5 Essential Traits to Develop As A New Entrepreneur

by Tasmin Sabar

If you are thinking about quitting your 9-5 to begin your Entrepreneurial career or if you have recently made the jump to start your new business, you may be forgiven for thinking that it’s a simple 2 step process to hand your notice in and then start your company.

Voila!

The doors open and the clients flood in. Whilst I’m not saying this would never happen (since you may have taken a client with you from your old employment or have marketed yourself whilst there) chances are that it’s going to take a little more than that!

It’s not enough to make the change and expect everything to fall into place. The fact is, building a business will require hard work and dedication. There will be more ups and downs than a theme park rollercoaster!

That said, there’s no denying that making the transition from employee to boss is one of the most exciting things you can do.

It’s certainly one of the best things I ever did. Let me tell you, there have been plenty of shifts and lessons along the way. One of the major ones was around adopting a new entrepreneurial mindset to replace the old corporate one.

I was surprised to find that it was one of the biggest shifts that I needed to make and this has proven true for many clients and entrepreneurial colleagues.

Here are 5 mindset shifts that you will help you to successfully transition towards entrepreneurship.

1. Redefine failure

Cultivating a rock solid success mindset is one of the key things to develop as an Entrepreneur. On your Entrepreneurial journey, you will come across challenges and “failures” on a routine basis. It takes courage and busting through countless fears to overcome those and stay the course. There will be many occasions where things don’t go to plan or you have to deal with the unexpected. However, when this happens,

Entrepreneurs have to keep their mindset resolute, look for the learnings in the experience, take them on board, regroup and then go again.

In time, an Entrepreneur must learn to side step the small knockbacks, shift their mindset and get back on track quickly. This is like a muscle and once you exercise it regularly, it will strengthen.

2. Show Persistence

Persistence is a key trait that is needed. There may be times when you try some marketing tip, launch a product or develop a program, convinced that it is going to be the most amazing thing you have done only for it to fall flat.

You have got to be able to pick yourself up from that, analyze what went wrong, make changes and try again.

You might have to make several changes before you are successful. Being persistent and sticking through these challenges is essential. Alternatively, you may try something a few times and improve a little on each occasion. You have to commit to that continuous improvement and forward movement.

3. Have Commitment

You may have a perception of Entrepreneurship as all glamour, with quick wins and overnight successes, the but the reality is that being an Entrepreneur comes with a certain level of commitment. Sure, we are living in an amazing time where it is possible to work from anywhere, leverage technology and build a business with freedom and flexibility but, you need to have the commitment to do the work to get there. And there is plenty of work involved.

This means showing up on a daily basis and doing what it takes to make your business a success. It means getting yourself to your desk at the right time every morning, working with focus during the day and pushing yourself when you need to.

You have to bring the commitment as there is no boss or manager looking over your shoulder.

4. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

The leap into Entrepreneurship will involve many occasions where you are way outside of your comfort zone. In fact, especially in the early days, there may be occasions where you just want to hide rather than get uncomfortable doing something you’ve never done before like a big client pitch, press interview or a video.

Burying yourself in your duvet will seem like a more attractive proposition than doing the thing you’re afraid of.

However, pushing through the comfort zone will bring you many rewards and you’ll get to the point where you’re actually looking forward to throwing the gauntlet down to the comfort zone.

5. Be open to change and growth.

As you take action and do both the mindset work and the work on your business, you will realise that things will change and evolve. Your products or programs might look completely different to what they did a year ago, you could discover a niche that you become passionate about or you could finally give yourself permission to do something you’ve always wanted to do as you grow more confident.

Be open to whatever changes and growth come your way and enjoy the journey there.

The more you grow as a person, the more your business will grow with you at its helm.

And that’s the most exciting thing of all.

Read more from Tasmin Sabar here.