Facing Frustrations in Your Home Business

 I’m the administrator of “From Heart and Home,” a Facebook group where stay-at-home moms can advertise their home businesses. I recently posted a question there asking, “What do you find most frustrating about running your home business?” Some of the frustrations that our members shared were:

• Constantly being interrupted
• Figuring out how to do taxes
• Not being taken seriously by friends and family
• People saying they are going to order and then not following through

The most common frustration was something along the lines of, “Investing time in potential customers who never end up ordering, or who end up ordering from someone else.” In other words: wasted time.

Nobody likes wasting their time. We want to know that what we are doing has value and will help us accomplish our goals. When you invest time and effort in a potential customer who never actually buys, you feel like you just wasted resources that could have served you better elsewhere. So, what should you do when you seem to constantly be wasting your time, effort, and knowledge on people who are never going to buy your product?

Have a servant attitude about selling your product.

Start by cultivating a servant attitude about your business. Yes, businesses are designed to make money, but helping people is far more important. Say you sell a health product and you are talking to someone whom you hope will make a purchase. Rather than having a high pressure attitude of, “How can I persuade her to buy from me?” cultivate a servant attitude that asks, “What can I share that will really help her improve her health?” If you make helping people a higher priority than making money, your product will become more attractive to people. They will see how much you really believe in what you are selling and they will be more likely to buy (if not immediately, perhaps at some later date). Be genuine with people. Look out for their interests above your own (Philippians 2:4). Remember that relationships are more important than money. Any effort you make to share what you know in order to help others is not wasted.

 Realize that you never know who will buy, or when.

You never know who will buy from you. The people who end up ordering are often people you would not have thought would be interested. Many people you just knew would be interested end up not buying. Don’t make assumptions. Offer your product without judgment. It is up to them whether they make a purchase.

It’s important to recognize that you don’t necessarily know someone’s situation. If they don’t buy immediately, it does not necessarily mean they will not buy later. They may not be able to afford to buy right away, or they may not currently need your product. That could change. Again, try not to make assumptions. You are going to invest in people who end up not making a purchase. That’s part of running a business. But you never know who may come back months from now to buy your product. Invest in people. It grows your reputation and experience, which helps grow your business. No purchase necessary.

Learn to tell people, “No.”

Sometimes when people know that you are talented in a certain area they will ask you to do things for them free of charge. That’s a good opportunity to practice a servant attitude in your business. Sometimes, however, you’ll have to tell people, “No.” Especially as a stay-at-home mom, your time is limited. While you certainly want to help people who actually need you, you cannot realistically be there for everybody at once. You’ve got to prioritize and manage your time wisely, which may mean having to turn people down occasionally.

Many businesses are built around educating people. Even if you are selling a physical item, it is often the information and knowledge you share that really sells people on your product. I know many people who sell essential oils. You can simply tell someone that essential oils are great and offer them a sample, but what really hooks people is educating them on the health benefits of the oils. You’ve got to know the ins and outs of your product and share what you know with others. But there’s a problem when you have valuable information about something you sell. Others want you to tell them everything you know. For free. For most of us, this is a problem because, again, we only have a certain amount of time to invest in our business. Using up that time fielding questions from people who aren’t serious about buying can be counterproductive. It’s one thing to answer questions from someone who really needs help. It’s another thing to constantly answer questions from people who are supposed to be directing those questions elsewhere.

There are tactful ways of letting people know that you are unable to answer their questions or provide your services for free. Maybe you can offer a product discount to friends and family in order to help them out but not lose money in the process. Or, maybe you can trade services with a friend. Perhaps you can offer to teach a class for a small fee. If someone is supposed to be directing their questions elsewhere, gently remind them of that. You can say something like, “You know, I think that is a great questions for ______.” Be gentle, but don’t feel guilty about not being able to constantly give away products, services, or advice for free.

Learn to be okay with people telling you, “No.”

As a business owner, you will have to become okay with people telling you, “No.” Nobody is interested in everything. People may not buy from you for the simple reason that they do not want your product. That’s okay! Don’t get discouraged by a few negative responses.

Make it safe for people to tell you no. Sometimes when people (especially family) feel pressured they will not give a straight answer. They may sense that it would hurt your feelings if they tell you that they really aren’t interested, so they engage in conversation about your product and show false interest. As a result, you may get your hopes up and be disappointed when you invest time in educating someone who never buys. Communicate that you are happy to talk with people about your business, but that it is totally okay if they are not interested.

Don’t wrap up your self-worth with your business. You will probably hear “No thanks” more often than you hear “Sign me up!” It does not mean that what you are offering is not valuable. It certainly does not mean that YOU are not valuable. Just because someone does not love your product does not mean they don’t love you. Toughen up and don’t make a sale a condition of your friendship. It’s nothing personal. It’s business.

 Reevaluate your marketing techniques.

If you are constantly being turned down and nobody is buying your product, it may be time to do a business review. Ask yourself some questions:

• Am I offering a good product?
• Am I showing people how my product can benefit them?
• Do I demonstrate my product in my own life? Is it something I personally use?
• Is my product something I am passionate about?
• Am I being too pushy?
• Am I being persistent enough?
• Have I set my price too high?
• Have I set my price too low? (Sometimes a really low price makes people question the quality of your product).
• Am I following up with potential customers?
• Am I taking the time to organize, set goals, and educate myself about my business?
• Am I marketing to the right group of people?

If after an honest evaluation you find that you are managing your business well, it may be that you simply need to give it more time. Have patience. Work hard. Give your business a chance to bloom.

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