Admit These 6 Mistakes And Make Things Right

Your business may seem overwhelmed by constant change, and you may feel frustrated with the lack of results.


Many small to medium size business owners – even large corporations – find it challenging to properly reach their fans and ideal audience and struggle to measure accurate monetary results from their marketing efforts.

#1 Mistake – No business plan – Does that sound familiar to you? 

It sounds like how I started. I didn’t think I’d ever catch on, and then I finally figured out my mistakes and how I would help others with their blogging and coach them to help them reach their business goals.

  • I went networking three times a week for a year or more and learned who my niche was and what they needed. I gave presentations at the meetings and got better at training. 
    • I did get 20 people to sign up for my coaching group and discovered I loved helping the right people! People I wanted to help and people who liked what I could help them with.
    • But it took me a while to figure that out. I had to change how I talked to my ideal audience one-to-one and in my presentations.
    • I started thinking about my plan and goals.

#2 Mistake – Not determining your business objectives and goals

Your business plan means you write down the work you intend to do in your business.

As a small business, you can easily fall into the trap of not being clear about what your goal is or will be. 

  • Without this, it isn’t easy to formulate strategies that culminate in revenue.

How you can make it right

  • Take the time needed to put in these pieces at the beginning of your business plan:

a. Your strategy is part of your planning and is an approach you take to achieve a goal. 

b. Your objective is a measurable step to achieve a strategy.

c. And your strategy helps you organize your goals.

Have you written or reviewed

a. Your vision statement – outlining your goals.

b. Your mission statement explaining what your business offers, how it does this, and whom it helps.

      • Remember that your strategies will be the steps you use in your mission statement to achieve your vision. 

Outline your purpose

a. What are your goals for your business? 

 A business plan will keep you focused, serve as a rallying point, and provide you with milestones to measure your success.

#3 Mistake – Not not having an effective marketing strategy

Marketing is the center of gravity for every business — the door and window that gives your brand accessibility and visibility.

  •  I finally understood how and what to say to attract my ideal clients by ‘talking their talk.’
  • That was: The words and descriptions they used, I could use to attract their attention. 

I started to see and admit this mistake

After making many mistakes in my presentations, I started learning to present my work in ways to attract those I wanted to work with and those who liked what I could help them with – In their own way.

What mistakes do you see and can admit to so that you can move ahead? 

#4 Mistake – Poor or lack of online visibility

    • Any business that isn’t getting visibility doesn’t have a chance at surviving, as this world is about the survival of the fittest.
    • Evaluating your business is part of checking what needs help and what you can do to make some desired improvements. 

Admitting your mistakes more quickly can help you plan where your business will be in the next few months and years.

  • Your business plan doesn’t have to be long or in great detail. Most small businesses usually don’t prepare their business plans at the start. 
  • You can admit and fix this mistake for your own business.  

#5 Mistake – Not focusing on repeat customers

Even though new customers certainly bring in more revenue, it’s more important to keep the ones you have.

  1. Highlight positive customer experiences. For small businesses, loyalty programs can encourage repeat business. 
  2. Continually improve your product offerings to keep your customers happy. 
  3. Social media is an excellent place for small businesses to share helpful insights.

We all make mistakes regularly. 

Yes, we do everything we can to avoid them when it comes to our online businesses, but things go wrong, and we mess up. It’s okay. 

  • How you handle them is what will set you apart. 
  • It’s also an essential strategy for building trust with your prospects and clients. 

Like so many things in life, your mother’s advice holds when it comes to your business. You want to and can make that excellent first impression. 

  • You want to be known as someone who sticks to their word. 
  • And admit those mistakes, then do whatever it takes to make things right. 

Things will go wrong. You’ll mess up. Technology will fail you. You’ll overlook something. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up. 

Let’s look at some things that can and will go wrong. 

    • It could be using the wrong link in an email, forgetting to write a subject line, or worse – sending a blank email. 
      • Resend the email, adding an extra tip to compensate for the inconvenience.
    • It could be uploading the wrong file for a new product or not correctly applying a discount you promised your readers. 
      • Add a special surprise bonus to the product after uploading the correct files and emailing your customers, apologizing for the mistake. If a coupon doesn’t work as expected, send them a new one and give them a more significant discount or throw in a little something extra. This is especially important when a customer alerts you to a problem. You can thank them for bringing it to your attention, correct it, and then do something for them to show your appreciation.
    • Sometimes it’s out of your control, like a website crashing or a podcast guest not showing up. 
      • Rebook the podcast, or record something special to compensate for the lost guest interview or website crash.

No matter what the mistake, there’s no need to beat yourself up or feel bad if you do what you can to make it right.  

We all make a mistake, or something goes wrong beyond our control; here’s a good formula you could follow: 

1 – Take Responsibility. The error or mess-up is on you. Acknowledge and apologize. That alone will go a long way. 

2 – Make It Right. Do whatever you need to do to correct it. 

3 – Go The Extra Mile. The way to build trust and help people forgive you is to pay attention and do something for them. 

  • Maybe offer a discount. Could you give them a bonus? 

This formula will help show that you not only know this was an inconvenience for them but also that you value their time. 

Fall back on this simple 3-step process anytime things go wrong. Your clients will come to trust you. And want to do business with you as someone they can trust and do business with again and again. 

#6 Mistake – Failure to update your sales funnel system

Do you have a sales funnel that is not working?

  • If your sales funnel isn’t working, it could be you don’t know what your audience wants and don’t provide enough incentives and CTAs to convert them into buyers.
  • Lead nurturing may also be an issue.

You probably know if this is a problem for your business and need to 

Admit the Mistake

Your sales funnel is essentially used to lead your ideal client on the journey from first contact and awareness to buying.

This is your business framework to help you better understand how to grow your business and maybe change your business planning strategies.

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MARKETING MESSAGE Identify how your customers buy

Donna Ward
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