Introduction
In simple terms, an entrepreneur is one who wants to start and run their own business; however, we might narrow it down to using creative ideas and innovations to offer solutions to risks economically. Globally, entrepreneurs have created job opportunities and improved the quality of life by developing products and technologies that revolutionize human interaction. Although one can be born with the natural tendency of being an entrepreneur, such as creativity, openness, and extrovert personality, a non-entrepreneur with a growth mentality can learn and try out different ideas, and realize the potential of becoming a successful entrepreneur (Billingsley, et al,. 2021). On top of the characteristics of being a good entrepreneur is being a visionary and staying highly motivated. Aside from entrepreneurship, in all aspects of life, we can all archive everything and anything we set our minds on, since according to Buzsáki, G., (2020), there is a correlation between the brain and behavior and humans are conscious beings meaning they can use their minds to think and get their brains to work. Therefore, mindset is a weapon for entrepreneurial success.
Moreover, despite other positive attributes such as working hard, risk-taking, and creativity, what keeps one grounded in their entrepreneurship journey is having the clarity of where they are going, why they are doing what they do, and the ability to stay motivated even when things do not go as they expected. Doing something or coming up with a creative idea is not the hardest part of entrepreneurship; however, having the mental fortitude and the self-efficacy to bring your ideas into reality is a big deal. That means mindset plays a very significant role in being and staying an entrepreneur, it is obvious that when one is happy and highly motivated, they are willing to do anything until some negativity creeps into their mind. On that note, this report discusses the importance of mindset in entrepreneurial success, the set of techniques and approaches applicable in entrepreneurship, and the insights gained through experimenting with these techniques and approaches.
Importance of Mindset for Entrepreneurial Success
Before worrying about the source of finances, the new ideas that can change the world, or the sector of business to invest in, understanding the knowledge of dream creation is the most fundamental component of entrepreneurship. Every amazing product, structure, or service we experience today was once a dream in someone’s mind. New-generation entrepreneurs like Elon Musk always affirm in their interviews that when they were young, they dreamed of something and then got obsessed with bringing those dreams into reality. As much as it sounds like a cliché and barely motivation, this could not be further from the truth since we can experience it in our daily lives; the day we wake up to travel or do something exciting, there is less resistance mentally in terms of waking up and preparing for that occasion compared to the days we routinely wake up to work to the jobs that we hate. Fortunately, understanding the knowledge of dream creation offers young entrepreneurs the skills to wire their mindsets and keep the desire to innovate or create alive. I think mindset is everything regarding entrepreneurship since we are who we think we are.
The benefit of having a positive mindset is that it gives entrepreneurs the clarity to tap into all other attributes, such as resilience, consistency, optimism, and risk taking. Having the proper mindset as an entrepreneur means dealing with frustrations, disappointments, losses, demoralization, or any other negative energy that can blur your vision. As an entrepreneur, facing atrocities is inevitable; if one will escape financial constraints, then they are bound to face other challenges such as competition, change in trends in the market, or government related setbacks, not to talk about people around them not believing in their self-efficacy and dreams. Therefore, having the self-autonomy to stay motivated and rely on oneself when faced with challenges is a vital baseline for entrepreneurial success.
One can use many ways to build their mindset as an entrepreneur. For instance, persistence is nurtured by understanding that only the initial step of any process will be challenging, and most people are more likely to give up at that point. Therefore, as an entrepreneur, if one can turn challenges into opportunities to learn their abilities to solve a problem, it becomes an interesting aspect of self-development and improvement. However, regarding mindset, most entrepreneurs are tempted to be autonomous once they archive one or two things; however since the world is constantly evolving, they are likely to disregard new ideas that keep business relevant to the current generation and market demand. Therefore, using the knowledge of cognitive behavior theory, neuroscientists have proven that the brain can learn and unlearn certain things if the right stimulus is involved (Harbi, V., 2021). Meaning entrepreneurs must understand that as much as mindset is key to being successful in business, they can always drop old ideas that seem not to work in the modern-day industries and adopt fresh ideas to keep up with new entrants who have studied the market and have the resources to venture into similar business sectors. On that note, a flexible mindset and constant learning ability are the best attributes to making a good entrepreneur.
Set of Techniques and Approaches
Entrepreneurs can apply certain tricks and use different theoretical approaches to retool their mindset to increase their propensity for business success. Some techniques can be developed depending on the individual’s preferences, while entrepreneurs can learn different theoretical approaches through seminars or reading books to learn how to deal with different situations. This section of the report discusses different techniques and approaches to help entrepreneurs navigate their success journey.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
One of the most important approaches is emotional intelligence. According to Keys, B. and Yorke, C., (2019), feelings embodied by diplomats have a tremendous impact on how they pursue and define national interest. Similarly, entrepreneurs are bound to struggle with negative emotions or be overwhelmed with positive emotions in their operations. Cui, Y., (2021) defines emotional intelligence as the individual’s ability to positively identify, understand and manage their emotions to minimize fear and tension and enhance effective workplace communication. We can understand how negative emotions influence our decisions, especially when we pay key attention to what we do when we do not get what we want or expect. The best test of how emotionally intelligent one is is how effectively one manages their emotions when facing frustration. In the world of entrepreneurship, where goals and targets are set, and success is more or less measured from the value outcome, facing negative emotions is common, especially for income-oriented entrepreneurs.
