If you're feeling stuck in business despite working your ASS off at it, don't quit...just yet!

Are you feeling like you’re doing a LOT...

But your audience is not growing fast enough (or at all), you're not making the money you want to be making, and you're not feeling like things are working out as well as you'd hoped?

If so, here's my veteran, 19 years of being an entrepreneur, advice that might help you out before you make any big decisions or changes...

And this advice might feel quite painful if you have been working so hard, but you are not getting anywhere.

You're trying ALL the things.

You are physically and/or mentally exhausted. Nothing's fn working!

And the economy is crashing, the cost of living keeps going up up up, and you're seeing more and more business owners in Facebook groups complaining that people just aren't buying as much anymore.

So your poor brain is just constantly stressed out and catastrophizing HARD right now...

If so, this is for you....take a deep breath because you're in the right place!

Continue reading, OR if you prefer listening and want to hear my weird American-Australian accent mix, click below for the podcast version 🪄 🎧💫

Prefer to watch instead of read? Watch the YouTube version here.🪄 📺💫

The good news is that feeling stuck in business quite often is a completely normal thing to feel when you're just starting out.

But it's so important that you arm yourself now to fight the drama goblin going off in your head. ⚔️

So, first of all, I want to help you get some clarity and perspective to make sure that you have checked all the boxes to see if your business is really in or if it might just be how you're thinking about it.

And if it is how you're thinking about it, what to do to help yourself calm down and get some perspective that's going to help you get some clarity and get things back on track.

Because after nearly two decades of running online businesses with 9 years of helping creative business owners untangle their marketing and offers, I've noticed a big difference between those who create a self-reliant AF business and those who end up going back to employment.

Separate the Emotional Drama from the FACTS💥

The highly successful business owners that I've worked with were always practicing and learning how to stay focused on only the metrics that matter.

They learned how to strip away the excess attention, time, and monetary drains.

Everything they chose to pay attention to, or put time or money into, had to not be tied to a longer-term opportunity cost.

They were always testing everything that they did. Was it serving the long-term vision or was it detracting from it?

And they were able to do all of this because they paid attention to hard data and facts.

Not to the drama goblin stories and the narratives about what those facts and the data meant.

Because so much of what we're feeling is often just a narrative around what is actually happening.

So let's drill down into how you can gain clarity on this: how to not make assumptions and worst-case scenarios that only exist in your head.

And how to tell the difference between a narrative and a truly critical emergency situation.

How to Tell If You're Stuck Because of a Narrative About a Situation VS a Factual Situation

Before you invest in another course, or rebrand your business, or convince yourself that the market is the problem, consider that the real obstacle might not be in your business or anything external at all.

It might be the drama goblin running around in your head.

Now, this is not to say that the numbers or hard data that you're coming across are not real.

But that this drama goblin is not going to help you figure out those real problems.

It's not going to help you look at the systems analytically to see what is working, what is not working, what you need to do more of, and what you need to start doing less of immediately.

So, that's kind of where I'm coming from here: your MINDSET FIRST.

It is not to say that your problems are not real, but that how you look at that reality is going to make or break you at this point.

How You Approach The Problems in Your Business is More Important Than The Problem Itself.

First of all, let's take a step back and understand why you are feeling the way you are feeling now to get some perspective.

It's so important in business to understand that so much of our discomfort and our fear comes from our need for safety.

And I find it so interesting about business that the more you learn about business and especially about sales, the more you start to understand that safety is the primary goal and ambition of everything in business.

Not only for yourself to help you feel safe every day while you're working on your business and facing those fears and challenges. But also, when you are selling to your customers or your clients. If you understand that what they are truly looking for when they are looking for a product or service is safety, you're going to be a better salesperson.

So, in that context, what we're doing when we are catastrophizing in our heads is we are searching for safety.

And our brain is naturally always in a default mode, looking for danger.

It was just how we were biologically conditioned when we were hunter-gatherers, and we were running around being chased by bears and tigers.

