1. Maybe I’m Not Cut Out for This

This is probably the most dangerous lie I tell myself when I’m overthinking about money.

It’s dangerous because it makes a business problem feel like a ME problem. I’ve heard this from other business people and I think it’s so true; learn to detach yourself from the business.

Learning to detach yourself allows you to see the business for what it is. Maybe I didn’t book clients this month because of a bad strategy, maybe I did everything right but the timing was wrong, or maybe I could’ve added better CTAs at the end of my videos.

Looking at my business outside myself allows me to be objective about what actually needs to be done. FYI, sometimes, I AM the problem but I’m also learning to forgive myself and not be overly critical about what I didn’t manage to accomplish.

Not making money right now does not automatically mean you’re bad at what you do.

Sometimes, it means something in the business needs to change. Sometimes it means you need to track your actions and review them at the end of the day.

Could you imagine if the most visionary people in the world quit after a few failures? We’d still be stuck in the Stone Age.

2. I Should Start a Different Business

Ah, my personal favorite.

Nothing makes a new business idea look more exciting than when you’re going through a lot in your current business.

All of a sudden, I’m researching another business idea at 2:17am and convincing myself that this is the one. Surely, I cannot fail at this new business venture.

And honestly, I think I would be so much further in life if I stopped abandoning things every time things got hard.

I’ve never been a particularly patient person. I want to work hard, see results in 90 days, and know that all this effort was worth it. Not succeeding within 90 days makes me feel like a failure.

In my experience, starting a new business has never been the answer because in that new business, I STILL wait for 90 days and quit again.

I’ve done this so many times, I’ve learned to anticipate the feeling of quitting. But these days I just ignore it and just keep doing the current business.

Sometimes you need to give the business you already have a real chance.

3. I Should Probably Get a Job

Every time I’m really stressed about money, I always think, “Wouldn’t it be better if I just had a stable income?”

And then I remember the last time I had a job, I had a manager from hell. He almost made me quit my entire marketing career because of how cruel he was. Remembering that man usually snaps me right back into reality.

The thought of a corporate job still checks in once in a while when I’m going through it. Especially when I remember the bills. Rent, gas and food are all so expensive. And then my brain goes: “You know what would solve this? A salary.”

And maybe sometimes a job is the right decision. There is nothing wrong with wanting financial stability.

But I’ve also learned not to make major business decisions at 2am when I’m scared about money. Also, nothing is guaranteed, so I might as well make this work.

I can make $4000 this month and make $23 next month. It’s uncertain, but I’d rather do this than be told when to go for lunch.

4. I Need to Post More

Sometimes my first thought when I’m struggling to make my monthly financial goals is to want to “work harder”. Like Alex Hormozi says, “You have to do more volume.”

But then I remember that I am a solopreneur. I cannot post 10 times a day, work with clients, manage my cashflow, send invoices, follow up with leads, edit YouTube videos etc.

When the money isn’t coming in, it feels productive to make more content.

But more content doesn’t automatically mean more customers.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that nobody is seeing you.

Sometimes the people seeing you simply don’t understand what you sell, why they need it, or what they’re supposed to do next.

Posting more can become a very convenient way of avoiding the uncomfortable work underneath the content.

So instead of posting more, I look at what I can improve in my current content to ensure the right people are finding me. Sometimes it’s adding a CTA and telling people about my offer.

5. Maybe I’m Charging Too Much

This one gets me every time.

When I have no enquiries, I start to think I’m too expensive. When someone says, “I’ll think about it”, I think, I’m definitely too expensive. When I have a slow month, I think that maybe I should lower my prices.

But there’s a difference between having a pricing problem and having a value, positioning, visibility, or sales problem. For me, it’s never a pricing problem.

I realized this when I started speaking to solopreneurs who offered the same services I did. Some were charging 10x the amount I was charging and were getting booked out. In some cases, I was too embarrassed to say how much I charged because it was too low.

And the funny thing is, every time I baited someone into buying my services for cheap, they ended up being one of the hard-to-deal-with clients.

