4 Mindset Shifts You Must Make Before Starting a Business


Most people assume starting a successful business requires a great idea and a substantial cash injection. While both of those things are important to making your dreams a reality, the truth is your transition to being a business owner starts before all that.

If you really want to be a successful business owner, you need to make some shifts in the way you think about yourself, the world, and your company. Changing your mindset takes you from the position of being a normal person to being a true innovator.

So, where do you get started?

Here are some of the most valuable mindset shifts you should make before you begin your company.

1. Embrace The “Growth” Mindset

If you’re thinking of starting your own company, do yourself a favor and read the book Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. Dr. Dweck has been a source of inspiration for countless business leaders and entrepreneurs for good reason: she teaches what it means to abandon the “fixed” mindset.

Most of us have a “fixed” mindset. This is the belief that there’s a limit to your skills, what you can do, and what you can achieve at any given time. While that might seem like a humble position, it’s actually very detrimental, as it places limitations on you and your company from day one.

Shifting to a “growth” mindset means embracing the belief that you can improve anything, including your company, skills, and future, whenever you choose.

Focusing on constant growth ensures you’ll always be working to make your business bigger and better.

2. Stop Prioritizing Quantity Over Quality

We’ve all heard that quality matters more than quantity, but many of us are still hardwired to seek out volume instead of value.

For example, you might want your salespeople to make as many prospecting calls as possible on any given day. The more calls made, the more chances you have for a sale, right?

While this is true to some extent, there are limitations. For instance, if your salespeople call 100 random numbers, they’re much less likely to get sales than if they call 50 people who have shown interest in brands like yours before.

Prioritizing quality over quantity means using your resources and people as effectively as possible, to generate the best results.

In the same way, prioritizing quality over quantity as a business owner means you’re more cautious about which projects you take on and which clients you work with. This can save you from making expensive mistakes.

3. Learn To Value Yourself

You may find that being a business owner brings a fair share of impostor syndrome with it. This is the belief that you’ve come to a place in your life where you don’t deserve to be. You need to nip that thought in the bud as quickly as possible if you want to thrive.

Everyone feels this way occasionally, but if you don’t value yourself then you’re not going to get other people to value you or your ideas. You need to understand what your value is and be confident in yourself.

Take the time to regularly remind yourself what you’re good at and what you’ve accomplished so far. Tell yourself you deserve to be where you are, and act like you belong.

4. Commit To Being A Lifelong Learner

One of the worst things any business owner can do is assume they’ve become the best at something. No matter the industry or vertical, there will always be new trends and technology.

You need to be willing to keep up with the changes as they happen. Committing to a mindset of lifelong learning can help with that.

If you cultivate an attitude of constant curiosity and development, you’ll be more likely to seek out ways of making your business better. Being a lifelong learner makes you more agile, adaptable, and willing to evolve as your business grows.

Having a learning mindset requires shifting from seeing failure as a problem to seeing it as an avenue for education. Everything you fail at is also an opportunity to learn. Take your mistakes as the lessons they are, and use them to help you grow.

Start Shifting Your Mindset

Any great business owner will tell you, passion and money will only get you so far. You need to have the right attitude and mental framework to keep pushing forward and achieving your goals. Shifting your mindset in the four ways mentioned above will ensure you’re prepared to thrive in the complex business world.