Understanding that your brain is always going to default to fear because you are looking for safety will help you step back from your problems.

And you can say to yourself, for example, ''Okay my brain's just doing its thing, it's looking for safety and certainty. How can I provide some safety, whether it's in a system that I can start to use with my marketing, my business?''

It may be a system to help your body and my mind feel safer in the moment, and feel safer about the future.

How to Create a Feeling of Safety And Certainty About Your Business NOW

I find, personally, being someone who is a bit neurodivergent and has high anxiety, that what I often feel is safe is a feeling of control.

When I'm feeling stuck in business and experiencing a lot of intense anxiety, I look for ways I can get back in control.

Usually, for me, that means a lot of spreadsheets.

I externalize my anxiety and my fears into spreadsheets so that I can gain a more factual perspective.

Specifically, I look for ways that I can take back control over the things that I cannot control.

Separate the things you CAN control from the things you CANNOT control.

For example, when it comes to our marketing as creative business owners, we're often very anxious about our marketing not working right.

Well, one thing that we DO have control over is our consistency.

We can control how often we show up.

But we can't control how those pieces of content are going to land. And if they're going to get likes or reactions or comments at all.

Or if they're even going to work. But we can control making them.

Focus on your output rather than your input.

And if you stay focused on that and you ignore the input for the time being, you're going to feel a bit safer.

This is my approach to data and analytics as well in my business.

Stay focused on the output, on your strategy, and on your systems.

If they are solid systems, then you're eventually going to get the feedback and the input that you would like.

Here Are Two Questions To Ask Yourself When You're Feeling Stuck in Business

First of all: how am I NOT feeling safe right now?

And secondly, how COULD I feel safer?

How could I make my business feel safer, my business activities, and how could I make my body and my mind feel safer?

After you do that, the next thing to look at is the drama that the drama goblin is causing around what is happening in your life.

You might find that you feel unsafe because you are in a lot of debt, perhaps.

So the drama goblin is going to tell you that you are a failure.

YOU didn't get your business working; YOU didn't get this thing working; YOU made that investment that didn't work; or YOU hired that person who turned out to be awful.

The drama goblin is the part of you that is ALWAYS going to start to bully and criticize YOU!

So, after you realize that safety is what you are really seeking, and what is making you feel bad is to start to separate the facts and the data from the drama.

How To Remove the Drama Goblin's Grip on Your Business Mindset

The drama is going to be everything that you are afraid is true or not true about yourself. That is how you know it is just drama.

The drama goblin is going to start to call you a failure.

It's going to start to call you names.

And it's going to start to tell you that this is going to end up with this horrible future. Right?

This is why the very first episode that I made for the Hexodica podcast was literally on how to get out of feeling like a failure.

It's called 'What to Do When You Feel Like a Failure: A 10-step Self-Transformation Strategy.'

Because self-coaching and being able to separate what's happening from the drama in your head are so important for both living a good, happy life and for your business.

So, go back and listen to or watch that episode if you would like some really detailed strategies on how I self-coach my way through this drama goblin business.

So now, understanding that you are always seeking safety, here is a slightly uncomfortable question to ask yourself:

How many business decisions have you made based on something that never actually happened?

You may be feeling stuck in business because you're making decisions based on stories that were never confirmed.

If someone didn't buy from you, for example, that is not a rejection of you. That is data.

If you have low engagement on a post, that's feedback. It's not a failure.

Or if a launch flopped, then congratulations, because you're officially doing business like every successful entrepreneur ever!

Everyone has many failed launches before they have one that works out.

Success in business is built on a pile of failed attempts.

And yes, a big pile of failures big enough to eat your fear for breakfast Like, so, SO much epic failure.

If you have not internalized and if you do not live by the motto that success is reached by many, many failures, then you are not ready for business, my friend.

You need to internalize and accept right now that failures are a part of this path. They are a necessary part of the path.

There is no getting around the fact that you will need to have many, many failures.

