Episode 202
Living in an inflated reality – Navigating Business Challenges in 2023 [Ep. 202]
In this episode of The Real Truth about Business Podcast, Michelle addresses the challenges business owners are facing in 2023, emphasizing the need to dispel unrealistic expectations and the importance of understanding the unique circumstances of this year. She discusses how the business landscape has evolved since the unusual years of 2020, 2021, and 2022 and provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs to thrive in the changing environment.
Key Takeaways:
- 2023 Is Different: Recognize that 2023 is a distinct year with changed economic and spending dynamics compared to 2020-2022.
- Avoid Comparisonitis: Don't compare your 2023 performance to the inflated numbers of the past; those years were exceptional.
- Realistic Growth: Understand that not every year leads to exponential business growth; flat or incremental years are normal.
- Simplify and Strategize: Simplify offerings, focus on what works, and employ strategic planning for success.
- Embrace Growth: View challenging years as opportunities for personal and business growth.
- Seek Support and Planning: If you're uncertain about planning, seek assistance and guidance to navigate the challenges effectively.
By understanding the unique dynamics of 2023 and adopting a realistic approach to business growth, entrepreneurs can navigate the challenges and position themselves for long-term success.
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Transcript
Hey there, I've got an episode today that's been on my heart for a while that is a bit of a rant, but it's a conversation that I've had so many freaking times in the past, I don't even know, two months that I decided I was just going to record this episode because it's a conversation that needs to be had worldwide. So please, please share this episode because I think there's so many people that can relate to it. So if you're listening to this, share it on your socials if it resonates with you.
obviously don't just share. I always appreciate a share, but obviously if this resonates, please share it or at least send the link to somebody that you know could benefit from this too. But this one's going to be a bit of a ranty Michelle. Really with the expectation to try and clear up some, what I am seeing is just some like overinflated expectations and it's really making people feel bad and I'm sick of people feeling negatively about themselves over.
king about? I'm talking about: a lot of people are comparing: in those years. Right. And so: Michelle (:very lightly. I don't want to use that lightly, but I also want to say like it was easy to make money in 2000 in those years. It just was. And I want you to think about the factors you're involved, right? Like out of nowhere, 2020, there were a lot of people that lost their jobs. We were forced to stay home. We had nothing else to do. For many of us in every, a lot of countries, the government was literally printing money, printing money and depositing it to us on a regular. Our spending was way down because we couldn't go anywhere.
Right? So spending was down and people were, um, all these companies and a lot of businesses were really going low on their prices because they were trying to get you spending. And so we were sitting behind our computers. We had nothing else to do all day. And so as a business owner and as a solopreneur, there was so much new blood. There was just tons and tons of people coming into the online space and they were excited and they were
gures. And so this went on in: But the reality is, is that:scavengers just like, oh, me, let's jump in and dive in. And they were just, you know, and so a lot of people had negative experiences. And so they're super hesitant to reinvest. And our buyer behavior is just different. We're realizing now, like we're spending less time behind our computers. I think for three years we were forced to be here. And so a lot of people are like, I just want out. I want to go back.
Michelle (:You also have to remember a lot of those people that came into the works, but into the entrepreneurial space, they got jobs because they realized like, Oh, you can't just magically sit behind your computer and make six figures endlessly for endless amounts of time. And you know, it's not for everybody. Entrepreneurship is not for everybody. So key takeaway here, number one is that it's okay if you're feeling like this is not my gig. I, that's something I also could rant about forever is that like,
There's this thought that if it's not for you, you're a failure. And that's just a bunch of horse shit because it's not for everybody. Entrepreneurship is an up and down roller coaster of emotions and finances and all these things, and it's not for everybody. And if it's not for you, it doesn't make you a failure. Right? So anyways, that's a topic for another day. But here's the thing is like.
but these goals are based on:could have it. They were literally turning business away. So they turned so much business away and now they've set these goals based on all these things. Well guess what? Life's not that way anymore. Other companies have come back into the work, into the space. They're not, they're having to get you know more competitive with their pricing. They're actually getting outbid on some of these things right? And so they're acting like oh my god we're failing, we're failing, numbers aren't looking that good. No.
you started your business in: Michelle (:Okay, if you are, this was a conversation we just had in the mastermind is somebody who started their business during 2022, 21, I think, and scaled it to six figures very quickly because she was willing to say yes to anything and she was doing a lot of done for you and people were just throwing business at her again. And now she's feeling like, oh my God, I failed. My 2023 revenue is down. I expected it to grow. But here's the other thing too on this and key takeaway number two is that
Businesses do not double and triple their freaking revenue on average every single year. The only people that say that are the people selling you on their fucking programs that teach you that. And it's just absolutely ridiculous. Okay. Go talk to a local business owner. I guarantee you they're not doubling their business every single year. All right. So standard small business was that some years you remained flat or you remained level.
or some years you saw just an incremental growth or sometimes you even saw a little bit of a decline, but maybe you improved your processes, right? Like this is just standard business. It is totally normal and expected to have these years that are quote unquote flat. It doesn't make anybody a failure. The online space is the, and all the noise in this bullshit space is that, oh my God, you can go from 100,000, your next goal should be 500,000. That.
ears and you are feeling like:You made it through one of the hardest years that I've seen in probably six years, which is only gonna set you up for success moving forward. Because if you can make it through this, then there's not much more, you know what I mean? You can make it through a lot of things. And so, because a lot of people threw in the towel, there's a lot of people quitting, there's a lot of people saying screw this. And so, just know that buyer behavior is different. You do have to work a little bit harder. Lean in on your relationships, lean in on your communities. Go back to...
