Stuck In a Rut? Recognize and Change These 6 Business Potholes

Many women are finding themselves in the rut of old patterns of behavior that are causing barriers to their business success. These bad habits are hurting their bottom line, their business relationships and giving them a false sense of security.

Women have so many wonderful characteristics. But sometimes these wonderful characteristics can become liabilities to their business.

How?

Women have been raised or conditioned by society to behave a certain way that makes them the nurturing sex. This isn’t a bad thing, but it can be a detriment when these behaviors are applied in a competitive business world.

Today’s smart business woman is beginning to see that her old ways of thinking and how she sees herself are not conducive to either increasing her business reputation or her pocket book.

If this sounds familiar or you’re not sure if you may be stuck in a rut, it’s time to find out, recognize what these old behaviors are AND what you can do about it.

There are 6 business potholes that women can fall into when building their dream company if they aren’t careful. They are:

Business Pothole #1:

Trusting Everyone. Women are taught to trust until there is a reason not to trust. They believe in giving the benefit of the doubt no matter what the evidence shows. Well, that’s like saying, “I’ll measure once and cut once!”

Before you hand over your faith, do your due diligence. What does their financial statement reveal? Who are their references? Are they reliable or relatives? What do your instincts tell you? What is behind the face value of what you see?

Get all the information you can. Take the necessary precautionary steps to assure that you are buying, hiring or dealing with what you want or need. This will save you a ton of grief, remorse and regret in the future. Listen to your grandmother, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Business Pothole #2:

Being The Hero. Women are the octopus of tasks because they work on several fronts: home, office, business, school, fun and exercise. They buy into the idea that they do better when under the gun! What woman doesn’t enjoy the accolades of successfully doing 17 things at once?

The reality is women are burning themselves out. They find no time to be present in their life, enjoy the sounds of their children or feel the contentment of a job well done without thinking of what needs to be done next. Trying to do it all takes a toll on their business.

To take yourself out of the rat race, give yourself permission to organize your activities, both personal and professional, so that they don’t put your work on hold. You can slow down, prioritize and focus on the few tasks that will make a difference in your business without sacrificing the other beautiful parts of your life.

Business Pothole #3:

Micromanaging. This is when women delegate, then watch over the person’s shoulder. Why? Because women know the value of everything being done right, and they really don’t trust (until they know for sure) that anyone else will do it correctly.

Another reason for micromanaging is the belief that it all has to be done your way. There is the fear of someone else’s way not working, or worse yet, causing irreparable damage. What’s the fear here? Women are usually the ones cleaning up the damage, and who has time for that?

The best way to overcome ‘micro-madness’ is to carefully scrutinize who you work with. See Business Pothole #1.

Business Pothole #4:

Neglecting Mistakes. Women are too quick to accept what is obvious. We trust easily (again, see Business Pothole #1), believe what we hear and quickly forgive and forget.

But there’s a price to that. If you don’t identify the root cause of what went wrong, chances are it will continue to go wrong, which means you will continue having to clean up and forgive and forget.

Mistakes happen for a reason. They are a reminder that something needs attention. What kind of attention is the question. You can look at the superficial features, giving in to the fear of the unknown, or you can tackle the mistake head on. Look it in the eye and see what isn’t so clear at the moment.

Finding out the root cause will benefit you AND your business in the long run.

Business Pothole #5:

Being Rude … To Other Women. This is sometimes a holdover from childhood. Remember the popular girls who seemed to get everything they wanted, including the captain of the football team? They were obnoxious and rude to the other girls.

Well, is this you now? If you were that girl, are you still being her? And if you weren’t that girl, do you believe you have a right to be?

One of the main complaints from women in business is women in business. They find themselves victimized by other women: women bullies, female manipulators, harsh lady bosses, and underhanded competitive female co-workers.

School days are over. The best friend you can have in business is another woman. A woman who understands, cares, and will go the extra mile for you. Develop your people skills. Make the effort to engage and encourage strong and mutual relationships with other women.

Business Pothole #6:

False Sense Of Confidence. Women are told to "fake it until they make it." Well, that may work for awhile, but it’s a short term fix at best. Continuing in this belief will only work against you when people start to discover you are faking it. They find you are uncertain about yourself, your company, your business, and your offer.

The best alternative to faking it is making it. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Do it for real. Show them ambition instead of apathy, self-assuredness instead of uncertainty, and determination instead of weakness. Actually become the self-confident person that is hiding beneath the layers. What potholes should you be dodging?