← The Product Boss with Jacqueline Snyder
The Product Boss with Jacqueline Snyder
637. The 3 Biggest Roadblocks Holding Back Your Business Growth
00:23:33
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Hi, I'm Jaclyn Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into a successful business, and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams, no matter how big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product Boss. Let's do this. Hey. Hey, Product Boss. Welcome back to the Product Boss podcast. I'm your host, Jacqueline Snyder, and your product boss coach. And today we're diving into something I see every single day in my coaching calls and my group sessions with our students and product bosses from around the world. We're talking about the three biggest roadblocks that are holding back your product based business from growth and from the growth that you dream about. And let me tell you that these aren't just minor spe speed bumps. They're full on concrete walls that so many of you are slamming into again and again. But here's the exciting part. Once you know what these roadblocks are, you can start breaking them down. And I've got something coming that's going to help you do just that. So are you ready to finally understand what's been holding you back? And if you want to be the first to know about this amazing thing that's coming, which, if you're listening to this in real time, it's actually going to be announced tomorrow. Make sure to DM me on Instagram the word wait list and you'll be first to know or click the link in the show. Notes, notes. I'm going to send out something very early in the morning and I don't want you to miss it. Okay? All right, now let's get into it. So before we get into the roadblocks, I want you to know that if you're feeling stuck or frustrated or like you've been working harder than ever, but you're not seeing the results, I want you to hear me when I Say this. You are not alone. Listen, I've been there and I've seen countless product based business owners go through the same thing. And my friend, it's not your fault. And it doesn't mean you're not cut out for this. Let me say that again from my friends in the back, it's not your fault. And it doesn't mean that you are not cut out for this. It just means that you haven't had the right tools to break through yet. Okay, so let's get into the roadblocks. The first major roadblock I see time and time again is a lack of clear product or brand identity. Right? I don't know what you're selling. You don't have a clear sellable product. And I'm not really aligned with your brand identity. So I don't know if this is for me. So many of you are trying to be everything to everyone, hands up. Or some of you are like ducking down in the back and you're like, oh my God, she's talking to me. That you're trying to be everything for everyone. And let me tell you, that is just a recipe for confusion and ineffectiveness. So I remember working with one of our students, let's just call her Lisa. And Lisa had a shop online where she sold everything from handmade soaps to imported furniture. Listen, she was passionate about all of it, but her customers were confused. Actually, she was pretty confused as well. Right? They didn't know what they were shopping from her. They didn't know what her company stood for or what or why they would go there. Why should they choose her over a big box retailer or anyone else? Truthfully. But I actually am going to break down the truth for you. When you try to sell to everyone, you're selling to no one. When you try to appeal to everyone, you're appealing to no one. And your product becomes forgettable, your brand becomes forgettable, your marketing falls flat and you're left wondering why nothing seems to stick. But, but here's the thing, okay? When you get crystal clear on your product line and your brand identity, what's going to happen? Well, that's when the magic happens. Because suddenly you're tapped into your ideal customer. You know what product you need to make or how to create a sellable product so that when you're in front of your ideal customers, they are attracted to the product you have, right? You have a sellable product, you have something that's going to make you money. You're also going to have a brand. What does A brand mean? It means that people kind of know your existence and they know what you stand for so that they can refer you to someone else. Let me give you an example. So if you think about Chick Fil A, for example, you know the experience you're going to have at a Chick Fil A versus a Starbucks versus a Chipotle, right? That's the brand. Sure, there's tons of places that sell fast food Mexican or fast food burgers or fast food chicken nuggets. But why do these places exist? Because not only do you know what you're going there for, right? And they know what they're selling you. You have this essence of the brand, right? Like you know why you're going and they're attracting you in as you are their ideal customer. So when you tap into this, everything