All of us make our fair share of mistakes as we grow our businesses. And even if we have the very best intention, mistakes will still happen. But if we don’t pause and acknowledge mistakes, and learn from them, then it’s likely we’ll keep making similar mistakes. 

Mistakes get you where you want to be faster, but ONLY if you realize what you should be doing differently. Here are 5 mistakes I made when growing my business, and I hope my experiences help raise your self-awareness around common business mistakes to avoid altogether.

5 Business Mistakes to Avoid When Growing to 7-Figures 

1. “Work On Your Business, Not In It”

For a full 3 years I was the definition of working IN my business, not ON it. I did EVERYTHING. Sales, Marketing, Client Delivery, Operations, and Finance. I wore ALL the hats. I worked insane hours and was on the verge of burnout multiple times.  

I was afraid I couldn’t afford to hire someone. 

I told myself I didn’t have the time to train someone. 

I kept thinking that it “wasn’t time YET.” 

These were lies I told myself that hurt my productivity and ability to accelerate my business’s growth. I now wish I had hired someone from the beginning. A strategic first hire should do one of two things: 1) Make you money, or 2) Save you time so you can focus on revenue generating tasks. Waiting to make my first hire continues to be my biggest mistake to date. 

2. Worrying About Vanity Metrics Instead of Results

We are business owners, NOT influencers. Obsessing over how many likes, followers, and comments we get isn’t going to grow our bottom line. Virality is not the goal because we are NOT influencers. Big numbers don’t equate to $$$$. 

Sure, it feels good to have a post go viral. But it’s content related to the problems you solve that builds authority, nurtures strong leads, and gets you new business. Which is why your goal should be QUALITY and not quantity when it comes to your online strategy. 

3. Falling For ‘Shiny Objects’

I wasted months researching the perfect CRM. I went down an AI-obsessed rabbit hole trying to figure out how it was going to save me time or money…as well as how I could use this tool with clients. I task-switched a million times a day believing that the newest thing was going to lead me to the magic money machine and I’d hit 7-figures faster (Spoiler alert: There’s no magic money machine).

What I realized is that none of those things matter if I’m not focused on connecting with ideal prospects, serving them to gain their trust and turn them into clients, and then serving them at the highest level. So I turned all of my attention to delivering excellent results for prospects and clients—no shiny bells or whistles. 

4. Not Delegating Properly 

I hired someone to help me achieve specific business goals, and I quickly assigned this person to a brand new initiative. I assigned my team member a project that I hadn’t even done myself at that time. Doing this meant I didn’t have a clear SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in place. SOPs are the foundation (a bible if you will) for your business, and everything you do in your business should be well-documented. 

This resulted in a loss of both time and money. Big learning curve for me! I learned how important it is to have proven methods, a quality SOP, and a method for onboarding and delegating tasks to new team members.  

5. Not Speaking Your ICAs Language 

Ok, this mistake cost me tens of thousands (maybe even hundreds of thousands) of dollars in revenue. In working with my coach, I learned that my copy wasn’t a “level above” the ideal client I wanted to attract. The value I offered inside my group programs and 1:1 consulting wasn’t aligned with the copy I put out into the world. 

I made important tweaks to my website, profiles, posts, etc. and BAM. 

• Consults (with qualified leads) went up. 
• Conversions (with clients who understood & valued the support I provided) went up.
• Revenue (to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars PER CLIENT) went WAY UP. 

Moral of the story: Speak a level above the ICA you want to attract. 

These were some painful lessons…but the important thing is that early on I identified where I was going wrong so that I could course correct. 

And you can do the same. Mistakes will happen on your path to 7-figures…but it’s important to learn from them and shift your actions so you don’t get too far off track. My hope is that this list of business mistakes to avoid will help you not have to go through the same frustrations I had to go through in my own business.

Eager to learn more?

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