I talk a lot about the nuts and bolts of starting or buying and running a small business. In my coaching and consulting business, my clients and I work together a lot on streamlining their systems to allow them more personal freedom and increased income. But there is much more to understand.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs have different mindsets. Many small business owners transitioned from being employed in a business similar to the one they now own – and in many ways they STILL see themselves as employees. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are more likely to start businesses from scratch, think big, plan for a sale of the business, or start multiple businesses at once. They work on their business looking for opportunities today and in the future.
The small business owner tends not to work on their business but rather they work in it and get very married to it. The downside is that when the economy gets tight the small business owners often end up in survival mode. For the entrepreneur, the down economy is just another opportunity waiting for them.
Small business owners can change their mindset to model the entrepreneur’s. Creating a vision of what you want your entire life to look like, and how your business supports that, is a key step. Really generate the details of this future life and then write down that detailed picture. Ask yourself questions as you go. What does your day look like? What income are you generating? Do you want more time versus more money? How would you spend that time. Don’t try to figure out the details. Just write down the dream.
If you are creating your vision for your business and your life and practical thoughts intrude, push them away! Asking yourself what you really want and writing it down makes no room for being practical. Practical is about the “how” not the “what”. You will get to that later. If you are an author and you dream of being on Oprah, write that down. If you are a stay-at-home mom who wants to earn a passive second income so you can devote more quality time to your kids, write that down. Just putting your dreams on paper is the first step to making them a reality.
Professional athletes understanding mentally creating what they want to happen before they step onto the course or the field. Tiger Woods and others work with coaches on visualizing their end results and it works. Why shouldn’t you do this as well? Really experiencing what living your dream FEELS like every day helps you encourage your brain to be more entrepreneurial. Remember, you are a business OWNER, not an employee.
Get out of survival thinking and start acknowledging your biggest visions of success. Entrepreneurs dream really big and take chances. Start changing your mindset now and begin thinking like an entrepreneur.
With 30 years of consulting experience, Steven Schlagel provides training and coaching for startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Check his site for more articles to increase your success!
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