Why Your Business Still Isn’t Funding Your Dream Life And How to Stop Blaming Yourself

If your online business isn't funding your dream life yet and you're feeling frustrated AF, here are 20 things to check to FIX it!

Because there are 20 solid, logical, research-backed reasons WHY small businesses FAIL. And I'm about to walk you through every single reason right here, lovely guts!

So if you're business isn't working, you just gotta FIX one or more of these 20 things.

But what we cannot have you do for a second longer here is believing that YOU are the problem. Or that YOU are a failure. This is your official sign to say SAYONARA to those defeatist, inner drama goblin thoughts.

You are not failing if you're not where you want to be yet. Even if you've been grinding at it for months (or even YEARS).

There are reasons why running your creative business feels harder than it should.

And I don't want you to give up on the self-reliant AF, alternative lifestyle you’re trying to build.

So if that's where you are now... on the verge of giving up, questioning yourself, doubting you'll ever be able to quit your day job, or get off Centrelink (Australian welfare), or able to pay off a huge loan, or buy your dream car, or your dream campervan, or take your dream holiday, or buy the home of your dreams, this is for you.

As an online marketing mentor who's been self-employed for over a decade, I've studied each of these 20 reasons in depth so that I'm able to spot them when I'm working with my clients. Many of them are foundational business and marketing mistakes.

But the most important issues I see - always - are what's happening with how creative business owners THINK.

Are you thinking about your business in a sustainable way that's going to keep you working at it?

Because more than anything else, what you need to do to get your creative business earning enough to start funding your dream life is THE MENTAL GAME.

We've got to fix YOUR HEAD first.

Funding your dream life IS possible when you both believe that it's possible AND you know the fundamental, logical reasons why your creative business isn't making the money it needs to be making.

So let's FIX all of that, right NOW.

Continue reading, OR if you prefer listening, click below for the podcast version on the HEXOTICA podcast.🪄 🎧💫

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

Firstly, You're Not Going Crazy! Business is HARD AF.

You're not alone if you feel like the unsuccessful black sheep in a family of successful siblings who all already own their own homes. And you're still renting.

They chose more conventional paths that require a lot less late nights, idea-generating, sales experimentation, failed ad campaigns, and multiple software and social media platforms to figure out. All on their own.

They chose a train; you chose a wheelbarrow.

Business can and will feel like an absolute grind at times.

The important thing to remind yourself is WHY you chose to start your business in the first place.

You already knew business wasn't going to be easy, but you believed that it is WORTH the hard work. You CHOSE this. Doing this is a CHOICE. So remind yourself of that often.

The security you'll gain once you know how to keep a client or customer pipeline FULL is a far greater security than what most jobs will ever offer. Nobody will ever be able to furlough, fire, or make redundant the money-making skills inside your brain!

But perhaps you just had no clue HOW hard it would be...

And that was to be expected, because when we break down what makes anything in life feel hard, it's because it presents us with a whole bag of problems that we have personally never had to face.

So it's OK that you underestimated how hard business would feel. It's so common; almost every new entrepreneur goes into business way, way, underprepared for the MOUNTAIN of problems they have to face to make their business highly profitable.

But what I want you to understand is that all of these problems are there for you. They were meant to be there for your growth, both as a person and for your business.

Know that with every new problem you solve, your confidence and your revenue will grow.

So all of these problems you face - try to embrace them; don't run away from them.

They are simply problems to be solved. To figure out one by one.

It's important that you do not allow your mind to create narratives about any of these problems, and that you approach solving each of them with a kind of engineer or scientific mindset.

Just to refresh you on what the scientific method is, let's review it now:

1. Ask a question: Identify a problem or thing you want to explain.
2. Do research: Look at existing information and past studies.
3. Form a hypothesis: Make an educated guess or testable prediction.
4. Run an experiment: Test the prediction through planned actions and collect data.
5. Analyze the data: Look at the results to see if they match your guess.
6. Share results: Draw a conclusion and tell others what you learned.

In this case, as a marketer or business owner, 'sharing your results' is repeating what worked. And NOT repeating what didn't work.

