Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The difference between business survival and striving for success often boils down to one factor — your mindset. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned executive, your actions are always inspired by how you look at things. This ultimately affects your results and dictates what you can further bring to the table.
Business leaders need to confidently steer their organizations through challenges to inspire their teams to reach new heights and drive their businesses forward. I’ve seen firsthand how the right mindset can transform a business, and these five approaches helped my company reach a significant milestone in just a year:
Related: 5 Critical Questions You Must Ask Yourself to Master an Entrepreneurial Mindset
1. Expect the unexpected
Get used to things not going as you would expect; it’s part of the journey. If your plan A doesn’t succeed, make sure you have 25 more up your sleeve.
There is no perfect roadmap for your business, as each business and founder is unique in the way we approach growing and servicing customers. Accepting a business’s unpredictable nature helps you stay nimble and adaptable, and flexibility allows you to pivot when necessary and capitalize on unexpected opportunities.
2. Outsource early and often
Outsource every possible task as soon as possible. This approach will force you to create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) before you become too busy. If you don’t do this earlier, you will find scaling to be very difficult, which will hinder you from generating the revenue needed to support a full-time team.
Consider outsourcing as a way to buy time. An entrepreneur’s main goal is to reinvest time into assets that drive growth as early as possible. Focus on the more critical aspects of your business rather than getting bogged down in routine tasks.
Related: How Mindset Plays a Role in Your Entrepreneurial Success
3. Invest in a business coach
No matter where you are in your business lifecycle, you can’t afford not to have someone who will help you work through challenges and offer perspectives and ideas that will help you not get stuck in the mess. Get a coach at each level of your business.
It’s normal to outgrow your coach as your business evolves, and you should expect this progression. I once hired a very expensive sales coach. His feedback on one call was all I needed to boost my confidence that I was much better at sales than I had given myself credit for. While I didn’t find much value in his other advice, I decided to gamble on one confidence-boosting insight that I knew would return to me tenfold.
Don’t be afraid to take what you need and move on. Don’t get hung up on the cost if it helped you move past an area that is causing friction or if it gave you an “aha moment.”
4. Get comfortable with public failure
The sooner you get comfortable with publicly failing, the quicker you can get back up and learn from your mistakes. If you consistently pay attention to the details or let what others may perceive you as get on your nerves, you’re setting yourself up for disaster.
I was able to overcome imposter syndrome through experience and the lessons I learned from my mistakes. The more experience I gained, the more decisive I got about my decisions. With each win, even if I failed at first, my self-confidence improved because it was never as bad as I thought it would be.
5. Surround yourself with like-minded people
They say, “You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with,” and I couldn’t agree more. Your network significantly shapes the way you think and perceive things.
Joining the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) was one of the best decisions I have made so far. Since then, my calendar has been filled with professional development and personal growth activities, with dozens of like-minded individuals constantly rooting for me.
I also joined several high-end masterminds and have gotten tremendous value out of them. If you can’t afford high-ticket masterminds, you can always choose the more affordable ones, but still, they are a sizable investment. People who sink money into themselves exude a different energy, and those are the people you want to be with when you decide to take yourself and your business to new heights.
Related: 11 Mindset Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
Your mindset is your most powerful business tool. Keep in mind that in order for your business to succeed, it’s not enough to just hit your targets; you have to blow them out of the water. This means constantly challenging the status quo, embracing failure as a learning opportunity and promoting a culture of innovation.
Achieving your goals is one thing, but continuously and intentionally evolving with the times and exceeding expectations is another story.