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The Founder’s Friction: Why "Doing Everything Right" Isn’t Making You successful?

You are clocking the hours. You are posting with passion. You’ve spent late nights perfecting your branding, your social media feed looks like a dream and you’ve even gathered glowing testimonials.

From the outside, you are the picture of a successful entrepreneur. But behind the scene, the deals aren't closing as fast as you wish, the bank account isn't growing and that "passion" might start to feel like a heavy weight.


If the strategy is professional, why isn’t it working?

The truth is often uncomfortable: "Doing more" cannot fix a "Being" problem.

The Question You Are Avoiding: Hobby, side-hustle, or profitable business ? Before we look at your marketing, we have to look at your intent. You must ask yourself a difficult question: Do I want a hobby, a side-hustle or am I ready to be an Entrepreneur?

  • A Hobby is something you do for joy. It costs you money, but it gives you a creative outlet.

  • A Side-Hustle is a way to make extra cash, but it rarely challenges your identity.

  • An Entrepreneur is an Executive. You aren't just "doing" the work; you are building an engine. This requires throwing yourself in, not just with your time, but with your identity.

Many people, especially women, stay in the "Hobby" zone because it feels safe. If it’s just a hobby, you don't have to face the risk of failure. But you cannot build a profitable business with a hobbyist's mindset. Furthermore, many stay small because they carry the invisible belief that it is impossible to build a profitable business while raising a family or because they are too young, too old or do not hold a MBA or a PHD...

The "Miracle" Trap vs. Self-Belief

Especially for women, there is a silent, subconscious hope that if we just work hard enough and stay "good," a miracle will happen. We wait for the "big break" or the "perfect client" to fall from the sky.

This often stems from our upbringing, being taught to be humble, to work quietly, and to wait for recognition. But waiting for a miracle is a form of hiding. When you deep-down believe in a miracle instead of yourself, you stop taking the calculated risks necessary for growth. You stay small, hoping to be "discovered," rather than standing tall and claiming your space. The miracle isn't coming to save your business; you are the miracle the business is waiting for.

Where Self-Sabotage Hides in Your Daily Work

Most entrepreneurs don't fail because of a bad business idea. They fail because of a lack of internal alignment. When your actions are disconnected from your deep-seated beliefs about money and worth, you create friction.

Does any of this sound like your daily reality?

  • The money self-relationship: You’ve built a premium service, but when it comes time to set the price list, you feel a pang of guilt. You offer a discount before anyone even ask because your "money mindset" tells you that asking for a high price is "greedy."

  • The Priority Gap: You spend 100% of your budget on your product’s quality and marketing and 0% on your own personal development. You tell yourself you’ll invest in that later "once you make it," not realising that you are the engine than would make it happen.

  • Communication that Leaks Insecurity: You struggle to articulate your business idea or pitch your identity with grounded clarity. Instead of stating your terms with conviction, you default to "client-pleasing" improvisation, quietly hoping the other person is okay with your prices. Without the right negotiation tools, you fall into the trap of "people-pleasing"effectively talking yourself out of a profitable contract before it’s even signed.

  • The Busy-Work Smoke Screen: You spend five hours on a Canva graphic but avoid the one-hour sales call.

Bridging the Gap: My Four Coaching Pillars for entrepreneur.

Success requires a cognitive and emotional upgrade. To move from a "dreamer" to a "leader," we must strengthen the pillars that support a real business:

  1. Cognitive Behaviours: Develop self-awareness about self sabotaging behaviours as well as motivation, straights and areas of development.

  2. Mindset Work (NLP): Shifting your identity into an Executive running a company. Identify and rewrite your money mindset

  3. Effective Communication: Mastering negotiation without losing your integrity. And pitching yourself and your business efficiently with authenticity.

  4. Emotional Intelligence: Learning to regulate your nervous system when looking at your bank account, making critical decisions, pitching to a room or a big client. It’s the ability to stay grounded and clear-headed so you can lead with logic rather than reacting out of fear.

Step Into My Workshop Room!

I host group coaching Workshop because I know that for many founders, private coaching feels out of reach. But you shouldn't have to navigate these deep internal shifts alone. In my Money Mindset workshops (pictured above), we don't just talk about spreadsheets; we talk about the soul of your business and your relationship with money?

Join the upcoming series:

  • Executive Personal Identity: It is coming up on 28 of February! Stop hiding behind your screen, develop self awareness, step into authenticity, clarity and authority.

  • Money Mindset for Success: Rewrite your relationship with money and financial worth.

  • Effective Communication & Negotiation: Negotiate and pitch with heart and power.

  • Emotional Regulation in the Business Place: Stay grounded when the pressure is on.

Your Growth is Your Best Business Strategy

If this resonates with you, it’s a sign that you’ve done enough "doing." It’s time to focus on "being." I am currently organising the next round of sessions and want to ensure they fit your life. Let me know if you prefer weekday mornings, weekend sessions, in-person in Singapore, or online.

Stop waiting for a miracle. Start being the leader who creates it. At Compass Coaching, we specialise in supporting unstoppable executives, creatives, business owners and leaders. I look forward to working with you,

Warm regards, Celine Foelmli

 
 
 

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