Now, let's walk through step 1 briefly. In order to identify what the REAL problem is in our business - and it definitely ain't you, right? - we have to be familiar with what the main things that cause problems in a business even are.

The Top 20 Reasons Why Businesses Flop

So here's the top 20, according to research done by CB Insights.

They analysed 101 publicly available startup post-mortems to gather the following data. So it isn’t a representative sample of all businesses, but it does help us see some of the big themes that cause businesses to flop:

1. They Sell Things Nobody Needs: 42%

42%! This is a massive one. People out here just selling brain farts.

They've got creative ideas, but they're not solving anyone's real problems.

Because even if you're selling a want-to-have thing like hair flowers or gothic home decor, there's got to be a demand for it.

To solve this problem, you need to do market research.

2. They Run out of Cash: 29%

Where and how you spend early business revenue may determine how long you stay in business.

Every early expense needs to be seen as an investment: investment in good software, in mentors, in buying traffic with ads or time with a VA (virtual assistant).

For example, 30% of your business income should be going toward paid campaigns at a minimum.

3. They Don't Hire the Right Team: 23%

Failed business owners from this study cited their failure to hire freelance help when they needed it. Too many try to do everything on their own.

4. Couldn't Beat the Competition: 19%

Ignore your competition at your peril. It's not scarcity thinking to be aware of your own brand's strengths or weaknesses compared to others who sell similar things to you.

It's SMART to include something in your messaging that your competition does not.

5 Pricing and Cost Issues 18%

There are formulas and industry benchmarks for every type of business.

For example, there's a formula for pricing handmade crafts that you can use to ensure that you'll always make a profit.

These are the numbers you need to know to stay in business.

6. Shitty Product or Service: 17%

Don't start a business if you're not willing to hear bad feedback, get a shitty review once in a while, and deal with difficult customers. Businesses exist to help people, so don't start one if you're only in it to serve yourself.

Sell things worth buying.

Listen to all the feedback you can get.

7. They Need or Lack a Business Model: 17%

I talked about the importance of having a viable business model in a previous post, How To Get Started Crafting Additional Income Streams Online.

Starting a business without considering what business model suits your interests and lifestyle can lead to early failure or burnout.

8. Shitty Marketing: 14%

You know you have shitty marketing if your audience is not growing!

Your email list and potential new customer leads should be growing steadily every single week, every month.

If it's not, come to me; this is what I can help you fix!

9. They Ignore Their Customers: 14%

This happens when brands never develop the fourth and fifth essential foundations of marketing.

The fourth is customer retention (keeping the people who already bought from you happy that they bought from you, and maybe even coming back to buy again) and brand Advocacy. Brand Advocacy is mostly out of your hands, but if you build the first 4 foundations of your business correctly, it takes care of itself.

I teach the 5 essential foundations in this post, The Signature Business Systems That Turn Your Brand Into a Magical Money Magnet

10. Product Mis-Timing 13%

So products or services have to hit the market just at the right time, or their window of opportunity is gone.

11. They Lose Focus: 13%

Many businesses get sidetracked when business owners experience health issues, divorce, grief, birth, addiction, or some other personal issues. Other times, they might get caught up in a distracting side project.

12. Disharmony on Their Team or With Co-Founders: 13%

When personalities or intent clash, shared business goals may fail.

13. Pivot Gone Bad: 10%

Pivot when you're either forced to or when you've done your research to make it make sense. Don't pivot just because you get bored.

14. A Lack of Passion: 9%

I've seen this happen with many successful online business owners and even with my own clients.

Once you lose interest in what it is you're selling or doing, it can be hard to keep going.

I don't believe there's a lot you can do once you've lost passion for your business except to rebrand and try something new.

Or just be VERY careful about how you truly feel about your business idea BEFORE you start investing.

Starting a business is like getting married - it's a big decision you'll have to live with for years to come.

15. Bad Location: 9%

Interestingly, what the study revealed was that this wasn't just an issue with physical location; it was also of an issue with having remote workers spread out across different states.

The administrative issues with all the varying payroll and tax differences were too much for a small business.

16. No financing/Investor Interest: 8%

No one wanted to invest in their businesses.

