Managing the Entrepreneurial Mindset - A Personal Story

Changing Career Directions

About 20 years ago I changed the direction of my medical career and decided to start my own wellness business.  Once I stepped away, I realized there is more to starting a business than just having a dream.  I really didn’t know where to begin, short of taking a course at the local Tech college which only showed me how to write a business plan.  Since having a structured approach to anything didn’t resonate with my free-wheeling mind, I found no value in that exercise.  My mindset was one of resistance to structure.

Teaming Up on a New Venture

Fortunately, a wellness friend suggested we team up on a new venture she was beginning and maybe that would work for me as well since it would allow me to share my wellness skills and make money too.  Since I trusted her to not do something stupid, I joined in, and off we went into the world of being business owners together.  The good news was there were others like us to collaborate with, and all we had to do was get 4 friends each to join us and we could start growing toward financial success.  And I could run my business by the “seat of my pants” without structure which is another trait I have as an entrepreneur.  My mindset was happy I could do it my way.

I was excited that my mindset was being fed with all this good news and I could see my future being a “Gold Director”.  This would assure me of solid income and many other wellness advocates to partner with to share our wellness message out to the world.  This simple idea of just having 4 friends to join and then everything else would take care of itself seemed to be an easy way to start earning income.  And it did take off for a few years and we all did well. My mindset was focused on making money effortlessly.

Back to Square One

But then life got in the way.  One by one each of my 4 leaders got frustrated with not earning enough money right away and returned to their corporate jobs and because the people they had recruited saw their leaders give up, so did they.  And the bottom dropped out for all of us.  I was back to square one with little income from this venture and relying on other ventures to pay the bills. I kept my foot in the business but didn’t really run it as a business anymore for several years. My mindset was giving up on my dream of having a viable and prosperous wellness business.

Resurgence of Hopefulness

One day everything changed.  A friend who was in the same boat as I said there is a new movement afoot to resurrect our “flat-lined” businesses and I needed to join her in this effort.  Of course, I was reluctant because my initial attempts were not successful in reaching my dream future so why would I bother trying again.  She convinced me to “catch the wave” because this type of business is on the upswing since “work from home” businesses are the way to go due to the Pandemic.  There were social forces driving this resurgence and the entire industry was upleveling their game toward business growth and I could be a part of it.   My mindset was excited and hopeful again.

That hooked me in since my entrepreneurial spirit loves to be on the cutting edge of something new. Plus there was great energy, inspiration, support and fun being provided so how could I resist? And the best thing I discovered was there was an actual formula or recipe I could follow to generate unlimited numbers of people I could reach out to. I never had this before which is why I couldn’t find enough people to talk to.  This revelation was what I needed to grow successfully in the past, but no one taught me about it.  My mindset was frustration over not having that information before.

The Power of Social Media

I was finally educated about the power of  Social Media in finding connections and growing my business.  This time instead of just relying on friends and family and local connections, the world is at my computer fingertips.  I can grow a global business right from my home and not go anywhere to find connections.  My only stumbling block from this new way of doing business was my reluctance to use Social Media and my reluctance to follow a structured approach.  My old-school mindset was being challenged to shift.

The good news is I was receiving training from very successful business leaders who had field-tested their methods for years.  They have created very successful “home-based businesses” because of using these methods and were willing to share their secrets with us.   I started dabbling in Social Media according to a specific plan and started seeing results.  And I did it with others doing exactly the same thing and we were all upleveling our businesses.  My mindset was one of excitement and having fun.

The structured plan that I have always resisted in the past, was working!  Plus I have mentor groups and power hours of focused work time to keep me motivated and supported.  That had not happened in the past with my initial attempts at running a home-based business.  And yes, I was having a lot of fun doing this work.  Isn’t that our real dream goal to do what is fun and fulfilling?

Off and Running

My mindset is now rebooted and upgraded just like my skills and I am off and running on a new business success path.  I don’t see myself slowing down anytime soon.  I see “Gold” in my future and it is the bright shiny object I have always wanted.

Have you taken an inventory of your own MINDSET to see if it is holding you back from your dream for your future?

And if it is a roadblock for your success, what steps are you willing to take to move forward with your goals?