How Do You Mentally Prepare Yourself For Business?
When starting a business most people tend to be excited or thrilled about it. It is an exciting journey to embark on. It is full of opportunities and promise and holds the potential to make you financially free! Who does not want financial freedom with today’s economy?
However, while having a business and being your boss does hold all these benefits, it has challenges. Most businesses fail in their first year. One needs to learn how to be ready for these challenges to succeed.
Project ahead and anticipate challenges
Before starting your business it is important to be aware of the challenges you may come across. Take time and look at other businesses in your industry that do something similar to what you do.
Observe their challenges and look at how they address them.
This will give you an idea of what to expect. This will then give you ideas on how you can mitigate risks. You will also be able to look at things from a more realistic point of view.
Believe in Yourself
When projecting ahead and doing research, it is possible to get discouraged. Seeing the barriers ahead and the challenges others face can put someone down. Some people give up before even trying! They feel the stress of the challenges ahead is not worth it!
However, you need to learn to believe in yourself. This is part of mentally preparing yourself for business. Just because other businesses are facing a challenge does not mean that you will fail! Remember there are businesses in that niche that are thriving and that could also be you!
However, confidence and belief in your business is your responsibility. If you do not believe you will thrive and win, then nobody will!
Remember when starting up sometimes your friends and family may not be so confident in your idea. That’s not a problem. Believe in yourself anyway and show the world that you are here to thrive! When you have confidence in yourself it attracts people to you and your business. So learn to be your biggest fan and supporter!
Learn to see solutions, not problems
Every opportunity comes wrapped up in a bag of problems and needs! Look at your business as something new coming to address the challenges in that industry. Also, look at the challenges that you face as an opportunity.
Most people faced with challenges will start to complain and that is normal. However, imagine how the world would be if we all learned to see the opportunities in the problems we face.
We can shift our perspective from being problem-centric to being solution-focused. Here is the trick to doing that; start by acknowledging the problem. Then ask yourself plainly, what can I do to solve this problem? We do not even have to answer this ourselves, you can brainstorm and look for ideas online! If they do not apply to your business then you have two courses of action you could take.
You could either look at existing solutions to the problem and creatively craft them to fit your issue, or you could concede defeat and look at it as a lesson learned. Let us dive deeper into this.
Let us assume you get into debt while running your business, the solutions available can’t help you because you are not eligible. You can look at this as a lesson learned and close your business or sell some assets to pay off the loan.
The other solution is you can find a creative way to pay off this debt and keep on with business.
You can negotiate with the lenders, try to increase sales in your business with creative adverts, and upsell your services with amazing offers. Try to negotiate with banks and other institutions that help SMEs to give you a loan and consolidate your entire debt!
You could find a venture capitalist to invest in your business and give them shares in return they help you rescue your business. Which may be difficult but not impossible! Especially if your business is unique and has a good track record you will likely get an investor.
You do not give up without a good fight! Develop that kind of mentality earlier on.
Learn how to fight negative thoughts
While you are preparing for a business you need to learn how to be positive. It is not easy to maintain a positive outlook all the time. However, this is a necessary skill to develop.
You can practice this in your daily life. When you find yourself having a negative thought try to interrupt it with the word “but” then finish the train of thought with something positive.
By doing this you change the narrative in your mind and shift your perspective as well. Now when under stress or extreme pressure this may be difficult to do. The reason we tend to respond to stressful situations the way we do has to do with fight/flight response. When under stress you are going into survival mode. Your mind is trying to protect you like it would if you were facing danger like being at gunpoint!
So this is why we need to learn how to handle negative thoughts. You can develop a positive attitude over time.
Learn how to handle stress too!
How you handle stress is important. Most people will tend to get overworked when starting a business. This due to taking up a lot of responsibility. Having a business is almost like having a child.
Now before you dive into business, you must learn how to handle your stress. If you are prone to negative behavior as a coping mechanism you need to reassess that and shift it.
Start looking into things such as meditation, exercise or even going out with friends or hiking as ways to handle stress. Research ways you can develop a healthy support structure for yourself. You will need it when stressed out.
In conclusion
Starting a business is a hustle. It can take a toll on you. It is one of the most challenging things you could ever do. Having the right attitude from the moment you start will set you up for success!
You will be able to face challenges and adapt when necessary. Your maturity levels will increase and you will find yourself thriving. By developing the right mental state from the beginning, you give yourself a better chance to be fully committed and persistent in this journey.
As Oprah Winfrey once said in an interview, when asked about becoming a success she said, “Do not half-ass it!”
Click here if you would like to read some inspirational quotes from successful people and some key lessons from them.
We wish you all the best as you start your business and run it! If you enjoyed this article, please tell us what you think and give us your feedback in the comment section below! Also, remember to share with others.
