Did you know, as per 2020 statistics, there are 582 million functional entrepreneurs in the world today, with more and more aspirants giving in to the thrill of being their own boss?
Did you know that more than 6 out of 10 of these entrepreneurs run their endeavours profitably? If they can, so can you!
Quitting the monotony of your 9 to 5 grind to embrace a structure of income that is woven around your hobby or core interest is like a dream come true.
Reality check, good things never come easy. As simple as it may be to start an entrepreneurship, it is 5 times more difficult to run it and gain profits from it.
There will be countless trials, errors, failures, endless hours of work, physical / mental fatigue, phases of hopelessness, time-outs and other rude shocks that can convince you to give up and back-track to your career comfort zone.
Did I scare you? Take this as lesson one in conditioning your mind to become the entrepreneur you dream of becoming. Be Fearless.
Thoughts become words, and words become actions, and actions become destiny.
If you see yourself as a successful entrepreneur, it is imperative that you start by building the right mindset. The rest follows almost automatically. And yes, this involves shaping your core beliefs as well to be positive-constructive, problem-solving and growth-oriented than negative, defensive and spiralling.
If you are all set and serious about starting your venture, here is a quick guide on how to build an entrepreneurial mindset to help you stay on the right track until you achieve the success you desire.
Table of Contents
How To Build An Entrepreneurial Mindset
Choose A Product / Service You Are Confident About
‘With the right entrepreneurial mindset, you can create an empire in any product domain.’
You need to have some hands-on idea about the product / service that you wish to build your business upon. While it is true that with the right entrepreneurial mindset, you can create an empire in any product domain, as a beginner, it is good to focus on something you have some experience with.
For example, if you have experience as a web designer, you can easily start a venture in website designing, optimization and even content marketing, for that matter.
Similarly, if you are experienced in the world of fashion, you can divert your creative and entrepreneurial energy to starting your own brand.
Now, if your area of expertise is poultry and you suddenly decide to start a web designing business, your struggles and risks will multiply at least ten times over.
Create A Structure
‘Not every established success formula is meant to bring you guaranteed success. Sometimes, you need to create your own.’
As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss and, probably, the boss of a small team and a list of clients that look up to you to chalk out the best route for productivity.
Therefore, you have to be on your toes to create structures upon which your endeavour is expected to run on a day-to-day basis.
Ideas, references and past experiences while working for other companies may influence your structure to a great extent.
What you need to do, though, is to develop the mindset to absorb only those inputs that directly cater to your goals.
Never Cheap Out In Initial Investments
‘Not everyone is backed by the Sharks.’
It’s quite natural to be worried about money matters at the launching phase of your entrepreneurship.
However, if you are serious about giving your endeavour the kick start it deserves, never cheap out on investing in the right set-up at the very onset.
There are things that can be left for later, but you must have the right infrastructure, team and tools to cater to the needs of your clients without having to make abrupt pauses in the process.
It is imperative that you have the tools for providing services / solutions / products that you have listed in their entirety.
Market Research Is The Only Constant
‘Business trends must change with market trends.’
It is mandatory to engage in thorough market research while launching your business. This gives you a sense of direction, relevance and competition that you are likely to face in the field.
However, if you wish your business to thrive perpetually, make market research a habit.
Market trends bear the potential to change by the hour. Therefore, being the first to proactively alter the course of your business with the changing trends will keep you ahead of the competition.
‘Can Be Better’ Mindset
‘It is awesome… but can be better.’
Your products and services may be the talk of the town but beware of falling in love with them.
If you do, you will love it just the way it is, finds no fault with it and resist any idea of change that could make it better or more relevant.
Among the most crucial steps in learning how to build an entrepreneurial mindset is the ability to criticize your own products, question their relevance with changing needs of users and suggest improvements and updates that can help meet extended client requirements seamlessly.
Encouraging reviews from existing clients and healthy social media engagement is a great way to create and maintain a ‘can-be-better’ mindset.
Set Goals
‘Short term or long term, setting goals is the first step to accomplishing them.’
Launching 3 stores within the next 3 years; generating a million in profits by 2025; onboarding 100 new clients by the first quarter of the next year.
Keep setting goals realistic, though. If you don’t reach the moon, at least you will fall among the stars.
Developing a goal-oriented mindset not only helps ‘you’ stay on track but your team as well. With combined efforts channelized towards your goal, you are most likely to achieve it sooner than you think!
