8 Reasons Why You’re Not Making Money

You are anointed for such a time as this. God’s promises on your life are YES and AMEN. You are a joint heir of Jesus Christ. You know He called you to the marketplace as a Kingdom entrepreneur. You been doing business for a while, but why aren’t you making any money?

There are 8 reasons why personal brands don’t make money. This writing has been inspired from personal experience filled with mishaps, mistakes, and missed money. I have been an entrepreneur since 2002 with my first venture and 7 years in the brand, marketing, & design industry with my own brand. I have invested in high-level coaches, attended numerous networking events, sat in 50+ webinars, opted into hundreds of lead magnets, read hundreds of books, pamphlets and guides, and studied entrepreneurship for countless hours. Failure to make money in business comes down to several factors, but I only want to talk about 8 reasons why entrepreneurs launch confidently, then fail miserably.

The reason you may be reading this is because you have launched your Kingdom brand. You have seen all the gurus, the “make 10K in 10 days” promos, the “you can make 7 figure month” receipts, and you are trying to wrap your head around all how they can do that with ease. But here is the deal, you need to stop comparing your path to someone else’s. No matter if you do exactly the same steps as someone else, you will always get different results. You have to consider that you were simply designed differently, graced differently, anointed differently, birthed in a different region for a different purpose, called to connect to different people, and the way you will deliver anything will always produce a different result from your neighbor. God has a different plan for you. (Shout Amen here)

So repeat after me:

I have my own Purpose.

I have my own Power.

I have my own Platform.

I have my own Possessions.

I have my own People.

I have my own Process.

I have my own Message.

I have my own anointing.

I have my own grace.

I have my own calling.

I am simply designed differently.

I am a custom order with custom orders.

I give myself permission to be GREAT.

Are you inspired yet?

Hopefully, I have empowered you once again, because no one wants to deal with the *F* word…..FAILURE. This is why you are here reading this….because you want answers to your “failure” to make money.

I have worked with so many clients and my brand strategy sessions have turned into inner healing sessions. Why? Because when you are launching a Personal Brand, you are really putting YOURSELF on the market, so when it does not make money, there is a negative narrative that speaks to your rejection and you think something is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you, but something may be wrong with what you are doing. Failure cannot be attached to your identity, but it can be attached to a task, project, or action.

So, now that I have divided your soul from your spirit a bit, let’s look at these 8 reasons why you may not be making money in your Kingdom business.

#1 You are NOT wholeheartedly committed to your brand like you should be.

Let that simmer. Matter of fact, go to your kitchen, grab a mug, make a “haute” cup of tea and sip to that. Are you committed? Have you made up your mind that you are going to do this regardless of the valleys you have to experience? Have you clarified your WHY - the reason why you wanted to brand yourself in the first place? Was it just about the money or did you want to create a platform that impacts your target audience? How do you manage your time? Do you allow your 9 to 5 job zap all your energy that when you get home, you don't do anything with your brand? Do you set aside specific days to work on your brand to ensure that it is being tended to? Do you connect with and network with others in your industry to make #brandbesties so that you can stay up to date on your industry and/or have possible help for future business needs? Do you invest in yourself and in your business knowing that the success of your personal brand is directly connected to your personal and professional development?  All these questions should prompt you to start making moves and to rededicate yourself to the building up of your brand. Otherwise, having faith in the success of your business without working on your brand is simply wishful thinking.

What should you do: Pray, meditate, journal, clarify your WHY, heal from your limiting beliefs, improve your time management skills, and invest in personal & spiritual development by any means necessary. Sign up for a ShiftHER Life Coaching session if you want to dig deeper into your limiting beliefs or overcome hindrances to you moving forward.

#2 Your written message nor your visual aesthetics speak clear enough for customers to take action with you.

This reason is one of the most common mistakes that personal brands make - not being strategic with their digital footprint to include their messaging and their visual aesthetics of the website & social media. It’s not enough to simply have a website, but your site should be attractive, tell a story, and navigate potential leads to a destination. It should have call to action buttons everywhere. It should have a concise navigation bar, lead magnets, client love, social proof, and more. Not only should your website have these features, but the brand's theme & message should be complimentary & clear to who you are called to. The customer should not be confused about who you are and what you offer.

What should you do: Invest in a Brand Strategist who can help you clarify your brand’s message & give you overall brand direction. In doing so, you will be able to attract the RIGHT IDEAL clients. Make swift changes to your brand based on their highest recommendations. Get a Brand Audit here.

#3 You do not have a lead generation system on autopilot.

A lead generation system is basically a pathway by which a potential client/customer can connect with you, be nurtured by you, and be converted into a recurring customer all in an automated process. This process happens all around us whenever we engage with any business. Think about this. You enter a new store and purchase a product. The first thing they ask you for is your email address. You willingly give it away because you want to get exclusive offers. Before you exit the store, the first email has already been sent to your inbox. No one is sitting behind the scenes manually sending this email. It is all automated. Matter of fact, you just entered their “sales funnel” which was strategically built to nurture and convert you to become a loyal purchaser. With your brand, you must also do the same type of work.

