Average experts may feel afraid to tell you that, but not me.
There are 7 things I want to tell you, 7 common fashion business mistakes.
1. You are not a superstar! I know that there are way too many service providers, all kinds of experts that are so desperate to get you to pay, that they will say anything good, I mean… crazy good to get to you. Good fitted jeans don’t mean you are fit and healthy. I’m not gonna lie to you. Of course, I don’t want to minimalize your accomplishments and I will be more than happy to celebrate your wins, but I’m not gonna lie to you. You are not perfect and I’m not either, so let’s stop pretending.
2. Your product or service may not be as amazing as you think. Your big passion, love to your products, nice colours don’t make your offer valuable to your target audience. Business is not a romance. It’s not gonna be beautiful and feel lovely. Many times is more about serious work. It’s about diving deep into your target audience, their needs, desires, troubles.
There are so many Facebook groups about business support, but do you know what’s wrong with them? People are asking for other’s opinions around their branding and offerings. But the bigger question is: are the users of those groups your target audience? If you will ask there for opinion, probably you will get some answers, but it won’t give you as much value as you think. Some responses may be really detailed, but it’s just an illusion. You need to research your niche, not the whole world. I would never use Facebook groups as the only way to get some feedback.
3. Speaking about the budget, revenue and money situation, in general, is not taboo. It may feel uncomfortable, but it’s super important. It will help you to see the bigger picture and it will help me support you better. Many entrepreneurs avoid numbers. They focus on their dream target instead of seeing how much money they actually made. Money is focus no. 1 in every business. You have to measure your numbers, you have to know your numbers and plan your finances in advance. Maybe now you are not proud of your money situation, but knowing the numbers will help you grow over time.
4. Your brand is not polished. I saw this problem so many times. People are so close to their business that they can’t see what’s wrong. Common mistakes are confused: too many information, different messages across platforms, branding that doesn’t match the market or is simply unattractive. Make your branding to match the price point of your offerings? Do your brand stand out? What makes you different from your competition?
5. Your offer is not clear or strong enough. Please avoid white noise, cliché terms that are all over the internet. Make your offer outstanding, irresistible and clear! The number one thing people are always asking about the offer is what are the results and what is your proof of that. Plain description of the product or service even well- written is not enough.
6. You don’t work hard enough. This is a big one! You may think that you are working so hard, you spend long hours working on your business every day. But it doesn’t mean that your work is efficient and valuable for your growth. Many times we just want to keep yourself busy to create this illusion of successful business. Popular mistakes of my clients are inconsistent, random actions. Many times they are waiting for the moment when they will feel like doing something. They count on their motivation. But random actions give random results. Playing around won’t let you win.
Don’t try to do everything. Choose the tasks that matter. Integrate those activities into your lifestyle and plan/ do things in advance. Your audience doesn’t care about your personal problems. Get your shit together and schedule in advance. Always have a plan for emergency situations or hire someone to outsource some work. I may feel sick, but I like money so there’s no freaking way I will pass on the opportunity and just stop doing things, stop promoting my business. Of course, you never know when sickness will catch you, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared. You need to create new value and show up daily. Leverage your resources and social media. Be hungry of progress. What can you do today to move things forward? What else?
7. It takes time, energy and money to build a business that you want. Entrepreneurship is trendy right now. People are showing entrepreneurship as this fancy lifestyle. But the reality is not so cute. There are many misunderstandings around it. It takes time to succeed, to get your voice heard.
Did you hear about posting on Instagram as a way to make insane money? Instagram is giving us a huge opportunity as any other platform. But the success of our profile depends on so many different things. Attractive bio, right pictures, rich content, smart CTA, consistency of posting, right hashtags etc. But before all of that, I would ask myself if my target audience is even using Instagram! How they are using it? How often? Would they look for what you have to offer on Instagram?
Whatever platform you use it won’t give you overnight success. Everything takes time, energy and investment of money. There’s nothing for free!
See you in the next post,
Patrycja Franczak