Plan B Or C
‘Third Time Lucky – Don’t Give Up; Just Stay Prepared’
The first plan or business structure may not be the best plan or business structure. A lot happens when you put your initial plans into action, and there is no guarantee that they will work the way you want them to. Don’t get disappointed. Just stay prepared with plan ‘B’ or plan ‘C.’
This way, you will not have to face unnecessary pauses in your endeavour because you’ll have another strategy to implement literally instantly. This will spare your team and clients from seriously troublesome rather negative experiences and prevent them from choosing your competitors over you.
Be Responsible, Be Proactive
‘Your business is like your child. It thrives under YOUR care and attention, not your neighbour’s.’
If you didn’t leave your 5-year-old under the care and attention of a stranger, you wouldn’t let a group of strangers accept responsibility for your very own entrepreneurship.
Holding yourself responsible for the decisions and the following consequences is one of the toughest lessons on how to build an entrepreneurial mindset.
When you are responsible, you learn to see your pros and cons as well as your merits and deficiencies and work on them to better yourself.
As you work on self-improvement, you slowly develop the habit of being proactive. Slowly, you will see that your decisions and perceptions are not shaped by emotions but by pure facts.
If you manage to develop this mindset, nothing can keep you from success.
Learn And Keep Learning
‘Learning is your fuel for endless growth.’
Never stop learning. Keep taking courses on the avenues of your interest, and be assured that what you learn can directly or indirectly work in favour of your business as well.
Say, for example, digital marketing is your key skill and is also the foundation of your business.
However, you love your hobbies, which include doodling, animation, learning languages and cooking, to which you devote equal time to learn and improve.
Now, bringing all your interests together, you can find a pattern in your key skills and hobbies; like, you can
- welcome more clients from the world of food / beverage / restaurants etc.;
- include your doodling and animation skills to present your clients in the digital world in exciting new ways and,
- use your language skills to attract new clients from different parts of the world.
As you can see, learning is a ‘gift’, and it never goes in vain!
Befriend Calculated Risks
The way to entrepreneurial achievements winds across a rocky road of calculated risks.’
Wish to learn how to build an entrepreneurial mindset? Learn to take risks; calculated, though.
Decisions on investments, starting new product segments or improving the existing ones, commencing new tie-ups and abrogating unproductive ones, you will need to take critical decisions every moment, not all of which may bring the results you expect.
But you will have to take the risk anyway because that is the only gateway for improvement or getting enlightened about ‘what doesn’t work.’
Invest More Time In Revenue Generating Activities
‘Time is money.’
Successful entrepreneurs are always seen to spend more time on activities that directly contribute to generating revenue.
Therefore, you will not see them scrolling on social media for endless hours or sleeping till 10 in the morning or participating in gossip or calling their team for unnecessary meetings.
If you wish to develop a strong entrepreneurial mindset, your focus should be on identifying downtime and cutting it as short as possible.
Learn To Say No, But Politely
‘A ‘NO’ can sometimes be a big ‘YES’ for your business.’
People pleasing mindset doesn’t work in building a successful business. While it is perfectly understood that clients are the foundation of your business and you wouldn’t want to earn their displeasure by disagreeing with their requests, if their requests go against the valid interests of your business, you will have to learn to say ‘No’ but politely.
Remember, it is a cutthroat world out there, and it is impossible to keep everyone happy. Learn to identify where your energy and efforts are welcome and where they are not. Your focus should only be on the former.
Marketing And Networking
‘It’s not ok to blow your own trumpet, but it is certainly alright to say that you have one.’
This-is-not-the-right-place-to-talk-about-my-business mindset may eventually damage your interest.
For all you know, there are other motivated entrepreneurs that are consciously working towards building their casual marketing and networking skills, thereby winning more prospects for their endeavours.
The idea is to put the word across in as many avenues as possible fearlessly, in the least annoying way. Practice makes it possible.
Final Thoughts
Building an entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t happen in a day. It happens over the years through innumerable experiences, innumerable falls, innumerable risks and through the achievements that pour in thereafter.
An entrepreneurial mindset not only brings success in the business you wish to pursue, but it enriches you as a person and aids your self-development to the extent that you can battle through any situation in life and WIN.
Also read: 15 Monthly Goals Ideas To Boost Your Growth