In this article, we uncover the psychological barriers holding back your business success and provide actionable steps to adopt a six-figure mindset.

Many business owners face roadblocks that prevent them from achieving their dream business.

The main ones—starving artist syndrome, perfectionism, lack of focus, me-focused business, lack of resilience and failure—can be detrimental. Identify which roadblocks resonate with your experience and reflect on how they impact your progress.

Adopt a Six-Figure Business Mindset

Your business's success hinges on adopting a six-figure mindset.

Strategies alone won't cut it. Right thinking is essential.

Whether you realise it or not, limited thinking restricts your success.

I’m going to guide you through some really simple principles so that you can escape these damaging mindsets if you recognise them in yourself.

I'll walk you through thought processes to pinpoint where you are in your business, then identify and dismantle unseen roadblocks. By the end of this, you’ll have the confidence to address obstacles and pursue your business goals.

Remember, recognising these roadblocks is the first step in overcoming them. With awareness, you can transform these challenges into growth opportunities.

Transforming Your Mindset: The Foundation of Six-Figure Success

To build a successful business, you must first overcome the mental barriers holding you back. Recognise and overcome limiting beliefs for lasting success. The myth that success hinges on luck is pervasive, but it isn't true. Your success is driven by strategy and effort, not chance.

Successful entrepreneurs do not achieve their status by luck but by applying effective strategies and maintaining a strong six-figure business mindset. The struggle in business often comes from a lack of awareness—awareness of the strategies and systems that can help and understanding one's own belief systems that may hold back progress.

If you believe competition makes clients scarce, reframe your perspective. Highlight how your unique skills attract clients seeking exactly what you offer. For example, instead of thinking "too many photographers," focus on how your unique style and personal touch make you the ideal choice. If you're undercharging because you believe clients won't pay more, consider how your unique expertise adds value.

There are many methodologies for building structure around your business; however, before tackling the physical, you must also work on the psychological. Start by identifying limiting beliefs and replacing them with empowering truths.

Your mindset and awareness serve as your most powerful tools for building a successful business. This requires consistent effort to reflect on your beliefs and realign them with your business goals. When you focus on cultivating a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities and align your actions with your goals, you break out of the myth of the struggling entrepreneur and move towards creating a fulfilling and prosperous business.

Debunking the Starving Artist Myth: Awareness is Your Key to Success

The myth that success only comes to the lucky few has permeated the business world, making many believe they must struggle indefinitely. Here's some truth: If you're struggling to get clients or make sales, the reason isn't external—it's your awareness. People struggle in their businesses because they lack an understanding of core foundations, strategies, and systems essential for growth.

The myth that success only comes to the lucky few has pervaded the business world, making many believe they must struggle indefinitely. Here’s some truth: If you’re struggling to get clients or make sales, the reason isn't external—it's your awareness. People struggle in their businesses because they lack awareness of core foundations, strategies, and systems essential for growth.

Successful business owners didn’t achieve their status by sheer luck. They succeeded by applying effective strategies and focusing their energies efficiently. Richard Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire found 90% of entrepreneurs credit mindset and strategic planning over luck.

There are many methodologies out there for building a structure around your business, but before you can tackle the physical, you need to first work on the psychological. Your six-figure business mindset and awareness will be your most powerful tools for building a successful business.

Identify areas where you buy into the starving artist myth and formulate an action plan to address each belief.

Change your Mind

To break out of the "starving artist" myth, realise it is just that – a myth. Understand this: the more you identify as a struggling artist, the more you believe it. This affects your decisions and actions - derailing any success you might have had.

Forget your Competition

It may seem like everyone and their dog is in competition with you now. You have to focus on what you do, not what the competition is doing. Once you gain clarity about your perfect client and your signature service—what you can uniquely offer them—you shift from a commodity to a market of one.

Stop relying on luck

We're all guilty of saying, "I have the worst luck," or "I wasn't lucky enough to land that client."

The truth is, the other business that got the client you wanted didn’t use luck. They earned that client. They either had messaging that was more direct or relevant, or they were able to tap into the client’s problems and desires more effectively. The blind forces of chance had nothing to do with it.

Relying (or blaming things) on luck robs you of the power to change your situation. Leave luck at the poker table and take back your responsibility. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.

Understanding the psychological side of running a business is as important as the intellectual or physical side.

