Many people jump with excitement with the thought of starting their own online business. What is not to like about the idea of making passive money online, right?
However, when it is time to actually put the ideas into actions, it turns out most people don’t have an online entrepreneurial mindset.
There is always “stuff” that gets in the way – or excuses to put it simply.
Many people I talk with have actually really good businesses ideas, but what they lack is the proper mindset to start up or carry on with the work and the challenges that being an entrepreneur bring.
There are several ways to tell if you have this business mindset or not, and it is a combination of traits (none of which you actually have to excel at 100%).
The good news is that, even if you don’t have the right mindset, you can still learn and work towards shifting it to achieve a successful entrepreneurial life in this online world.
In this post I will talk about some key qualities that are present in every entrepreneur and how you can develop a better entrepreneur mentality.
What is an entrepreneurial mindset?
Starting a business is always about personal development and growth.
You have to deal with your self doubts and self-sabotaging instincts, trust your intuition more than ever and have the grit to roll through the ups and downs of having a business.
Most entrepreneurs who find success have a mindset of curiosity and they don’t avoid challenges. They are self-starters, disciplined and self-motivators, but most importantly they are not afraid of failure!
It’s never about thinking “what can go wrong” because things will go wrong for sure, instead the entrepreneurial mind see every uncertainty as a possibility. If nothing is set in stones, then everything is possible by definition!
And it is in that positive high that successful entrepreneurs ride.
Do You Have the Entrepreneurial Mindset?
It is not about going to business school or just having a business idea.
And entrepreneur mindset has, at the very least, some of these personality traits:
Creative thinking
Entrepreneurs think differently, they are creative in the way that take on challenges.
They look at a particular situation, and its problems, from a different perspective, normally avoiding the most obvious or normal solutions.
Creative thinking is basically to think outside of the box.
Action takers
There is no achieving the desired outcome without taking actions. And entrepreneurs take actions consistently by having an action plan and focusing the energy where the business needs to meet the desired outcome.
Action takers are money makers.
Not afraid of failure
You can’t be good at anything at the first time you do something. The highest you can dream of is to be average.
Making mistakes and failing is an important part of the process. The one that will help you progress with your business idea.
The only thing that should be considered a failure is lack of trying.
Hard working ethics
I’m not talking about working every hour of the day. But having a business means being consistent with the work.
The success you desire will only come when you are consistent at showing up and doing the work you know you need to do to bring to life what you envision.
If you are known to quit at the first sign of challenge then this entrepreneurial life isn’t for you.
Calculated risk takers
Entrepreneurs are risk takers. They don’t take risks blindly but a a total risk averse cannot rip the rewards when something goes right at the end.
And risks don’t always pay off, of course. But an entrepreneur weighs the pros and cons and look for the information they need to make the best decision possible with the amount of risks they are willing to take.
A desire to change your lifestyle
You probably know that feeling… that you are meant for something bigger than what you are currently doing.
Marianne Williamson says: “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”
Most of us are scared to show our true power to the world. We are scared of achieving our full potential, we doubt that we can be this brilliant, talented and fabulous person who reaches their potential.
If you have that desire, if you know you are meant for more, you have to let your light shine and show it to the world.
Innovative ideas
You don’t have to re-invent the wheel here, this is not what I mean.
In fact, most entrepreneurs do not do anything new, only a very small part of them are the types of Steve Jobs.
But the innovation can be simply the fact that you do something a bit different than the rest, thinking of innovative ways to tackle a normal problem.
Self starters
No one is going to be your boss.
You have to get up and show up without the discipline of a soldier. You can have an accountability group or coach, but nobody is going to hold your hand and make you do the work.
You have to be able to manage yourself.
Interest in learning, always
In this time we live everything changes fast. You have to be willing to keep learning, and adapt to new evolving circumstances.
Entrepreneurial spirits don’t have fear of things changes, but how fast can they learn and adapt plays an important role in being successful.
Resilience
When things get difficult or challenging, your resilience will keep you going.
If you show any or all of these qualities, then you could very well be on your way to owning your online business and be successful.
How to develop entrepreneurial mindset
Can entrepreneurial mindset be nurtured? Sure, it can! And successful business entrepreneurs nurture they own mindset constantly (perhaps unconsciously of it…).
Basically, entrepreneurs work on their mindset and personal development all the time!
You see, when you are a start up you face a set of challenges. If you have some of the right traits (or you work pass your wrong traits) you will go through these challenges and grow, make money, improve yourself and your company.
Then, guess what happens next? You suddenly face new challenges, different from the first ones, but challenges nonetheless.
So the challenging part of the business never changes… the variable that change, that one that must change, is always you!
Because the person who is able to open a new business and find a degree of success to make 1000 dollars a month is a different person than the one who makes 100.000 dollars a month. Because they simply are dealing with evolving circumstances.
You have to become the person that is able to carry the work and the vision of someone who can make 100.000 dollar a month. If you don’t naturally have the right mindset (and you want to achieve that goal), you simply have to work on yourself to get there.
It’s no small feat! If it was easy, everyone would do! But it’s possible, for sure. Many have walked this path before you, and many will still do. 99% of them are not gifted people at all, they are just average people like you and me who were able to work on themselves.
So, now that you know some of the personal traits these successful entrepreneurial spirit have, it is time to make things happen.
How to think like an entrepreneur
Get clear on your goals
The first step is to think like a business owner (the boss) and not an employee. You need goals, deadlines and metrics to evaluate how your progress is going.
You will have doubts (who doesn’t?), and you will overthink everything, but the important thing is not to let it stop you. Work through those emotions and put a plan in place.
Be as detailed as you can without taking forever to complete it. Remember that you must make progress, however imperfect it is.
Don’t let perfectionism be on your way.
Take action
Hardly anything you do in your business is fatal, the exception is the lack of action.
Action steps are what moves your business.
Here is the part that many people doubt themselves, and come up with the most absurd excuses.
If you don’t succeed at any business, it is never lack of skills, or resources, it is lack of resourcefulness to do the job with what you have at hand.
You can always improve! You can always correct, update and level up something you have done before, but that opportunity won’t happen if you don’t take imperfection actions first!
Find a way to make yourself accountable and do the work!
Surround yourself with like-minded people
You know that expression that says; “if you are the cleverest person in a room, you are in the wrong room”?
That holds true for the wannabe entrepreneurs too.
Always be around people that you can look up too because other’s success can be a great push for you to start promoting change in your own lifestyle.
It is always nice to take to people who ‘gets you’ too because not everyone will be excited about your entrepreneurial journey (sometimes out of jealousy) but like minded people will!
Work on your personal development
This might be the hardest part of improving your entrepreneurial mind set. As you grow as a business owner you face different challenges.
Sometimes in order to create something new, we need to let go of something old.
In order to clear the path to creating a new business, you have to be open to become a new you.
