Intuition isn’t enough to run a great business. You need to engage your brain as well. So why are so many ‘heart-based spiritual entrepreneurs’ refusing to do this? It’s time for some tough love.
Now, I’m not anti-intuition. Quite the contrary. In fact, over 500 people so far have taken and loved my online training to help you turn your intuition into your biggest business asset. (Email me now if you want to be on the waiting list for the next live round of this programme, starting in September and I’ll send you the link to apply).
But I have had enough – basta! – of seeing business owners who have the potential to change lives, or even the world, using their intuition and spirituality to justify lazy, sloppy business practice.
Yes, I know that sounds harsh.
But there’s a world of difference between an ‘expensive hobby’ and a ‘business that makes money’. Yet the tweaks to shift between the two are relatively small.
It is the biggest reason why they are struggling financially, secretly feeling like a failure and pretending to own a level of success on social media that they just don’t feel inside.
I’m not sitting in an ivory tower on this one. Each and every one of the excuses I’m about to share with you are patterns I have run in the past, too.
Here are four excuses – I’m calling them out for what they are – that I have heard this month from business owners who are stuck and will stay stuck, unless they start doing something differently.
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I don’t need an ‘ideal client’ – it would be unspiritual for me to turn anyone away.
Bollocks! Even Jesus had people who didn’t like him; who didn’t resonate with his message.
It’s not about turning people away, although those who are a bad fit for you and your message are much more likely to be nightmare clients. It’s about being so clear about who you’re talking to and how you help them that you magnetise them. They resonate with you. They’re ‘recognise’ you when they find you.
The only thing stopping you from getting clarity on who your ideal client is is fear of not having enough clients. That’s not a great energy to be putting through your business.
Yes, some of that can be done intuitively, especially if you’re an empath. But it needs to come with a generous dollop of practical common sense if you’re going to turn those intuitive understandings into a business.
How Do You Get Clarity About Your Ideal Client?
Page 65 (Step 1) of Dare To Dream Bigger – search ‘who is your dream audience’ if you have the Kindle version. It guides you through exercises to get practical, as well as intuitive, clarity on this.
Step 3 of Dare To Dream Bigger is all about how to be credible – trustworthy – when your potential dream client finds you. This is important stuff – and simple to do!
Page 220 (Step 4) of Dare To Dream Bigger – search ‘connecting with your dream audience’ in Kindle – guides you through exactly how to find your dream clients, where to show up so they find you and wraps up with your Visibility Action Plan.
I can’t make it much easier for you! The readers’ club even comes with extra audios & bonus materials, to really guide you through this process.
[Tweet “How to magnetise your dream clients, without selling your Soul or feeling like a sleaze #entrepreneur #smallbiz”]
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Oh, I’m really happy with my marketing messaging and my business strategy. I did it all intuitively.
Really? You figured out – in your gut – what has taken entrepreneurs decades to tweak and refine?
Your intuition told you to talk about the benefits of the benefits, rather than the ‘features’?
Ok, I’ll give you this one, if you now have a business that is regularly bringing you leads, so you get to make the difference you are really here to make. But if it’s not, then you don’t have a functioning business strategy and you need to refine it. That takes thinking, alongside the intuition.
How many of your actions, for example, are creating breakthroughs and leaps, vs leaving you stressed, exhausted and overwhelmed?
How often do you take inspired action, rather than procrastinating?
How Do You Create A Business Strategy That Works For You?
Feeling drained and overwhelmed by your business? You need pages 126 (what drains your energy) and 115 (self-care isn’t selfish) from Dare To Dream Bigger.
Overwhelmed and stressed? That’s covered on 262 (inspired action) and the whole of Step 5 in Dare To Dream Bigger.
Addicted to ‘shiny object syndrome’ and chasing new and exciting ideas, meaning you’re not really giving projects a chance to fly? That’s the whole of Step 6 in Dare To Dream Bigger.
Fed up with working for free? Here’s a podcast to help you fix giving on empty. And if you’re desperate to figure out why even hungry customers won’t pay you, the answers are here.
[Tweet “How to create a business strategy that works for you? Even if you’re juggling kids & life? #entrepreneur #smallbiz”]
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Oh, I looked inside to understand what my dream client wants and that’s how I wrote my sales page.
