I’m a person who doesn’t believe there’s always a so-called right way and a wrong way to do things, even in business.

Trust me, I’ve done a lot of things the “wrong” way. For the most part, I wouldn’t change a thing because I learned so much about myself and my business, including what works and what doesn’t.

And if I’ve learned anything it’s that there’s no ONE perfect way to get to your desired results.

But when it comes to realizing your potential for making money, I have to call it like I see it and say too many online business owners are doing it wrong. (And they probably don’t even know it.)

Here’s how to know if you’re sabotaging your 6- and 7-figure goals…

Signs You’re Not Realizing Your Full Potential for Making Money

#1 Believing there’s too much competition…

The online course and digital learning space are predicted to be worth $325 billion by 2025. (Source: Forbes)

That projection was made BEFORE the pandemic hit. With COVID-19 and the push to take even more learning online, there is even more opportunity to be had.

When you hear that, what’s your first reaction?

“I’m ready for my piece of that pie!”

OR

“There’s too much competition already. UGGGH.”

Maybe you believe it’s already too late for you. That you missed some magical moment to jump into the online course market. That the competition is too heavy, better than you, already too far ahead. Or that the online course bubble has to pop. 

NO. Every single bit of that is based in your head, your thoughts, and your beliefs about what’s possible for you in the digital product and course market — not in reality.

And every single course and product creator, including me, had moments of self-doubt, and chose to do it anyway.

I want to plant the seed in your brain right now that there is ABSOLUTE ABUNDANCE in the online learning market. There is a LIMITLESS amount of students and customers. There is a limitless amount of POTENTIAL for you.

Bottom line: It’s up to YOU to clean up your thinking. What you believe is ultimately what you will achieve in your business and life. If you have the belief, clarity, and desire, you can 1,000% make a plan and make it happen.

(Check out Top 5 Ways to Seize the Opportunity in Digital Products for more.)

#2 Chasing irrelevant metrics…

I’ve written about this before here. But it’s worth repeating…

Focusing on a pretty grid or getting a ton of followers won’t do anything for your bottom line.

The fact is, you can’t go to your local bank and cash out your followers.

This is really mind-blowing for a lot of entrepreneurs who have been hyper-focused on their follower count for so long.

Now, I’m not saying to ignore social media. Not at all.

What I’m saying is this: Followers don’t necessarily equal sales. So, put your focus on what does bring sales.

For example, I’ve had comments on my Facebook ads like, “I don’t know how you’ve sold 17,000 copies of this because you only have 10,000, Instagram followers and you only have 6,000 Facebook fans.”

Womp womp.

Look, those numbers are “nice” but they don’t matter. My number of followers, likes, and fans has absolutely nothing to do with my revenue.

Business Owner A could have 500K followers on Instagram and had a gross revenue of $25,000 last year. I have 11.2K followers and had a gross revenue of $2.25 million last year.

Your takeaway: Your perceived social status has nothing to do with the amount of money you’re making.

Focus instead on understanding your ideal customers, creating irresistible offers, connecting with the right people, showing up consistently, and building better relationships.

#3 Building a free-content jail…

I want to shout this from the top of the interwebs: “Stop giving it all away for free!”

You’ve been told for years to “create value and give it away” to build your audience and email list. Only after giving away a ton of valuable content for free can you finally ask for a sale.

Well, that’s the “old” way, and it never worked for me.

Yes, you can use freebies strategically, like when you’re a guest on a summit. But should it be your only, or even your primary, list-building, lead-generating strategy? Heck no.

You can either build what I call a “content jail” where you are trapped, constantly serving the freebie-seekers who never actually buy from you.

Or you can launch a system that brings in revenue while building your list.

The free PDF download in my opinion is headed toward irrelevance, especially when Facebook ads can be so expensive. For example, you might be spending up to $20 to get one lead in certain markets. If you’re spending $20 to get a lead to get 1,000 leads, now you’re looking at $20,000. If you’re not selling something that’s $20,000, your ads are never going to be profitable.

Why not make your ads profitable in the very first step of your funnel with a low-ticket offer suite?

(Read more about my Tiny Offer System and why every business owner should have one.)

WHAT IF YOU COULD MAP OUT EXACTLY HOW TO MAKE $1,000 AN HOUR IN 2021?

Join me for a live, 2-day planning workshop January 21 & 22 for service providers, experts, and coaches who want to make $1,000 an hour consistently in 2021. (Zero “hustling” required.)

Click here to listen to the Rich Life Reframe podcast about realizing your full potential for making money.