Follow these 10 growth mindset strategies for small business success
It doesn’t matter how skilled you are in your area of expertise, if you get in your own way, you may not be achieving the success you so rightly deserve. You see your mindset actually impacts both yourself and your business positively or negatively. I should know…it’s a battle I win and lose daily.
You see, I know you have made a bunch of sacrifices to create this small business, and of course success is the desired outcome… Setting healthy systems in place to support your mindset is advantageous. So while this may sound a bit woo woo to some, hear me out and you may walk away with something that will help your personal mindset and business growth.
1. Frame challenges as opportunities.
Let’s face it, it’s not business without experiencing some hurdles along the way. However, dwelling on a problem can cause unnecessary stress and actually hamper your productivity. When faced with a challenge, it is important to take a step back, and process it, without acting on your emotions in the first instance. Simply asking “What? Where? When? How?” can lead to resolutions to issues and new approaches if faced with it again. If emotional, talk with a business peer for perspective. Remember to frame challenges as opportunities to learn, grow, improve and adjust.
2. Look for the positive in every situation.
Did you know that our brains are hard-wired to look for threats and focus on them? This survival mechanism served us well eons ago, when we were hunters and gatherers, as there was a real threat of being killed by something or someone. Obviously, our natural instinct did not evolve as quickly as we did. Therefore, maintaining positivity is a daily challenge that requires concentration and attention. Be mindful of staying positive to overcome the brain’s tendency to focus on threats.
The good news is that the old adage “fake it till you make it” can be applied, and soon you will focus on positive things without even trying. If you focus on your vision and practice gratitude for a few minutes a day, that will help.
Vision
Ask yourself what your vision for the year is, your ‘why’, it will naturally lead you in a healthy direction and attract people to you.
Have you read the book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne? If not, it’s worth a read. Visualisation is one of the most powerful mind exercises you can do.
The law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts. When you are visualizing, you are emitting a powerful frequency out into the Universe.
Whether you believe that or not, I suggest you try a vision board, preferably at the start of the year. This will help you through the more challenging times, by looking at your goals, vision, and positive focus areas for your business and personal life.
Gratitude
Practising gratitude is also a powerful growth mindset tool. A simple mantra or daily affirmation can help shift your mindset from a negative or fear based mindset to a more positive outlook.
Here are a few of mine to inspire you:
I have grit and I don’t quit
Growth happens when I step out of my comfort zone
I listen to my intuition and trust my inner guide
My mind is full of brilliant ideas
I make a positive difference in the world by simply existing in it
I am enough
Mistakes are an opportunity to grow
I am grateful for the life I am living
I am grateful for every opportunity that comes my way
I am grateful for my mentors, friends, collaborators and supporters
I am grateful for my inspiring clients and being their behind the scenes secret weapon
3. Seek feedback from people you respect.
Everyone has an opinion, some opinions will help you grow, some will not. So choose someone you respect, like a mentor or peers, to give you feedback, and remember you are not seeking their approval, you’re looking for growth opportunities. Every piece of feedback you receive is an opportunity for growth.
4. Learn something new every day.
By learning something new every day, it breaks our normal behaviour patterns, gives us a range of perspectives to draw upon, helps us adapt to new situations, feeds innovation, builds confidence, and creates new neural pathways for our brain to grow.
Ralph Waldo Emerson words it beautifully:
Knowledge is when you learn something new every day. Wisdom is when you let something go every day.
Let go of the things that don’t serve you, and remember learning is a lifelong journey, not a destination.
5. Compare yourself to yourself, NOT to others.
The poem Desiderata was stuck on the inside of my bathroom door when I was a child. Since this was a place where you were naturally forced to stop and sit, I read it every day, and I have to say my mum was on something…
There is a line saying:
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
To this day, I find much comfort in this statement.
To support and encourage others is such a powerful thing. To be inspired by others, to learn from others is too. But when it comes to comparisons, do it with yourself. Where were you one year ago? Where do you want to be in one year, and how do you intend to get there? What worked? What didn’t? Track progress, change approach as needed, and celebrate the wins.