is going to become easier. This is where you really start to build this profitable product based business, money making machine, okay? Your marketing is going to get easier, your selling is going to get easier, all of it's going to get easier because you're going to have a sellable product, a brand that stands for something and you're going to know exactly who you're talking to and selling to. And most importantly, this is how you're going to stand out against the competition, right? This is how people are going to say or when you ask like why you and not someone else, this is how they're going to know it's for them, right? And, and I'm telling you from all of the people I've coached and listened to and you might have picked up on this, one of the biggest roadblocks is that they don't have that sellable product. They have ideas, they have products. But it's not the thing that sticks. It's not the thing that the brand can be built on. And I know that brand feels big, but brand is kind of one of those inevitable steps, right? We first come up with the beautiful, amazing ideas that we have for our business, right? Maybe you're just starting and you have an idea or an inkling of something you want to do. You've heard me talk about on the podcast, or perhaps you've been making a bunch of things and you have to kind of go back to that ideated phase where you're going back in and you're thinking, okay, did I do this right? I'm making these things, they're not really selling. How do I kind of narrow this down and niche down and come into focus so that I could really figure out what my sellable product is then after that, you're thinking about, well, how am I going to make this thing? Am I going to make it? Am I going to manufacture it? Am I going to source it? And then after that, is the brand building, the why, why a customer would buy it from you, how you stand out, how you are memorable. Right? Those are like the first three core things that either you do in the very beginning or you come back to time and time again as you're coming up with new product or honing in on the product, when you're thinking about how to make the product and how to grow and scale that product. And then so many of us, if you're just starting out, rate you build that brand from the start. But so many of us have started our businesses and we started making something and selling it. And we're kind of like in the gray, right? We're kind of in that wishy washy in the gray. I make jewelry, I make candles. I do pottery. I have clothing, I have T shirts, I have dish towels. I have a crystal store. I make stickers, I make custom pens. Right. I make tumblers, like door signs, anything that you're making. Okay, so you're. That's the product, but where's the brand? Okay, so this is the thing that we really have to tap into, and this is the thing that I find as your first major roadblocks. If you're like, that's me, Jacqueline, no worries. We're going to keep going through that. Remember, though, something is coming to help support you through all of this. So make sure to get on the waitlist by either clicking the link in the show notes or sending me a DM on Instagram @ the product boss with the word waitlist. It's either going to be waitlist or it's going to be available, and you're going to know all about it. And it's literally the best thing I've ever done. But let's keep going. All right, let's talk about the second roadblock. The second roadblock. Now, this is the one that's probably keeping you up at night, and that's a lack of systems or any sort of operational structure to your business. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or like you can never step away from your business, this is why, and let me tell you, I see it all the time. Product bosses are doing everything themselves from making the product. Right? You're probably listening right now while you're in the middle of making something in your basement or at your kitchen. Table or in your work room, right? Or maybe you're fulfilling orders or you wish you were fulfilling orders. You're doing your social media. You're like, I need to write emails, but I don't know how to write emails. I need to think about what my production schedule looks like. But I don't have a schedule because I'm just working literally around the clock. But I feel like I'm always behind. Does that sound familiar? So I had a client, let's call her Mary, who was running her handmade furniture business this way. And she was super talented. Her products were awesome and beautiful. But she was on the verge of quitting. I'll tell you. Probably like every day, she had this consideration of, like, I'm going to quit. This isn't working. I can't keep up, right? Every order felt crushing. I know. I have. I've. You've heard me coach people on here where they're like, I actually dress getting orders because so many times you all feel like you're being reactive versus proactive, right? Nothing feels set up. Nothing feels systemized. Nothing has anything, like, in order. We're just kind of doing and