Challenge #3: Bad Habits Are Bad for Business

5 Days into the 100 Day Challenge and I haven’t broken a sweat yet because I’m really making an effort to stay focused and break bad habits. I realize that ‘Bad Habits’ are things that plague us all, which is why it’s the #3 Challenge on my growing list of ‘Challenges that Entrepeneurs Face’. This is a list I will continue to develop over the next 100 days.

PreChallenge: Pricing Your Products
Challenge #1: Finding Customers
Challenge #2: Where to Start
Challenge #3: Breaking Bad Habits (The Big Topic of Today)

As perfect as some folks think I am, I’ll be the first to let you know that I have my share of bad habits (and these are the things I encourage you to work on all the time.)

1. Under-pricing
2. Starting too many projects prematurely
3. Giving High Quality at Unusually low costs
4. Trying to save people who can’t be saved
5. Taking Negative Criticism too seriously

We all need to be validated. We all need to SEE progress. We all have insecurities. We all have bills.  We all have bad habits. …

More often than not, one or all of these things will push us head first into a pile of frustration, desperation, procrastination, and failure. Bad Habits creep up in all aspects of your life and they are there when you least expect it. Rather than be ashamed of them or afraid to share them with you, I constantly point out my own bad habits so that I can spot them quickly and avoid them as often as possible. Of course when my defenses are up and my blinders are on, I usually need my hubby or Richelle to point them out for me (lol). Their honesty is sometimes not what I want to hear, but I’m greatful even when agitated because I know that  they have my best interest at heart. When it comes to your own bad habits, don’t be afraid to hear and/or acknolege the truth.

At the end of the day, you must remind yourself that your ultimate reason for being an entrepreneur is to do what you love, love what you do, and make good money at it too! If your money isn’t right, then apart of the solution to making it right is fixing the wrong habits that you’re holding on to. It doens’t matter if you can’t start off perfect, because pefect never comes. It doens’t matter if your not making millions right now, because your millions will come in time. It doesn’t matter if your definition of good money is chump change to someone else. It doesn’t matter if your idea of a dream business is someone elses nightmare. And it certainly shouldn’t matter if someone has something less than flattering to say about what you do. All that matters is your definition of who you are, what you do, and what success means to you.

Find clarity and calm in the definitions that you set for yourself. Find growth and wisdom in turning your imperfect habits into perfect learning lessons. Find drive and motivation to persevere through defeats by finding happiness in every small victory. Bad habits are bad for business, so start making some good ones.

Speaking of small victories (here’s my 100 Day Challenge progress report):

• A few focused days of research and writing has translated into increasing my weekly Adsense Revenue by about 35%-40%.
• One of my new affiliates (from my new Affiliate Program) just made her first affiliate sale and we’re both excited about that! Second to paying my bills on time, I think giving my affiliates their commission payouts is going to be my next favorite thing to do (lol)!  I love waking up and seeing cash in the morning, so I’m really going to love sharing that feeling with them (and you if you are one of my affiliates).
• As I’ve mentioned in my coaching webinars, I learned the hard way that you don’t have to kill yourself to sell your products by doing discounts every day. With a little testing and researching, I’m mastering the art of timely special offers, which is proving handy as far as my $20,000 goal for the next 100 Days. Yesterday, I did a $10 2 Hour Special on my eCourse: How to Find Customers Online, which I only did for my BBWO members. I wasn’t aiming on breaking the bank (and I didn’t) but the spike in sales was nice and  the extra cash was nicer. Moreover, the fact that I got a new set of customers to trust me, buy from me and find value in my products is priceless.