So, every 2am I’m thinking about dropping my prices or giving a massive discount, I’m reminded of what clients I attract when I’m desperate for money and I snap out of it.

6. Better Branding Will Fix This

I have rebranded so many times and the conclusion I’ve come to when it comes to constant rebranding is; it will waste your time.

People might stop trusting you if you’re constantly changing your branding. Heck, you might actually stop trusting yourself.

Every single time I’m feeling broke, I start to think; maybe I need a new logo, a better website, new colors, new photos, a new font or a completely different homepage.

Suddenly, I’m redesigning my entire business instead of figuring out why people aren’t buying.

I love a good unique website as much as the next marketer, but my website cannot create demand out of thin air.

At some point, I had to stop rearranging the furniture and ask: do people understand what I’m selling, who it’s for, and why they should care?

7. I Need to Niche Down More. Or Maybe Niche Up.

There are so many times I’ve thought, I should probably niche down or I should broaden my niche.

These thoughts only come when I’m not making enough money.

When I haven’t booked enough clients for the month, my mind goes; maybe my niche is too broad. Or too narrow. Maybe I should work with coaches. Actually, consultants. No, service businesses. Wait. Solopreneurs. Maybe women. Maybe CEOs. Maybe people in America. Maybe people with $10,000 months.

You get the vibe.

Sometimes “finding your niche” becomes another form of procrastination. You can spend months trying to find the perfect group of people while doing very little to actually understand the people you are already helping.

Your niche ALWAYS becomes clearer when you do the work.

8. Tomorrow I’ll Do Something About It

You should see me at 2am writing my whole entire plan with ChatGPT. Just going back and forth and re-imagining my whole life. The reality always hits when I’m fully awake.

However, planning my perfect business at 2am is the most comforting way I lie to myself because tomorrow is always full of possibilities.

• Tomorrow I’ll send the emails.
• Tomorrow I’ll follow up with that lead.
• Tomorrow I’ll finally finish the sales page.
• Tomorrow I’ll make the offer.
• Tomorrow I’ll stop overthinking and actually sell.

And then tomorrow comes and somehow reality hits and I’m back to regular programming.

I heard a quote that said; if your day looks the same every day you’re likely winning. Boring routines are great. But if your year looks the same every year, something needs to change.

So now I try to keep my routine pretty consistent.

9. Maybe I Should Try Manifesting Success

Sometime you watch a good TikTok video in the middle of the night and you’re convinced that manifestation is the only way to make it in life.

All of a sudden I’m thinking I need to change my thoughts, or maybe visualize the money coming in, or maybe I need to write the cheque myself, or maybe say my affirmations and finally become the person who has everything I want.

And listen, I actually believe your mindset matters.

I’ve seen how much your beliefs can affect what you attempt, what you tolerate, and whether you keep going when things get difficult.

But sometimes I use “manifesting” as a way to feel like I’m doing something when what I really need to do is make an offer, follow up with a lead, improve my marketing, or have an uncomfortable conversation.

You can believe in abundance and still check your numbers.

Manifesting doesn’t work unless you work too. Otherwise, we’d all be magicians.

10. The Economy Is Trash. Must Be This President.

When I’m really going through it, I find myself more politically inclined. All of a sudden it’s Fuck this president at 2am. It never really happens on my good months.

It doesn’t happen much these days, but when I’m really going through being broke, I tend to be aware of the economy a lot more. I tend to think; nobody is buying, everyone is cutting back, businesses are struggling. Heck, it must be the economy or the president.

And to be fair, the economy can affect people’s spending and business demand. I’m not going to pretend that external conditions don’t matter, but sometimes blaming the economy is just easier than looking at your own business.

Because if it’s the economy, there’s nothing I can do about it, but if my offer isn’t clear? If I’m not reaching enough of the right people? If I’m not following up? If nobody understands what I actually do? Well, now I have something to work on.

And that’s the uncomfortable part.

Sometimes the economy is the problem. Sometimes your business is the problem. Sometimes it’s both.

The goal isn’t to blame yourself for everything, it’s to figure out what you can actually control.