So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur? Change Your Mindset for Business Success

Posted byedstillmanPosted inMy perspective

So you want to start a business and reap all the benefits of being an entrepreneur? If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry – you’re not alone. In fact, most entrepreneurs don’t know what they’re doing when they start out. The fake it til you make it mentality, coupled with a strong dose of good old-fashioned hard work, is the perfect solution for success. As we emerge from the pandemic, a solid entrepreneurial mindset will be “make or break” in your business taking off. In this article, Ed Stillman of Austin Vistage presents the critical mindset fix needed to succeed in this field.

Leadership Mindset

Arm yourself with a strong team with a diverse skillset, so you’re set up for any business hurdles that come up. Be picky about who you entrust your fledgling business to, as they will form the foundation for your business. If you’re on a tight budget, start slow with a few employees and build your way up as sales increase. You can also save money by monitoring how your staff is spending their time. Effective tools to connect office and field staff can help you oversee billable hours to manage time more efficiently. Look for features such as real-time updates, job scheduling, and on-the-spot invoicing, as this will benefit business cash flow as well. As a leader, it is important to set yourself up with tools that free up your time, while bettering your business practices.

Planning Mindset

Entrepreneurs need to be practical yet visionary. No matter if you’re in the pre-launch stage or if it’s been a couple of months of operations, you will need to plan ahead for the future. Many entrepreneurs are driven by passion, but passion alone will not drive revenue, growth, and scaling. Instead, have concrete goals and strategies, with actionable steps to help you achieve them. For example, ask yourself how many years you want to be in business and why this work is important to you — self-reflection is key to learning from the past.

Support Mindset

In addition to being deeply committed to your business, you will also need to nurture a network that boosts you along your way. Look for mentors, supporters, partners, allies, and vendors. The more you build up your network, the more growth opportunities will present themselves to you. You can do this by joining local business groups or peer networks. As the world has gotten increasingly digital due to the pandemic, you can find non-local online network events across the country too! And don’t forget – networking is a mutual relationship – you need to give as much as you get.

Pivoting Mindset

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a business. Critical to success in entrepreneurship is the exploration – of different business models, product lines, and service styles. According to the Wharton School, pivoting is one of the most important attributes that set entrepreneurs apart. You will need to be open to change, particularly in this post-pandemic stage of constantly changing safety regulations, business protocols, and fluctuating customer bases. Embrace change, and listen to your intuition rather than tackling every business problem with just numbers. Oftentimes, logic can’t predict what the human mind can.

As you can see, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a business. Funding, hard work, and great employees are the foundation of every business – but if you don’t build vital business attributes within yourself, your business will lack a much-needed anchor. So be strong, ride out those waves of difficulty, and remember – you’ve got this.

Building a business while we go through the last stages of the pandemic can be confusing to navigate. Luckily, Austin Vistage’s Ed Stillman – CEO advisor and leadership and life coach – is here to help. If you need help developing your business and attaining your leadership potential, be sure to contact me at 512-422-6232.

Published by edstillman

I grew up in Carlsbad, north San Diego County, lost my dad as a teenager, went into the USAF for four years and hired on with 3M in 1969. Received my AA from Santa Barbara City College, BA and Masters from Redlands University and after 33 plus years, I retired from 3M in 2002. As I look back on my life, I have been creating myself and developing my skill sets to be a business coach and a Vistage Chair. I am president of SEOT, a "personal improvement" consulting firm spending most of my time working with Central Texas executives running small to medium size for-profit companies who are focusing on improving their profitability greater than their competition. My area of interest is assisting senior executives in creating a better balance between business commitments and personal relationships. I also facilatate three leadership labs each consisting of a dozen owners, presidents and CEOs. We meet monthly both in a group setting as well as in a 1-to-1 coaching session. Our focus is to sharpen each others' skills in becoming better leaders, making better decisions and taking ourselves and companies to that next level. Who are we? My members are experienced top executives who recognize that they don’t have all the answers and who actively seek the company of successful peers—both to give and receive insights and ideas. My members mine the 200 plus years of chief executive experience that comes together in our monthly meetings and members are eager to offer their own experience and insights in the process. As a group, we spend our time exploring topics members can't discuss anywhere else. My members have many other places where they can engage in idle, "cocktail party" chatter. Our mission is to provide the setting for discussing the "undiscussable." Where or who can you go to for confidential, honest feedback to assist you in minimizing your personal "Worry List"?