Every small business owner faces stiff challenges on their journey.
Growth-oriented entrepreneurs gracefully coast through resistance to accelerate sales in any business climate.
Unless you possess a small business growth mindset you will surrender to even mild challenges. Genuinely difficult obstacles feel impossible for narrow-minded entrepreneurs to navigate.
A feeling of overwhelm eventually visits every small business owner who feels as if they have bitten off more than they can chew. My wife walked me off of the small business ledge on the second day of my blogging career. I almost quit my blogging journey on that day; I felt intimidated by all I needed to learn and master to succeed.
She offered me my first small business lesson: cultivating a growth mindset involves facing fear and taking practical baby steps to grow your venture on a rock-solid foundation.
I edged past that fear to begin my entrepreneurial journey.
Table of Contents
Business Growth
Business growth hinges on frequent expansion. Possessing a growth mindset compels one to expand their business freely but embodying this mentality requires a commitment to mindset training, regular improvement, and a willingness to take risks even if you fall flat on your face in the process.
I developed my growth mindset by stumbling a few times here and there during my blogging career. I may appear to live a neat life of circling the globe as a world traveler now but felt embarrassment, shame, and a general sense of being a failure on the way.
Ryan Biddulph from BloggingFromParadise.com
I organically think of “growth” now but only because I purged a static, contracting, regressing, poverty consciousness from my mind patiently over a period of time.
Point blank; establishing a growth mindset makes it easier to gain exposure and drive sales as a small business owner. You will naturally do things that less expansive thinkers struggle to do all because you think “growth”.
Follow these tips to develop a growth mindset as a small business owner.
Build Your Entrepreneur Friend Network To Develop A Growth Mindset
Surround yourself with entrepreneurs who expand your small business presence to develop your growth path.
Highly successful small business owners never go it alone.
Connected entrepreneurs reach the top of their industry by surrounding themselves with supportive, helpful business owners who increase their presence exponentially.
Lisa and I have been promoting each other’s blogs for well over a decade. We have increased each other’s traffic and small business income through a mutually beneficial friendship.
Networking has accelerated our growth mindset because of the new, successful entrepreneurs we’ve met by helping one another offer us support, new ideas, innovative strategies, and consistent business expansion.
For example, my blogging friend network instilled growth in my mind by introducing me to a number of blogging tribes. Instead of playing small by blogging solo, I think big by promoting fellow bloggers who promote me in return around the clock.
Follow Successful Small Business Owners Closely
Pay close attention to successful small business owners.
Develop a growth mindset by studying prospering entrepreneurs.
Note how pros think, feel and act. Observe their mindset.
Struggling entrepreneurs think in terms of scarcity. Successful entrepreneurs adopt an abundance mindset.
For example, failing business owners fear losing money on their venture and try unsuccessfully to build their opportunity for free. Successful business owners who trust their instincts invest money to grow their businesses exponentially over the long haul.
Strengthen your business mindset through osmosis. Surround yourself with small business pros to follow their ways.
Highly successful entrepreneurs challenge you routinely. Being in this environment fosters rapid growth for your small business.
Stay Current in Your Industry
Research your small business industry thoroughly.
Keep current to cultivate a small business growth mindset.
Things move fast in the online business world. Continually researching your niche is the only way to succeed over the long haul because as trends change you need to change as well.
Blogging has changed dramatically since I bought my domain and hosting in 2008. The heyday of internet marketing hype plagued blogging and the online business game in general back then.
Blogging underwent a series of challenges that informed bloggers gracefully knifed through. Everyone else who resisted doing thorough due diligence faded away into blogging obscurity.
Read top blogs from your niche. Study the latest strategies to remain at the forefront of your industry.
Thinking with a growth mindset means adapting to change.
Flowing with change requires doing your homework to keep current with your small business niche.
See Opportunities in Challenges….Quickly
Seeing opportunities in challenges forces small business owners to do mental gymnastics.
Spotting opportunities in challenges *quickly* requires a seeming Olympic level of mental gymnastics in the midst of trying appearances.
Growth-focused entrepreneurs seize and capitalize on small business challenges remarkably quickly to increase their productivity. Everyone else panics by cowering to business-related obstacles.
I recall my blog’s formatting appearing wonky a while back. After working on the issue with my web developer I discovered a CDN issue plaguing my site. Even though the initial fix improved the blog user experience I spotted an opportunity within this stiff challenge; since my website appeared to be heavy with 100’s thin posts I quickly deleted all short-form content over the course of 8 hours.
Seizing this opportunity sped up my blog, improved the UX, and fortified my brand because every remaining post bled quality, being long-form in nature.
Organic traffic increased across Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn since deleting thin content.
I dug deep into my mind to observe how fear stunted my blogging growth; I clung to low-quality posts diminishing my full body of blogging work. Digging deep revealed a prospering opportunity within the appearance of a crisis.
Train your mind to see opportunities for growth within appearances of heartache.
Thriving entrepreneurs grow their ventures fast by hop-scotching from the opportunity to opportunity for expansion versus being handcuffed by obstacles.
Video
Seeing possibilities in apparently bleak situations requires having the proper mindset.
I explain why and how to cultivate this mindset here:
Leave Your Comfort Zone Online and Offline
Exit your comfort zone online and offline to embody a growth mindset.
Rapid small business growth occurs well outside of your comfort zone.
For example, I once wrote and placed 30 guest posts in a single day to test the limits of my writing talents. I have since pulled back on guest blogging to publish only detailed, long-form blog posts but still leave my writing comfort zone to grow my blogging business.
Entrepreneurs grow by sprinting outside of their comfort zone on a regular basis.
Meet new people interested in your niche daily. Become prolific. Open income channels. Write and self-publish your first eBook. Submit your first guest post. Exit your online comfort zone to directly grow your venture.
In the offline realm, exercise daily. Meditate. Train your mind. Try public speaking. Network at events. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable offline to bring the skill online. Travel.
My wife and I have circled the globe for 12 years. Being globetrotters continually edges us outside of our comfort zone as we enjoy new environments, customs, cultures, and languages.
As a rule, the most successful entrepreneurs spend the most time well outside of their comfort zone. Follow their lead to adopt a growth mindset.
Invest Money in Your Small Business for Exponential Growth
Frame money investments in your small business as exponential growth factors.
Entrepreneurs who succeed perceive money as a leveraging agent.
Invest money in your hosting to handle increased web traffic. Hire a web designer to create a professional-looking website, blog, and brand. Buy courses or hire coaches to continue your small business education
Money multiplies your business success. All businesses require some investment to get off of the ground and increased investments to scale effectively.
Conclusion
Think big as a small business owner.
Developing a growth mindset will help you to overcome challenges and to accelerate your business success.
FAQs
What does it mean to have a growth mindset?
Having a growth mindset means you are open to new ideas and expanding upon them.
How to develop a growth mindset?
It means having the ability to take on risks to grow your goals and dreams.
Do others help with developing this mindset?
Others may inspire you to think outside the box, help alleviate your fears and help you along your growing journey.
Why are growth mindsets so powerful?
They can be very powerful as they may transform your entire life. New ideas, new ways of doing things can bring you different results.
