What would you say if I told you that there was a way to unlock your potential? That a simple shift in focus could change your business and increase its visibility? Interested? Let’s look at your “mindset”.

Mindset is one of those buzzwords that pops up all the time; it’s all the rage right now. But what is it exactly? Your mindset is more than just your outlook. It is more like a set of rules and beliefs that you have created for yourself, and it influences the way you view life, think and feel. Even people who appear ambitious, talented and rich, can suffer from not having the right mindset to truly achieve their potential. If their mindset is fixed, and not willing to grow, they will eventually reach a plateau. Let me show you how to adopt a growth mindset and see your business thrive.

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset

1. I already have all the skills and talent I need vs I can learn and improve

Now, if you have set up your own business, I’m guessing it’s because you’ve got an amazing talent that you want to showcase and turn into a profession? You wouldn’t have taken that big step if you didn’t think you had something to offer. However, if you believe that talent is all you need, then you are stuck in a fixed mindset. By allowing yourself to think, “What more can I learn; what can I improve in?” you are accepting that you have growth potential, and that you can get even better with practice.

Look at it as supersizing your talent. The business world changes so rapidly that if you’re not willing to grow and develop, your talents won’t remain relevant or enough to keep you ahead of the game. Success is 20% skill and 80% mindset. If you are willing to put in the work, you are going to be far more successful than someone who has talent, but sits there and waits for their talent to bring in the business. Customers want to know that people are working for them, so visibly showing people that you are working hard to win them over and keep them, will draw more in.

2. Everything I do has to be perfect vs I need to get myself out there and will learn from my mistake

Perfection. Wouldn’t it be great if we could achieve it all the time? We’ve all heard the mantra about it not being the destination that is important but the journey to get there. Well, that is the mark of a growth mindset. If you focus only on trying to get the perfect result, it will eventually paralyze your business, because it’s not possible to be perfect all of the time.

A growth mindset encourages you to just go for it. If you have a good idea, try it out; if you have an amazing Insta post in mind, post it. Getting caught up in the cycle of perfectionism can stop you from making progress because you take so long to produce website content or product samples, or whatever it may be, that you end up missing the market. If you want better business visibility, you’ve got to be out there.

Trade-in is perfect for fast. It doesn’t matter how great your product or service is if someone is already doing it. Get there first and you get to take the biggest slice of the market. Yes, mistakes can sometimes be costly or embarrassing, but if you can treat them as a learning opportunity then they will not truly be mistakes. Rapid development, testing the market and, yes, failing, actually helps you to best see what your customers are looking for. Each time you fail then pick yourself back up again hones your business into a successful, customer-centric one.

3. There are no opportunities for my business vs I can create opportunities

Your uniqueness is what will draw customers to you. However, when you’ve come up with a unique business idea, it can sometimes be hard to identify where the opportunities are to capture the market. Either that, or you might not value the uniqueness that you have to offer in an oversaturated market. Don’t let yourself get stuck with that fixed mindset.

A growth mindset says, let’s look for opportunities; let’s create some. That could be taking time to work on your Elevator Pitch, so that you are ready to promote yourself successfully to people. It could be updating your social media presence to create an authentic customer experience. Or maybe it’s taking the chance to invest and accepting that, although failure is a possibility, it could open doors to new opportunities. If you don’t truly believe in yourself and your business idea, then how can you expect your customers to believe in you? Get yourself out there, be visible and jump on every opportunity that comes your way.

4. People-pleasing vs authentic self

It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that to be successful you have to constantly be bending over backwards to please your clients, investors or business partners. Just stop for a moment. Do you want to please your clients? Yes. Do you want to be successful in a career you feel passionate about? Yes Do you want to feel the joy of delivering a unique and meaningful product or experience to your clients? Yes. Is it possible to do all of these things? No. The best way you can serve your clients and, ultimately, feel fulfilled in what you do, is to stay true to your beliefs.

Be your authentic self. If you have a unique business but you find that customers are constantly asking you to deviate from your focus, it won’t be long until you find yourself on a very different path from where you want to be. You will not only have lost your way, but the very thing that drew people to your business in the first place – you!

5. I can’t be the best vs I am not the best… yet

Yet. Three little letters that can make all the difference to your mindset and your businesses visibility. Let’s get your growth mindset charged up and look at what you can do to achieve those goals and be the best. Firstly, become an expert in your field. You might not have the lion’s share of the market yet, but if you put the time in really developing yourself and your expertise, your wealth of knowledge will draw customers to you.

Write down your goals to focus your mind. Look at what you have achieved so far and what you are yet to achieve. Don’t be discouraged if your “yet list” is bigger than your “done list”. It just helps you to see how far you are going to go! But don’t just list; plan. Think about what skills you would need or opportunities you would need to create in order to achieve those goals. Then get to work on them. You might not have achieved them yet, but you are prepping like a pro to get there.

“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” ~ Amelia Earhart

So, now you know what a mindset is, have you identified how you can change yours to become a growth mindset? The reality is, that we are all made up of fixed and growth mindsets in different areas of our lives. But, if you would like to improve your business visibility and be the best version of yourself that you can be, identifying where you can change your mindset would be a great start.

I would love to help you on your journey. Personal branding photography is a wonderful way to increase your visibility and give you the confidence boost to keep on going. Show your clients who you are and what you stand for in genuine and honest photography, rather than hiding behind a corporate facade. Open those doors in your mind, pull down those barriers that are holding you back, and start looking for ways to improve yourself, improve your opportunities and improve your future.