Are you worried about your business right now?
I am guessing you are because everyone is. The world challenges us all. It seems that the right time for business is always yesterday or tomorrow.
Yesterday is already gone and tomorrow never comes – how true is this saying? Today is all we have. So with that in mind let’s talk about what is stopping you from moving forward in your business.
I am talking about your biggest enemy – you! Moreover, your mind. The pesky things, they can be our biggest cheerleaders or worst enemies. Social media is overflowing with quotes to inspire us and people who seem to be killing it in their business. That is true for some, but there are also a lot that are doing the “fake it till you make it” thing. Haven’t you heard of “Fakebook”?
We get intimidated by all we see around us – on the internet especially! Here is a newsflash for you – everything isn’t always as it seems (see definition of Fakebook). We all love a story where the ordinary person gets to be the hero. The underdog that rises up to defeat an enemy.
I want to share something with you –
You can be that hero!
How do I know this? Because I know that you can turn things around with a change of mindset. It doesn’t mean things won’t be hard, it doesn’t mean it won’t take time, blood, sweat and more than likely tears. What I want you to understand is that it isn’t impossible. The takeaway here is hope.
Carol Dweck spoke with Harvard Business Review to discuss how mindset influences outcomes whereby mindset is identified as being “fixed” or “growth”. A fixed mindset is where you have a belief in your qualities, intelligence, talent and ability that will provide success.
People who have a growth mindset believe that their basic talent and ability can be developed over time with experience and mentorship.
The most common way this slips out of our mind and into our lives is via excuses. These are (mostly) completely false! It’s just a way of thinking. I’ll show you examples.
‘I cannot do it!’ <- I am afraid to let myself take personal responsibility for my life thriving.
‘I don’t have time’ <- I lack the ability to manage my time with priorities and opportunities.
‘I don’t know how to do it’ <- I am unwilling to accept the challenge to learn something new.
‘My family doesn’t support me.’ <- ‘I am using others as an excuse to stay in the safety of what I know.’
Can you change your mindset and achieve the success you want?
Yes, you can. By concentrating your thinking and consciously changing your thought processes, you can begin to challenge your fixed mindset. Features of changing your mindset include:
If you recognise any of the fixed mindset traits in yourself, are you willing to change these habits so that you can become more open to learning and opportunity?
Is it that simple?
It may sound simplistic to say that your business needs you to have a positive or growth mindset for success. However, let me explain this in a way that might demonstrate to you the power that mindset has.
Sophie Andrews identifies some areas your mindset could be impacting your business directly.
Undervaluing yourself
A problem I come up against most in coaching female entrepreneurs, is charging what you are worth. Low pricing undervalues your offering in the eyes of the market. If you are undervaluing yourself to your target market, then they will undervalue as well.
Fear of Rejection
Many people hide behind a fear of rejection. What rejection are you expecting? Perhaps that nobody will buy your service or product? That isn’t a rejection of you personally, that is a rejection of the service or product in its current form. It could be the way you are communicating your offering or that you are targeting the wrong market. These things are not personal, but rather they are things that can be evaluated and corrected.
Unwilling to change
This is a difficult challenge to overcome. Your own stubbornness could be your undoing. The world is constantly changing and evolving. In this technological age, it is happening at a pace we cannot keep up with. It is important to accept that change is a part of life and a part of the business. There are many examples of businesses that refused to change and this error meant that they went out of business. Accept that nothing stays the same and you must constantly be learning and changing the way you do things to stay current and relevant to your target market, because they are changing.
Not understanding your finances
I speak with so many women who do not want to undertake responsibility for their finances. It manifests itself as excuses like I am not a bookkeeper, I was never any good at maths – however, as a business owner, it is your responsibility to learn the basics. This does not require any particular abilities other than the willingness to take the time you need to learn. We all learn in different ways and your memories of maths or accounting classes at school are not good enough excuses to stop you from learning now. YouTube is so full of different teaching styles, I believe you can learn just about anything.
Don’t live a life of regret having missed every great opportunity because of an excuse. An opportunity is only made great when someone takes it and turns it into something great.
Where are you right now? If you have read this far you either have some glimmer of hope or are still looking for the magic potion to change your business into what you want it to be. Well here it is – you are the hope, you are the magic potion. Nobody can do this for you – it’s all you. So change your mindset now. If it’s hard – work through it. If you don’t know something – learn. If it isn’t working – change it. If you need help – ask.
If there are roadblocks then move them, go around them or change direction.
As a business coach, I can help you with your mindset, teach you skills and help you focus on a direction you can move in, but ultimately it is up to you to do the work.LETS TALK