7 Characteristics That Keep People Broke And Business Stagnant

byNathanConner

1.7K followers

Updated 2 years ago

Most business owners start out with the best intentions. They want to run their businesses and earn enough money to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. There are no magic words that can make your business soar on autopilot. But there are traits, habits, and mindsets that keep you broke and business stagnant.

Have you ever thought about how much of your life is spent worrying about money? Most people are obsessed with their monthly cash flow, whether it be their grocery budget or their mortgage. In fact, some people have even become so concerned with money, that they have developed habits and behaviors that have kept them broke and stagnant. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the common habits that have prevented many people from reaching financial independence. We’ll explore 7 character traits that cause us to become broke and how you can break them for good.

Being Cheap

There are many ways in which an entrepreneur can be cheap. But it really comes down to not spending your time and resources where you ought to, so you can save a dollar. But the truth is what you ought to be doing is far more valuable than how much money is sitting in your bank account.

I used to be terribly cheap. I would visit the book store and skim through the business books without buying them, just to avoid actually buying anything.

My friend from when I was younger would tell me this: "You are tripping over dollars, so you can save a few pennies."

Things didn't really change for me until I bought a course for a whopping $37 (sarcasm). In that course, my early business mentor told me, "If you let being cheap keep you broke, people like me are going to eat your business for lunch. Invest in the tools, and training that will propel your business forward."

After that, I created a monthly budget for use in "Research & Development". This meant I would buy tools and training that I could use to develop my mind and refine my business processes. Shortly after taking this action, despite still being very early on in my development, I started to bring in my very first paychecks with affiliate marketing.

Tips To Overcome Being Cheap

Try to understand the value of things, rather than just focusing on the cost. Price is what you pay, but the value is what you get.

Create a monthly budget for yourself to invest in "Research & Development" through training to refine your blogging skillset, and invest in tools that will streamline your productivity and create more effective marketing campaigns. If you have a small budget, remember there are lifetime software deals available over on AppSumo and similar sites. You can also get a lot of highly-rated courses for a bargain on Udemy.

Fear Of Leverage

Once you have honed your skillset and found a process that is producing a profitable result, you should be ready to start scaling that income up by introducing leverage. Leverage basically comes from 3 different places.

1. Other People's Money

Other people's money is debt or borrowing money from people, or an organization. We fear getting into debt because it is like shackling up your Cashflow if things don't work out. But when it comes to the business world, taking on an appropriate amount of debt can be greatly beneficial.

2. Other People's Time

Other People's Money is hiring a person or an organization to render a service, such as website design or content writing. It could even be hiring a professional bookkeeper or accountant. New entrepreneurs fear this kind of leverage because they believe that no one will be able to do these tasks as well and authentically as they can.

3. Fear Of Leveraging Technology

A lot of people are afraid of leveraging technology. But technology can be the answer you need if you want to become more productive and reach your ideal customer.

Too much technology can leave you overloaded with tutorials and trying to figure out how to integrate the tech into your business processes. Too little technology and you can feel like you aren't getting anything done. Which could definitely be the case, because your competition could be leaving you in the dust. The key is finding the right balance, and only using technology to improve your efficiency in the right areas.

Tips For Mitigating Fear Of Leverage

One of the tips that I have learned over the years when determining how to apply leverage in the right areas of your business is to categorize your tasks into 3 separate categories.

1. Essential Revenue Producing Activities - In my business of building niche affiliate blogs, the two most important activities directly related to earning more money are Publishing Content, and Sending Emails to my list.
2. Essential Non-Revenue Producing Activities - In my business examples of these types of activities are setting up new websites, writing/creating content for my blogs, writing emails to send to my list, and doing keyword research.
3. Non-Essential Non-Revenue Producing Activities - In my business these types of activities are things like diving into courses and software that don't have a solid reputation. What I've found is that software can sometimes be full of bugs and be more trouble than it is worth. I've wasted a lot of hours learning how to use software and spending hours with support, only to end up refunding my investment in the product.

After you've determined what activities in your business go into each category, you then want to focus on maximizing your productivity in your Essential Revenue Producing Activities first. Your goal should be to spend 80% of your time on these activities and become as efficient as possible.

Then you want to focus on outsourcing, automating, and streamlining your Essential Non-Revenue Producing Activities as much as possible. Your goal should be to spend 20% of your time on these activities. I know that can seem upside down to a lot of people. But doing these activities yourself absorbs far too much of your own time when you should be doing more of what helps you generate more revenue.

Lastly, you want to eliminate and mitigate your Non-Essential Non-Revenue Producing Activities as much as possible. You don't want to waste your time because you'll never get it back. Before making an investment in something you'll invest your time into learning, make sure that it has been vetted, and has a solid reputation.

Arrogance

I see a lot of new entrepreneurs who are quick to judge the methods of a seasoned entrepreneur. It is often their arrogance that prevents them from developing as an entrepreneur and getting the results that they want in their business.

A recent example of this is a mentor of mine who builds websites called "Mass Page Sites". These are 10,000-page websites, that are targeting 10,000 keywords closely related to an offer he wants to promote. In fact, using this method he has built up a 7-figure income. But to a mainstream new affiliate marketer, he is likely to shoot down my mentor's method because it is "spammy", and "won't work long-term", even though it has worked for almost 15 years now.

I on the other hand decided to learn from him anyway, and what I discovered from his method is some incredible takeaways, that I can apply to my own business. I could use these "Mass Page Sites" to extract valuable keyword data from Google Search Console. Knowing the keywords that will easily rank with a Mass Page Site, will make it far easier for me to build a successful Authority Blog, with high converting content.

