In my experience, I believe strongly that the ability to develop a sound business mindset is profoundly critical to your business’s success. Even more so as a Solopreneur because ultimately the ability to succeed starts and ends with you.
If you are someone who is starting your own business after years of working in a role where you were an employee, you may not realise or even recognise the importance of a business mindset.
The reality is that your unconscious and often habitual thinking patterns are going to affect the results you achieve, so listen up because this is important. As a business owner, there are major mindset shifts required, and if you allow yourself to continue on blissfully unaware of these thinking patterns that drive your thought processes, you are going to put your ability to succeed in real jeopardy.
Business Owners have Mastered the Ability to Think Creatively and “Outside the Box”
Coming from an employee situation, it’s normal to be used to following procedures and protocols that have been developed by the organisation or individual you were employed by, and which you follow (often) without question. In a way, you’re used to thinking “inside the box” rather than outside it.
As a business owner, you need to get creative with your thought processes; challenge the status-quo, see what others don’t see, think of new ideas and test them, always be looking for better, faster, newer ways to do what you’re doing with the end result or goal being a better service to your client base (and, thus, more business to you). Mostly, however, you need to be willing to step up to the plate and take a risk.
Business Owners Understand and Embrace Failure and Mistakes
Making a mistake as an employee has a certain level of fear attached: you will generally be reprimanded for your failure, and as a result, employees have learned not to try to push the envelope and potentially end up with egg on their face for trying something that didn’t work.
As a business owner, situations where failure and mistakes occur are precisely where you can build your mettle, grow your knowledge, and ultimately learn all you need to see your business grow and survive into the future.
The key thing here is to be aware and accepting of the fact that YOU WILL make mistakes in business. It happens all the time! The one thing you shouldn’t do is to run from those mistakes or bury your head in the sand. Instead, you need to stand tall, take responsibility, learn, become flexible, ‘fess up’, and move on.
Business Owners are Solution-Focused
Every business experiences problems and challenges. Employees typically focus on the problem without thinking about potential solutions.
Successful business owners have learned to develop and cultivate their ability to think proactively and focus on solution-driven approaches, rather than let the problem defeat them. By using their creativity and ‘thinking outside the box’ approach, they are able to deal with the many challenges that come up in the day to day running of a business – large and small.
Business Owners are Passionate about their Business – it’s more than just the money aspect.
The reality is that as a business owner, your passion and emotion form a large part of your business’s success. If you lack passion, you won’t be as emotionally ‘invested’ in your business, or in the outcomes you are generating for your clients.
Having passion for your business is easy to spot - it’s what gets you out of bed every day. It’s what keeps your brain ticking at night as you mull over different challenges you are facing. It’s the deep satisfaction you get when you achieve a goal that you set out to achieve.
Rarely do I find someone who is in a business just for the money, and indeed, I would hesitate a guess if this was the case that, despite the money, they would be feeling very unfulfilled.
Success in business can be defined in many ways and by many outcomes. The motivation and passion that drive a switched on business owner is evident in the way they work to better serve their clients, and is in itself a major reason why they are in fact so successful.
Business Owners are Lifelong Learners
Employees come from a situation where they are provided with a job description and a set of processes that they are required to follow in order to get the job done whilst utilising their specific skills.
When you are a business owner, you are on a continual learning journey, one that really never stops. As a result, business owners for the most part are always developing, trying out and implementing new skills and processes. The mentality here is simple: what needs to be done, has to be done - there is just no room for excuses.
Business Owners have Developed a Love for Numbers
Employees generally understand how to budget based on their incoming wage (fixed) and outgoing expenses… and for the most part it is fairly straightforward.
However, as the owner of a small business, you need to step it up and learn to love numbers quick smart, because it’s directly related to your cash flow, and your cash flow is what will keep you in – or out of – business. Ultimately, the numbers you see in your sales, costs, profit and loss will either give you sleepless nights or an enviable lifestyle. But without the guiding light of these numbers, your business will be at risk of heading for the rocks.
Business Owners are Savvy about Who they Listen to
By associating with successful people, you are also surrounding yourself with a wealth of knowledge. Savvy Business owners understand that when it comes to being successful (and ultimately achieving the goal of making money), they cannot learn anything from someone who does not have what they want.
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