Your job is not to predict outcomes, okay?

Your job is to put the input in. It's to show up.

It's to create value, and it's to sell the thing that you believe in.

Everything else outside of that is none of your business.

Most Businesses Are Not Stagnant Because of A Sales or Marketing Problem💥

Or because the market is too saturated.

They are stagnant because of a lack of clarity.

Perpetually stuck in a mindset feedback loop.

They are overthinking, hesitating, and making bad decisions based on overthinking and drama goblin fears.

And they are losing momentum because of those bad decisions.

Then overthinking some more because of they made a bad decision, and now they're not trusting themselves anymore.

It might be just a complete lack of alignment.

Like, what you are trying to do is not really what you truly want in your heart. Maybe your heart's not in it anymore. Perhaps it's time to start doing some soul-searching to see if this is the business that you really wanted in your heart. And if not, how can you make it that business? Or how can you switch or shift?

Because you can't continue to work on something that is a confusing mess or that isn't in alignment with what you truly want, right?

You're going to be feeling like you're spinning your wheels. Not going to get anywhere for a long time.

You need clarity.✨

And sometimes you cannot get clarity when you're only in your own head.

Clarity Is The Answer For Helping You Get UNSTUCK

To gain clarity in business, it helps to get some outside perspective.

Someone who can see the things you may not be able to see because you are too deep in your own work trenches.

And that is what a business and marketing mentor can do for you.

So, if you would like my help to see if your marketing or your business is a problem, or if it might be something that is happening in your head, then I have the perfect thing for you!

You can get my S.W.A.N. Marketing Audit and Treasure Map service, and I will look at what you're doing online now, and I will find what is working, what isn't working, and what is missing.

I can help you get some perspective on how to rethink the way that you're thinking about it in a way that's going to serve you and your big vision.

A lot of people are feeling stuck in business because they think it's something to do with their marketing strategy or tactics.❌

But in my experience, they're usually stuck because they believe a story that was never verified.

A good example is the belief that their market is too saturated. No market is too saturated for a well-positioned product.

Or there are just so many stories that I've heard people say that are completely not true.

Some stories are pure misinformation, like the belief that email is dead. That is a freaking STORY. Do not believe anyone who says so, because there are so many other stories of people who are having great success with email newsletters right now, for example.

So the question to ask yourself here is:

What if this feeling stuck in business is just about being too stuck in my own head?

Because if that is the case, then you just need some outside perspective. Right?

And if you're hearing this and you are quietly recognizing yourself in this, then the next step isn't to quit. Or even to go after another strategy or a late-night rebrand session. Okay? It's not to burn it all down.

Get honest with yourself about that drama goblin in your head and look at what's really happening in your business.

The key is to gain some confidence and some clarity around WHY you feel stuck right now.

And that is exactly what my S.W.A.N. Marketing Audit and Treasure Map service will help you get!

Ready to STOP Feeling Stuck in Business And Gain Some Clarity NOW?

If you're ready to gain clarity and confidence about what it is that you are doing, my Treasure Map service can help you.

We're going to strip away the noise, the assumptions, and the guesswork.

And we're going to look at what's really blocking momentum analytically with factual data.

Through your copy, through your social media, through your website, through all of the different online marketing channels. We will find the untapped opportunities as well - your hidden TREASURE!

I'm going to give back to you the confidence to make clear, confident decisions that you can TRUST.

And that trust is going to make you feel like you can finally get the momentum that you need.

I've worked with enough creative business owners over the years that I can quickly see the main bottleneck.

And I can translate that into clear and simple next steps so that you can take action on what you need to do right away in chronological order. I give you a priority spotlight because so often I have found that business owners don't know what to focus on next. Or they don't know what the most important thing is.

We're going to be looking at the metrics that matter.

And we're going to look at them in a focused and strategic way so that you can move forward and you can get unstuck!

So, I hope that you found this advice useful.

I am here to help you if you are in need. This is exactly what I would love to help you do!