not the leader.

[00:07:07] Thus, so bear with me, write that down, but bear with me. Because of that, you're focusing on the wrong activities. You're focusing on the wrong activities. You're focusing on activities that should be moving you towards what you say you want. Your what? Your vision, your goals, but instead you're focusing on activities that are actually stalling your growth and they're actually moving you the other way.

[00:07:42] One of the things I do with my clients – and I'm rebranding this now, and I'm going to be coming out with something brand new – I used to call it an Energy Audit, but I'm rebranding it and I'm coming with, as I said, something completely new. It's called the Business Energy Reset. So it's a simple assessment. If you're interested in taking it, we're just putting the finishing touches on it right now.

[00:08:10] Myself and my team, send me an email. Again, it's below, but it's marshall@marshallsternnet.net. Don't go to.com because you'll get some comedian in Chicago, most likely, I believe. Who has that? So it's marshall@marshallstern.net. I'll send you the assessment once it is done. By the time this episode comes out, it may be done already.

[00:08:34] So send it to me, reach out to me and, in the subject line, go “Reset”. What this will do for you, my friends, is it's going to have you take a look at what you are focusing on, on a daily basis in your business, and it is it draining you. Or is energizing you? Is it the right activities or is it the right type of clients?

[00:08:59] Is it moving you towards what you say you want to achieve? My mentor, my coach, John Maxwell, says, the best success is determined by your daily agenda. And he says that he could go into anyone's life, spend a day with anybody. Tell that they are going to be successful just by what they are doing in that day, what they're focusing on.

[00:09:29] So my question to you is, what's on your daily agenda? Are you stuck in scrolling online thinking that you're doing some business work and yet you get distracted by all the ads? By this offer and by that offer. And the shiny object syndrome. Do you get drained by all the emails you get in? You're doing it all yourself, and you just keep applying to emails back and forth, the ping pong of emails.

[00:10:00] You know what that feels like? Someone said to you, an email, you respond back. They say, thank you for sending it. I'll get back to you. And you say back, say back to them. Thank you. Thank you for responding. I'll wait to hear back from me. They say thank you. I will. He said thank you. Thank you, thank you.

[00:10:12] Thank you. Enough. Administrative tasks can drain us, can also move us away, that way, from what we say we want to achieve from the goals. Most small business owners really act as the employee, and when they act as an employee, they're in the business doing the employee work. Responding to the emails, sending invoices, doing this, doing that work, just focusing on client work and not enough on what we talked about here.

[00:10:49] Number two, lack of clear strategy. The leadership work, the visionary work. My friends, if you want to grow a business, you need to step into that leadership role. Yes, sure. There's times where you're going to need to do the client work if that's the type of business you are in. And at some point you can grow your business where maybe you are just strictly working on the business, the vision, the sales generating activities.

[00:11:18] But the goal is to move away from the activities that drain you, the activities that hold you back, and not just activities people, clients as well that drain you and hold you back. Focus on the ones that are going to move you forward. That's the ultimate goal, and we need to work on that. So this assessment's going to help that.

[00:11:38] Just reach out to me again, marshall@marshallstern.net and I'll send you the assessment. But it's, I've seen it way too much as a coach. Small business owners, whether they are alone in their business and they're what we call a solopreneur, don't like that term, or they have a small team, it still happens.

[00:12:01] We people get stuck doing administrative work. Even if they have people on their team, employees, they, it's sometimes it might be safer for them in their mind to do it because they are scared to do the revenue sales generating activities, but that's what's going to move your business forward. Work on your vision, get other people to do the rest, especially if there's activities that drain you.

[00:12:29] Some activities drain you, but that are sales and revenue generating we could talk about. And maybe it's a matter of looking at it differently and changing your approach so it doesn't drain you. because they are very, very important. But we live in a world of distraction and it's so much easier when we get distracted and we get overwhelmed.

