3 Big Excuses that Keep Entrepreneurs Stuck

We all make excuses.  We rationalize why we can’t do something.

• I’m too busy
• I don’t have enough education
• I’m not talented enough
• No one will be interested in what I have to say

Therefore excuses become the focus instead of diving deeper into the REAL reason we aren’t taking action on something. 

Excuses are an easy solution to get out of doing something.  The problem with excuses is that if you use them enough, you will begin to believe they are true. 

Your thoughts then become your words, your words become your actions and your actions become habits that keep you from ever moving forward. 

In this post, I am calling out 3 big excuses I hear most from aspiring entrepreneurs that are keeping them stuck and ultimately sabotaging their success!

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Excuse #1: I don’t have time

How often do you say this?  

Be honest.

I am guilty of uttering these words many times in the past, but I have slowly come to recognize this phrase for what it truly is. An excuse.

I know you are busy and juggling A LOT!  We all are.  

But if you REALLY want to do something, I assure you, you will find the time.

What is really going on:

It’s not that you don’t have enough time, it’s that you don’t have the desire to give something up in your life to get that time to do something else.

If you want something bad enough you will make the time for it at the expense of something else that you deem less important. 

There is always a trade-off. 

For example, if you want to watch a few hours of TV each night or sleep in on the weekends they are fine choices.  No judgment here. But know that the amount of time you have depends on the choices you make.  

We always find time for what we want the most.  

For some that may look like working out for two hours a day, for others it may be scrolling social media throughout the day, watching Netflix every night, or waking up early each day to work on a side business before your kids get up.   

You are absolutely free to choose how you spend your time.  But you also have to take responsibility for your choices.

There are tons of successful entrepreneurs out there who are building their businesses while working a full-time job, while raising kids, while being active in their community, etc. 

There are thousands of books published every year by incredibly busy individuals with corporate jobs and families. 

How are they doing it?  What’s their secret?

Successful people are extremely intentional with their time.  

We all have the same 24 hours in a day.  It’s how we use our time that determines our ability to accomplish our goals.

Replace this excuse

When you find yourself saying that you “Don’t have the time,” replace it with the phrase, “This is not a priority for me.”  

If the thing, person, goal, etc. that you are saying you don’t have time for is truly not a priority for you then you will be able to move on quickly.  

However, if it is a priority to you this statement will sting and put things into perspective very fast.   If this is the case it will be easier to make the choices that will move you toward your goals.

Don’t be afraid to ask for support.  Work out a schedule with your spouse to make dinner on certain nights each week.  Hire a babysitter or a house cleaner for a few hours each week so you can work distraction-free.  

Excuse #2:  It costs too much

This is probably the most used excuse out there and it literally costs so many entrepreneurs their dreams, their success, and ultimately money.

Successful entrepreneurs know that there is a BIG difference between spending money (cost) and investing.  

What’s the difference between a cost and an investment? A cost is simply spending of money, time, or resources. An investment is spending that has a strong possibility of a return.

In other words, successful entrepreneurs know that they need to invest in themselves and their businesses in order to grow.  

No matter what type of business you want to start, whether it be online or a brick-and-mortar business you need to invest money into it.  Period.  End of story.

When you invest in yourself and your business you are putting (money) into something that offers potential profitable returns.

Now I am not saying that you should be throwing money to the wind, but so many aspiring entrepreneurs who expect that they can start and grow their business without investing any money are in for a really rough journey that will get them nowhere fast.  

What is really going on:

Money = security and as soon as you invest money in something, things get real, real quick.  

You are putting skin in the game and putting yourself out there when you invest in yourself.  Now you are committed to taking action and working toward making your dream come true.  And that can be scary to a lot of people. 

This is where your underlying fears of judgment, failure, success, etc take hold and the money excuse surfaces.  

Let me use myself as an example … 

When I felt ready to grow my first blog in the parenting space into a business, I tried to do it all on my own.  I googled everything and watched all the YouTube videos, but I wasn’t growing. So much of my time was being wasted.  

I attended a free workshop hosted by a blogger that I had learned things from on YouTube.  Throughout the workshop, I agreed with everything she said and I felt ready to sign up for her course. Then I saw the price…  $300!  

I had been so excited about starting her course, but as soon as I saw the price, I told myself ‘No Way!’  I thought I simply couldn’t afford it and went back to unsuccessfully piecing information together that I found on the Internet.