When you have awareness of the areas you need to work on, the focus to ignore what everyone else is doing, and the willingness to take responsibility for your successes AND failures, it becomes much easier to escape the “struggling business” syndrome and create a fulfilling, prosperous business, no matter the economy.

Believing in the myth of the "starving artist" limits your potential. Recognise that success is not about external factors but your awareness and strategic actions. Shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance, and take proactive steps to attract the clients and opportunities you deserve.

Overcoming Perfectionism: Embrace Imperfect Action for Progress

This is something that I see a lot of in business owners and creatives: Having to get everything just so before you do anything.

Perfectionism is a major roadblock for business owners, causing them to get bogged down in things that don’t really matter. Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that perfectionism is correlated with higher levels of stress and burnout, severely reducing overall productivity.

Money and success love speed and action.

If you want to achieve the level of success that you dream of as a business owner, if you want to earn a comfortable living that gives you freedom and choices in how you live your life, then you need to take imperfect action. When you are a business owner, taking imperfect action is so important. Being the first one to make something happen is the majority of the time, the best way to move forward in business.

Perfectionism is just another form of procrastination. We often procrastinate because of fear. Whatever the reason you are hiding behind the destructive habit of perfectionism, this pattern needs to be broken. To combat perfectionism, take imperfect action. Understand that 50% – 75% perfect is often good enough.

Perfectionism often leads to inaction. Adopt a mindset of "imperfect action" to consistently move forward.

Your goal each day as a business owner is to take consistent action. You need to deliver, get all of the major bits and pieces out there, working and functioning, good enough.

Every second that you delay in taking action, sitting back and procrastinating by perfectionism, you aren’t making money, you are costing your business money, whilst your competitors are out there booking clients, selling products or services, and making money. You only make money and book clients when you take action.

Break the habit of perfectionism and procrastination that might exist in your daily working life and take action, even if it is imperfect.

Action Steps

Take an honest look at yourself and how you show up in your business. Start with small, imperfect actions today. Track what you're hesitating on and set a deadline to get it done.

• List what shows up.
• Identify how you procrastinate through perfectionism.
• Determine if you wait until things are perfect before taking action.
• Pinpoint areas of your business where this happens.
• Recognise particular areas or types of tasks where this is more evident.
• Reflect on why you feel you are hiding behind or procrastinating through perfectionism.

Reflect on and write down or journal your answers to these questions.

What steps or actions can you take right now to overcome this?

Perfectionism hampers progress and leads to inaction. Adopt a mindset of "imperfect action" to consistently move forward. Understand that good enough is often sufficient and that taking action is better than striving for unattainable perfection.

Once you've started embracing imperfect actions, the next step is to harness the power of focus and avoid the pitfalls of multitasking.

Harnessing the Power of Focus: How Single-Tasking Accelerates Success

Using the power of focus is crucial to success. Multitasking dilutes resources; single-tasking accelerates progress.

According to a study by the University of California, Irvine, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain focus after an interruption.

Most people don't focus on one thing until completion.

They start too many projects and have too many tasks on the go. This dilutes your resources and extends timelines.

The result? It takes far longer to achieve any single outcome.

Make a list of all current projects. Choose one to prioritise this week. Dedicate uninterrupted time to this project daily.

I once read a great story about this that explains it well.

Imagine you are on the side of a big valley and want to build a bridge across to the other side.

Too many people start building five bridges at once to try and get to the other side. Yet, you only have a certain amount of resources (time, energy, money, confidence, building materials) to dedicate to building these bridges.

Crossing to the other side of the valley will take a lot longer if you build multiple bridges rather than focusing your resources on one bridge.

For example, you might have three projects you want to complete:

• SEO' ing your website
• Putting in place a new sales funnel with an email sequence
• Designing a new service

Many business owners will work on each of these concurrently, such as working on the website on Mondays, the sales funnel on Wednesdays and the new product on Thursdays.

However, focusing exclusively on one project each week results in faster completion and quicker results.

When you context switches, you will more quickly find yourself overwhelmed and heading for burnout.

You are more likely to feel like giving up when you have too much going on trying to build multiple bridges.

A foundational principle is that nothing will be done to the level it needs to be if you are working on too many things at once. So, have a think right now about how many bridges you’re currently building, write them all down, and then pick one task or project to focus on first.