reacting and feeling like I'm hearing all this information. I feel like I should be doing everything right. We even feel like we're reinventing the wheel literally every day. So here's the hard truth. Without systems, without building operations like that foundational part of operations and systems into your business, you don't have a business that can grow. You don't have a scalable business. You actually have built yourself a job that's running you ragged, right? Hands up, worst boss ever. No, we want you to be the best boss ever. Want you to be the best product boss ever, not the worst boss that is giving you this job that's running you ragged and spinning around in circles, right? So you cannot grow. If every new order or the potential of orders or every new customer stretches you to your limits, the question might be, all right, Jacqueline, great idea, but when do I start putting systems in place? Right? So when do you start putting systems in place? That's when you really start to think. And honestly, if you can do it from the beginning, if you could be building this business with systems and operations and really thinking through building a business, right? Like, we all wear many hats. So we've got, you know, our makers hat on. We've got our sales hat on. We've got our social media marketing hat on. But what about your operational hat? What about the things? And you might be also thinking, I literally have no idea how to do that. I have no idea what kind of systems. I'm an artist, I'm a creative. I know that part. I love the making, but I do not love the rest of it. That's okay, right? Because you're learning. That's why you're listening to this podcast. That's why you might follow us on social media. That's why you enroll in programs and courses and show up to free live trainings and all the different things. Because you're someone who's willing to learn. That's why you're listening to a business podcast and not like a Real Housewives podcast or a murder podcast or whatever else is out there, right? You're listening to this because you're like me. You're like, I love learning and I want to figure out all of the things that I need to do to make this thing happen. So how do you do that? Well, when you get this infrastructure into place, when you figure out these operations and these systems, and these are different systems than the one you've ones you've heard me talk about for years and years, right? Multi stream machine. We talk about systems that are when we built that program. We talk about the systems that really get in the way of growing onto other sales channels. I'm talking about legit business systems thinking about like key performance indicators, standard operating procedures, pre production development production timelines and calendars. I'm talking about, you know, sales tracking systems and different things like that. I know it all sounds a little bit daunting and something that our brains, especially me, I'm a super creative bachelor's in fine arts, like artists to my core, but also love being an entrepreneur, have had to build or learn or buy, right? Or invest in to build systems in my business so that I can grow a business so that I can potentially take a day off without everything falling apart. So that I do know that I can grow this business without burning out, without running ragged, without feeling like I'm going to be crushed underneath anything. And so that's the thing, right? It doesn't mean that these have to be complicated. You just need a system. You need like an operating system within your business. You need a manual. And that's the thing that's going to actually help ground you. That's the thing that's actually going to make it feel easier. That's the thing that you're going to be like, oh, let me go back to this. What's my cadence? Or let me go back to this flow, right? A place that Actually makes you feel like you've got legs under you. You know, right now you might be feeling like a two legged stool. Let's give it three legs so that you feel solid, right? You don't always feel like you're going to fall over or fall apart. All right, so that is, that's the roadblock number two. Happy holidays. Okay, don't think.
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Jacqueline, what are you talking about? It's still warm outside. I know, but guess what? We want to get you uber prepared for this holiday season because what we want is that you can get consistent sales, right? Have steady growth and keep growing your business beyond always having to offer a discount during the holiday season to drive sales. So if you want to get prepared while it's still warm outside, you can jump in and grab 101 content ideas beyond the Holiday Discount. And it is a bundle of content props, tools, hashtags and templates. And it includes a three month calendar with things to say every single day from October to December. It is so helpful. So go out, enjoy the sunshine and feel uber prepared for the holiday season when you grab yours. Now just head to holiday content ideas dot com.
