Business Growth Myths That Actually Stunt Your Growth

Business growth... The thing that every entrepreneur wants but so few actually end up achieving.  This failure to achieve business growth-related goals is a result of the many business growth myths being propagated out there.

These myths tell lies about what it really takes to grow.  When people believe them, they're basically shooting themselves in the foot. 

Now, the question is... Have you accepted one of the many myths that, when believed in and followed, stunt your business growth?

To help you find out, we're sharing some of the most pervasive and harmful business growth myths being propagated today.

That way, you can determine whether or not you have fallen for one of them, change your belief, and then get on the path to actual business growth!

Here is all you need to know about the top business growth myths that stunt your potential to sustainably grow!

Why Are There So Many Misconceptions About Business Growth?

For most people, business growth is a bit of an enigma.

Because so few people actually achieve sustainable growth, they see it as having a bit of a mysterious air surrounding it.

Then, because of that mysterious air, they believe that it is a highly complicated feat to achieve!

This is where all of the myths about business growth come from... When people see something as highly complicated, they start to develop a ton of misconceptions about it.

Moreover, thinking that business growth is highly complicated causes people to form untrue myths about it.

To make matters even worse, there are certain people working inside the business system who want others to believe that it is complicated!  

Because, the more people who see growth as extremely complicated, the fewer who will actually attempt it.  The fewer people who attempt it, the less competition there is in the market for them to work against!

However, we are here to tell you that, while there are plenty of myths about business growth, most of them aren't true.

And, believing in them will significantly hinder you from actually growing.

Therefore, knowing the truth about business growth is of the utmost importance for your success.

What’s The Real Truth About Business Growth?

Now that you know why there are so many misconceptions about business growth, it’s time to reveal the truth about growth.

The truth directly contrasts many of the most harmful business growth myths.

The truth is this: Business growth is simpler than what most people make it out to be.

By simple, we mean that you don't need to jump through hoops in order to grow!  Instead, it's a matter of developing the right mindset to create processes that kick start growth for you.

Now... We're not saying that business growth isn't challenging.  If it wasn't challenging, then everyone would do it!

But, what we are saying is that, if you put in the necessary but challenging work required to grow, then it is simple.

Now, if you're saying to yourself 'No way!  Business growth isn't simple!', then you've been conditioned by our society that tells people that complexity is good and necessary for success.

In school, we're taught that the more complicated something is, the better!  However, that is the literal opposite of the truth.

The key is to get your mind out of this conditioning that tries to tell you that complicated processes are better and/or necessary for success.

If you can cut that line of thinking, then you can fully accept the truth about business growth.  Only when you do that will you actually achieve all of your growth-related goals.

Myth 1: You Need to Follow a Specific Business Strategy

What type of business growth are you trying to achieve?

Is it acquiring new customers, developing new products, or diving deeper into your current customer base to increase your bottom line?

​Whatever kind of business growth you're trying to achieve, DO NOT fall for the common myth that there is a one size fits all business strategy to achieve growth!

To explain why, start by answering this question: What makes people buy from one business over another?  For example, why would somebody buy a Mercedes over a Toyota?  They're both car companies that help you get from point A to point B, so why would someone choose one over the other?

The reason why someone chooses one option over the other is because one of the companies resonates more with their personal storyline.

In the case of the Mercedes, the buyer is probably looking for a car that fits their emotional desire to look luxurious and expensive.

On the other hand, the person buying the Toyota is probably looking for a car that fits their emotional desire to be economical and practical.

That being said, Mercedes and Toyota both produce cars but are both wildly successful in their own right because they both have stuck to their own unique business strategy!

The purpose of the business strategy is to highlight what makes your product or service unique.  It’s what sets your product or service apart from your competitors to resonate with your target audience’s specific emotional desires.

Therefore, if you want to stand out in your own industry to accelerate growth, then you MUST develop your own unique business strategy and stick to it.

Think of it like this: If you follow one of your competitors' strategies, your business won’t take up a unique space in the market.  As a result, it won’t resonate with any particular audience’s emotions, and you won’t make sales.

In the game of business growth, you need to stand out to win!

Myth 2: Business Growth Is Linear

Don't let social media fool you... Business growth isn't a straightforward process.

