Startups

7 Mental Hang-Ups that Prevent Explosive Business Growth

Published

11 years ago

Aug 27, 2015

BJ Pivonka

Joel Brown

Most of us want to grow our businesses, but many of us watch and see others explode into internet celebrity status while others struggle to even pay their monthly hosting fee.

But there are reasons why some people are not seeing the results that their skills and talents would warrant, because their mental infrastructure and programming are not in line with where they are in their business.

These are the 7 biggest reasons that they may not be seeing the growth that some of their peers are seeing:

1. Having a “Wing It” approach to their business

The biggest problem when new entrepreneurs are in the early stages of their business is that they take a “try it out” attitude with their business. Meaning they will “try it out” and then get serious if they start seeing success.

The problem with this approach is that if you do not take the business seriously, you will never have any results. This creates a never ending circle of businesses that this person starts, but never actually gives their best effort for and continues to be stuck in the exact same place that they started.

Give your business a chance by committing to it. I’m not saying you quit your job day-one, but you also cannot be just trying it out. Start working on it in your free time, make it a top priority and do the action steps you already know how to do; and you will start seeing the results.

2. Limited interaction with successful people

The old school method of becoming a millionaire was work hard, save your money and eventually you could become a millionaire. But now the path is massive action, massive knowledge and connecting with the right people.

By now you’ve heard the cliché that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. And that is true, which is why having access to those individuals who have reached the incredible feat of making six or seven figures is crucial. By learning from them you can cut out years from your business to get to both of those income levels.

So what is the best way to get access to these people? There are two good options:

Live Events: For example, the recent World Domination Summit had plenty of these types of people there. In September I will be attending Ryan Lee’s FreedymFest. Pick an event that will have successful people there and make it a point to connect with them.

Online Courses/Masterminds: By joining a course or an online mastermind you will have access to people who are further along the path than you are. By developing relationships with them they can become mentors, affiliates or even partners.

3. Being too comfortable

This is mostly for people who have a job, but these people are too comfortable with their middle class lifestyle to cut back and invest some of that money into growing their business.

You are going to need to invest money into your business, for a website, web hosting, autoresponder, training & coaching, and eventually into traffic. But if you’re not willing to give up buying another pair of shoes this month or a new electronic gadget that won’t help you build a business, then you are holding yourself back from success.

Be willing to sacrifice some of the comforts of the middle class so you can reap upper class rewards.

4. Fear of monetary success

Some of you are probably looking at that description and wondering how someone could be afraid of making more money. But greater income also brings greater challenges.

Some people will end up sabotaging themselves because they cannot even fathom writing a six-figure tax bill (even though they are making six or seven figures). Or they know they do not have the discipline to save their money to pay taxes and end up subconsciously sabotaging themselves to make less money.

Another example is having to pay a high level accountant rather than paying $50 to the local HR Block guy. But we must understand that these are good problems to have, as it means our businesses are growing.

5. Uncomfortable telling people what to do

For your business to grow you will need to be directing people towards certain actions or even flat out telling them what to do. This could include employees, clients, or email subscribers. If you cannot tell them what they need to do, you will never build anything.

Just think about all the ways you may have to tell someone what to do:

A call to action in an email or direct mail marketing message (i.e. opt-in to your email campaigns or clicking a link to an interview or article of yours)
Telling an employee a task that they need to perform
Telling a potential client that they should buy from you

All of these are essential to your business. The people who can’t do this may have a number of reasons for not doing so (i.e. lack of self esteem or worrying about what other people will think), but you need to be able to take charge and give direction to both your audience and your team.

6. No mental toughness

Too many people simply lack the guts to make it big. There are many reasons why this could be the case:

They get easily distracted or thrown off course and struggle to get back on track.
They simply do not work hard enough to get where they want to go.
They always have an excuse for when things don’t go their way.
Maybe they’re just the type of person who easily quits.

Whatever the reason, these people will continue to trip themselves up every chance they get. Instead of this, take control of your life, give your business the effort it deserves, and if there is a market for it, then never give up.