[00:12:51] To retreat back into employee mode and just do the work, hand the work in, get graded on a client work, giving the work to the client, delivering the work, and not even thinking about the business. The vision, moving it forward, that will hold you back and that I see over 35 years. In my own businesses and now 13 plus years coaching and mentoring small business owners as the number one thing that holds most people back.

[00:13:24] They're not in that leadership role. They act like an employee. You had a skill, started the business for that skill. You deliver that skill, but you're not the leader. You might have had a vision at the beginning because you had to do a business plan because everyone said you have a business plan.

[00:13:42] But where's that business plan? Are you reviewing it? A business plan is really good if you need to go for funding. A business plan is really helpful and useful if you put work into it and you review it, and you update it, but what's the point of having a business plan if it's just going to sit on the shelf and you're not going to do anything with it?

[00:14:05] We need to continue to work on our business and it's not easy. That's why we have this podcast. These are the Stern Truths. And what I'm telling you here, you could do your own research. You'll come up with probably the same or similar areas that we're challenged in and what holds us back. Yes, they're all important mindsets.

[00:14:26] Living beliefs is massive. It's a massive holdback for many, and if we work on it the right way, it can also be one of the greatest things that propel us forward. But when we get stuck. Working in the business too much and not on it. We're just going to continue to stay where we are. The last one on here I mentioned was the lack of support and mentorship.

[00:14:55] It's another huge one, but if you're feeling like you might be stuck in that employee mindset and you're not focusing enough on the business and on the activities that are moving you forward, or you really don't know what activities are moving you forward. If you have a coach or mentor, go to them, get them to help guide you.

[00:15:12] If you don't have one, reach out to me and let's chat. Simple conversation. Again, just send me an email, subject line chat, or if you want to start off with the Business Energy Reset, that's fine. Go “Reset”, whatever it is. I'm here to support you. I've been doing this for so long and I see way too many small business owners 

[00:15:34] Struggle, and it is a small business that is the engine of our economy, both here in Canada and the United States, and really throughout the world. So let's continue to be the engine, but let's continue to step up and be the leaders that our business needs. Don't do it alone, my friends. Don't do it alone.

[00:15:54] Be in masterminds. Meet other entrepreneurs who maybe are one step ahead of you or two steps ahead of you. Because you don't want to be just with a bunch of business owners or entrepreneurs that are behind you that are struggling or struggling more than you are because then just becomes a bitch session, a complaining session.

[00:16:17] You want to be around people who have been there and are moving forward and maybe just are a little bit ahead of you. That could help guide you. Anyways, we're going to continue to talk about these different areas throughout the next several weeks and months because they're all really important. The cash flow is important.

[00:16:35] Strategy is really important. We've already been talking about limiting beliefs. We have part two coming up of our Limiting Beliefs episodes. We wear too many hats. First one on this list. Going back to that. When you are an employee, you end up have that employee mindset. You wear too many hats in your business because can't remember what episode, episode it was.

[00:16:58] It might have been like three or four, so early on. I will win. You don't hire out, you will not bring on a VA virtual assistant or an employee or outsource to a service provider or bring on a coach or mentor because you, you have that. I will mindset, I will win. I will. Usually it's I will when I have enough money.

[00:17:21] Well, when's that going to be? If you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got. That's the Stern Truth. So let's change that right now. Okay. Reach out to me if you want to have a chat or if you want to have the Business Energy Reset, step into your leadership role starting to date.

[00:17:39] And with that said, have a great week. Be the leader you're meant to be. We'll see you next week on another episode of The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered.

[00:17:50] Thank you so much for tuning in to the Stern Truth. If you found today's episode helpful, we would love to hear from you. Please like, share and leave us a review. Also, if you'd like to be a guest in the upcoming episode or join us in one of our Moment Accountability Group sessions, simply email me to marshall@marshallstern.net. 

[00:18:10] That's marshall@marshallstern.net. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button, so never miss an episode. Until next time, keep pushing forward and leading with confidence.