6. Hold yourself to account. Plan, Commit, Do.
Set yourself a SMART goal, place it somewhere you can see regularly, and track your progress. I use a Trello Board and Google Calendar. Be disciplined, the best way to do this is to find a regular time that works for you, and make it achievable. I am currently working on personal fitness goals with a morning walk, while listening to personal growth audio books simultaneously. Two birds with one stone. It’s only for three days a week currently. I will maintain this until it feels natural, and I WANT to do it. Then I will build on it, by adding days. Possibly when I’m fitter, I could hold some business meetings on the move… At this stage, this is unrealistic, as I’m pretty sure my clients don’t want to hear my unfit heavy breathing on the other end of the phone!
7. Do the HARD thing first.
How rewarding is that feeling when you action a challenging piece of work, and know it’s an easy street for the rest of the day.
As Mark Twain phrased it:
Eat the frog first.
If you action the biggest and most important task first, there is no opportunity to procrastinate over it later, and you’ve set yourself up for success, leading to happy hormones and increased productivity for the remaining work day.
8. Find a Mentor or join an accountability group or both.
A mentor helps you to identify your strengths, set your goals and strategies to help you grow, and hold you to account, so action occurs.
The same can be said for an accountability group. Peer accountability increases productivity and leads to higher achievement through inspiration, motivation, support and empowerment. An accountability group helps you stay on track, provides different perspectives, which can help innovate, and most importantly, they can celebrate your wins with you.
9. Avoid shiny object syndrome
Shiny objects are so alluring that we tend to chase them without forward planning, but rather dive straight in. Generally, this leads to loads of unfinished projects, as a new and better idea entices you.
While growth mindset encourages embracing change, shiny object syndrome means you chop and change too often without enough evaluation of benefits, planning and goal setting. Let me give you an example. A review group advised me that an app would be the best thing for my business. Shortly after, Google implemented a new tool to create an app…ooh so shiny… but… is this what my customer avatar wants or needs? What value will it add? What would it contribute that my website does not? So…it is currently sitting in the cool ideas bucket, along with many other shiny things, and will remain there until a need arises and an evaluation of benefits proves it’s worthy of implementation.
10. Grow at your own pace.
You are the only person who leads your life, with your distinct circumstances. So to compare yourself to someone else’s pace is an injustice, especially if it is not motivating, but rather makes you feel inadequate, or that you’re not achieving success. Remember your why and swim in your own lane.
Ultimately, developing a growth mindset will help you to plan for the future and avoid common pitfalls. A growth mindset improves productivity and performance, so you can gain a greater sense of who you are, what you stand for, and where you want to go in business and life.
Versatile Marketing provides outsourced marketing support for small service based businesses. Book in a discovery call today, to learn how we can support your business towards success.
CEO mindset: Vision with action is the key to growth
Starting a business takes grit and determination. As time passes, many business owners focus on automation and efficient systems implementation. Business begins to flow smoothly, which is awesome! A smooth-running engine can feel adequate. It can be tempting to rest on your laurels and continue as you always have. However, a CEO wouldn’t stop there. CEO mindset is what sets the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners apart from the rest!
Assuming you want your business to grow, your mindset is key. So, let’s take a look at CEO mindset and what practical tweaks you can produce today, (no matter if you’re in your first year of business or a well seasoned business), to transform into tomorrow’s successful outcomes.
Beliefs and behaviours of an effecive CEO
When I think back to my previous corporate life. There are certain thought patterns, beliefs and behaviours each CEO displayed. Traits like:
Strategic decision-making
Being a visionary rather than being bogged down in the nitty gritty daily operations
Strong communication skills
Realistic optimism
Brilliant listening skills
Reading people effectively
A willingness to take calculated risks.
Understanding the value the business produces
Here are a few practical ways you can introduce a CEO mindset for your small business.
Vision and mission
Have a Vision and plan of what you want to achieve, and how you’re planning to achieve it. Your mission statement is a perfect starting block.
But what is a Mission / Vision Statement?
It’s a summary of an organisations core purpose, focus and goals. While the mission is the ‘what’ and ‘how’, the vision statement is the ‘why’.
Combined, they should be a guiding beacon supporting you as an owner in all areas of your business. From sales pitches, to social media marketing, to the way you engage with your customers or clients. If you’re consistently making decisions inline with your ultimate goals, it will assist with developing a strong brand and differentiate you from your competition.