Rather, it's a series of ups and downs that teach you different lessons.  

And if it weren’t for those lessons, you wouldn’t gain the knowledge necessary for the kind of strategic decision-making required for business growth.

Moreover, don't fall for the myth that business growth is linear!  It's not as easy as just checking the boxes to get to the next level.

While this is one of the most challenging facts about business growth to swallow, you'll be happy to know this: If your business growth isn't linear, then it could mean that you are on to something special.

By on to something, we mean that you're in the works of developing something totally new that the market hasn't seen before.

Any innovative business or startup goes through a period of time in which the market has to develop a certain level of comfort with them.

But once they do start to feel comfortable, that opens the door for the business to really make a splash!

Bottom line: If your business growth isn’t exactly linear, don’t sweat it.  Instead, use that time to learn valuable lessons about your business and how you can improve it!

Myth 3: There Is a Set of Business Growth ‘Norms’ You Must Follow

Another deceptive lie often portrayed on social media is that high-achieving business owners who reach the heights of business growth have all their ducks in a row.  Meaning that their entire lives and businesses are in tip-top shape, 24/7.

This lie sets the precedent that there is a set of specific norms that you need to fulfill if you also want to achieve growth.

Moreover, there is a pervasive myth that you need to follow a set of business growth-related norms in order to achieve your goals!

However, we're here to tell you that business growth requires the opposite of norms.  Instead, it requires you to go completely against norms!

The truth is that there are no rules when it comes to business.  Thinking that there are rules only forces you into a box that doesn't allow you to express your real authenticity.

Businesses that achieve high-level growth are usually the ones that stay connected with what makes them the most unique.  In a world full of conformation, authenticity is an amazing trait to have.

If you're constantly comparing yourself against a set of 'norms', you will likely try to conform to them.  And if you try to conform to them, you'll likely lose all of your authenticity.

As a result, you will do the opposite of growing!

Conforming to norms never does anyone any good… So don’t waste your time trying to conform to a fake set of business rules thinking that they will help you achieve your goals.

Myth 4: Whoever Works the Hardest Goes the Farthest

When are we finally going to stop telling people that all it takes to achieve success is hard work?

If that was true, then most of the people who take on the journey of entrepreneurship would achieve all of their goals.  But, that's certainly not reality!

So... What's the truth then?  If it's not all about hard work, then what is it all about?

Before answering that question, we must point out this fact: The CEO of a business needs to be a hard worker.  There is no replacement for hard work!  If the CEO doesn't work hard, then nobody else on their team will.

But again, hard work isn't everything!  And, the reason for that is because, you can be working really hard, but it doesn't matter if you are working on the wrong things!

The truth is that so many entrepreneurs put in countless hours trying to achieve their goals, but put all of their efforts into the wrong outlets.

As a result, they drive themselves crazy feeling like they're jumping through hoops and calling it 'hard work'.  But, in reality, they don't accomplish anything.

With that being said, instead of telling people that they just need to work hard to achieve their goals, we should start telling them that they need to work hard on the right things!  Otherwise, all of their hard work will be for nothing.

Instead of spending all of their time ‘working hard’, entrepreneurs should spend more time studying their business and customers.

By doing so, they can develop the perfect business model and plan.  After that, they can start putting in the hard work necessary to bring those plans to life!

Get over the way too common myth that all it takes is hard work to grow your business!  

Rather than jumping through hoops and over landmines and calling it ‘hard work’, develop the perfect business strategy so that you know exactly where to put your time and energy.  

Only then will you achieve sustainable business growth.

Myth 5: You Need More Education to Grow

If every person on earth who went to business school knew everything there is to know about business growth, then there would be a lot more successful business owners on earth!

This begs the question... Why is there such a disconnect between business education and actual business results?

Here's the thing: Our education system is designed to teach you what to think.  They say things to you like... Learn this equation and you will get the right answer!

While this method of teaching will absolutely help you get good grades and a degree, there is less proof that it will help you achieve all of your business growth-related goals. 

Why?

Because, success doesn't have to do with having knowledge, but knowing what to do with the knowledge you have!  Moreover, success has to do with knowing not what to think, but how to think!

And unfortunately, our education system doesn't seem to be the least bit interested in teaching people how to think.

