Many of you have lived with the employee mentality for most of your working life. What you really need to do is clear your mind, clean up your old habits, and transition into the business owner mindset. Make a conscious decision that you want to be a business owner.
I was forced to make the decision to own a business. As an employee, working at the same job for many years, teaching others to do what I learned was extremely satisfying. But as an employee, I realized that I was only training my replacement. If you had owned a business all those years, you would have been creating duplication and wealth!
How is the business owner mindset as opposed to the employee mindset? Let me give you some examples:
• The business owner mindset understands that the purpose of the business is to make money. The goal is to generate income! After all, income and freedom is what you want. While the mindset of employees is limited to the narrow view that working overtime to impress the boss, earning extra hours or vacation days is the key to success.
• The business owner minded individual thinks for himself. Letting others do the thinking for you is the employee mindset; and more, the employee will only do what he is paid for, neither more nor less.
• In the business owner mindset, your goal is to create the right system that will produce the results of success. The employee mindset believes that they don’t have to think in systems, it’s already done for them.
• In the business owner mindset, it is essential to understand the strategy and implement it into your business practices. In the mindset of an employee it is following a strategy in place and rarely understanding that strategy.
• The business owner mindset is open to multiple streams of income with multiple business strategies. The employee mentality believes that if you just work at your job your whole life, you will retire rich.
Now that I’ve given you some examples of the differences between a business owner mindset and an employee mindset, I’m sure you’ll agree that the business owner mindset is the more attractive of the two. Saying that, let me give you some tips on how to achieve the business owner mindset.
• To start, have a clear vision of your business and put your vision on paper. In other words, “Ink it”. Plan your work and then work your plan. Setting a clear outcome will keep you focused on your goals. No one will tell you what time to show up or how long to stay. There is no “must” list to follow, make your own!
• As a business owner, you are in charge and your goal is to perform without limits. Think about this. How do you want your business to be? Have a pre-eminence mentality. Marketing yourself is your number one goal. Do whatever it takes to build your business, with the proper ethics; and then teach others to do the same. Once you’ve determined your goals and direction, you can duplicate them by training others to do the same.
• Be more strategic in your business activity. To take action. Work on your business, not just on it. A proper system allows for automation and creates time so you can get more done in the same amount of time. I once read that the only difference between you and a rich person is what you do with your time. During your downtime, are you watching some unimportant TV show or are you just slacking off? Don’t get me wrong, we all need some down time to clear our minds, but wait until your system is in place and working for you. Then you will have the income to enjoy your time.
• Your goal is for the consumer to buy your product regularly. The strategy of creating a loyal customer base is only done for the ease of transferring your product for money. Creating a plan is your strategy. The work plan is its location. Tracking the results for necessary changes and adjusting your plan is ongoing strategy and implementation. This is what successful business owners do. A good strategist has a business mindset. Stay focused on your goal.
• While your marketing plan is in place, always encourage and respond to comments. These will be your indicators that your strategy is on the right track or whether a quick change of plan is needed. Each battle is an indicator of whether you are winning the war. Also, if your marketing plan has systematic appeal, you can use it to market any product. Know what your customer wants or wants, and then quickly create a plan to fill the gap.
• Understand your emotional ties to your business. Take responsibility for your results. It’s all your risk and reward now. While you control your risk, focus on your reward. Psychological studies suggest that your mind works to make what you focus on the most come true. Have you heard “what can be done in 90 days constantly becomes a habit”? This is why it is important to be clear and concise about your goals.
• You know that the days of holding a job your whole life are in the past. The days of a company “taking care” of you that we all know are dead. Many of today’s companies will replace you with someone younger and less expensive as you outgrow the requirements or even get older. You have just lost the control you thought you had over your future.
Being your own boss comes with a lot of responsibility, but it provides a very attractive feeling of freedom. An added reward of starting your own business, and it’s a big one, is the great satisfaction of accomplishment that comes from having built a business out of your hopes and dreams, and then teaching others how to do the same.