7 Key Steps How To Develop An Entrepreneurial Mindset

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. You need to be dedicated, determined and wholeheartedly committed to your journey.

According to a survey, one in four entrepreneurs fails at least once before succeeding. It takes an average of three years for entrepreneurs to get their business to start supporting them financially. This is a discouraging statistic.

Aspiring entrepreneurs must be prepared for the many challenges they are likely to face and have an unwavering commitment to their business in the face of adversity.

7 concrete steps to develop an entrepreneurial mindset

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset can be invaluable in meeting these challenges. Using specific strategies and tools to overcome the pitfalls can help entrepreneurs recover in record time or avoid the pitfalls altogether.

Here are seven concrete steps you can use to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and help your businesses thrive.

1. Create your own structure

One of the biggest challenges facing a new entrepreneur is the lack of structure. If you had a job before you started your business, chances are you would have to show up at work at a certain time, take your lunch hour and leave when your eight-hour workday is over.

When you work for yourself, there is little structure to hold you accountable to your goals, which can be unsettling for an entrepreneur after letting someone else’s structure rule your day for so long. It can be tempting to sleep in or fill your day with activities that don’t advance the business.

You need to build your own structure and stick to it. Know your schedule, create a sales plan and detail the processes for welcoming clients. Don’t let a lack of structure completely derail your business.

On the other hand, don’t burn yourself out either. When not tied to a 9-to-5 workday, many entrepreneurs find themselves working from dawn to dusk, or later, without even realising it.

Being available for the entirety of your waking hours and weekends seems like a normal part of entrepreneurship, but you can’t build a sustainable business to operate this way.

Consider what schedule is most reasonable and successful for you and your business. Then set it and stick to it. Boundaries are essential to building an entrepreneurial mindset.

2. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

A very interesting phenomenon that happens when you start a business is that opportunities start coming out of the woodwork. Some of these opportunities are quite exciting, and if you haven’t created any structure in your business yet, it’s easy to overcommit.

Saying yes to everything that comes your way is a surefire way to fail your business.

Adopting a mindset of being judicious with your time and resources can be difficult at first, but it can also keep you focused on your mission and vision.

If a potential client comes along that is on the periphery of your vision and doesn’t seem to be a good fit, don’t accept it out of desperation for more clients.

Stick to your mission, develop your business to fit your vision, get social proof of your customers being solid as walls that fit your mission and vision, and the rest will fall into place.

Don’t let the shiny objects distract you.

3. Talk about what you do

You may have been brought up not to talk about sensitive topics like money, politics or religion with people, or you may have been told that discussing what you do is rude. But when you are self-employed, you need to make a habit of talking about it with everyone you meet.

Chance meetings, conversations in the coffee queue or the person sitting next to you on the plane could well be a new client or an introduction to a client.

Break out of the mindset that talking about yourself is taboo. Talk about your business to anyone who will listen, without being obnoxious, of course.

It helps to have a nonchalant introduction, something about your company that appeals to a wide audience. This can be a short, light-hearted joke about a service your company provides or how you got started, which you can mention to strangers in casual conversation.

To develop an entrepreneurial spirit, it is important to have this type of joke in your arsenal of “small talk”.

4. Be humble

When I meet an entrepreneur, I can always tell who has been in business for a while and who is brand new to the game.

A seasoned entrepreneur is someone who has battle scars. Being an entrepreneur can test the resolve of even the strongest person and leave them with a huge slice of humility pie.

Be humble when you start. Accept help, advice and support from those who have gone before you. Because you are building something that has never been built before – even if you are selling a product that is identical to someone else’s, it is still new to you.

You will have slips, angry customers, problems with employees, product problems, etc. as you learn and grow. Stay humble, so you can get through the learning curve with a little less scrape.

5. A problem in search of a solution

This is a coding concept I heard once that I absolutely loved: “Don’t create a solution to a problem that no one has”.

Change your mindset from creating something “clever” to creating something that actually solves a problem. If you have created a solution to a problem that nobody has, you are in big trouble.

Instead, focus on the type of people you want to serve and solve their problems. Look at your target audience. What do they need and what do they lack?

If you can answer this question, there will be instant demand for your product or service. If you don’t provide a solution to your audience, your product will be redundant and much harder to sell.

6. Don’t fall in love with your product

Very often the business you start is not the business you end up with. Markets change, customer needs change, and you have to change with them.

Falling in love with your product or service can keep you in a fixed mindset, not allowing you to see the opportunities that come your way. It can keep you stuck and prevent you from innovating.

Building an entrepreneurial mindset means constantly seeking to solve your customer’s problem, even if it means changing your product or service to do so. It prevents you from falling so in love with your product that you become obsolete.

Often I see entrepreneurs who are so determined to see their original idea through that they lose sight of this mindset. This flexibility, which allows your product or service to evolve into something your customers want, will keep your business relevant and successful.

7. Income generating activities VS. non-income generating activities

Don’t get caught up in activities that don’t earn you any money. If you find you are wildly busy, start a to-do list and write everything down. Once you have finished writing everything down, separate each task into an “income generating” column and a “non-income generating” column.

Make sure you work on your income-generating column every day, and don’t let the tasks that don’t make money consume your day.

Prioritisation is also an incredibly useful tool. Once you’ve sorted your income-generating tasks, rank them in order of importance. Tackle the most important or complex tasks first, and you will be on your way to a successful business venture.

Conclusion

Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned professional, it is essential to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

Setting boundaries, making smart decisions about who you work with, sharing your plans with the world, staying humble, solving problems, staying realistic and keeping your priorities in check will help you achieve great success.

Taking these steps to set yourself up for success is one of the best things you can do on your entrepreneurial journey.