Michelle (:business basics, okay? You can't just fly and float around with this fluffy bullshit no plan and expect to make big, big money. No, it requires a little bit of strategic thinking. It requires having a plan. It requires making educated decisions. You can remain in a state of fluidity and saying yes and just kind of living in this world of like, let's just go with the flow, but you've also gotta take the time. If you haven't, listen to it. Go back to the episode on strategic planning.
and do a little reflection and use the data in your business. Use the data, the conversation that we had inside the mastermind, she was saying like, my income is down, blah, I switched all these offers, I feel like I have all these new offers, I don't know. And the simple question is, what offer do you love and which one makes you the most money? Go back to that, right? Like simplify your business if you are feeling like it's flat, okay? If you are feeling like it's flat, now is not the time to just create 8,000 offers.
because every single offer that you create still needs to be sold. I've said that, I will always say that. I probably, you've probably heard it in every single freaking episode I've recorded because it's true. Creating more and more and more offers is not the answer to your revenue issue. You need to be looking at your numbers and understanding what's working and what's not working and simplifying things, getting known, getting known as an expert, right? We talked about that in the episode before if sales are down, all right? And so,
And this whole month of podcasts that I'm doing in September are really centered around understanding the state of business and understanding and being a business owner. These types of years are just typical for businesses. If you weren't in the corporate space or you worked for a company before you started your entrepreneurial journey, right? Like those companies, I guarantee you had flat years. They had years where things weren't looking.
They weren't growth years and that's okay. It doesn't make you a failure. The online space has freaking programmed that into our brain so heavily that we've become this victim of Comparisonitis that is toxic and it's just not even, it's not even the truth, right? Like we're talking the real truth as always with this. That's not even the truth. Like that is not the truth about business. So.
Michelle (:I really just, I'm going to cut it off because I could go on and on about this, but the reality is that 2020, 2021 and 22, in my opinion, were overinflated just due to a varying of factors. Like I said, people were home, we had we had a little bit more freedom with our finance finances, because again, the government was like, here, go spend money. I mean, there was SBA tons of freaking loans. It was grant the PPE loans.
all these, the EIDL loans, all of it, and grants, and everything else, it was quite literally, I mean, I'm not gonna get into the political debate here, but it was free money, right? And so when it's not, there's no skin in the game, people are spending it a little bit more easily. But now all of a sudden, it's like, you work hard for every dollar that you're making, or when you've got more skin in the game, you're a little bit more frugal in where you're spending it, and you're also, people are just getting into like, do I need another course? Do I need one more program?
How many more things do I need? And so really doing that market research to understand what is your audience telling you that they need? Really, really looking at your offers. That's what you need to do in years like this is get back to the basics, get down to the nitty gritty, looking at what's working, what is not working, and make educated decisions, okay? But also, don't get discouraged. Don't get discouraged. The only way you lose is if you quit. So...
Just keep working towards it, but simplify it. Remember, more offers is not the answer to your revenue issue. It's not. Go back to the basics. What offer do you love? What one sells the best? And which one makes you the most revenue and profit? I saw a beautiful post today. I don't even know. I'd love to give her credit. I don't remember her name. About like,
selling a $5,000 offer versus a $2,000 offer and how most people fight to sell the $5,000 offer when really the $2,000 offer is far more revenue. And this is what our profit, this is again, why I believe wholeheartedly in the unlimited support package model because it's a much more profitable offer. That's just the reality of it. It's much more profitable. But anyways, that's my...
Michelle (:little bit of a rant today is that understanding that 2023, yes, it's been a little bit harder of a year, but it's also just been a little bit of dose of reality. Okay. And just understanding that this is business, this is business. There's nothing you're doing wrong. There's nothing anybody, you know, you can blame the economy, you can blame inflation, you can blame politics, but the reality is, is that there's always going to be something going on in the world. At this point in the world we live in.
It's inevitable. We just went through another hurricane here in Florida. I mean, they're used to seeing hurricanes once every five years. This is two to three years in a row we've gotten hurricanes, right? So the world is just always gonna have something. You can't blame. There's always gonna be a reason that you can blame something for why things aren't going as well as you think they should. When in reality, you can also just say,
I understand that this is a situation that we are in and here's what I'm going to do to try and combat that. There's always a workaround. There's always something you can do and it just takes a little bit of strategic planning. That's really all this comes down to is this is why it's so important to have a strategic plan and being able to look at your business and understanding it for what it truly is. Don't look at it any other way.
re stuck in the comparison of: you're going to push through: Michelle (:These are the years that give you the most growth. There's always, always bigger growth on the other side of some of these messy middles, right? And so these harder years are just, you have to have them. If every business, if every month and every year was like this stellar freaking amazing, easy peasy, you could turn six, seven figures without hardly even having to work at it, if it were like that, everybody and their freaking brother would be a business owner.
u jumped in with both feet in:Obviously this isn't working. You're listening to this episode going, you're right Michelle, I need to get my shit together. I need to have a plan, but I have no idea where to start. Well, guess what? I love it. This is what I love. We just had the best biz planning session like of the year last two weeks ago, whatever it was. So seriously, you know, it's okay. Give yourself the permission to say this has been a year of pivotal growth.
and use it as an app. All right? I love ya. I'll talk to you soon.