Q; do you have enough customers?
No? Why?
Because we need to call out ‘relying on intuition’ as the BS excuse that it is and actually do some inside work – and that will need to engage your brain.
You need to TALK with those dream customers, to find out what makes them tick. Even if you’re an empath, you can’t do this from your meditation cushion. You have to get out in the real world and connect – physical-realm – to find out what’s keeping them up at night, what they’re so hungry to change that they’ll pay you for it.
Then, when you’ve got your product / service idea, you need to VALIDATE it – try it out, to find out whether it gets customers as excited as it does you. It is nearly impossible to do that intuitively.
How Do You Find Out How Your Dream Clients Really Tick?
Page 222 in Dare To Dream Bigger is about ‘how to stand in your audience’s shoes’ (Kindle search term). And page 223 is about how to move from ‘woah’ to ‘wow’ with your messaging.
If it’s secretly confidence and self-doubt that are keeping you from connecting with your audience, to find out what they want (so you can then give them what they need), then the WHOLE of Step 2 of Dare To Dream Bigger is there to help you.
And if you’re new to all this, I’ve got a step by step how-to guide for you on asking clients for feedback, based on my time as Head of Market Research at Dyson. You’ll find it and the accompanying podcast here.
[Tweet “How Do You Find Out How Your Dream Clients Really Tick? #entrepreneur #smallbiz”]
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Oh, I have a vision board for my dream customer and I meditate in front of it every day. I’m going to manifest them finding me.
BS.
I teach meditation. I’ve had two brilliant books published on it and I can float around my 29th Chakra with the best of them. I’m not anti-meditation. But I am calling you out here on using meditation and manifesting as an excuse not to take those scary, bold, fearless inspired actions that actually create the breakthroughs the world needs your business to have.
After all, what’s the point in you being the most enlightened business owner on the planet if nobody knows you’re there? If you’re having to half-beg people to work with you? If you’re feeling unfulfilled because you’re not making the difference you are here to make?
It’s not spiritual. It’s scared.
How Do You Make Manifesting Really Work?
Most of the time, manifesting isn’t working because we don’t have enough clarity about what we want or we don’t feel (hidden, deep down) that it’s a fit with who we are. Step 1 of Dare To Dream Bigger sorts that for you.
Page 263 in Dare To Dream Bigger guides you through the critical reason why ‘manifesting’ and ‘law of attraction’ fall over (Kindle search term).
And if you’re secretly feeling scared – I know how that feels! – the WHOLE of Step 2 is still there, waiting to guide you through to cranking up your business confidence, without feeling like a fraud.
Plus there’s my podcast on why we’ve got to stop lying to ourselves about self-doubt.
[Tweet “Why #manifesting and #lawofattraction and #visionboards can SLOW down your #smallbiz growth #entrepreneur”]
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Right now, out there – somewhere – someone is lying awake wishing with all their heart for the solution that only you can provide.
Isn’t it time to break past your fears and get your message out there?
To take the scary-but-inspired actions that will make the difference?
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I’m sorry if any of this feels a bit harsh. If you ask those who work with me, I’m actually hugely compassionate and I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, once you’ve made the commitment to dealing with your inner blocks and working towards your dreams. But sometimes it takes a bucket of cold water to wake us up from sleep-walking our way through our businesses. And if I have done that for you today, I’m glad. Getting things back on track really is easy, once you can see the patterns you have been running.
I’m here to help.
Q: have you ever run any of these patterns? Ever spotted them in those around you on social media?
I’m curious: what do you think drives this behaviour? And how might we snap out of it, before we have wasted decades feeling miserable about not being successful at business? Let me know via the comments!
With love, Namaste,
Clare Josa, Author | Speaker | Mentor To Passionate World-Changers
P.S. Dare To Dream Bigger is THE step-by-step how-to guide for spiritual business owners.
It even talks about dharma and the five koshas and abhyasa and ahimsa and yoga and meditation. But it’s also a fluff-free zone – no BS. Just actionable, practical inspiration to grow a thriving business you love.
Want to grow your spiritual business to the next level so you can make a bigger difference in the world? I’d love to get to walk by your side. Here’s where to get your copy and make sure you join us in the readers’ club. xx Clare
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