Mental Habits That Will Grow Your Business

When you commit to starting a business, you’re signing up for everyday successes, challenges, and pitfalls. What an emotional rollercoaster, eh? The ups and downs are constant, but owning a business is one of the most challenging yet rewarding things you will ever do. Through it all, practicing certain mental habits will keep you focused on growing a successful business.

Focus on the bigger picture. Take a step back and review everything on a wider scale over a longer period of time. It is not always easy, but over our last 7 years in business, we’ve noticed that when we have this mindset, trends are more evident. Big picture thinkers can tough out shifts in various business operations more easily. Sometimes taking a step back can be hard, but in doing so, you will (hopefully) stay motivated through the day-to-day struggles.  

• This year we set out with a goal no one thought we could achieve. Who in their right mind would think that a 5-year-old business could grow by over 100% in one year’s time? Well, we are are on track to have 115% growth by the end of the year -- directly a result of  keeping a big picture mindset and setting and tracking concrete monthly goals.

Have an optimistic viewpoint. Having an optimistic viewpoint can help when feeling overwhelmed. Optimism is a chance to set yourself apart from others. When people doubt you, prove them wrong. It’s easy to fall into the ‘I don’t know if that’s possible’ bucket, but by turning your thoughts around and taking it one day at a time, you will see major changes.

• As the year progressed, we found that pessimism was taking over our optimistic viewpoints. One day we sat down to figure out what was causing this and discovered, like most business owners, we were overwhelmed and our list of things to get done was endless. We thought to ourselves, ‘how do we change this?’ The solution for us was easy: mimic what our Project Manager does! She takes every task/situation one moment at a time. She has a positive outlook, doesn’t freak out, and deals with things as they come. Now, when we start to go back to our old ways, we think about how she might handle a situation. WOW! What a great solution!

Have unwavering confidence. Be confident! Easy to say, but if you continually choose to press onward rather than allowing self-doubt to cripple you, you’ll show unwavering confidence to others. Recognize your value and don’t lose sleep if someone tells you any different.

View mistakes as a learning experience. Everyone makes mistakes. Take all the risks you can because you will never learn if you don’t try. Embrace all experiences in your business - both good and bad.  Accept that you will make mistakes and move on from them.

Always take action. Don’t drag your feet or fantasize about something that ‘could’ be. Turn your visions into reality and press on.

In summary, as Margaret Thatcher once said, “words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character. Choose wisely when adopting habits - especially in business. These positive mental habits can only improve your business!