While I was able to learn and grow from this marketing method, many other marketing colleagues continue to stay stuck and stagnant because they didn't want to open their minds to ideas that they didn't agree with initially.

Tips For Mitigating Arrogance

Keep your mind open to all the different ways people pursue success, without judging their means. Chances are, even if you learn their methods, you won't execute their method in the same manner. Instead, you'll develop your own angle to their method as I did with using the Mass Page Sites.

Lack Of Education

The number one reason that people fail in their online businesses is that they haven’t done enough research. They don’t know how to sell, what they’re selling, or how to market. They are completely unaware of all the ways they can be successful online and how to do so. This is why they aren’t making any money. They are stuck and they can’t move forward.

To make sure that you will be successful online, you need to research the field that you want to invest in. You should learn about the various business models that are available to you. You should also find out which ones are the most profitable. Once you understand these things, you will be able to make an informed decision about what to do next.

Tips To Remedie A Lack Of Education

Pursue reputable & structured education so that you don't waste your time. This can be done through investing in online courses on Udemy, or finding a top expert in the field and buying their course. You can also join online communities that offer classes, such as Wealthy Affiliate. You just need to put in the effort to do so.

I have created my own courses over the years. In fact, I try to create a new course in between every major project that I've done that encompasses the important things that I've learned while executing my various marketing strategies.

I highly recommend you do the same. Not only does it create an asset that you can create a passive income from but it helps you to think deeply about what you know and refines it into a more effective workflow going into your next business projects.

Information Overload

While it's true that the Internet has made it possible for us to gain access to more information than ever before, there's also a downside to it. In fact, it's hard to find anyone who doesn't complain about information overload. There are too many choices, too much data, and too many distractions to get our attention. But when we're busy trying to figure out how to make a living online, we need all the help we can get. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to limit the amount of information we consume while still getting the information we need.

Tips To Remedie Information Overload

The first thing that you can do is to stay away from the news. It is very easy to get caught up in the news. You might think that you're reading about the latest celebrity gossip or about a political scandal, but you're really just being distracted by all the information that you're consuming. It's not really good for your brain. So, don't waste your time reading the news. Instead, you should read books, magazines, and newspapers that are more informative.

The second thing that you can do is to only watch programs that you really care about. For example, if you want to learn about how to be a better parent, then you should watch "Parenting with Dr. Sears". If you want to learn about the latest technology, then you should watch "Tech News Today". This will help you focus on the things that are important to you. The third thing that you can do is to only consume information from sources that you trust. This way, you'll know what to believe and what not to believe. And finally, you should always be aware of your limits.

Analysis Paralysis

Affiliate marketing bloggers are among the most successful online marketers. They have the potential to earn a lot of money, but they often struggle to achieve success. The reason for this is simple: they often fall into a vicious cycle of analysis paralysis. In the analysis paralysis cycle, a blogger looks at all the possible reasons why their affiliate marketing efforts are not generating the results they desire. This leads them to conclude that there must be something wrong with their affiliate marketing strategy. In turn, this leads to them not implementing any changes, and consequently, no positive change occurs.

How To Minimize Analysis Paralysis

You need to have confidence in yourself. You need to believe that you are capable of achieving your goals. You shouldn't be afraid to take risks. You need to make sure that you follow a good plan. You should also be prepared for any negative surprises that may happen. The key to success is to be confident. Be confident about your ideas, and your ability to implement those ideas. If you think that you can do something, you should act on it. Always think positively, and try to be optimistic. There will always be ups and downs in life. Don't be discouraged if you face setbacks. There is always a way out of it. You should find out what you can do to improve your situation, and you should focus on doing so.

Excuses

If you're a blogger who is struggling with affiliate marketing, you may be making excuses about why you aren't making money. If you've been working on your blog for six months and you haven't made any money, don't beat yourself up about it. Just figure out where you need to improve and make some changes. If you're still not making any money, it's time to get serious about your affiliate marketing business. Don't make excuses. Be honest with yourself about why you aren't making any money and how you can fix it.

The first step to getting results is to set a goal. It's not enough to just think about your goal. You need to write it down and put it somewhere where you will see it every day. Think about what you want. Write it down and don't think about it for a while. If you don't write it down, you won't be able to remember it. Once you have your goal written down, you can start making plans to achieve it.

Make sure you don't lose sight of your goal.

If you do, you won't get anywhere. You have to stay focused and consistent. If you are, you'll see results. Remember, if you want to achieve something, you have to be willing to work for it. Don't be discouraged if you don't see immediate results. It may take some time, but with persistence and hard work, you'll eventually reach your goal.

My Final Thoughts

Unless you are focused on changing yourself into a better entrepreneur, and marketer you'll likely stay broke and stagnant in your business. If you want to be successful in your business, you must constantly look at ways to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing world around you. The more you learn, the more you grow. The more you grow, the more people will want to work with you.

So, the question becomes how do you change?

First, you have to acknowledge that you are not who you were yesterday. In fact, you are not even who you were a year ago. You are becoming something new.

That means that the person you used to be, has to die. And the person you are today has to be born. And the person you will become tomorrow has to be created.

When you start a new way of conducting your life and begin a new way of being in the world, you will start to feel an enormous sense of loss, because the person you before had to die, and the person you now have to be born. But if you can find a way to be in this world with love, compassion, and understanding, you will also discover a sense of deep joy. This is how the death and birth of our old selves become a process of transformation. We are not changing who we are as people; we are becoming something new.