After several months and quite a few failed attempts to find the right blogging platform and strategies later, I got an invitation to the same workshop.  I attended and this time clicked the purchase button.

I felt like I was going to throw up!  Instantly I wondered if I had made a mistake.

But then I opened up the course and got excited.  What I needed was laid out for me step-by-step from a trusted source.  

What happened next…

Investing in this course allowed me to speed up the entire process and in turn, helped me start making money ALOT faster.  

That $300 investment I was terrified to make has earned me hundreds of thousands of dollars over time and has allowed me to stay home with my kids. 

And I didn’t stop there.  I began to see the value of investing in myself and the amount I invested in myself and my business grew as I grew.  

The next step was a $1,000 group coaching program which I was excited to join, but it still made me feel like I wanted to throw up when I hit the purchase button.

And this past year I invested 5 figures into a coaching program, to help me take my business to the next level.  That was a whole new level of fear.  If you had told me I would have done that a few short years ago I would have thought you were absolutely crazy!!  

What allowed me to do this was my mindset shift. I wasn’t spending 5 figures that I would never see again.  I was investing it into my business, so that I could get a return that doubled, tripled or even quadrupled my investment.  

Successful entrepreneurs know the difference between cost and investing.

If you don’t invest in yourself and your business, you will never have a successful business.

Replace this excuse

Instead of saying what is the cost?  Ask what is the return on investment.

Now before you start screaming at the screen saying that you would gladly invest in your business if you could, but you simply don’t have the money- hear me out.  

Saying you can’t afford it, is just another money story you are telling yourself.  It’s another excuse.

Again, if you want it badly enough, you will find a way.  

Ask yourself – how you could afford it? 

You could:

• Take out a business loan
• Work out a loan from family
• Use your tax refund
• Cut back on certain things – Going out to eat, get rid of one or more TV subscriptions, change your cell phone plan. etc.
• Sell stuff in your house that you no longer need/want

The coach that I invested 5-figures in was on food stamps when she was trying to start up her business. She ended up selling things in her house and got an older car to get the money to invest in her business. Now she has generated over a million dollars in sales!

When I invested that first $300, I stop eating out for a while and used the cash from my cashback credit card for the investment.  When I started investing more, we cut back on other things like going on vacation one year and buying a used car instead of a new one.  

I’ll say it one more time, if you want it bad enough you will find a way.

Plus, when you put your own money into something, you are going to work so much harder to get a return on your investment. This builds even more momentum and therefore success.  

Replace I can’t afford this with how CAN I afford this.  

Excuse #3: I’m not ready/I’ll do it later  

Here’s a quick riddle for you……

Five green frogs are sitting on a log and four decide to jump off. 

How many are left?

Take a guess…

Most people will say 1, but that would be wrong.

The answer is 5, because deciding to do something is NOT the same as actually doing it. 

If you find yourself dreaming of starting and/or growing your blog and/or business, but you keep procrastinating or coming up with excuses, this riddle will ring true for you.

• I’m not ready to create a website because …
• I will take that course later when …
• I’ll start once I am more confident with …

Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker and entrepreneur described how people fall prey to what he coined the Law of Diminishing Intent.

This law states that the longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it.

What is really going on:

Change is hard, so we actively cling to the status quo and resist the change that will move us forward.  

You may not feel like you know enough or aren’t qualified.  You might be worried about failing or being judged.  

The hard truth is that you have to do things you have never done to get the results you’ve never had.  

You will never get much done in life if you wait until you are ready.  There will never be a time when you feel fully prepared to do things that are scary or uncomfortable to you, so the key to success is truly to start before you are ready.  

Replace this excuse with: Messy action.

First, start taking messy action and fail forward, because the longer you wait to take action, the less likely you are to ever take action.  

Are you prepared for that reality?

I have made a ton of mistakes in my entrepreneurial journey, but messy action creates momentum.  I continually learn from my mistakes and keep moving toward my goal.

What is one thing that you can do today to move you closer to your goal?  

 Action over Excuses

I have given you 3 big excuses that are keeping you stuck.  Are you ready to let go of the excuses that are keeping you small and sabotaging your success?

You CAN do this and you will NEED to if you want to achieve the goals you set for yourself.  

Which excuse are you ready to leave behind to move forward?  What actions will you take to get one step closer to your goal today?  Share it with us in the comments below so we can cheer you on!

Start taking action today:

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