What should you do: Look at what you offer. Now, think about something that is bite-size that is valuable to the customer to solve an initial problem that you can give away for FREE. This is called a lead magnet. This freemium content can be delivered as a downloadable pdf, an infographic, or even access to a short workshop or masterclass. Whatever you choose, you want to collect key contact information, mainly name and email address, in exchange for this lead magnet. But it doesn’t end there. You must deliver strategic email sequences that lead them to a destination via your email marketing software and all of this should be automated. You want to build your brand to a place where everything is strategically connected, automated, and sends your customer on a journey.

#4 You have Object ADHD (Shiny Object Syndrome).

You scroll too often on social media. You see something that could “potentially” benefit you. You sign up for it. You pay for it. You invest in it in some way. Another day comes and you rinse and repeat. I have many things that I signed up for and never used. It is easy to think that we NEED something else to make moves, when really, we need to master ONE THING. We need to be excellent in ONE THING. We need to promote the hell out of ONE THING. We need to make that ONE THING work before we add something else to our to-do list.

What should you do: Identify that ONE THING and stay focused. Reduce your scroll time on social media. Stop comparing your pace in business to someone else’s. Stay focused on ONE THING. PERIOD.

#5 NOBODY knows you, Sis.

You are literally brilliant in your own right, an amazing creative, with a dynamic skillset or gift, but nobody knows who you are because you are not visible. How are you going to make money without selling to people? How are you going to do business without doing business with people? You must press that GO LIVE button and tell the world who you are on social media. You must post something or release a video. YOU HAVE TO. You have to get your introverted self out of the corner of your room and do a Reel, Tiktok, Youtube Video, Podcast, or something. No one is going to know you if you don’t show up in the PLACES where your target audience hangs out. You must be a vendor somewhere, a speaker somewhere, and network somewhere. You need people for your NEXT. You need people to give you money. God uses people to elevate you to the next place. I know you feel like you don’t have enough or that you are not enough but remember this: There is a powerful story of the disciples not having enough fish and loaves for the large audience there were in the midst of but Jesus took what they had and multiplied it. You are responsible for bringing your fish and loaves (your gift and brand) to market by showing up and God is responsible for the miracle (increasing that gift amongst the people).

What should you do: Show up where it matters most to your brand, where your target audience hangs out and where opportunities that match your brand’s purpose are present.

#6 You underestimate the POWER of Help.

You inevitably wear too many hats as a solopreneur but eventually you will need help. You are going to have to barter services, outsource, partner up, contract freelancers, or hire employees at some point. When you do everything all the time, you will burn out, start to hate your brand, and will begin to not show up in your full expression, Sis. You cannot control and do everything. God has help for you.

What should you do: Figure out what you hate or what you need in your business and delegate that to somebody.

#7 You forgot about seed, time, and harvest.

When you are emerging into the marketplace, there is a misconception that you WILL make money immediately. This is not everybody’s story, and some folks are out here lying as if they woke up, launched the brand, and made thousands of dollars. They forgot to mention they been working at that brand for several years. Anyhow, Sis, there is a biblical concept that works regardless of if you are a Christian or not and that is seed, time, and harvest. You must sow into your audience by nurturing them, educating them, and blessing them with your presence. These are seeds and seeds always bring about a harvest. There are multiple women became clients who did NOT like, comment, or share anything I post on my social media platforms, but in my consultations, they have told me boldly to my face that they been following me for months & years and have settled in their heart that when they have the money, they are working with me. So, I sowed seeds into them months and years ago with NO SIGNS that they are potential clients (which represents time), and they are now a part of the harvest for my brand. You must give it time. You have decree and declare INCREASE over your life and brand. As a Kingdom entrepreneur, if God called you to do this, He has an audience for you and is making ways for them to cross paths with you. You must believe God and do your part and sow the seeds (this is in alignment with #5 - show up and be visible somewhere).

What should do: Sow what you have and believe for the harvest. PERIOD.

#8 Your product/service/idea is not marketable.

I know this is a hard pill to swallow because no one wants to hear that their grand idea is something no one wants, but it is something to consider. You may have very well heard God on what to do, but the way you are delivering it may be wrong. It may need some tweaks. You may need to give it away for FREE just to test the market to get feedback. You may have to go back to the drawing board with the Holy Spirit.

What should you do: Figure out what is happening by any means necessary before you spend any more money on this endeavor. Pray about your brand. Get market feedback and take honest evaluation of what is really happening with your service or product.

I hope this blog blessed your life.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

- Quiana J. Speaks

Are you ready to brand your brilliance? I offer comprehensive brand strategy and development services for Kingdom women who are serious about building a Kingdom brand. This is for you ONLY if you are ready to do the INNER WORK and the BRAND WORK! Through strategy, style, and the systems you need to run your brand, I will walk you step by step using my signature brand-building framework. I will train you, empower you, mentor you, push you, make you confront those limiting beliefs, and give you the tools you need to successfully build your brand and release your jars of oil with presence, power, and profits to match.

Interested? Click HERE to learn more about the BrandAtelier™️ Experience.