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong

7. Having a huge vision for what you’re doing

Entrepreneurship is an intense journey, similar to the proverbial roller coaster ride. Despite venture capitalists obsession with “hockey stick growth,” most businesses rarely have such a linear trajectory. So you need to have a HUGE legacy in mind when you’re going through the ups and downs, or you’ll never make it. Because when things get tough…you’ll quit. Even if you have guts, you have nothing to fight for.

When you know exactly where you’re going, and why you are doing it, you’ll have that extra gear when you’re sick or tired or just feeling lazy to get stuff done. Your vision has become your mission, and it is one of the top priorities in your life (up there with your faith and your family).

When you have this vision you will track it ruthlessly. You’ll know the exact capacity of your business as it stands now, and also what it could take on immediately before becoming overwhelmed, and most importantly what the next steps are to get closer to that ultimate goal.

Thank you for reading my article! What mental hang-up is stopping your business from growing?

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BJ Pivonka

BJ Pivonka is the founder of Athletic Entrepreneurs where he helps former college and professional athletes successfully transition from their playing careers into their own profitable entrepreneurial ventures.

4 Comments

Startups

How an LLC Can Help Shield Your Personal Assets

Published

2 weeks ago

Aug 1, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

You are a freelance designer, and your client sued you over a trademark mistake. If you believe that your personal savings are safe, then you may be wrong. You are operating as a default sole proprietor. You and your business are the exact same person. As a result, your personal bank account, your car, and even your home are legally up for grabs.

However, if you start an LLC, you can build a legal shield between your business liabilities and your personal life. These days, you can easily form an LLC online.

How Does This Legal Shield Work

When you start an LLC, your business gets a distinct legal identity. Now, your LLC can open its own bank accounts, sign contracts, take out loans, buy equipment, and be held responsible for its own actions. You are not liable. This boundary between you and your business is called the “corporate veil.”

Visualizing the Separation

Inside the Shield (Business Assets)

Everything your company owns is included in this shield. If your business faces a debt collector or a lawsuit, only your business assets are at risk, such as:

Money in the business bank account
Inventory and raw materials
Office equipment, computers, and company vehicles
Business intellectual property

Outside the Shield (Your Personal Assets)

You don’t have to worry about your personal assets, such as:

Your personal checking and savings accounts
Your home and personal real estate
Your family vehicles
Your retirement funds (401k, IRA) and personal investments

What LLC Protection Covers

Business Debts and Contracts

When your LLC signs a commercial lease, hires a contractor, or buys inventory on credit, these are the obligations of the LLC. Your creditors will come after the assets of the LLC if your business can’t pay.

Lawsuits

If your business is sued over a contract dispute, faulty service, or an operational issue, lawsuits will be filed against your business. All your personal assets are safe.

What LLC Protection Does Not Cover

Personal Torts

The term “tort” refers to an act that causes harm or injury to someone else. The LLC shields you from the mistakes of your employees and general business liabilities. However, it never protects you from your own personal actions. For example, if you personally commit fraud, you can be sued personally.

Personal Guarantees

Vendors often hesitate to lend money to new, growing businesses. Such businesses don’t have long credit histories. Lenders often require you to sign a personal guarantee.

How Owners Accidentally Destroy Their Protection

The legal shield provided by forming an LLC only works when you run your business properly. The corporate veil can be pierced when a court decides that your LLC is not legitimate and strips away your protection in a lawsuit. This usually happens when you make one of the following three mistakes.

Commingling Funds

Many small business owners often mix their personal money with their business money. You are commingling funds when you use your business debit card to buy your personal groceries or you deposit a client’s payment directly into your personal checking account. The legal wall crumbles when you don’t treat your business and personal finances as completely separate.

Missing an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is the legal document that outlines:

How your LLC is run
Who owns what percentage
How profits are handled

If the creditor’s lawyer finds out that an operating agreement is missing, they may argue that your LLC is just a shell.

