67: A Few Things I Think You Need to Hear (Hint: It's About Your Mindset)

67: A Few Things I Think You Need to Hear (Hint: It's About Your Mindset)

Welcome back to Making Good, the podcast for small businesses who want to make a big impact.

I’m your host, Lauren Tilden, and this is episode 67.

I’ve been in business for almost 4 years now, and if I have learned anything, it’s this:

Our mindset is the most powerful tool we have as business owners. In this episode, I’m sharing 9 things that I think you, and every small business owner, needs to hear when it comes to your mindset.

BUT. Before we get into the episode, I have a few of things I wanted to chat about:

First, let’s talk about content. One thing that I hear over and over again is: I can’t figure out what to SAY in my marketing. If that sounds like you, I have an awesome workbook that will walk you through a process for generating A LOT of content ideas that your audience is guaranteed to love. To download that, head to: makinggoodpodcast.com/content.

Second, I invite you to join other values-driven small business owners for inspiration, accountability and lots of business and marketing inspiration. That all takes place in the free Facebook community for this podcast, the Good Business Community. The link will be in the show notes, or you can go to makinggoodpodcast.com/community to be redirected.

FINALLY, if you love this podcast, there are a few ways you can help spread the love! First, I’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher to help others find the podcast. And second, take a screenshot while you’re listening and tag me on Instagram @laurentilden -- I would so love to connect with you and cheer you on!

Okay, let’s get into this conversation about mindset.

I like to think of your mindset as the lens through which we approach life. It’s a set of beliefs and attitudes, that consciously or unconsciously affects how we think, feel and act.

It can be our greatest asset and closest ally…. Or it can be a real bully that slows us down or stops us altogether.

Your mindset is your daily companion in running your business, and I’ve learned that it’s really worth investing the effort in figuring out how to make your mindset something that works for you and serves you well, and doesn’t hold you back, stress you out, and make you feel bad about yourself.

As I prepare my thoughts for this episode, I’m running late. I should have already released this episode earlier today, but here I am. So, I’m sitting here with my lukewarm coffee, trying to work on this episode, and trying to get my ideas together, and I’m noticing the thoughts that I’m experiencing as I try to put this together….

I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m annoyed with myself that this episode is coming late in the day instead of first thing in the morning like I like it to. I’ve put too much on my plate and I’m not really sure what to do about that. I want this episode to be as AWESOME as possible and I’m feeling a little bit of perfectionism creeping in to get it right.

But, I’ve been in this game awhile, and I’ve worked a lot on my mindset. So I also notice that I’m giving myself some kindness and leeway -- life has been wild. I accept that I am not going to get everything done, definitely not today, and that’s okay. And, deep down, I believe that even if this episode isn’t perfect (which… it won’t be), it WILL be helpful to someone and that makes it worth doing, even imperfectly.

I’m not a mindset coach, but I am someone who has been working on my mindset for years. So today, in this episode, I’m sharing 9 things that I believe will help any small business keep a strong mindset.

These 9 statements are beliefs that I lean on and remind myself as often as I possibly can. They cover topics like perfectionism, procrastination, making an impact, comparison, and much more.

They help me stay focused on what matters and making the impact I want to make, instead of getting wrapped up and distracted by some of the unhelpful thoughts that come up.

Let’s start with #1: You don’t have to have it all figured out before you start.

Raise your hand if you’re a perfectionist. Anyone else have… both hands up in the air?

My natural tendency is to try to feel like I have to figure everything out and plan down to the most trivial detail before I get started. What happens when you have this mindset is that you tend to…. Put things off. Sometimes forever.

I can’t tell you how many great ideas I’ve had that I got super excited about until I started planning. Then I let myself get overwhelmed and eventually jump ship and abandon the project altogether.

I’m definitely not saying that there’s no place for planning -- there is, for sure.

But sometimes you need to let yourself just take action and follow your enthusiasm, even if you can’t see the end.

