How to Increases your likelihood of success as a founder

Sarah Dusek, co-founder of Under Canvas, a leading US adventure-hospitality company, gave a talk to our Game Changer Premium Community on the topic of "What increases your likelihood of success as an entrepreneur?" 

With her successful business background and experience as an investor, Sarah has explored this question and concluded that mindset is a key ingredient to success. She emphasised that our mindsets shape us, affecting how we perceive things and how we respond to situations, opportunities, and challenges. 

They can be positive or negative, fixed or growth-oriented, and impact all aspects of our lives, including health, careers, and overall well-being. Our mindsets are like a pair of glasses that color our world, affecting what our lives look and feel like. In her talk, Sarah encouraged the audience to become aware of the lenses they are wearing and to recognize the mindsets they may have without even realizing it. By doing so, she believes individuals can increase their likelihood of success as entrepreneurs.

 

MINDSET 1: THE PERMISSION MINDSET

Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of waiting for someone else to grant them permission before taking action towards achieving their goals. This "permission mindset" involves looking externally and believing that someone else is the gatekeeper to their success.

However, the truth is that entrepreneurs hold the key to their own destiny. No one else has the power to grant or deny them permission to pursue their dreams. The people they often think of as gatekeepers are actually just responders who fuel the momentum that the entrepreneur has already created.

Investors invest in people who make things happen, not in people who are waiting for permission to do so. Entrepreneurs need to start building momentum one step at a time and be patient in their growth process. It may take time to bootstrap a business, but investors follow trends while entrepreneurs make trends.

To overcome the permission mindset, entrepreneurs need to believe that they have everything they need within themselves to find solutions an drive their own growth. They need to focus on finding ways to start their own fires and not get stuck in waiting mode. By being creative and finding solutions to problems, entrepreneurs can stoke their own fires and succeed. 

 

MINDSET 2: SEEING PROBLEMS AS OPPORTUNITIES

The way we perceive challenges in our business can either hinder us or inspire us to opportunities. Challenges are a normal part of the journey of growing a business and every problem is inadvertently an opportunity for a breakthrough. Just like in a computer game, overcoming an obstacle helps us level up and move higher. We should not shun or avoid obstacles, as it determines whether we move up to the next level or not.

If we want to have the stamina to grow and scale our business, we must embrace challenges and take ownership of them. We should not retreat, but use the problem as a stepping stone to move up to the next level. Every challenge always has a way through, over, around, etc. There is always a breakthrough, and we get to grow in the process. We should start trying to be thankful for challenges and struggles as they are usually a sign that we are on the right path.

If we have no obstacles, we are going nowhere. Challenges are the signs that we are on the right path. The faster we overcome opposition, the faster we level up. We should take each battle as an opportunity to advance and even find that we are having more fun dealing with it. By embracing challenges, we will have the mindset to overcome them and suck every last opportunity for growth out of them.

 

MINDSET 3: PLAYING IT SAFE OR PLAYING IT SMALL

As entrepreneurs, we may feel the need to protect what we have built and avoid taking risks. However, playing it safe can actually be detrimental to our business growth. Every time we avoid taking a risk, we risk getting left behind by our competitors who are moving forward.

It's important to remember that speed is crucial in the early stages of a startup. We need to be on the offensive and take risks to grow our business. Offence is the best defence, and it's also the best growth strategy.

Fear can cause us to hold back on important decisions, but we need to consider the opportunity cost of not taking action. Playing it safe often causes the downfall we are trying to avoid. We need to be prepared to take risks and go big or go home.

Instead of focusing on the risk of taking action, we need to focus on the potential benefits and growth opportunities. Playing it small is not a great strategy, and we need to be willing to take risks to drive growth.

In summary, we should avoid the temptation to play it safe or play it small. We need to take risks and embrace a growth mindset to drive our business forward.

 

MINDSET 4: SCARCITY MINDSET

The scarcity mindset is one where we believe that resources are scarce, which prevents us from being creative with the resources we have. This mindset can hold us back from coming up with creative solutions to problems. In any business, it's important to recognise that we can't do everything ourselves and we can't let a lack of resources hold us back. Instead, we need to get creative with the resources we have and find ways to make things happen.

We need to be clear on what we want to accomplish and who can help us achieve it. Then, we need to find creative ways to make it happen. This involves taking risks, but it's how we grow and solve problems. We can't let the scarcity mindset hold us back from achieving our goals. We need to believe that we can figure out a way or find the resources we need to make things happen.

In her own business, Dusek used creative ways to get important hires by using alternative pay structures, hiring part-time, and offering equity. This mindset allows us to think creatively and find solutions to problems. We need to focus on who or what can generate the best ROI and make the most value, regardless of any perceived lack of resources. It's only by taking risks and being creative that we can overcome scarcity and achieve growth.

 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we all have mindsets, some of which may not be helpful for our growth and success. However, the good news is that we have the power to change our thinking and shift our mindsets. It all starts with becoming aware of the thoughts that are holding us back and replacing them with more positive and productive ones. By doing this, we can become our best ally in ensuring our own growth and success. Remember, awareness of our mindsets is the first step towards making positive changes in our lives and achieving our goals.


Download Supporting Resources Here

  • Mindset Assessment Form
  • Daily Mindset Reflection Checklist

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