Falling Out of “Good Standing”

When you start an LLC, you must file annual reports and pay franchise taxes to keep it active. The state will place your business in “Administrative Dissolution” or bad standing if you miss any of these deadlines. You could lose your limited liability protection if you operate a business under an inactive or dissolved LLC.

Startups

Move Fast without Breaking People: Product Safety Lessons for Ambitious Startups

Published

1 month ago

Jul 15, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

Fast growth can hide product risks until customers get hurt, especially when safety comes late in development. A software bug can be patched, but a chair, charger, or smart device can cause a burn, fall, cut, or crash.

For founders moving from a prototype to mass sales, the cases handled by Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers in Boston show why launch goals should not push testing, warnings, and foreseeable risks aside. A product claim can involve the design, how a unit was made, user instructions, or several firms in the supply chain.

Why Minimum Viable Should Never Mean Minimally Safe

A minimum viable product should test whether people want an idea, not how much danger they will accept. Teams can delay colors or premium finishes, but not guards, safe heat limits, sound wiring, or clear instructions.

Set Safety Rules Before the Build

The product brief should define who will use the item, where, and what could happen during setup, cleaning, storage, wear, or mistakes. It should also consider what a child, guest, tired worker, or first-time buyer might do.

Shared rules help teams move faster. Designers know which guards must remain. Engineers know which parts cannot fail. Suppliers know what cannot change without review.

Test How People Really Use It

A neat demo is not the real world. Users place products on wet counters, soft rugs, or rough ground. They skip a guide, use the wrong cable, or handle an item in unexpected ways.

Testing should cover misuse without predicting every extreme act. When a risk can be reduced through a guard, lock, stop switch, or clear signal, that design change is often greater than a warning alone.

How Design and Manufacturing Risks Differ

Some risks are built into the design. Others arise when production fails to match the approved plan. Teams need to identify the source before choosing a correction.

Design Problems Start with the Plan

A design problem can affect every unit. A base may tip, a blade may sit too close to a hand, a control may activate too easily, or a battery space may trap heat.

Final inspection cannot repair a flawed plan. The team may need a new shape, shield, limit, material, or control, followed by testing before more units ship.

Manufacturing Problems Break the Plan

A manufacturing problem occurs when a unit or batch does not match the approved design. A fastener may be missing, a weld may be weak, a wire may be damaged, or the wrong component may enter production.

Good records help define the scope. The team should know who made each part, which batch used it, what checks occurred, and where units went. Fast trace work can keep one fault from becoming a wider crisis.

When Customer Feedback Signals More Than Dissatisfaction

Support teams hear about delays, difficult setups, strange sounds, and refunds. Most reports are routine. Yet heat, smoke, sparks, breakage, sharp edges, sudden movement, falls, or failed guards require review.

Treat Complaints as Safety Data

One report may lack key facts, but similar reports can reveal a pattern. Staff should record the model, batch, date, use, photographs, and outcome, then alert someone who can pause sales or order testing.

Teams should not blame unusual use before asking whether another reasonable buyer could make the same choice. A support ticket can be the first sign of a hazard that lab testing missed.

Preserve the Product and the Record

After an injury, the product can help explain what failed. A repair, disposal, or undocumented test can remove evidence. The same applies to old labels, manuals, test files, customer messages, and design notes.

Startups should keep relevant items safely, record who examines them, and preserve earlier versions of instructions and warnings. This history can show what changed and why.

Why Warnings Must Reflect Real Use

A warning works only when a user notices it at the right time. Dense text at the back of a manual may not help during setup. The message should name the hazard, explain the harm, and state what reduces the risk.

Placement matters too. A charging risk belongs near the port. A weight limit belongs where weight is added. Even so, warnings should not replace a safer design when the hazard can reasonably be removed.

How Founders Can Preserve Speed without Cutting Safeguards

A delayed launch, redesign, or recall can feel like defeat. In practice, early action can prevent harm, protect trust, and give the team better facts for the next version. The strongest startups move quickly because their systems protect people.

When a product injures someone, legal guidance can help preserve the item, collect design and manufacturing records, identify responsible companies, and examine whether a defect or unsafe choice caused the harm.