Sales and Marketing - Jen Jordan

The Importance of Cultivating a Growth Mindset for Small Business Owners

Small business owners need to keep learning and growing to remain competitive. Having a growth mindset means believing that intelligence and ability are developed through hard work and practice. This differs from a fixed mindset, where it is believed that a person’s intelligence, skills, and traits are set and cannot be changed.

Often the difference between success and failure is in the mindset. A growth mindset enables you to tackle challenges, "fail forward" by learning from mistakes, remain persistent when facing setbacks, and achieve goals. It can also help you retain employees and lead them to success.

Learning and growing is necessary for a thriving business. Not everything works perfectly, approaches need adjusting, and learning is a must in an ever-changing world.

Let’s explore the benefits of a growth mindset and how to develop one.

Growth mindset benefits for small business owners

Small business owners who are willing to continually learn and grow are more likely to succeed. Some of the benefits of a growth mindset include:

• Becoming more open to new ideas and willing to embrace change.
• You will find yourself becoming more creative as you hone your problem-solving skills.
• You may find yourself less stressed. Replacing the weight of failure with a perspective that it’s a learning opportunity can cultivate a drive to persevere.
• Growth mindsets foster resilience, which allows small business owners to shift gears and find creative solutions. During the pandemic, growth mindset businesses generated 28% more revenue.
• Growth mindsets allow for greater satisfaction. Not allowing yourself to feel defeated coupled with problem solving leads to satisfying resolutions.
• Ultimately, you will be more successful by continually showing up, pushing forward, and being willing to change. Small businesses with a growth mindset yield 17% more revenue than those with a fixed mindset.
• Business leaders with a growth mindset are equipped with knowledge and tend to make better decisions.
• A growth mindset leads to a more positive work environment where talent is fostered. Having an optimistic outlook alleviates a blame culture and finds opportunities for the organization’s team. In fact, 47% of employees in a growth mindset company feel their colleagues are trustworthy.
• This new mindset will help increase productivity for you and your team. As you try new approaches to learn what processes work best, you will find more efficient ways to save time.

Developing a growth mindset

Anyone can cultivate a growth mindset with a little bit of effort. Developing a growth mindset geared for continual learning can be a gradual process. Some of the things you can do include:

• Leave your comfort zone behind. Push yourself to take on new challenges, even if they scare you.
• Keep your eye on the process, rather than the outcome. This will help build the mindset for learning and growth through doing.
• Believe in yourself. Take inventory of your abilities and strengths as you develop new skills.
• Allow yourself to "fail" and resist blaming others. Assess what might have changed the process and what you learned as a result.
• Observe others. Note what works for them and what doesn’t.
• Continue to learn. In addition to what you learn through experience, be consistent with continuing to learn new processes and information. Become a subject expert in your field.
• Don’t put a time stamp on your learning. Be kind to yourself in the process and remember it is never too late to learn or break through a challenge.
• Seek and be open to feedback. Sometimes outside observers can see things you can’t in the moment. Even if the feedback is negative, it will prompt you to problem solve.
• Find inspiration. Remember your why as you push forward and keep it at the front of your mind.

Celebrate success. When you reach your goal, find a way to celebrate. Associating met goals with positive rewards will reinforce your motivation.

In a landscape where small businesses already face countless challenges, you owe it to yourself and your organization to adopt a growth mindset.

Through continual learning, you can push through challenges, create a positive environment, create innovative solutions, foster employee talents, and meet your small business goals.

Sources:

https://www.cio.com/article/409178/why-having-a-growth-mindset-is-critical-for-company-success.html#:~:text=According%20to%20one%20study%2C%20employees,working%20at%20a%20company%20that

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/10-steps-to-achieve-a-growth-mindset-in-business/353483

https://masonlloyd.com.au/blog/building-a-growth-mindset-for-small-business-owners/

https://www.cluelessbusinessowner.com/growth-mindset-for-business-owners

https://www.mollie.com/news/growth-mindset-for-business