I ran a survey last month on what were the three most significant issues that hold back business people from making the right decisions, at the right time. The answers were illuminating to say the least. Most of them were about inability of making decisions at all.

Although most of the reasons were embedded in some form of underlying fears, the following were the most common:

1. Lack of research and data to make informed decisions.

2. Lack of time to do the research. Not trusting someone else to do the research for them, henceforth, it never gets done.

3. Lack of self-assurance, therefore, dependant on someone else for advise and hoping “they” would be the ones making the Decisions.

4. Low self-esteem and self-worth resulting in always asking other people’s opinions as to what “they should do”, but always suspicious they’re not been given the right answers.

5. Truly NOT knowing what to do, who to ask, and afraid of making the wrong decisions. Not trusting their instincts.

6. Asking family, friends or Uncle Joe, and not one of them, have a clue. This causes huge problems in the growing and the running of a business not to mention how negatively it impacts personal lives. When “indecision” takes place, the “kiss of death” gets ever so closer as steady acts of indecision kills the spirit and slowly drains the desire to get resourceful.

Huge amounts of time and money are literally wasted just from lack of taking action. People get frozen in time, and nothing ever happens, with just a few exemptions.

Banks don’t get the right clients as they are dealing with customers who are unsure of where to put their money let alone what to do with it. Financial planners are not having a picnic either as investors are getting more needy and clingy and most of the time, the regular investor doesn’t get it; and unfortunately, the planner or advisor does not have the time or lack the resources to go into details as they have other ponds, with bigger fishes and deeper issues, not to mention different sets of consequences and circumstances.

So what’s the regular financial consumer to do? Yes, those of you frozen in time.

The first thing you need to do is get educated. Force yourself to find the time and get resourceful.