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So now let's get into roadblock number three. So this third roadblock might surprise you because it's one that many of you, I think, think you've solved and that is a lack of solid marketing and business foundations. I know, I know, I know. You're on Instagram, you're on Etsy, maybe you even have your own website. But here's the kicker. Being on multiple sales channels, multiple visibility channels means nothing if you don't have the right strategies behind. So I can't tell you how many times I've seen product bosses spread themselves thin across every platform imaginable, but they're not seeing results on any of them. Okay, I see them posting consistently or not consistently. They're just like, all right, I'm going to get on social, I'm going to get on Instagram, I'm going to get on TikTok, I'm going to do whatever. And they're posting. Maybe you've started running ads and those don't feel right. You know, either way, you're like, I'm here, I exist. I'm showing at in person markets. I've got a website up and running, I'm sending emails, whatever it is that you're doing, but it probably feels like you're shouting into the voice. Avoid. Because most of you are not getting the results that you want. Some of you might be getting the results that you want. But you might be thinking, oh, these other foundational parts I'm lacking in. Or you might be thinking, like me, there's always room to improve. I always want to learn another strategy or another way to do these things, or other ways to get over these roadblocks and make my life easier. So here's the deal. The problem isn't the platforms, it's not the sales channels, right? I know that I've had so much success with my students inside of my other program multi stream machine where I'm showing them all these sales channels. We walk you through step by step by step on how to get on them there. But the problem is actually the lack of like a cohesive strategy that ties it all together. It's not understanding your numbers, it's not understanding or knowing your customer's journey. It's not having a unique value proposition that sets you apart from the crowd. So what happens when you start to figure this out? What happens when you start to really build the system like the operating system, the machine that is the foundation to everything that you do in your business, right? What happened? That's when every post you make, every email you send, the sales channels you're on the efforts that you put into your business that they start working for you. That's when you stop feeling like you're gambling with your money, right? Where you're like, I gotta pull some more out of my savings or like I gotta keep working this full time job just to, you know, fund this idea that I have that's really not working. And I'm spending my weekends doing this and I'm on up night and I'm up early and I'm doing this all the time, right? You're putting your money, time is money, right? Whether it's your money or your time, you're putting a lot of it into it and you aren't seeing the results you want. So what I want you to do is I want you to stop feeling like you're gambling with your time and money. And I want you to start seeing real, measurable results. So now imagine, just imagine with me for a moment what your business could look like without these roadblocks. I want you to picture having a clear, compelling brand that attracts your ideal customers in like a magnet. I want you to imagine what it would be like to have a product that's sellable, right? A sellable product, something that really clicks, okay? Imagine, you know, when you're building, when you're doing a puzzle is like me and my kids, so we're building a puzzle and like my daughter's always like trying to fit the puzzle piece into the other one. She's like, no, no, look, it works but like it kind of fits, but it doesn't really fit and you can see that it's not working. And I'm trying to explain to a nine year old while that why that piece is not actually the fit. That's kind of like you right now potentially where you're trying to shove this puzzle piece into another piece, thinking, oh, I'm just going to make it work, but it actually doesn't fit. We need your product, your sellable product to fit into the, the other puzzle piece which is your customer really perfectly, right? That's what happens when you and this ideal customer that you figured out, you've got the unique value proposition. You understand the brand, you understand how to attract those customers like a magnet, okay? I also want you to think about what it would be like if you envision that you have systems that allow your business to run smoothly like a well oiled machine, even when you're not there, right? Yeah, sure, you're there. Let's make your life easier, right? And then let's make it that you can build this business that you're going to start to see, okay? About the sellable product. I know who my ideal customer is. I know exactly how I'm going to make this product. I'm not going to be reactive, but rather I'm going to like be proactive about it. I'm going to have this brand that people are talking about. I'm going to know exactly how to market, right? So that my marketing efforts will actually bring in sales without feeling like you have to reinvent the wheel every time. And not only that, imagine then sales starting to happen. Imagine building a beautiful website, right? Like you build a website that converts because guess what? You cannot build on borrowed land, right? So I teach you in my other programs, I teach you how to get onto more sales channels, right? How to scale your business by taking your product. And the most successful product bosses have nailed that sellable product. They know what they're selling and they're able to get that onto more sales channels. So imagine though for a moment that you also have your own website built. A website that's