Your mission statement should also guide all those who join your organisation when it begins to scale. From contractors to employees at all levels. As author Simon Sinek said,
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
As the CEO is the ultimate decision maker, when it comes to setting a company’s vision. It’s important to plan ahead. Where do you want to be in five, ten, or 15 years? A CEO will consider all stakeholders, and have a clear understanding what enables the business to generate value.
Planning
Set aside time to plan out your vision and mission – long-term planning. Regularly block off time in your calendar and mark it ‘planning’, this is important for the success and health of your business. Then you can batch plan your quarterly blogs and socials. You know you can market yourself online, to build your brand, but unless you know your long-term goals, these approaches may not be well aligned.
Continuous learning and development
Focus on learning new skills and mindset approaches, as Jim Rhon shares:
Everyday stand guard at the door of your mind.
So, read or study and then apply that to your business or personal life which will in turn positively impact your business.
Mentor
CEOs rely on subject matter experts to advise them on vital company information, data and issues. They often have a team of advisors and need to report to a Board of Directors to remain accountable and provide guidance. CEO mindset: Consider how you too could benefit from a business advisor, accountability partners and subject matter experts to guide you in various areas of the business.
Physical movement and mindset work
Tony Robbins, is someone I admire, he uses deep practice incantations, along with physical movement to ensure he is in the right headspace. He says
…the more you do something with focus, trying to do it as well as you can, you [build up the fatty layer of insulation around your nervous system called myelin] in your brain.
This will enable your focus and positive attitudes to be sustained.
Robbins also practices mindfulness techniques. For example, saying 3 things he’s grateful for that day. Whilst the incantations are still a work in progress for me, the gratitude statements have formed part of my daily routine, and I am better for it. Who inspires you? And how can you learn from them to continuously develop and grow?
Upskill
Staying focused on continuous learning and development, for example how to coach employees effectively. This skill is so important as when eventually, the business grows to a point where you must learn to manage the people who manage systems and processes, you will be prepared and ready to become a genuine CEO. So as a business owner, be flexible and adaptive to learn new skills as your role changes.
Systemise and outsource
CEOs look to the future. So why not implement processes and systems that will be needed in the future? If you only focus on the here and now, you may end up with only short-term plans and results, but lacking business direction.
So introduce a company handbook, even if it’s just you! Or have an outsourcing strategy before you’re ready to outsource. Set up your processes and procedures, with the mindset someone will need to use them one day, hopefully soon!
You can have a CEO mindset no matter what stage you are at in your business. Whether you’re about to launch or a well seasoned business owner. Focus on one area at a time and put your CEO hat on. For example, for my business, I’ll own up! I’ve been neglecting my financial management. Which we can all agree is far from ideal for a small business owner. While my accountant is not concerned, as I’m following the compliance requirements. I haven’t paid enough attention to doing it well and efficiently, because I don’t know HOW to do it well, and I don’t LOVE doing it. So I’ve avoided it.
I’m currently using a free accounting software, why? Because it’s intuitive and everything I need for now. But … while it does suit my business as it stands at this moment, fast-forward 2 years, or possibly even 6-12 months, and it’s unlikely to be sustainable. Its free features are incredible, but it also means some processing requirements are more cumbersome and consequently time-consuming.
To put my CEO mindset hat on, I know I need to look at the current issues and the future, I need to:
Source and receive training from a tax agent or book keeper who is familiar with this software, how to set it up properly, so it’s compliant and simple to report to ATO.
Look and plan for the future. I intend to grow the business, this software will soon not be fit for my business. So, I’m researching and seeking guidance on the best financial software systems for my business and budget for the next 5 years.
Take steps to learn bookkeeping for my business. Not because it is a service, I want to offer my clients. But because it is a skill as a small business owner, that I need to know!
Know how to administer it myself, so I can make educated decisions and clearly define the tasks required.
Outsource it to a bookkeeper with aligned business ethics, and effective communication skills.
Have a think about your business. What areas are you ready to learn about, or outsource or both?
Reduce stress
Finally, if you look at where the pressure is: assess how you can remove it?
Notice it, observe it with no judgement, not saying I’m a ‘failure” or ‘should’ instead step outside of yourself and assess what you need. What takes the pressure off for you? A holistic balance is a key ingredient for a happy and healthy business owner.