Moreover, entrepreneurs are normal people who are also affected by human stressors in life. Fortunately, some of the techniques an entrepreneur can apply to boost their emotional intelligence are meditation, journaling, and exercising. According to Ajilchi, et al,. (2019), constant mindful meditation enhances an individual’s ability to regulate and control their emotions. Moreover, research showed that mindfulness training improves the mental toughness and emotional intelligence of athletes. On the other hand, (Gessler, et al,. 2021), affirms that training basic abilities such as exercising can improve one’s emotional intelligence since training improve participants self-perception on ability to regulate their emotions. Other than that, Deepa, R. and Mansurali, A., (2022), understands that reflective Journaling helps individuals to write out their responses to different events and foster critical thinking skills to improve their outcomes of such events. Therefore, all the three techniques that is, mindful meditation, exercising and journaling are important tools entrepreneurs can use to address their emotions to personally stay motivated and sustain a winner’s mindset and to improve their relations with employees or the world around them.
Soft Skills
Since almost all entrepreneurs desire to be their own boss, having personal attributes that guide them in different situations and to get the job done at the end of the day. Therefore, entrepreneurs must establish and nurture different soft skills such as leadership, decision-making, critical thinking, communication, adaptability, time-management and negotiation. Although soft skills might be correlate with emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence does not cover all the aspects of soft skills. For instance, one can learn how to address their anger issues but that does not mean they are good decision makers. Moreover, the reason why I focus on soft skills rather than hard skills is that soft skills can apply in any work environment or organization. Entrepreneurs especially those who are still young in business are often faced with performance anxiety, therefore developing their soft skills will improve their situational awareness and keep them grounded to the course of success.
For instance, in regard to entrepreneurs being their own boss, leadership skills must match their desire to start and run their business. Lahope, et al,. (2020) guarantees the importance of soft skills training to companies’ employees and defines leadership skills as individual’s strength and ability to guide initiatives, oversee processes and lead the way for employees to archive goals. Leadership skills are like the umbrella of all other soft skills, since in business, one cannot be a good leader if they do not manage time properly, communicate effectively, make good decisions, lack critical thinking skills or has low risk tolerance. Therefore, just learning and adopting the qualities of a good leader, one can make the best entrepreneurs. However, entrepreneurs should understand that no one can be perfect; therefore the goal is to improve their soft skills each moment and not strive for perfection.
Insights Gained Through Experimenting with these Techniques and Approaches
The benefits of applying emotional intelligence and soft skill in the real world are numerous. The main argument is that, apart from having business ideas, availability of market opportunity and resources to explore these opportunities, one need more knowledge and understanding to maintain the right mindset to succeed as an entrepreneur. According to Gómez-Leal, et al,. (2022), a research was done on the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership in school leaders. The results showed that emotional intelligence is crucial to good leadership and the more leaders build trusting relationships, teachers’ performance and satisfaction also increased. Therefore, this is proof that entrepreneurs can enhance their competence by encouraging self-awareness and other EQ skills such as empathy. Moreover, having qualities of a good leader such as teamwork can have a vast number of benefits towards entrepreneurial success.
There is no doubt that the knowledge of soft skills can shape an individual’s personality. For instance, if an introvert learns negotiation skills, they will be able to bargain and walk away with major deals without necessarily trying to be extroverted or alter their personality. On the other hand, if one learns effective communication skills, they can be more enhance their openness and try out new ideas. Better still, an individual with problem-solving skills can escape being neurotic since they can find solutions to most of the things that bother them. Therefore, understanding soft skills in the broader sense can serve a huge purpose in entrepreneurial success. According to Tem, wet al,. (2020), a study was done to determine the essentiality of soft skills to improving entrepreneurial capacity. The research used five successful entrepreneurs who were interviewed and the data collected was analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving skills, communication and decision making were malleable and closely linked to entrepreneurial success. Therefore, it is possible to learn and adopt soft skills that will improve entrepreneur’s competitiveness and productivity.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship mindset is an essential determinant of entrepreneurial success. As much as much as one can be creative and innovative, entrepreneurs need to learn different techniques such as emotional intelligence and soft skills to sustain the entrepreneurial mindset and go through the whole journey of success. Luckily, it is evident that the mind can be reprogramed through meditation, cognitive behavior therapy and other processes that help in gaining new insights that can shift human perspective. Therefore, both entrepreneurs and the non-entrepreneurs can devote to acquire knowledge on how to sustain a positive and growth mindset throughout their success journey. In conclusion, the trick to entrepreneurial success lies in having the right entrepreneurial mindset and using it as a tool.
References
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