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When I started my business I wrestled with showing up how I wanted to versus how I thought I should show up as an entrepreneur.
There was this pressure to appear very professional, to give off a certain image of success.
There were unspoken expectations that I struggled to accept. Until I realized that having our own businesses means that we get to run them in the way that we want. And that we don’t have to fit ourselves into a mold of what success should look like.
As I look back on my journey and as I work with more heart-centered entrepreneurs, I want to share the 6 biggest lies that heart-centered entrepreneurs believe when it comes to business:
1. You can’t be yourself, or you have to hide parts of yourself to be successful
When I entered Facebook Groups, I felt this tension where I felt like I couldn’t be myself. And that I always had to make an effort to look really successful, even if that meant doing things that felt unaligned and inauthentic.
But that didn’t work for me because as heart-centered entrepreneurs:
- we value authenticity, and as a result, prefer showing up as ourselves, unapologetically,
- and we’re not impressed by money or power or how many followers people have
We value having a business that feels aligned, and we can’t do that if we can’t be ourselves.
2. No one cares about your story
As an online entrepreneur, one of the things that makes you unique is your story.
Most heart-centered entrepreneurs are natural change-makers and are passionate about making a difference in other people’s lives.
This is why sharing our voices and sharing our stories is important, because when we step out and use our voices and platforms to bring change, do good, and make an impact, we empower other people like us to do the same.
In sharing our voices, we give others the courage to do the same.
3. Money equals success
As heart-centered entrepreneurs, how we define success might be different from how others would define it.
While making a lot of money is great, the thing that you’re really here for is people. You want to help people. You want to make your clients’ lives better or easier. This is why money is important, but it’s not everything.
4. That the popular way to sell is the only way
“Buy my stuff or die”
My coach said this describing fear-based marketing and it honestly cracked me up. But that’s how so many people sell online.
There is a popular way of selling that either makes people feel guilty or it just feels icky.
The truth is, selling will be uncomfortable if you’re doing it for the first time. Doing something new is usually a little uncomfortable.
But there’s a difference between feeling uncomfortable and completely grossed out because of the type of selling.
There isn’t one way to sell. And there is selling that can feel good instead of making you want to hide under a rock somewhere.
If you struggle with selling, I highly recommend working with someone who can help you do that. Someone who gets you, has been where you are and who will help you sell in a way that feels good.
5. Having an ideal client (or a niche) means you will exclude people who might really need your services
You might feel like you want to help as many people as possible, which is why niching down or having an ideal client isn’t an option because it means that you will exclude people that might need what you offer.
Sis, I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve felt the resistance when my first coach recommended niching down. And I’ve felt a lot of fear around it too.
And initially, when I niched down, I chose to niche down by industry based on the one I was most familiar with, and here’s the thing, it didn’t work for me.
What I didn’t know is that you don’t have to niche down by industry.
You can niche down by:
- specific traits like personality (e.g.: working with introverts),
- something you might have in common with your ideal clients (e.g.: being a mom),
- by city or town or
- by something else (like working with heart-centered entrepreneurs or empaths).
There’s more than 1 way.
And when you niche down based on the people you really want to help and those you have a lot in common with, it can bring so much joy and fulfilment into your business.
That’s not the only reason to niche down or have an ideal client.
Social media is such a noisy place that to stand out to your ideal client, they have to feel like you are talking directly to them. Which will be extremely difficult if you’re trying to talk to everyone or attract everyone.
6. If you talk about your prices, you’ll turn away people who need what you offer
This is something I see often. Heart-centered entrepreneurs either:
- don’t want to share what they charge until they get on a call with someone (so that if the person can’t afford it then they can reduce their prices)
- or undercharge or are willing to work for free to be accessible (as a disclaimer, I will say there will be moments when working for free makes sense. Especially when you’re starting out in business )
But here’s the thing: As a heart-centered entrepreneur, you are most likely in business to make money, to support yourself and your family, to do the things you want to do like:
- going on vacation,
- buying a house or paying off debt,
- or you might want to retire your partner so that they can get a job they love (without worrying about money) or so they can start their own business.
But you can’t do that without money sis.
And if you’re not charging your clients at all, or if you’re not charging enough, you will eventually burn out.
It’s important to evaluate how much money you need to take care of yourself, your family and your business.
If you want to work fewer hours, you might need to charge enough to be able to delegate different parts of your business so that you have more time to do the things you dream of doing.
And there are still ways to serve people that can’t afford your services right now. Being on social media and giving away free value is one way, another way would be to give scholarships or giveaways perhaps once a year, or more than once. It’s up to you.
But you don’t have to feel guilty about charging people for your services.
Did I leave anything out? Leave a comment and let me know.
And if you liked this post, share it with heart-centered sisters that might need it!