Or they were shitty at pitching to investors because they never watched Shark Tank!

17. Legal Challenges: 8%

For creative online business owners, this can be a big one. Freelancers need to have solid contracts. Websites need to have privacy pages and terms of service pages.

For content creation, be aware of commercial license use for music tracks, images, and videos.

Be careful of the claims you make and understand the legal requirements of your industry.

This was a big one for a psychologist client I worked with for 6 years. There are strict AHPRA Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, laws that we had to comply with.

For example, in all of her social media, we had to be very careful with what claims we made about what would work, and we often used the softer phrase of ''may help you'' instead of ''can help you.''

18. Don't Use Their Network or Connections: 8%

For small biz owners, this could be investors and mentors, but it can also be your local community, your industry peers, and all of the untapped connections that your acquaintances, friends, and families could help you with.

I have hosted a monthly local business women's group here in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne for the last 7 years because I value local business connections for my mental health. Three of my closest friends are from that group!

And now I run my free online networking group for unconventional creatives through Hexotica's Inner Sanctum Circle. We're meeting every Friday, if you'd like to join us!

It's often said in business that your net worth reflects your network.

So get out and meet people! You're probably ignoring many people who could use your help or creative skills right now, or who could help you.

19. Burnout: 8%

Burnout is what happens when you don't balance your work with your life. What's the POINT of funding your dream life if you're too busy working to enjoy it?

Don't wait to reach a lofty revenue goal before you take a holiday. Become a pet-sitting digital nomad to travel NOW. Get paid while you travel. Learn how to keep your nervous system regulated and calm.

Burnout is a deadly illness; not everyone who experiences it recovers from it entirely...

20. Failure to Pivot: 7%

And lastly, some businesses die when they can't see that a ship is sinking - it's called the Sunk Cost fallacy.

They have invested so much time and energy into something that they are unable to force themselves to abandon ship when it starts to sink.

So now that you know what to look for first, it's time to dig a bit deeper.

Research the areas that you think you are stuck on. Hire help if you need to get professional advice or insight.

Whatever you do, stop blaming yourself, and don't try to do everything on your own.

Stop blaming yourself for not already having a business that is giving you the life that you thought you'd have by now.

Stay patient, and stay focused on possibility and potential. Your mind is the load-bearing pillar holding everything up.

Funding your dream life is possible when you FIRST start funding your self-belief in what is possible!

How much did you spend on paid ads this past month? Have you ever hired a VA? A copywriter or a marketing mentor?

Did you fund your self-development and health this past month?

Fund the solution to blast away the problems that are in your way.

And I'm not talking just money here. Funds are often in the form of your focus and your attention. Your willingness to research, strategize, and solve your problems. Your willingness to look inside your own mind and see the cause of your suffering. To analyze your thoughts. And to see what's really blocking you.

But my guess is... if you've read everything down to this, then you ARE invested in yourself.

Reading this IS a form of funding your dream life and success!

Ready to Start Building the Business of Your Dreams?

If you're exhausted, frustrated, and wondering whether this whole dream is ever going to happen for you, please don't make the mistake of turning a business problem into a personal indictment.

You're allowed to want the alternative lifestyle of your dreams, yet feel very shitty about your decision to do so occasionally.

Just never remain in a self-pitying, poor-me state of mind for long at all.

Get scientific!

Identify the problem, and get strategic on its ass.🔍👀

And if you need help, that's what I'm here for. There are currently two ways you can book my help with no application requirement: With my Marketing Audit & Treasure Map service or my 4-week organic marketing strategy mentorship, The SWAN Academy.

Both will help you build the 5 essential foundations of marketing with my help. You'll go from a floundering, self-blaming biz owner feeling like a failure to a confident, money-making Marketician with a growing subscriber list and solid sales strategy through zero-cost, organic marketing.

But! If you're not quite ready to jump into working with me and would like to get to know more about my S.W.A.N. mentoring framework, grab my FREE printable guidebook below.

It lists everything you need to do to start and grow an online business - in chronological order!

Don't give up on funding your dream life. Let's just figure out what needs to change!