Business owners, do you still think like an employee? Don’t take this as an intrusive question. It’s not unusual to veer into past employee behavior, even after several years of running your business. I call this the remains of “employee thinking.”
It is not unusual that after operating your business for several years, you revert to previous employee behavior. Habits have a slow death; they are so ingrained in our psychic that deliberate actions are required to remove or replace them.
I maintained an employee mindset for the first 3 years of my business. It wasn’t until I ran into some big challenges that I recognized; 1) I was stuck with an employee mindset and 2) I needed a breakthrough.
So don’t find it strange that you, the established business owner, have reverted to employee mode. Stress, distraction, and business challenges can push us to that place where we relapse into the unproductive behavior of the past. For example, have you seen older children, when frustrated or tired, revert to old clothes like thumb or finger sucking as a way to calm down or comfort themselves?
Mind you, it’s not unreasonable for business owners or entrepreneurs to experience unforeseen setbacks that “shake their cages.” These setbacks can push you back into employee survival mode. This may be more prevalent in areas of financial affairs. The concept of seeing high returns on investment (ROI) could be elusive; simply because you may not see the return right away.
These 5 easy steps to break the employee mindset cycle:
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Recognize or be aware that you have returned to the employee mindset or are at least heading in that direction. Take a conceptual snapshot of the last business decision you made and the outcome. Review the process you followed to reach the decision. If the approach was not aligned with your business vision and goals, you need to do damage control. Consider the following questions: “Am I taking shortcuts to reach my goals?” “Am I looking at the whole picture, or is my attention focused on something immediately in front of me?”
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As an entrepreneur, sales are the main part of business success. Employee attitudes toward sales are skewed and often seen as a necessary evil. To get good results, our perception of sales must be different. You have to embrace it as the conduit for success. Making a mindset change is the first step; Think of your business as a provider of solutions to the dilemmas or challenges facing your market.
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Lifelong learning is essential. Working for an employer affects our approach to learning. We may learn just the essentials for the job or just enough to get by. But that kind of thinking can be detrimental to your business. You must keep abreast of economic trends and changes that impact your business or market. This approach opens the door for additional business. Keep learning; It never ends
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Looking for a loan to invest in the growth of the business. An employee mindset thinks a business loan is too risky; I’ll hobble around doing the best I can and sales will go up. Definitely not a good idea. Go back to your business plans and review the timeline for growing your business. Are you investing again in your business? Didn’t you set goals to expand the business within a certain period of time and hired an assistant to free you up to work? us the business? Making a wise investment in your business would lead you to your goal.
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What is your attitude towards change? This is a difficult road for most of us, especially when we are emotionally invested in the business. Starting a successful business requires a good product or service that others need. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in developing the right solutions. But that’s not all. It also requires passion, commitment, diligence, and many other qualities. After a few years in business, you may experience changes in the market that require change. For starters, any unduly close connection to your business can blur your objectivity, stunt growth, and even erode your business. Remember that any unhealthy emotional attachment gets in the way.
If that is your dilemma, take a page out of the book of professional tennis players. In short, it’s not unusual for this group to work with different trainers at different times. The ultimate goal is to stay in shape, be competitive and improve your game, among others. In turn, they hire coaches to get them to the top and will fire them if the results are less than stellar.
As an employee working for someone else, you rarely worry about the challenges of starting a business. That is not his problem or concern. As an employee, his focus is limited and narrow. There are other employees to handle other aspects of the organization.
When you became the CEO of your company, you need to start thinking and applying strong attributes worthy of a CEO. The first thing he has to do is trade his employee hat for a CEO hat. Eradicate those bad habits and mentalities. Don’t take off your CEO hat when difficulties arise and always think with the mind of a CEO.
If you find this challenging, invest in some leadership training for entrepreneurs or hire a business coach to work with you.