Once you’ve finished building that first bridge, you will get to the other side much quicker, more cheaply, and you will be in a better place confidence and mindset-wise. Then, when you have that first project finished, you’re able to gather up all of your resources, learnings, and revenue that it generates, and start building the next bridge, working on your next project. This is a far more powerful way to go about your business.

Don’t overwork yourself and end up with burnout. Ensure that the time you do spend in your business is incredibly focused and a good use of your time. Trying to jump ahead and do too many things at once will leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, confused, and plain miserable.

Only work on things that generate revenue—attracting leads/enquiries, converting these leads to clients, shooting for clients, selling products. Anything else should be secondary to the main project you have chosen to focus on as they are costing your business money.

Don’t get easily distracted by “bright, shiny objects” or the latest and greatest magic bullet. Focus on your strategy, get into your rhythm, and follow the process in my frameworks. You will find it a much more enjoyable experience when you stay focused, and more importantly, you will get better results more quickly.

Make sure that, especially when you are performing all the roles in your business, the ones you focus on are the ones that generate revenue.

Don't waste time and energy on "stuff" outside these priorities; otherwise, you will never achieve the success and income you desire.

Don't get distracted by "bright, shiny objects" or the latest and greatest magic bullet. Focus on your strategy, get into your rhythm and follow the process in my frameworks.

Staying focused will make it a much more enjoyable experience; more importantly, you will get better results more quickly.

Action Step

List your projects and prioritise which one to focus on until completion. Focus is your most powerful tool for achieving success. Channel your resources into one project. This will expedite results and prevent burnout.

Shifting From Me-Focused to Customer-Focused Business: Understanding Market Needs

Too many businesses approach their market backwards by asking, ‘How can I get people to pay me for my product?’ Instead, understand your market’s needs and desires. Far too many businesses approach their market backwards. They ask, “How can I get people to pay me money for my (whatever it is you sell)?” instead of understanding their market, what it wants, and what motivates people to buy your products or services.

People aren’t interested in your motivations or craft or art or skillset, they want to know what you can do for them, how you can solve their problems, fulfil their needs and desires. It is critical to ensure that this is reflected in your marketing.

Understanding your market, who you’re serving, what they want/need, and how you’re going to help them solve their problems/fulfil their desires, is critical to your success. The typical approach of “How can I get people to pay me money for what I want to offer?” is very “you-centric”…

Whereas, “How can I provide a solution to a problem that my customers already have through my services and products?” is customer-focused and that is essential if you want to succeed in these competitive times.

Now, the easiest way to know this is to ask your clients! Schedule interviews with five ideal clients. Enquire about their pain points and desires. Modify your marketing message based on these insights.

Ask your ideal clients about their problems and desires. Direct engagement reveals valuable insights. You will be amazed at what happens when you care enough to find out what they need, to ask. And you don’t just stop at the first answer they give. You keep enquiring. You say, “why is that important to you?”, “is there more?”, “is there anything else that you would like to add?” and you dig deeper to understand their answers.

Become the business that provides the solution to something that they’ve been seeking, someone who actually cares about what they want, rather than the business whose priority is all about me, not the client.

Knowing your market and then choosing the most suitable business model is critical. Validating your market and offer is a vital first step in creating a successful and profitable business.

When you have done that, then you can let your passion shine through.

Shift from a me-focused to a customer-focused mindset. Understand your market deeply by engaging with potential clients and addressing their needs and desires. 

Align your offerings to provide solutions rather than pushing your own agenda. This approach will naturally attract clients and foster business growth.

Cultivating Resilience and Responsibility: Essentials for Sustained Success

Resilience and taking responsibility are essential. Embrace challenges as opportunities, and remain committed to your goals.

It is your business and your responsibility to do the work and create the business you desire. Not mine, not someone else's, but yours.

The buck stops with you.

There are no magic bullets or secret sauce. Successful business owners don't just happen to become successful overnight. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, states, 'Overnight successes are almost always a result of a lot of hard work and perseverance over long periods. There's no substitute for everyday hard work. Additionally, a study from Harvard Business Review concludes that resilience is one of the primary predictors of entrepreneurial success.

Starting and growing a successful and profitable business is not easy. It takes work. It takes dedication. It requires you to do the work that so many others won’t do. Watching a Creative Live or YouTube for an hour, consuming a course for a couple of hours, attending a workshop or a convention alone won’t transform your business by osmosis. Taking several key pieces of information from those and implementing, taking consistent action is what will transform your business.

