5 ‘Job Mindsets’ That Often Stop First-Time Entrepreneurs From Gaining Full Potential
There’s no one telling you what to do
I worked in corporate for 3.5 years before shifting into a first-time solopreneurship couple of months back.
While my transition was easier because I had been writing for 1.5 years before I quit, I never realized that some crucial mindsets kept me from settling comfortably into solopreneurship. The road has been bumpy even in these past three months, and I know it will be further. So to gain help, I reached out to multiple online friends to make my journey easier. It helped!
After tons of conversations with entrepreneurs who’re just starting and with my limited experience, here are five 9–5 mindsets that are often detrimental to first-time entrepreneurs from gaining their full potential:
You need to learn ownership and not expect spoon-feeding
When you jump into entrepreneurship, especially early in your career, often you don’t learn how to own your work or be proactive to learn on your own.
Yes, some of you have it as an inbuilt characteristic, but it’s a learned trait for most of you. You usually have a trainer who teaches you the basics and a manager who supports and assigns tasks in a corporate job. They’ll be okay with your initial mistakes because they’ll still view you as a beginner. You have a protective layer there.
The real world of entrepreneurship isn’t like that. Often, you lose clients with mistakes, or people don’t consider you seriously because of your age. You need to learn to be proactive, take ownership of your work, drive it, and learn things independently.
There’s no one to tell you what to do. You need to pick things up
From childhood, whether it’s been our parents, teachers, or even managers, we’re always told what to do and assigned tasks. Two critical problems arise because of this over time:
- We cannot think on our own or make decisions.
- We rely too much on accountability and nudging from people to get our work done.
You cannot afford to do either of them in entrepreneurship. You are everything, at least when you start. There’s no one to depend on (unless you’re starting with someone), and you need to decide the next course of action and work towards it.
Getting terrified of your low months
It’s pretty apparent when the internet keeps drilling it down your head. But you never truly understand it until you see less (or no) money entering your bank every month.
You’ll have months where you rake in money and months where your bank balance will only see crickets. That is common.
So, instead of getting shit-scared and doing impulsive things that are not going to contribute to your business, what you need to do is two things to calm down:
- Consider the averages (quarter, six months, year)
- Check whether the steps you do today will get you money tomorrow (projects that will wrap up, you’re going to launch a product, etc.)
Not taking risks because you’re terrified of giving up your safety nets
I recently invested almost $100 in a life coach. While it’s not much for Westerners, it’s a ton of money for India (where I stay). To give context, I can use the same for a minimum of 2 weeks of groceries and food supplies.
But I did it because I saw it as an investment. Mind you. It wasn’t easy. It took almost a week to make that decision. But looking back, that was the best decision I made in the last quarter.
When the time comes, you need to be ready to make a suitable investment in your business when you still haven’t started earning money — or implement something that might not give you results soon. Yes, financial health is one of the most critical aspects of our lives, but that should not stop you from leaping certain decisions.
Some call it the abundance mindset. Having a savings account with one year’s worth of cash helps.
Not going above and beyond
The most crucial point of all.
In employment, it’s easy to do what you’re told to do. Sometimes even do the minimum and ‘escape.’ But in entrepreneurship, you cannot do it. At least in the beginning, because you’re still building your reputation.
Is the client asking you to write a web copy for one page? Check out the other website pages for any improvements and suggest them too. If they ask you to do X, do X+1 (at the right time, and ask for money later). Even if it looks like you’re doing free work initially, it will lead to excellent relationships and referrals over time.
Entrepreneurship (especially going solo) is hard, no doubt.
But don’t let your previous self's detrimental mindsets affect you today. It’ll take time too. You’ll fall, learn and get back up. But I hope these points give you a headstart in your journey and go ahead in your career.
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