Women’s Web is saying Goodbye! Please make sure you read this important notification.
As an entrepreneur, the author was asked what lessons she learnt during her entrepreneurial journey. Here are seven ways you can kickstart your journey!
My entrepreneurial journey began earlier this year and I was excited by all the possibilities I had envisioned for the business. Though I was forewarned of the several challenges and roadblocks that might come my way, I was pleasantly surprised when I started facing them.
I expected the challenge of creating the ‘perfect product’ or finding my ‘ideal audience’, but before getting there, there were decisions to be made.
Decisions like: What do I want to call my business title? No one in my corporate job ever asked me that! Or, do I want my headshots taken indoors or outdoors? That’s a big decision I’d say!
Recently, at an event for entrepreneurs, a participant asked me to share one piece of advice that I have for those starting out. I said, “Being an entrepreneur is about juggling many mindsets under many hats — an employee hat, boss hat, client hat, or investor hat — that we wear during a typical workday”.
And here are seven lessons I learnt during the course of my entrepreneurial journey.
Like a curious toddler, an entrepreneur is always eager to explore their surroundings, take chances, and “try try try” till they achieve what they set out to do. Once the desired task is achieved, move to the next one, and then the next, and the next.
Toddlers don’t attach themselves to the magnitude of the outcome in proportion to their efforts.
Every victory is worth celebrating. And every celebration is the mark of another beginning, with the same enthusiasm.
An entrepreneur is a student as long as she’s an entrepreneur.
Staying in the student mindset, she scouts for learning opportunities throughout her waking hours (or even beyond). With this mindset there’s no hesitation in reaching out to an expert and asking for coaching, or mentoring.
As a student, you listen intently, take notes, ask questions, seek answers, and follow through.
The better part of an athlete’s day is packed with training and practice sessions. They take efforts to collaborate with their teammates (most of the solo sport athletes, too, prefer practice partners over practicing all by themselves) to encourage each other, give hope in times of despair, and be there.
With an athlete’s mindset, an entrepreneur dedicates herself to working hard (and working smart) till she becomes the best at her skill and expertise!
Teachers are known to be in one of the most giving professions. They are devoted to the success of their students. When applying this mindset as an entrepreneur, it pays to keep the interests of your clients at the core of your strategy; understand their needs ahead of time (to ensure your products and services are aligned to these needs), and stay focused on their success as a measure of your own.
The key skills to learn from an efficient teacher are: stay organised, offer a listening ear but don’t get lost in the story, follow through with your agenda, periodically gauge the client’s progress. And before anything else, have a giving spirit.
Designers are extremely creative. Once they have a basic ‘sense’ of the design/ prototype, they build their way forward.
Adopting the designer mindset encourages an entrepreneur to be creative and not be tied to having that perfect plan before making progress. The key is to be aware of the process and move forward without the judgement of right or wrong.
Akin to designers — have a bias towards action, try different alternatives, reframe problems, and stay focused on what happens next.
As often as possible, choose progress over perfection.
Imagine yourself on that much-awaited trip that you’ve been waiting to check off your bucket list and all you’d do on that trip. Now imagine all that you will do in anticipation of that trip and what you’d do when you’re back from that trip.
Now, bring all of what you imagine into the context of your business.
Be willing to explore, be open to experiences, make memories and capture them, and plan your next adventure!
A hardcore businessperson is dead serious about their targets!
Acknowledging business orientation as your core competency empowers you to define your B-HAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to see through your business objectives and basically set you up for business growth and a resolve to succeed.
So which mindset closely matches yours?
Picture credits: Pexels
I always get a little perplexed when it comes to providing my biographical info, coz after all these years of being a professional, my natural response to such questions is to call myself an HR read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Please enter your email address