Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company, famously said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right”, and this couldn’t be more true when it comes to how your mindset can affect your business.
Thought dictates action, and the way you think affects every aspect of your life, including how you run your company, and how successful it is. The life of an entrepreneur often involves long hours working alone, so having the right mindset is instrumental in shaping how you choose to move your business forward.
Developing a truly entrepreneurial mindset is the foundation for business success as it’s this that will drive your focus, action and growth, after all, if you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
Growth vs fixed mindset
In MindSet: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck outlines two major personality types: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.
A fixed mindset assumes our abilities, skills and traits are static and fixed, and we are unable to grow or develop them in any meaningful way. In contrast, the growth mindset understands that intelligence and ability can be developed through hard work and dedication.
Having a growth mindset allows you to experiment and take risks, secure in the knowledge that skills can only develop when given enough time and experience. A growth mindset relishes challenge, and bounces back from failures along the way, making achievement and success far more likely than those stuck in a fixed mindset.
Catching yourself in those limiting, fixed mindset moments is the first step to adopting a proactive approach and switching to growth mode.
Take accountability
As an entrepreneur, it is you in the driving seat of your company, and this means taking responsibility for your own actions, whether they’re positive or negative.
By holding yourself accountable and accepting that you are the driving force behind the success or failure of your business, you can begin to empower yourself to make the changes needed to improve your situation or reach your next goal.
It’s up to you to demonstrate the value of accountability to the rest of your team, and by holding yourself to these standards, it will quickly become a core value of your entire company.
Acknowledge weakness
Growth can only take place if you are willing to recognise and acknowledge areas that require improvement. Understanding that there is always room to learn and develop your skills is key to setting yourself up for success.
Pick an area of your business that you consider to be a weakness – whether it be marketing or numbers – then commit to putting the time and work into developing this skill and turning it into a strength.
Being willing to take yourself out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill is essential for overcoming a limiting mindset that works only to hold you back.
Accept failure
Researchers for Scientific American defined failure as an “essential prerequisite for success”. Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset involves a willingness to take risks, and an ability to embrace failures along the way.
Instead of focusing in on failures and allowing them to consume you with regret, start to look at them as opportunities for growth. If something didn’t go quite to plan, use it as a chance to identify where you went wrong, what you can take away from it, and how you can develop strategies to make it a success next time.
Allow yourself to own your failures and learn from them, so you can focus on growing from your mistakes.
Be flexible
Business success rarely comes from rigidly following a plan. Industries are fast-paced and being able to adapt to these changes is a vital component to success.
Our current climate has demonstrated that sometimes it’s necessary for a business to quickly pivot to keep up with an ever-changing market, and being an entrepreneur means being able to react to new situations and developments.
Being hyper-focused on one path or plan can ultimately hinder the growth of your business, while adopting a flexible approach will allow you to overcome minor setbacks and challenges while continuing to push forward.
Conclusion
As an entrepreneur, your vision and focus are governed by your mindset. It’s essential for the success of your business to develop a mindset that empowers you to think bigger and set bigger goals for you and your business to drive your vision forward.
By Rob Stone, Founder & Director of Instaloft.
