How I Sabotage My Business

I have always been one to do first and think later. There’s no better way to learn than jumping straight into the deep end. I set up and launched Pretty Pickles in a month and have been learning since. The momentum was great at the beginning but now I catch myself using the same excuses to stunt its growth.

Could you be doing the same?

“You have to spend money to make money but I don’t have enough capital.”

I use this excuse all the time knowing it is not true. We are in an era where social media, blogging and content marketing dominates the way we interact with our consumers. These channels are very cost effective ways to market a product or service. I have a PR and marketing background – putting my skills to use has stretched my non-existent marketing budget. Finding the capital to purchase inventory and invest in research and development has been tricky though. To overcome this hurdle, I have spoken to investors and looked into getting a bank loan. I have also considered using crowd funding sites like Kickstarter. If you really want to make it happen, you will find a way.

“I don’t have time.”

A universal excuse to procrastinate in an array of situations. There are 24 hours a day and how you spend time is entirely up to you. Sure – we may have the typical 9-5 schedule but you can always make time for something you want/love to do. It’s about prioritising. You may not be able to spend every evening on your business/hobbies but if you could schedule in 5 hours a week, it would be a great start. Some of the most successful mummy bloggers work in between shuttling their kids to school, housework and other mum duties.

“I don’t have the experience.”

This is a catch-22. If you don’t take the plunge and try, how will you have experience? I had no experience in blogging or e-commerce when I decided to launch Pretty Pickles. There is a wealth of information on the web. Chances are – there will be an answer for every question you may have. If you still have hesitations about taking the plunge, volunteer or get an internship to get the experience.

These three excuses take a lot of motivation to overcome but I always do. What excuses do you use to procrastinate?

Iona Yeung

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