One of the joys of running a solopreneur business is not having to deal with rapid growth or hiring new employees. However, you should still keep a growth mindset if you want to take your earnings to the next level. You don’t have to become a corporation with thousands of workers to increase revenue and find success.
The average solopreneur makes $36,200 per year, but the top earners average $92,110. If you keep a growth mindset, there really isn’t any limit to how much you can make.
Why All Solopreneurs Should Have a Growth Mindset When Running Their Business
Just how can you keep a growth mindset as a solo operation? Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to ensure your business grows across the board.
1. Reflect on Failure
When you can look at your mistakes through an objective lens and figure out how to avoid those same missteps in the future, you’ll grow much more quickly than someone who refuses to admit their wrongs.
If something doesn’t go as expected, look at why that was. Ask for feedback from mentors, family and customers. How could you improve things the next time? Your harshest critics often turn into the people spurring you on to do better. While not all criticism is constructive, you can certainly learn from it.
2. Expand Your Knowledge
Don’t grow stagnant in your field. Keep learning and trying new things until you are the absolute best in your field. You can gain a masters in business administration (MBA) in two years full-time, which will give you a strong basis for running and growing a business.
If a formal degree isn’t right for you, you can take online courses in topics you need to know more about, find a mentor or go for specialized training. The key is to keep learning and growing on a personal level so you can apply those skills to your company.
3. Let Go of Perfection
Many entrepreneurs tend to be Type A personalities who want to do everything perfectly. Unfortunately, nothing is ever 100% excellent. Placing all your energy on getting things just right may keep you from getting anything done.
Develop the mindset that good enough is okay sometimes. You don’t have to excel at every tiny task. Choose the areas you want to be the best in and let the others be just okay. As a solo business owner, you only have so many hours in the day, so hone in on the important things.
4. Automate Repetitive Tasks
In any business, there are tasks you repeat over and over. Look for ways to automate those things and free your time up for more creative pursuits or romancing new clients.
Do you send out a similar email every day to customers with questions? Come up with some basic form emails you can personalize by adding the person’s name. You’ll save time and not forget to address issues you want to talk about.
Look for other things to automate your workflow as well, such as social media schedulers, using your RSS feed for your newsletter and investing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that automatically emails your clients on their birthdays or to remind them it’s time to order.
5. Prepare for Hard Times
According to U.S. News and World Report, about 20% of small businesses fail in the first year. One of the top reasons for failure is something the business owner never anticipated. The best thing you can do toward growth is to prepare for the unexpected.
When things go well, keep a rainy day fund. Put extra back so when you’re hit with a slow period, lack of cash flow or a catastrophe, you’ll have the funds to weather the storm.
The key to long-term success is riding the highs and surviving the lows. Plan ahead, buy the insurance, know how you’ll respond to negative situations and watch your business soar while others fail.
6. Find a Sense of Purpose
When you have a bigger reason for the things you do and the efforts you make, you’re much more likely to find success. Donate a portion of your proceeds to a cause you’re passionate about or sponsor a child or little league team.
Think about the things you care most about and how you might make the world a better place. You’ll work harder and build goodwill in your community for your business and your name.
7. Focus on the Process
Learn to value the process of accomplishing something new more so than the results. Throughout the life of your solopreneur career, you’ll try some things that don’t work. Use them as a launching pad to the next thing that does work.
Try to refine the process of a new product, concept or marketing campaign, improving with each attempt. By putting the power on the process, you won’t feel as defeated when things don’t turn out the way you’d like.
Understand What You Control
You don’t have direct control over everything in your business. For example, you can’t force your customers to place an order. What you can control is how you present an offer to them and your customer service followup.
Figure out what you have control over and strive to be the best you can possibly be in those areas. Learn to let go of the things you aren’t in charge of. With time and practice, you’ll have a thriving small business other owners will turn to for inspiration.
Ciao,
Miss Kemya
