It’s In You: Developing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset (Part 1)

Everyone can be an entrepreneur if you want to be one. But, it’s possible you may have to let go of old ways of thinking and doing things. You may have to push your boundaries like you never have before, and for sure, you have to get over the idea that when you work, even if you’re not productive, you’re going to collect a paycheck. Entrepreneurs only get paid when they accept opportunities, involve themselves in innovation and create value for their audience.

That might seem overwhelming right now, especially if you’re accustomed to going to work Monday through Friday, going to tons of meetings, looking busy, and doing what you’re told and collecting a paycheck at the end of the week all without having to push through a single boundary or challenge yourself in any way. But, take heart, you can do it, it’s in you. Developing your entrepreneurial mindset just takes learning to think and take action in a new way.

Determine Who You Are Now & Who You Want to Be

It all starts with being honest with yourself about who you are now. A great way to get to know you is to take a personality test. When you take one it will help you get to know yourself. The key to taking these tests and getting helpful answers is to be completely honest. There is no right or wrong answer. But, the answers will give you a clear picture of who you are right now and where you can improve.

What are your values? – You can determine your values by your former actions when confronted with a problem or decision that you had to overcome or make. These are the times that your real values emerge, not just the ones you say you believe in. Look back on your own choices and determine your real values. If you have made mistakes and gone against your core values, identify those times and determine how you can make a different choice.

What are your skills? – Even if you’re not currently an entrepreneur, you already have skills that you can put to use as an entrepreneur. Make a list of what you do today. Focus on the deliverables that you provide your employer without too much help from others. These are the skills that you have that should be the basis of your entrepreneurial venture.

What are your strengths? – You’ve heard the idea that you need to leverage your strengths but how do you even know what they are? Using one of the self-assessments mentioned above, you can find out what your strengths are. When you know them, try to be honest so that your results come out realistic. Take off your rose colored glasses so that you can determine your real strengths. Try asking five of your closest friends to tell you the truth about what your strengths are, and then if more than three of them say the same thing, believe them.

What are your weaknesses? – While you can improve upon your weaknesses, you should first leverage your strengths, but it’s important to know your weaknesses and accept them. It’s still more important to appreciate your efforts, and to understand that the past is a good indicator of how you’ll act in the future. If you know for example that you’re always five minutes late, accept it, instead focus on something positive. That doesn’t mean you don’t work on this habit, but don’t focus on it instead of your strengths.

Only when you know who you really are, the good and the bad, will you be able to truly know yourself enough to be brutally honest about your strengths and weaknesses. It’s important because you cannot move forward if you aren’t honest. You don’t have to tell others, just tell yourself. It can help to know what the top traits of a successful entrepreneur are.

Understand the Top Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

There are several common features and traits that successful entrepreneurs share. Even if you don’t have these yet, you can develop them with practice and perseverance. More than likely though, you already have some of these traits if you are looking into becoming an entrepreneur. Even if you need to work on some of them, you’re on the right track.

·      They Are Fearless – The truth is - this is wrong. No one is fearless, but they are able to push through boundaries and do things through the fear. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin probably weren’t truly fearless, but they felt the fear and then had enough confidence in their convictions to work through the fear and do it anyway.

·      They Make Actionable Plans – An entrepreneur makes plans to do things, but they don’t just make plans - they make plans that are actionable. Making plans, setting goals – that’s just part of the process. Doing is more important than any of that. Without action nothing becomes reality. At some point making plans has to become taking action to get things done.

·      They Understand Cash Flow – A lot of new entrepreneurs think that income is an indicator of success, but the truth is, without adequate cash flow a business that earns money can still fail. Cash flow management is a critical element in running a successful business. Your bills are due at a specific time and billables are due at a specific time, but you know that it doesn’t always work out. So, work hard to understand cash flow so that you can be truly successful.

·      They Know It’s Not About Them – You’ve heard it before - the customer is always first. But, it never will really hit home until you’re an entrepreneur. You have to learn to separate your wants and desires from your customers’ wants and desires. The customer should drive your products and services and even price point more than your passions and dreams should.

·      They Aren’t Afraid to Self-Promote – As an entrepreneur you have to let go of shyness and promote yourself. Become the expert. Be known as the “go to” person in your niche and you’ll have people pounding down your door to get what you have. You can’t get there if you are too afraid to be a self-promoter. Tip: Create something valuable that you’re proud of and it’ll be easy to promote it.

·      They Take Action – Entrepreneurs are doers, not just idea people. They can hire an idea person, but they know how to put ideas into action. They’re good at identifying opportunities, involving themselves in innovation and creating value and then taking action to implement the ideas. In order to take action you need a clear vision, and you must be willing to overcome obstacles that get in your way. Taking action alone won’t get results, but taking smart action that has a reason will. You must know the difference.

·      They Understand That Change is Inevitable (and good) – You have to realize that every business that exists today will not be here tomorrow. Think about the technology from the past that has been killed by new technologies. Take VHS tapes, for example. Maybe you have never even heard of them, or maybe you watched them in your VCR as a child. The fact is, they don’t exist now. But, businesses that kept their eye on the future adapted and started creating other types of storage, like DVDs. Someday DVDs will be old school too, so it will behoove any company creating them to keep their eyes open for killer technologies.

·      They Listen – One skill trait that an entrepreneur has that really helps them succeed is the ability to shut up and listen to what their audience is saying. Not only their audience, but people they hire to help them, too. Open your ears and listen to other people’s ideas, listen to their criticisms and their desires.

·      They Keep Learning – Knowing how to research and evaluate the market, their customers and competitors is a very important skill that they have honed. It will help them avoid making errors before they even start creating a new product or service. Plus once they do, they’ll know how to best promote it.

·      They Network Smart – Successful entrepreneurs don’t just go to every single meeting or get involved in every single group. They know how to pick and choose the right events and the right way to network with the right people. They know it’s about building relationships with the right people.

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset and building your skills can be a process that you work on as you get started in your new business venture or continue in a business you’ve already started. Identifying where you are deficient will help you move forward and become more successful as an entrepreneur.