"Despite my hard work, genuine love and pride for the business idea I have come up with, I can't help but wonder why I am not achieving the desired sales and receiving the audience to buy from the business I had hoped for."

So, you have started a business idea you love and are proud of but now you are having challenges. The product/service is not selling enough, or not enough interest is coming in.

The challenge with many entrepreneurs is they create a business they love yet have no map to understand where this product or service will go or who the product/service would attract.

Let me share this analogy with you.

Starting a business is often compared to deciding to have a child. Both endeavours involve a significant commitment of time, energy, and emotional investment. When deciding to have a child requires careful consideration and preparation, embarking on the journey of writing a book demands similar dedication and readiness. When you decide to start a business, you are essentially bringing an idea to life. It starts with a spark of inspiration, a concept that ignites your passion and creativity. Like a parent-to-be envisions the life they want to create for their child, as an entrepreneur, you envision the story you want to share with the world.

However, when the child is born it never stops there. You need to map out the schools the child will attend, the activities it excels at and who will grab the attention of this child's talents and skills to maybe get the child a scholarship in a good University or in a field you may see this child excel.

The challenge faced by many entrepreneurs is the tendency to pour their hearts and souls into creating a product/service they personally love, without considering the strategic aspects of its reception and target audience. While it is undoubtedly important to create a product/service which resonates with your own passions and interests, it is equally vital to have a clear understanding of the product/service's potential direction and the audience it is likely to attract.

Remember you are an individual starting a business idea, yet your business is a separate entity from you. You are not your business. And this business needs a map for success.

Without a map to guide your business journey, you may find yourself facing uncertainties and obstacles along the way. It is crucial to develop a comprehensive understanding of your target audience – who they are, what they're looking for, and how your book can meet their needs.

Mapping out a strategic plan for your business helps you identify the most effective marketing and promotional strategies to get your target audience to gravitate toward your book. With a structure in place, your business becomes the magnet.

By creating a business plan and then a solid marketing strategy and marketing plan and understanding your target audience, you maximise the visibility and reach of your business. Remember, effective marketing is never about trying to appeal to everyone yet rather about connecting with the right audience who will truly appreciate and value your work.

Cultivating a strong business platform and building relationships within your niche community greatly enhance your business's prospects. Engaging with your audience through content, events, and informational podcast interviews helps your business establish credibility and attract a loyal following. By actively participating in conversations related to your business's subject matter, increase your chances of connecting with those who share a genuine interest in your business’s offerings.

Let me offer you a final analogy here...

A spider spends time spinning a web. It never screams to the insects "Here is my web which is amazing so you must fly into my web". It only focuses on building a structured enough web which interests the insects to fly into its web and now they are captured by its interesting web. You simply need to build a structured map for this book, and this comes from a business plan. A business to get into the eyes of others is easy, it is we who complicate it with overthinking and complexities. It sounds from your post you are hiking an uphill stream, very exhausting. No need to scream it out there. People come when there is a structured platform to it.

While it is essential to create a business you love, it is equally important to create a roadmap for its success. By understanding your target audience, developing a business plan, marketing strategy and plan and other business strategies from the onset, and actively engaging with your audience, you increase the likelihood of your business finding its rightful place in the world and attracting the attention it deserves.