So much of building a successful business is about mindset. When it comes to marketing and expanding your company, you can’t simply promote the same products and services for eternity. You have to continuously make your business itself better — not just the marketing of it. You have to spend time figuring out how to differentiate your offerings, and how to stand out from the rest of the market.
Here are a few mindset shifts to make in order to make your business the best it can be:
Think of your business as a business — not a hobby
A common mistake entrepreneurs make is thinking of their business as just something they enjoy doing. Maybe you’ve started a T-shirt company because you love designing clothes, or you’ve launched a coffee shop because you love customer interaction (and coffee!). But your passion only goes so far. You have to learn the technical (sometimes not-so-fun) sides of business. You have to put time into understanding your audience, building your offerings, launching and tracking marketing strategies, keeping up with accounting, learning overall market trends, and so much more.
It’s great if you’ve somehow turned what was originally just a hobby into a full business. But if you want that business to thrive, you need to think bigger than when it was just a “hobby.”
Be a consumer
Before you were ever a business owner, you were a consumer. What did you love about the brands you bought from? What local businesses did you frequent, and why? How could you apply some of those lessons to your current business?
Approach your business from the eyes of a consumer — not just a business owner.
Work on your business, not just in it
As a new entrepreneur, it can be tempting to want to do everything yourself. In the early days especially, it can be really easy to get bogged down by the day-to-day. You’re just trying to keep your head above water: with bookkeeping, HR, product launches, marketing campaigns, and more.
But set aside time each week or month to work ON your business. Your company is relying on you to build out its long-term strategy, think of new ways to reach customers, or be the creative brains behind new products and services. When it comes to the daily tasks IN your business, delegate as much as possible to your team.