Create a daily accountability checklist. At the end of each day, note what you did well and areas for improvement.

No excuses, or complaints, or deferring responsibility as a business owner, that’s not the way to move forward. You need to remove all of that and take full responsibility.

If this was easy, everyone would be running a successful business. Most people aren’t prepared to face the resistance, the setbacks, and take full responsibility. You need to be incredibly resilient.

If you want to succeed and own a successful business, you need to embrace problem-solving and be resilient daily.

Do the work now so that you don’t have to work so hard later. You may have to work on your business part-time, but your attitude can be full-time. You’ve got to stick with the program, complete things in a logical order, and start building the foundations that I teach you. Without those foundations, it’s like building a house on quicksand.

Don’t quit your job too early when your business is still very young and doesn’t provide you with a consistent and repeatable income. That’s a dangerous thing to do and will hold you back in so many ways. You don’t want to be building your business from a desperate situation. That leads to desperate decisions, stress, and negative energy.

Resilience and taking responsibility are crucial for long-term success. Embrace challenges as learning opportunities and remain committed to your goals. Understand that cultivating a resilient six-figure business mindset and taking ownership of your actions are fundamental to creating a thriving business.

Embracing Experimental Mindset: Turning Failures into Learning Opportunities

A lot of people struggle with failure.

I don't fail; I get results and data.

Failure is just a word. It stings, but with time, you realise it doesn't exist.

With that belief, failure will lose its power in your business.

Failure can stop you from acting and taking imperfect action towards success.

Failure is just a state of mind. Learn from when things don't go the way you planned.

You only fail when you give up.

When I had my photography business, I used to enter business awards.

It was a great way to make me take a good look at my business and get some outside input. Winning an award was great proof for my business that I could use in my marketing.

I entered one award that offered a £10,000 prize. The judging panel were all very successful big business owners with expensive watches and well tailored suits and included the owner of MacKays Jams.

During my interview with the panel, they dug deeply into my business, especially the numbers. I will never forget when one of the judges said, "So what you have here is a lifestyle business."

That comment stung. I felt like a total failure. Don't get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with having or wanting a lifestyle business.

It just wasn't what I wanted at the time.

I didn't win the £10,000, and I had two choices:

• Continue to let that comment hurt my ego, and think of myself and my business as a failure.
• Or use the whole experience as a part of the learning curve. I chose the second option.

Usually, things do not always work the first time.

Facebook ads and funnels all take time to evolve, test, and get right, and during that time, you are gathering data and learning what doesn't work.

What succeeded for someone else might not succeed for you.

There are subtle nuances and differences between your business and theirs and between your market and theirs.

So when things don't work out, remember that you are gathering data to determine what will work.

Document 'failures' and lessons from each. Create a 'test and learn' action plan for new strategies.

The few things that genuinely succeed make all the difference.

The faster you make your mistakes, the faster you get back up again, and the quicker you will reach that one-in-ten opportunity.

Resilience helps you fail forward quickly if you must call it a failure.

Always learn something (yes, even if it hurts at the time).

But you need to be okay with making mistakes.

It only becomes a failure when you give up - until then, it is just learning.

Sometimes, I try something, and it doesn't work. That's not a failure; it's getting results and learning so that I can make adjustments, move on, and get it right the next time.

Sometimes, you've got to keep iterating and evolving so that you can go from something that sucks to something quite brilliant.

As you had to practice and evolve when first learning to walk, your business and marketing skills are no different.

It's highly likely that when you will not get things right the first time, and that's okay.

The business owners that I see having the most success are the ones that are resilient, who are always learning, who don’t think in terms of failure. They are the ones who are able to build the six-figure businesses.

Your mindset will be the biggest difference between success and failure. A great marketing funnel won’t fix a bad mindset. So, stay committed. Recognise the path won't always be easy.

Resilience and iteration are key to achieving your business objectives. Building a successful business is a journey that blends mindset, strategic action, and resilience. Embrace these principles daily, and you'll see meaningful progress.

Transforming your business starts with transforming your mindset. Focus on taking imperfect action, prioritising tasks, and understanding your market. Take the first step towards overcoming your roadblocks today.