built beautifully, that converts customers when they show up. It has a great user experience, right? You've built it super easy. You own your website. The two things that you will ever own in your business are your website and your email list. Those are your assets. People cannot Take that away from you. So when you have a website, that's where if you're selling direct to consumer on an E commerce website, that is the most profitable sales channel you can be on. Because you get all the money, right? You get all of it. You're not giving away percentages to Etsy or other sales channels, but rather you get to set your price and you get to make the sale. So really what we have to figure out is taking that product, that offer that sellable product, we have to figure figure out what your marketing channels will be, right? How are we going to discover customers, how our customers are going to discover us, how are we going to drive them to our sales channel which would then be your website. And then how do you get that website to convert for you? Right? And then Cha Ching, money's at the end, right? This would be amazing. I know. And it's not just a dream. It's entirely possible. I've been doing these one on one coaching calls all year. We're at like exactly a year to when I started this, that I've been doing it once a week. Okay. So I've interviewed close to a hundred people this year because I haven't aired all of them yet, but a hundred different product based businesses, a hundred product bosses that I've worked with and I've seen it time and time again and we've gone through this in bits and pieces. You've heard it and you've heard it in bits and pieces, but we've put it all together. So what I've realized is when you remove these roadblocks, that's when your business truly starts to grow. That's when it soars, that's when it starts to feel like it's actually working. So now I know what you're thinking. Okay, Jaclyn, I understand these roadblocks, but how do I actually overcome them? And I mentioned this at the beginning, but I'm going to say it again here because we've got some really exciting news that we're dropping. I've been working on something behind the scenes and this something is going to help you break through all of these roadblocks once and for all. Okay. It's literally the culmination of everything I've learned. Having my own business, running my own product based businesses through my business journey from working with hundreds of product based business owners inside of the product boss community, as well as the over 2,101 clients I've had that I've worked with since 2007. And it's almost ready to share with you. I'm going to share it tomorrow or whenever you're listening. Okay? You're either going to know that it exists or you're going to be first to know. So all you have to do is message me the word waitlist on Instagram or click the link here and you'll be the first to know. Because if you're ready to finally break through these roadblocks, if you're ready to finally build a product based business that truly works and it works for you, then I want you to join this waitlist. Okay? And you will be the first to know when I reveal this game changing solution and trust me, you do not want to miss this, it's going to revolutionize the way that you approach your business and I cannot wait to share it with you again. It's like literally the best thing I've ever done. And I know, I know I've been talking about it, but this is just, I'm just so excited and I'm at a year anniversary right now of buying this business, spending from my business partner, right? Spending my family's life savings on taking over the product boss, right? By leaning in and telling my husband and my kids like this is something I truly believe in because I know that we can change the world. I know that we can change the world also by empowering women owned business businesses to make their own money. Right? Women owned businesses to succeed. We talk about the 2% where only 2% of women owned businesses make it to a million dollars and did you know only 12% make it into those multi six figure ranges. So the other 82%, right? Am I right on numbers? Yeah, I think so. Math. This is not a math class, friends. Right? The other 82%, like there is so much room. Why? Because in a generation, in my lifetime is really the time, if not less than that, is the time that women been able to start businesses, grow their businesses, make their own money, have their own bank accounts, all of these things that we weren't own, credit cards, all of these things that our mothers and our grandmothers didn't have the opportunity to do. So while these percentages sometimes seem daunting, it's actually we're currently in the process of changing it. And my goal, my life's mission is support women in business. And because I'm a fashion designer by trade, that was my career. Then I had my own product based business. I have helped thousands of people as they're one on one designer, consultant, built all these companies and then at the product boss for the last seven years. This is what I have thought about today and day out and realized this is what's missing and so I'm really excited to share it with you. I'm like so excited I can't even like I'm like biting my tongue right now but I can't wait to share it. So thank you, thank you thank you for tuning in today. I hope that this episode really helped you identify what might be holding you back in your business and more importantly it's giving you hope that there is a way forward. I want you to remember that these roads blocks are not permanent. With the right tools and the strategies and the support and the community you can break through them and you can build this thriving product based business that I know you've always dreamt of. So stay tuned because big things are coming and until next time keep pushing, keep dreaming and keep building your product boss empire.