Some of the most amazing things I’ve done in my business and life have happened because I finally let myself do something I was excited about -- even if I didn’t have every last detail figured out. For example, this podcast.

My second mindset reminder is: The first version isn’t the final version.

Alright, while we’re talking about perfectionism, here’s a mindset reframe that has been SUPER SUPER helpful for me.

The first time you release something into the world doesn’t have to be… and almost always ISN’T the final version.

Some things that are CONSTANTLY evolving and changing:

Your website
Your value proposition
Your understanding of your ideal customer
Your product catalog
Your product descriptions
Your social media bios
Your branding

Seriously. Pretty much ANYTHING you put out into the world can be tweaked and adjusted later… and in fast, most of these things *SHOULD* be updated and improved as you go.

Sometimes the fear of getting it wrong or making a mistake will stop us from putting things out there… but let me reassure you.

You will get it wrong sometimes. And that’s a good thing.

The process of putting things out into the world, getting it not quite right, and having your audience react to it and help you make it better is priceless.

The third thing I want to tell you is that Business feels a lot better when you involve others.

I’m an introvert, and I LOVE being by myself. I love working on things by myself. I even love traveling by myself.

So, when I started my business, I figured that the “solo” aspect of being a small business owner was going to be such a great fit for me.

But over the last few years, one thing I’ve learned is that there’s nothing quite like comparing your small business experience to someone else. Being a small business owner is HARD, and it’s also an experience that only other small business owners can really relate to.

Finding community has been an absolute game changer for me when it comes to feeling excited and lit up by my work. Even as an introvert.

If you’re looking to FIND your small business community, I did a whole episode on this that I would definitely recommend you check out. It has a bunch of ideas on places you can find your community.

And, if you’re interested in a community of small business owners focused on making a positive impact in the world (other listeners of this podcast), check out my private Facebook group, the Good Business Community. You can join at the link in the show notes, or head to makinggoodpodcast.com/community to be redirected.

My 4th mindset reminder is to Focus on who you can help.

It can be really easy to get wrapped up in our own heads and let ourselves go down a rabbit hole of negative self-talk. From time to time, most of us doubt ourselves. We feel not good enough. We wonder who even wants or needs what we have to offer.

But here’s a mindset hack that will snap you right out of this unhelpful mental dialog.

Instead of focusing on yourself and all the ways YOU’RE not good enough, focus on your ideal customer. What do they need to hear right now? How can you help them?

This can be as simple as a quick check-in email with a customer, posting on social media that you think will uplift your audience, or putting some extra care and attention into an order that you’re packaging up for a customer.

This brings us to #5 on my mindset list is that You can have negative feelings and self-doubt, and move forward anyway.

I’m constantly reminding myself that I can feel inadequate or like a fraud or wonder why anyone would want to listen to what I have to say… and still take action.

I can still release the podcast episode. I can still create the course. I can still host a room on Clubhouse or share my expertise on Instagram.

For some reason, I think I used to believe that if I had a negative thought about something, then I had to believe that thought and let it dictate my actions.

But really, we may not always get to choose all of the thoughts that pop into our heads, but we DO get to choose what we do about them.

It may seem simple, but it’s actually a pretty powerful reframe to realize that even if you’re doubting yourself, or not good enough… you can still move forward and do hard things anyways.

It’s just a matter of choosing to do it.

#6 on this list is: Action creates confidence.

I think I have spent most of my life seriously confused about the relationship between confidence and action.

Consciously or subconsciously, I used to believe that when you felt confident -- that was when you could take action.

So, when I felt confident as a watercolor artist… then I would share my work publicly.

When I felt like a good public speaker…. Then I would start my podcast.

When I felt confident posting photos of my face on social media… then I would post selfies.

However! The truth is the exact opposite. Taking action creates confidence.

The only way to get GOOD at the thing you want to be confident at… is to do it. Over and over again.

In other words… to get GOOD at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it first.

