4 Mindsets That Keep Entrepreneurs From Making More Money
"How far and fast you go is up to you."
-Modesta Mahiga
So, why do so many entrepreneurs choose to stay small? It is, more often than not, a question of mindset.
Impostor Syndrome
"Who am I to...?" no matter how that sentence ends, the entrepreneur asking it has already set themselves up for failure. Because they think they are not up to the task, they will likely keep talking themselves out of showing up fully as entrepreneurs. If they don't embrace their identity as an entrepreneur, they are unlikely to confidently sell their products and take their rightful place in the market. Ever met an apologetic salesperson? I'm guessing they didn't sell much.
Entrepreneurs that entertain Impostor Syndrome present themselves, their products and services, and businesses less assertively. They are also more likely to take rejection or setbacks as validation of their personal incompetence rather than accept them as part of the process of marketing and sales - two critical pillars to driving revenues and business development.
When an entrepreneur is apologetic about their business or their products, they make others wonder what is wrong with what they have to offer; if the owner is unsure of themselves, how can they expect customers to believe in what they have to sell?
"Before people but from you, they have to buy into you."
-Anonymous
On the Fence
Entrepreneurs who say, "Let me try and see." are on the fence about entrepreneurship. Being on the fence is lacking commitment to either side, being ready to jump on the other side at the first sign of trouble. The problem with this mindset is entrepreneurs face many things that are novel and uncertain, which, to an already skeptical mind, spells trouble.
On the fence entrepreneurs are risk averse, unwilling to go all in "in case it doesn't work out". When opportunities arise, they may wait too long to act, hoping to see signs of guaranteed returns. Being overly cautious, they miss the opportunity entirely.
Know It All
Unlike entrepreneurs with Impostor Syndrome, who think they don't have what it takes, those who think, "I've got this!" and charge at full speed without gaining business and market insights to inform and improve their decision-making are likely to leave a lot of money on the table. They don't know what they don't know and don't care to find out, so their revenues and business only grow at the rate of their personal capacity.
Know-it-all entrepreneurs would save much unnecessary pain if they could get out of their own heads and learn about the business, customer, and market they are in.
Minding Manners
If "I don't want to be too pushy" is the first thing that comes to an entrepreneur's mind when they think of getting in front of their customers, they may have missed the entire purpose of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs who don't want to be a bother or fear what others would think of them if they spoke about their products or business don't appreciate the number of times their target customer needs to see and hear from them before they can trust them enough to convert from traffic to engagement, engagement to leads and leads to sales. As such, by sheer conversion statistics, they greatly reduce the probability that their ideal customer will see, know, like, and trust them and their business as a solution to their problem.
Buy into your own vision. Believe in your business. Show excitement for your products. Look your ideal customer straight in the eye and tell your ideal customer what makes what you offer superior to any other value proposition out there. and mean it!
"You cannot bore people into buying your product - you can only interest them in buying it."
- David Ogilvy
Get Your Head in the Game
If you are an entrepreneur, you signed up to sell solutions to customer problems. You literally signed up to sell in exchange for money. It is on you to embrace your identity as an entrepreneur, believe in yourself, your business, and your products, gain the knowledge you need to understand your business and market, and fanatically market and sell yourself and your products to your ideal customer.
It is not enough to set up shop and hope customers will come in or to run one promotion and then go into hiding. If you act small, you will attract small and stay small. If you don't want to leave money on the table, own and consistently drive your business marketing and sales.
Need help with confidently communicating the unparallel value your products and services offer to your ideal customer?
Book a consultation with a Modesta Mahiga LLC Business Development Consultant here.