So actively partake in activities which reduce stress, help you stay centered, and keep you positively focused. Continuously learn new skills, simplify some areas, Batch plan your quarterly blogs and socials, outsource if needed. Plan ahead in alignment with your vision and mission, and act on those plans.
Having a clear, compelling goal mobilises your focus toward actionable behaviour. It aligns your focus and promotes self-mastery. But what happens when you publicly declare a goal in a goal-setting workshop led by you? And you, ironically, don’t achieve it? This is the exact precarious position I found myself in earlier this year.
So, let’s consider:
The power of goal setting
Why it’s vital to follow through and maintain personal integrity
Lessons learnt when establishing new habits
The power of goal setting
So, I was leading a holistic goal-setting workshop for local businesses. And used an example of my health and fitness for my next personal area of focus. I explained I hadn’t set a good example to my children with some unhealthy eating habits. And while I promoted prioritising self-care to my clients, I wasn’t doing it for myself. Yet we all know self-care is needed to achieve a holistic balance and to reduce overwhelm.
Goal-setting increases self-confidence and helps increase productivity.
It monitors and measures your growth and momentum, by allowing you to maintain focus on each step or task leading to the end goal. Setting a goal should excite and motivate you.
But, when I realised I hadn’t followed through with my goal, months after this workshop, I felt disempowered and disingenuous. Far from who I am and what I stand for.
I felt like a fraud.
The old maxim ‘practice what you preach’ springs to mind. It was vital to snap into action. You see, I was out of integrity with myself. The single most important quality you can ever develop that will enhance every part of your life, is the value of integrity. Integrity is the core quality of a successful and happy life. It’s SO easy to make promises, but often very hard to keep them. Every time you keep a promise, you’ve made an act of integrity. This in turn strengthens your character and reputation. And you’ll begin to attract the best people and situations into your life.
Decide on one BIG goal at a time. You’ll also find the more specific the goal, the easier it is to achieve it. Grab a copy of the goal setting worksheet from my speech here.
Why cheaters don’t prosper – it’s vital to have integrity
Have you ever noticed that when trying a new habit in your life, you can be completely derailed with just one misstep?
Once the alcohol has been consumed, or the tub of ice-cream eaten, it’s hard to convince yourself to go back to the restriction you placed upon yourself. After all, it’s always ‘easier’ and more comfortable to go back to old ways. The reason for this is when you ‘cheat’, your plan loses its integrity and consistency. Leaving your goal to deflate like a blown, untied balloon. Likewise, if you don’t ever start your set goal, you also fall out of integrity with yourself. It’s so easy to do! More than 80% of small business owners don’t keep track of business goals. Without tracking, it’s so easy to lose sight of your target.
Regaining personal integrity – Case study
I’m going to use myself as the case study, but essentially the concept applies to everything and everyone. As soon as I re-set my intention to follow through with the original goal, things fell into place to assist me in achieving it. The Laws of Attraction tends to work this way.
Choosing to take action
A friend asked me to go walking with her once a week. Instead of making 1000 excuses, I said ‘yes’. I started using the Fitbit I was gifted for Christmas.
A food journal was re-instated, to gauge where my starting point was and where I was tripping myself up. By becoming aware of my eating habits, an informed decision could be made to create some new habits.
The cherry on the cake – I stumbled across a local gym promoting their 6-week fitness challenge. Against my natural instincts, I entered their competition. They called me to come in for a biometric scan and chat about the gym. At this stage, I had no intention to join, and if it wasn’t for my goal I would have declined.
Whilst I’ve been to several gyms throughout my life, none of them had what I was looking for. You see, I seek out balance, kindness, and genuineness in all areas of my life.
Finding support aligned with personal values
So, I rocked up to this boutique gym. The first thing that I noticed was happy faces, people greeting me, introducing themselves, and directing me to the person I was meeting. One of the co-founders, Mitchell Phillips, asked me a bunch of questions, including:
What did I want to achieve? Why hasn’t it worked previously?
What has worked and what do I like?
What is most important to me in my life?
WOW! He cared about how this would integrate into my world. Mind blowing!
Reluctantly, I stepped on a massive biometric scale, which assessed fat/muscle ratio (amongst other things). There was a non-judgemental kindness when I was delivered the news of my weight stats (which wasn’t pretty, I might add!). And not once did he push for a sale. It wasn’t a one-size-fits-all, but specifically catered to me.