Part of this is about expectations. We have to be willing to try new things without expecting that we’re going to be amazing at it right away.

Confidence and competence is developed through practice… through taking action.

My seventh mindset reminder is to Look at others’ success as an example of what’s possible.

It’s human nature to compare ourselves with others. We look around at what other people are doing and experiencing, and we try to evaluate how we measure up.

Particularly in our current world of social media highlight reels, it’s easy to look around at everyone else and feel completely out of your depth.

When I get stuck in comparison, one helpful reframe I find is to look at what other people have experienced or achieved as examples of what is possible for me.

Instead of feeling “less than” or not good enough, I try to approach it from a standpoint of, ‘look at this incredible experience of prosperity and impact that this business owner is!”

In other words, rather than making it mean something about ME, I let it inspire me and instead make it mean something about what is possible for me.

The eighth mindset reminder is to ask yourself, What can I learn from this?

Spoiler alert that no one wants to hear: Things go wrong in business. Mistakes are made. Launches flop.

If you’re taking action… which is critical to running a business, things are going to go sideways sometimes.

When things go wrong, it can be tempting to want to throw in the towel and give up…. Or we can find a way to find the silver lining.

In business (or even life in general), when I’m faced with disappointment, I try always to remember to ask myself, “what can I learn from this?”

Many small business owners are lifelong learners -- in fact, I would guess that if you’re here listening to this podcast in your spare time, you probably love to learn new things that might be able to help you in the future. I definitely do.

So when something goes wrong and I ask myself “what can I learn from this?” we’re finding a way to pull something good out of an otherwise tough decision.

And sometimes, looking back, we’ll even be GLAD that things went wrong, because we learned something that helped us make a change for the better.

Finally, my 9th mindset reminder is that The right time is now.

I saved the hardest, and in my opinion the most important, one for last. I probably should (and now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I will) get this tattooed on me.

This one is all about one of the great enemies of my life: Procrastination.

I have been procrastinating on things for as long as I can remember. Doing my homework, writing the essay, starting the project for work that was really important to me, starting to eat healthier… procrastinating has been a constant companion to me for most of my life.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about WHY I procrastinate, and usually it’s because I feel like for whatever reason, I’m not READY to start yet or I’m not able to see the full picture.

When you’re procrastinating on something, look at the task closely, and break it down into the smallest possible steps. And then take the first step IMMEDIATELY.

Even if you don’t feel like it. Even if you don’t feel ready. Even if you have your doubts. Do it.

The right time is now.

So, to recap, my 9 mindset reminders that I think we all need to remember

You don’t have to have it all figured out before you start. (perfectionism)
The first version isn’t the final version. (perfectionism)
Business feels a lot better when you involve others. (support)
Focus on who you can help (impact).
You can have negative feelings and self-doubt -- and move forward anyway. (imposter syndrome)
Action creates confidence. (impact)
Look at others’ success as an example of what’s possible (comparison).
Ask, “what can I learn from this?” (resilience)
The right time is now. (procrastination)

So there you have it! I hope I’ve convinced you of the power of mindset in your business -- and if so, I hope these 9 reminders will help you keep your mindset strong and of service to you as you run your business.

What are your thoughts on business? Do you have any other mindset reminders or mantras that are helpful to you? I would so, so SOOOO love to hear them. DM me on Instagram @laurentilden.

If you enjoyed this podcast, here are a couple of ways to keep the ball rolling:

First, I have an awesome guide to creating great marketing content and coming up with new ideas. Download it (FREE) at: makinggoodpodcast.com/content.

Second, there’s a Facebook community of amazing other small business owners and great content just for the group that I would love for you to join. makinggoodpodcast.com/community.

If you found this podcast episode helpful or valuable, I would love to hear from you! Take a screenshot of this episode in your podcast player and tag me on Instagram @laurentilden.

You can find the full details from this episode over at the show notes page at makinggoodpodcast.com/67.

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