It depends on what you mean by 'stuck'. Emotionally or business not moving? I am going to assume the latter.
Then by your business being 'stuck' are you referring to revenue growth, profitability, business not expanding, business you are in is boring or all the above? For the purpose of my answer I will assume you are referring to revenue growth.
There could be many causes behind a business not moving. The key is to find the thing(s) that will get the wheels turning and then put that thing(s) on steroids so you can ramp up quickly.
Some reasons why your business may not be moving are the following:
- Your product/service is not meeting a strong enough need
- The quality of your product/service is not good enough
- Pricing is too high or too low
- Your target market doesn't know about your business or your product/service
- You don't have the the right members in your team to improve any of the above
- You are short of funds and find it difficult to improve any of the above
- Your experience and skills. Are you doing what you are good at?
Therefore the way out is analysis. Objective analysis.
- Speak to your customers. Existing and prospective.
- Review the feedback you are getting.
- Review product and site analytics if you are running an online or app business.
- Try different ways of marketing.
- Honestly assess the skills and ability of your team and yourself.
- Of course speak to an experienced advisor.
If you'd like me to assist further please give me a call
Hey there, I am an Australian entrepreneur with two businesses and I can relate to your question. The brief nature of your question indicates to me that you're possibly feeling a little defeated. It's completely natural for someone who takes risks and runs on the edge of possibilities to feel this every now and again, so resist the urge to be too hard on yourself!
I agree with the others, the solution depends on the context and how you arrived at this point.
For what it is worth - when I'm stuck, I find walking away and not thinking about it for 24-48 hours is the first step. Followed by going outdoors with pen and paper and venturing to places that I know will inspire fresh thinking, lateral thinking, about ways over/under/around/through the obstacles making me feel stuck. Particularly if you work from home often or have been spending all your time in your office. Change the scenery.
Do you have a "Brains Trust" or "Advisory Board" you can discuss your current status with and gather insight and advice from? Or people you can turn to who will give a constructive but critical review of where you are at? Having a business mentor / coach assists me during these times - it can be too easy to try to go it alone and tough it out... too easy, but ineffective.
Would love to have a call with you if you'd like to discuss your business and challenges further.
determine what you are committed to. then take action, any action in the direction of your commitment. test and evaluate. check in with people who have been there before. test assumptions. test the market. redesign your actions. take more actions.
GO FUCKING PUNCH SOMETHING..... and then get back to work heading towards where you want to be. As others have said, the truth about success is that it is hard work -- even when you are doing everything "right". And hard work is always hard work.
Blow off some steam and then get back to work. You're in good company:
** Robert Goddard designed two hundred ideas for rockets before he got one to fly into space.
** Henry Ford went bankrupt five times before his automobile manufacturing idea started working
** Fred Smith was giving a failing grade by his Yale professor because his idea for FedEx “wasn’t feasible”.
** R.H. Macy went broke seven times before his clothing store caught on in New York City.
** J.K. Rowling shopped her book thirteen times before a publisher would take a look at he first Harry Potter book.
Get back up and keep trying.
It really depends, you gotta define why you are stuck. Sometimes its a matter of getting a third party perspective, would love to chat and give you my perspective of what your problem is!
Plan the work, work the plan. Keep doing the right things and the right results will usually follow (eventually).
As an entrepreneur, who do you talk with? Do you have a coach or a mentor to ask you the kind of questions that you probably would not ask yourself? How much time do you spend thinking into your business? Most of us spend time focusing on our results, when we could be focusing on the potential for our business. A good business coach will help you go inside and find your own answers by asking good curiosity based questions to help you become unstuck and move forward faster.
Enter your answer- what is the real demand of your product or services?????
You've gotten a lot of great answers. I'd like to add one more. With over 20 years of experience moving people out of "stuck", there is one consistent aspect across the board....
After you've explored all the hard facts, external concerns, methodology, etc...you are still left with yourself. Just this week I began working with an entrepreneurial client I have known for 8 years. He has been "stuck" in one form or another for 8 years. He has never been my client before, but a friend. I've watched him grow immensely in his skills as a marketer to the point that he can run circles around most - in skills and understanding.
What he hasn't done up until now is commit to looking deeply at himself. You see, in the end 90% or more of success is an inside game. It's the stories you tell yourself, the perceptions you believe, the mission you have clarified and committed to. You don't see Brian Tracy or Tony Robbins preaching about revenue charts, or management teams or marketing methods. They teach the "inner game" of success because it is the only real game there is to play.
If your "stuck" is a moment in a day, or a specific task or skill that is requiring your attention, go forth with all the wonderful suggestions in this thread. But if you've been feeling that angst, that frustration, that "running around in circles" kind of feeling for awhile - it's time to look at you. My clients have called said that working with me is like seeing themselves in a mirror, only their reflection is really really clear. The call me the Question Master for nothing!
Best of luck to you!
