Is Self-Sabotage Stunting Your Small Business’ Growth?

We tend to think of self-sabotage as super obvious. We all know the common forms of it; scrolling our phone instead of working, turning on Netflix or just avoiding the work we’re supposed to be doing.

Unfortunately, the reality of self-sabotage is a lot more subtle. So much moreso that we rarely even know we’re doing it. Self-sabotage can be as small as a common statement said or a habitual action. It can even look like productivity.

But the first step to stopping your self-sabotage is recognizing it. So, I’m here to warn you about the subtle, but common, forms of self-sabotage that might be stunting your business growth.

Thinking, “I’m not ready, yet.”

I’ve seen this simple statement stagnate so many small businesses. The scary, but unfortunate truth is you may never be ready.

“Ready” to leave your comfortable 9-5 job.

“Ready” to start filming yourself and making reels.

“Ready” to make that big investment for your business.

👉 Try this instead: Act before you feel ready. Or, give yourself a specific timeline to prepare yourself for that next step.

When we take consistent action, we avoid stagnation, learn quicker, and accelerate our growth exponentially overtime.

There’s a quote I love from Leila Hormozi that says, “Your fear is a mile wide but an inch deep.” What she means is, your fear looks scary from the outside. But, after we dive in, we find the task is never as scary or as difficult we assumed it would be.

Playing Defense Instead of Offense

The next way self-sabotage can ruin our business is the idea of “playing defense.”

When we’re playing defense in our business, we’re reacting to whatever comes our way. This looks like answering emails, constantly checking Instagram DMs, and other low-level tasks.

The sneaky thing is, playing defense looks and feels productive. But, this isn’t often the work that will truly move the needle in your business over the long-term.

Plus, constantly “playing defense” means we train our minds to be easily distracted, hoping from one small task to another.

Playing offense, on the other hand, is all about carving out time for the deep, important work in your business. This could look like client work or more high-level work on your business.

👉 Try this instead: Block out specific times in your day for checking emails and other small tasks. Then, block off at least two, 90 minute “deep-work” windows in your day for the bigger, more important tasks.

Perfection without Completion

The last form of subtle self-sabotage is perfectionism. This one is extra sneaky as we’re doing the work but our expectations are so high that we never finish the work.

Similar to the “I’m not ready, yet” form of self-sabotage, perfectionism stops us from taking action. Action is the only thing that will help us learn and grow in our business.

👉 Try this instead: Set a fake deadline. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. ie: If we have no deadline, we’ll never finish the dang thing!

It still will likely feel uncomfortable to share your work when you feel like it could be better. But, overtime, you’ll get more and more comfortable sharing your work. And the more “reps” you put in, the better your work will get.

Finally, while these are three common forms of self-sabotage, you may struggle with something entirely different. I always recommend figuring out the high-leverage tasks for your business. Then, be mindful of how you’re spending your time daily and make time for those tasks.