He talked about:
Mindset
Balance
Emotional eating
Family
Whole foods
Water intakE
Measuring to track and hold to account
Restorative practices – and more
These things didn’t make me want to run for the hills. It was holistic! So in a complete surprise to myself, I signed up. Taking the next step forward. Mitch then let me know I had won an additional P/T session for the 6 week period! Winning!
Outcome
By the end of the 6-week challenge, Several bad habits had been replaced, simply by creating new, more positive practices. I’m mindful this is just the beginning of my health journey. According to a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 2 months to fully integrate a new habit.
Whilst I didn’t win the group challenge, I won my own personal challenge of achieving my goal before the year ended with my personal integrity intact. Losing 6kg, feeling healthier, and feeling more comfortable was a big bonus! And I have Real Fitness Training to thank for that.
I’m in no way affiliated with this gym but want to share this amazing business, so other locals on a similar journey to me, may feel nurtured and encouraged.
I asked Vicky Van De Luecht, co-founder at Real Fitness Training, to share the ethos behind their business with us:
“Real Fitness Training offers a new ideology when it comes health and fitness. Our belief is one of long-term, sustainable results, built on a foundation of education around movement and nutrition, empathy and coaching. Our service is highly personalised, tailored to each individual client and provides a fitness experience like no other. Offering high quality personal training, structured semi private strength training, nutrition coaching around habits, yoga and meditation classes and monthly educational workshops, our boutique studio truly encompasses the concept of health, wellbeing and community. The days of having to join a gym where you may feel uncomfortable and intimidated are over. We provide the most personalised and friendly service, a very unique fitness experience within our beautiful boutique studio. Attention to detail, meticulous service and a truly rewarding fitness experience is what we pride ourselves on.”
3. Lessons learnt in the process of establishing new habits
We all have times in our lives where we intentionally want to change our behaviour for the better. This could be getting in the habit of eating healthier. It could be work-related or perhaps spiritual.
Here are some lessons learnt during my process of establishing new healthy habits.
Don’t go it alone
When you start to think about it, there’s an inverse relationship between habits and willpower. When you first want to build a new habit, it takes a lot of will power to get it done, day in, day out. You’re much more likely to remain focused, positive, and stick with it when you have an accountability group or person, (as I did in this challenge). I felt supported and could provide support to others on the same journey.
Avoid a path to success that’s too strict
Allow yourself that night out with a few drinks, or the dinner out with chips on the side. But don’t fall off the horse. Or guilt yourself and say it’s all over now! Get back on that horse and maintain integrity. Integrate it into your routine, check your mindset regularly, and track yourself until it becomes a habit.
Celebrate the small successes along the way
Stop and smell the roses. Acknowledge your accomplishments along the journey. If you lifted 50 kg for the first time, felt excited to go to a workout, or ticked off a task towards your end goal, celebrate it. Even if it’s only for a moment! Acknowledge you’re stepping towards improvement.
Surround yourself with people who will support you
It’s so easy to listen to the naysayers! So please surround yourself with positive and goal-driven people who support you and your journey. Aristotle nailed it more than 2000 years ago when he said,
We are what we repeatedly do.
By practising these skills, expect to improve your rate of finishing strong.
Do you want to work on a new healthy habit or business goal?
But you’re far too busy to take it on?
Versatile Marketing is here to support you! We support businesses, just like yours, with a versatile range of services to choose from. This includes business administration, goal setting, systems training, social media and blog writing. We’re here to help!
Versatile Marketing will be waving pom-poms madly in the air, cheering you on towards achieving your goal. Ready to chat? Book in a Free discovery call today, we can’t wait to speak with you.
Set yourself a SMART goal, place it somewhere you can see regularly, and track your progress. I use a Trello Board and Google Calendar. Be disciplined, the best way to do this is to find a regular time that works for you, and make it achievable. I am currently working on personal fitness goals with a morning walk, while listening to personal growth audio books simultaneously. Two birds with one stone. It’s only for three days a week currently. I will maintain this until it feels natural, and I WANT to do it. Then I will build on it, by adding days. Possibly when I’m fitter, I could hold some business meetings on the move… At this stage, this is unrealistic, as I’m pretty sure my clients don’t want to hear my unfit heavy breathing on the other end of the phone!
