Setting yourself up in business can have great advantages, but it asks a lot in return. If you want the comfort of a regular paycheck with health benefits and to only work 9-5, then running your own business probably isn’t for you. But if you have an idea that you want to turn into a business, and you’re driven to be your own boss, then it helps to know the mindset you need to cultivate.

In this module, we’ll look at what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how ready you are to kick start your business.

Identify Your Big “Why?”

Why exactly do you want to start a business? Is it because you want to create jobs in the local community, put your kids through college, lead a laptop lifestyle, have the freedom to work when and wherever you want to, bring an invention to market that will change people’s lives?
The big “why” of your goal is the most important driver and the primary reason why you will or will not create a successful business.
As you come across challenges and barriers towards your goals, it is your big “why” that will keep you going. If you have no clear idea why you want to achieve your goal, your motivation and focus will quickly dissipate.

How to Stay Motivated When Starting a Business

There’s no point in pretending that starting a business is all fun and games. People who think that are likely to give up at the first hitch. There will be many hiccups and obstacles along the way, but here are some key factors to motivate you:

1. Remind yourself of your big “why”.
2. Set clear, concrete goals to keep you on track.
3. Surround yourself with people who motivate and inspire you.
4. Do something you’re passionate about and really good at.

Do You Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset?

A mindset is a fixed set of ideas that we all maintain about a certain subject. It determines how we will react to certain situations. For example, “I’m no good at languages so there’s no point trying to learn French.” With this attitude and state of mind, even if you were to try to learn French, how successful do you think you would be? The answer for most of us would be, very unsuccessful. We would have talked ourselves out of success before we’d even tried. And yet, many people successfully learn a new language. Why is that?

Don’t let your mindset interfere with your success.

If you believe you have nothing valuable to offer to anyone, then your negative mindset is going to prevent you from making a success of your business.

What attitudes or beliefs do you have that could interfere with your success?

Change Your Mindset

The good news is that your current mindset is not a blueprint for life. By taking a close look at your beliefs and asking important questions, you can change your mindset and set yourself up for success.

All successful people acknowledge the importance of having the right mindset in helping them succeed. Great athletes don’t just have physical ability and training – they have the mindset to win. Renowned musicians don’t just have talent and perfect pitch – they have the mindset to share their gift with the world. Pick up any book that tells you how so-and-so made two million dollars in their first year, follow their ‘simple formula for success’ and their strategies, and will you become successful? You might become successful, but many will not because they don’t have the mindset of success.

What is an Entrepreneurial Mindset?

Does this sound like you?

Let’s look at these 10 qualities of successful entrepreneurs:

1. Positive Thinking: No matter what happens, an entrepreneur can frame it in a positive light.
2. Learn from Failure and Move On: Entrepreneurs generally don’t achieve success on the first try. But they try and try again. They’re resilient and persistent.
3. Know the Moment to Give Up: Entrepreneurs also know when to stop pushing for something and wasting time and energy on a project that just isn’t working.
4. Delegate to Others: They don’t try to do everything themselves but reach out for help and designate tasks to those who are best equipped to do them.
5. Love Learning: Entrepreneurs have a hunger for knowledge and new ways of thinking and embrace change.
6. Take Risks: They are risk-takers, but not of random risks taken for no reason at all. The risks are calculated and considered.
7. Follow-Through: Entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for new opportunities, even when there is not necessarily an immediate result.
8. Remain Flexible: They are open to continuous change and improvement, and they are ready to adapt or change plans at a moment’s notice.
9. Set Goals: People with the entrepreneurial mindset set goals as a way to focus on the future and motivate themselves forward.
10. Keep Good Company: Entrepreneurs surround themselves with other entrepreneurs, positive influencers, and like-minded individuals.

As you went through these qualities of the entrepreneurial mindset, what did you think? Did you feel that some (or many) of them apply to you? Can you see areas where you could change or improve?

There’s a questionnaire in the Action Guide to help you look at this.

Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

Getting out there and acting like an entrepreneur will give you the challenges and learning opportunities that will transform your mindset.

What are some of the activities that you could use to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset?

For example, you could:

• Connect with other entrepreneurs in your neighborhood who have the mindset you want to nurture and find out how they’ve succeeded.
• Attend a conference or networking event to learn from like-minded people.
• Revisit a dilemma that you have been thinking about and weigh up the risk factors.
• Delegate a minor task to someone else so that you can focus on more important things.

What are some new skills you can learn and where can you learn them? Is there a particular risk or challenge your intuition is telling you to take?

Write down 3 actions you can take to help you to develop different aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset.