Mind of an Entrepreneur

Mar 07, 2013

The mind of an entrepreneur is a major key to business success. It is even more important than business or interpersonal skills. The mind of an entrepreneur is one that does not look at problems or situations as a limitation of success.

The mind of an entrepreneur is more concerned about the 'HOW TO' rather than 'CAN I DO IT' . The Mind of an entrepreneur feels that the 'CAN I' as a question, is one that does not need to be asked . They feel it is already a given that they CAN! They are more focused on the HOW TO GET THERE or HOW TO DO IT.

The reason why I made this statement is because of the subject we are going to deal with in this article. For you who are reading it, it's good that you read it in the context of the above statements

With strugglers, who I define as those who want to play the entrepreneurship game without the mind of an entrepreneur, competition and market forces is something that they are constantly struggling with.

In a recession, they feel that market forces are against them.

• They ask if are they in the wrong business?
• When they lose a customer, they feel that there is nothing they can do or somebody conspired against them.
• If a co-worker or staff lets them down, they blame the co- worker instead of being brutally honest with themselves (were they the cause of the problem or did they contribute to it?).
• They always live in doubt, questioning others, their business model.

Their life is a constant struggle of CAN I DO THIS? Everything looks too big to them. There seems to be too much impossibility.

On the other hand enablers, people who are playing the entrepreneurship game with the mindset of an entrepreneur, do not give in to personal limitations, and offer no excuses for anything affecting their business .

If there is a recession they just focus on

• How to thrive.
• If they lose a customer the think about how to get the customer back or to change their business model and get bigger customers .
• They do not stop, they are unstoppable when it comes to the HOW TO, they keep going because they already believe there is a solution and an answer and they just need to think and work to find it .

This thought pattern is ingrained in their mind and for them they look at every imposing limitation or problem through the HOW TO glasses not CAN I.

To move from a struggler to an enabler and to have a mindset of an entrepreneur, there are a few critical things you need to do

1. Be Brutal and Honest with Yourself

What are the areas in your life (business, family , personal relationships) where you are giving yourself excuses rather than confronting your own personal weaknesses. You can only go forward after you brutally look at yourself and are honest.

List down areas where you have been thinking CAN I, or WILL IT WORK instead of HOW TO.

2. Change your Belief System

Recognise that there is nothing you cannot solve or overcome, because there is always a HOW TO out there and you need to just find it . Any complex problem has simple steps to resolution. A complex problem can be broken down and with time and thought it can be permanently resolved.

3. Find a Drill Sargent

Mentors sometimes are too soft with us. Having a mentor or a coach is a critical element of any entrepreneur. But if your mentor and coach is too soft or worried about offending you with the truth, then you need to find an alternative or find someone who can shape you up and ship you out. Business is war, and if you do not have a drill Sargent to get your mindset prepared for war. How are you going to win?

4. Set time to Think and Plan

Enablers are good with thinking strategically. They structure time to think, plan, pursue and overcome situations. Time is set aside to think about the How to , Research is done, they are constantly active in their mind and not dull,

Most of all they set aside time to train their think process without interruptions and distractions.

When can you set aside two hours to strategise, plan and think about your business and the issues facing it?

Start developing the mind of an entrepreneur, follow the 4 guidelines. Most of all structure time to think, plan and strategise. Remember, preparation meets opportunity.