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How to Get Unstuck and Regain Momentum

Newton's First Law of Motion: An object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Running your own business, especially alone, you're bound to get stuck and feel like you've reached a plateau or worse still, you feel as if you just can't gain forward-moving motion. The danger is not in getting stuck, but in prolonged inactivity -- inertia. This phenomenon is frequently observed in entrepreneurs starting a new business.

Common causes can be:

• isolation, lack of support, negative environment
• overwhelmed with all the work involved in running and marketing a business
• no money coming in, no clients, the loss of a client
• unrealistic expectations
• out of ideas
• it's harder than you thought
• your services are too general, saturation of the industry, fierce competition
• inexperience
• sending out the wrong marketing message, attracting the wrong type of client (or none at all)
• lack of clearly defined short- and long-term goals with a plan and timeline to achieve them
• [insert your own here]

Loss of momentum is one thing - at least you've experienced it. But the situation is amplified if you've never experienced any sort of progress or advancement in the first place. You may feel hopeless, seeing no light at the end of the tunnel and are ready to throw in the towel on this whole running-a-business thing.

So how do you break out of a lull?

The first thing to realize is that this is a normal part of the business cycle. Ask any entrepreneur, even the successful ones -- we've all been there and we still experience it from time to time.

Secondly, remember that this is temporary -- but for how long depends much on you. The harsh reality is that as an entrepreneur, you are the one solely responsible for getting yourself unstuck.

The secret? Keep on keeping on. If you are still in the marketing research phase, this may be an especially difficult time, because you may eventually feel like you've tried everything and nothing's working. That's when you must tap into your network. If you don't have a supportive network -- find one. Living and working in a remote area is no longer an excuse. The internet is full of free online business support and networking groups. If you feel like you've lost your perspective on the big picture and need someone to give you that gentle push in the right direction, you may consider hiring a coach.

Another important factor to getting out of your "stuckness" is to do what one of my colleagues does. At the beginning of each day, she asks herself "What can I do today to make money?" Now, this doesn't mean that your daily action list has to contain money-generating tasks, but your list should keep you focused on doing FIRST the activities that will directly and positively impact the success of your business. Activities may include: invoicing, following up with key referral contacts, joint venturing, networking, giving a referral, finishing a client project, or securing a speaking engagement. Once you've scratched those things off your list, then you can do "busywork" like reading e-mails, searching the internet, writing, etc.

If you take anything away from this, I want you to (1) not give up, (2) reach out and (3) work at one thing every day that directly contributes to the success and advancement of your business. Out of ideas? Ask someone to brainstorm with you. The more you get out of your comfort zone, chances are the greater your results will be, the better you'll feel and the sooner you'll get out of your slump and regain momentum.

Copyright. Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

Cristina Favreau helps service professionals simplify their marketing & self-promotion so they gain visibility & credibility, and get more clients. She makes marketing & self-promotion easy to understand and to implement. She starts at your level; usually after only 1 session, you’ll identify where you’re stuck in the marketing process and come up with immediate strategies to gain momentum. If you’re tired of working hard without results, schedule a free session by visiting www.cristinafavreau.com

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