If you want to become a successful solo entrepreneur, a good work ethic and good entrepreneurial habits are important. But that isn’t all you need. Your beliefs in business play a big part. Without the right mindset shifts, solopreneurship can be more challenging than it needs to be.
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As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
In other words, what you tell yourself will be your reality. No truer words were ever spoken!
For example, if you tell yourself there is not enough time to get it all done, you’ll never have enough time. If you tell yourself that no one will pay you a fair rate, you’ll attract people who won’t pay your rate.
There’s good news though. YOU CAN change your thoughts. Taking old, unhelpful beliefs and reframing them into more beneficial ones can be game-changing.
You may be wondering what mindset you need to have. That’s fair.
What Mindset Does an Entrepreneur Need?
When it comes to mindset, pretending, being fake, lying to yourself, or toxic positivity won’t help you.
To be any kind of preneur — that’s solopreneur, intrapreneur, entrepreneur — a growth mindset is needed over a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is essential.
When you have a growth mindset, you believe in possibilities. You’re open to the idea that you can learn and grow in all ways.
Having a growth mindset will enable you to discover what you need to learn or what you need to do in order to overcome obstacles. It allows you to be curious, innovative, and compassionate.
A fixed mindset, on the other hand, believes that traits like intelligence and talent are preset. That is to say, abilities and skills can’t develop. When your mindset is fixed, you run the risk of staying stuck when you run into challenges.
So, make sure you are staying in a growth mindset no matter what. It makes a world of difference.
Must Have Mindset Shifts for Solopreneurs
You might be trying to figure out if you’re a fixed or growth mindset kinda person. Well, if you’re still reading, you’re definitely in a growth mindset. That’s great!
Because I’ll ask you to keep an open mind as I share nine mindset shifts for solopreneurs that I had to adopt in order to fully step into my own success. These are my reframes for some old limiting beliefs that kept me stuck and small.
Ready to get started? Let’s go.
1. Money is a Result, Not a Purpose
The first mindset shift for solopreneurs is that money is a result, not a purpose. When I started my first business, money was not even in my top 5 motivators. I bet that’s true for you, too.
Over time, as I worked harder and had little to show for my efforts, everything became about the money. I created new offerings, more products, and programs all with the purpose of generating revenue.
The harder I chased the money the more it alluded me. I was less fulfilled and happy in the process.
What I came to realize is that when my purpose was to make a difference for someone, they money came much more easily as a result.
So instead of chasing the money and believing that is your purpose, dig deeper and come up with a bigger why. You’ll find that the money comes for you, too.
2. If You Want to Go Far, Go Together
You believe that in order to get things done, you have to do it yourself. Likely, you think in order for things to be done right they have to be done YOUR way.
Not only is that untrue, but that belief slows you down and keeps you from the progress you really want to make. I know because that was me.
As a recovering perfectionist, I believed that if a particular task wasn’t done the way I did it, it was done wrong. Therefore, I had to do it myself.
And the introvert that I am was happy to do it all — alone. I was also stubborn enough to buy into the lie that I had the time to learn HOW to do it all — alone.
I got work done fast. However, it often didn’t get me the result I wanted. And more often than not, I had to redo work because of errors. I was stressed out!
Then, one day I came across this African Proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” While I was alone, if I am being honest, I wasn’t exactly going “fast” either.
I worked hard, but I was running in place. Going a million miles a minute and going nowhere.
So I shifted my solopreneur mindset to this thought:
“It’s ok to ask for help. There are people who can help me get to where I want to go.”
And so, I did. I began by outsourcing tasks I wasn’t good at doing. And eventually, I hired my first teammate.
That’s right. You need PEOPLE to be successful.
3. Behave Like You Have the Success You Desire
Of all the mindset shifts for solopreneurs that I’ve shared so far, this is one of my favorites. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.
The reframe is to behave like you have the success you desire.
To be clear, I don’t mean to “fake it til you make it”. Nor do I mean to lie or pretend to be something you’re not.
Portraying yourself as the perfectly coiffed, put-together mom with the Jimmy Choo shoes and Fendi bag when your reality is sweats and a t-shirt with a clinging toddler is not what I’m suggesting.
Neither is renting an upscale Airbnb as you stand out by the pool taking a video of yourself flinging cash out of your hands when your reality is you’ve not even broken a four-figure month.
Don’t do that. That would be inauthentic! And it won’t make you feel good about yourself either.
What I mean is to take these simple steps:
- Visualize the success you want
- Think about how THAT person behaves
- Start behaving like that person
For example, let’s say that you’re a life coach who is struggling to find leads. Instead of actively looking for clients, you only focus on building awareness through social media posting. You also lack confidence in your sales skills.
If you stay focused on your current circumstances, you’ll continue to struggle.
Instead, think about what success looks like for a life coach who has a steady stream of high-paying clients. Then, think about what that successful coach does and how they behave.
That life coach may be getting out, meeting people, and networking. They may have created great referral partners. Perhaps they speak at events their ideal clients attend.
Rather than hide behind social media alone, this successful life coach gets out and connects. THAT is how they behave and that’s something you can easily do, too.
So start by thinking about what success looks like in your future. Identify the behaviors that will help you have that success. And start doing some of those things now.
The Right Mindset Shifts Will Make a Difference
If you’ve been struggling in your business, perhaps a good place to start is with your beliefs. Maybe you can start with one of these mindset shifts for solopreneurs. Even reframing just one thought can make a huge difference in your overall happiness and confidence.
So which mindset shift spoke to you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments.