As a result, we end up with a society of highly educated people who, while they have a lot of knowledge, don't know what to do with it. 

Therefore, we're here to tell you that you DON'T need more knowledge to achieve business growth.  Instead, you need to be empowered to know what to do with the knowledge you already have!

We guarantee that you are already smart enough to solve all of your business growth-related problems, whether they be cash flow problems or challenges finding high-quality team members!

What you do need is the kind of empowerment that comes with knowing what to do with your existing knowledge.  Empowerment is the key word here.

Stop wasting your time reading countless business books and articles to gain more knowledge.  Instead, empower yourself with the tools necessary to apply that knowledge.

Only when you empower yourself will you get to the place you want to be.

Myth 6: You Need to Be Ruthless

Take a second and ask yourself this question: What is the purpose of starting a new business, and why do businesses exist in the first place?

The truth is that businesses exist to solve problems.  Plain and simple.  

It doesn't matter what the problem is or the size of it, the truth is that businesses are in the business of serving their customers by solving one of their problems.

At the end of the day, the most successful businesses are those that best serve their customers!

Unfortunately, this fact contradicts one of the most common business-growth related myths... and that is that you need to be ruthless in order to grow.  

And by ruthless, meaning that entrepreneurs need to stop at absolutely nothing, be willing to blast through anything standing in their way, and show zero compassion if they want to scale up.

The reason that this is an absolute myth is that ruthlessness and service are mutually exclusive.

You can't be 100% focused on serving your customers and be a ruthless, in-compassionate person at the same time!

Why?

Because... Business = Service = Compassion.  And, ruthlessness knows nothing of compassion.

Business is about recognizing that people have problems, showing compassion for them by hearing them out, and then serving them to get to a better place by solving their problems.

In short: By approaching business growth with a ruthless mindset, you’re completely opposing the fact that business is about compassionate service.

Perhaps being ruthless will do you some good in the short term, but it won't help you achieve sustainable, long-term growth.

Therefore, get the idea out of your mind that you need to be ruthless to be successful.  Having a ruthless mindset will lead to ruthless actions, which will ultimately lead to the opposite of business growth. 

Myth 7: Once You Achieve Your Growth Goals Your Problems Go Away

Here's the thing: We will always suggest setting business goals, particularly goals related to business growth.

However, there is a catch... Many business owners make a fatal mistake regarding their goals.  And when we say many, we mean basically all of them!

And, that mistake is believing that once they achieve their growth-related goals, that their top business problems are going to disappear.

They get a line of thinking going that sounds like this.... If I can just get to this higher level, then my problems will go away!

However, we're here to tell you that achieving your business growth goals does not mean that you have outrun your demons!  In fact, the hard truth is that... The greater level you scale to, the greater your demons will probably become.

It's like what they say: New level, new devil!

With that being said, you need to keep two extremely important points in mind:

1. Business growth won't make your problems go away
2. You need to change your perspective of success

First off and like we already said, achieving your growth-related goals won't magically make your problems go away.

The truth is that the greater level you scale to, the more problems you are going to encounter!

Do you think that Jeff Bezos had more business-related hurdles to overcome when he was only selling books online to Americans?  Or, when he started selling literally every product known to man to people on all corners of the world?

Therefore, you need to get the idea out of your mind that growth will chase your demons out.

Second and as a result of the first point, you need to change your perspective of what success is!

If your current interpretation of success is... Once I achieve my growth-related goals, my problems will go away and I will be satisfied... just know that you're setting yourself up for a lot of disappointment.

Because, once you overcome your first major problem, then there will be another one, and then another one after that!

Moreover, measuring success based on achieving external growth goals is unsatisfactory to say the least.  

The higher you climb the more hurdles you encounter, so you need to change your perspective on what it means to be successful altogether.

At the end of the day, we want you to achieve ALL of your business-related goals.  But, we don’t want you to think that achieving them will make your problems go away or make your life easier.

Final Thoughts on Common Myths About Business Growth

Your potential to achieve growth is all in your hands.  And, it starts with not falling for one of the many myths being propagated today.

If you fall for one of these myths, it's inevitable that you won't make the correct moves or have the right mindset that fosters growth.

Are you ready to get your mind right by accepting the truth about business growth?  When you are ready, your potential to grow will be virtually limitless!