I’m back on the topic of the embracing CEO Mindset again. I first wrote about this in my article Why You Need to Think Like a CEO. In this article I’m going to dive deeper into how the mindset shift from Solo-preneur to that of a CEO.
You MUST shift your mindset in order to have the results in business that you’re looking for.
I know because I’ve been right there myself. And, it was about a year ago when I made the shift myself.
Why do you want to embrace the CEO mindset?
Understanding the CEO mindset and embracing it is essential to make the leap to higher earnings and success.
Most business owners (and myself included) have been caught in the Solo-preneur trap:
- Running their business single-handedly
- Feeling like the work never gets done – waking up in the middle of the night worrying about the to-do list
- In reactive mode most of the time
- Hoping and wishing for profit
- Overly focused on perfection
- Does it all by themselves
- Is a work-a-holic, working long days and on the weekends
When I think back to 2 years ago – I was that Solo-preneur and let me tell you it wasn’t very pretty. I was doing it all myself and there weren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done. Lots of people wanted to work with me but single-handedly I did not have the capacity to serve them well. What ended up happening wasn’t pretty! I maxed out, I was stressed and I started to lose clients because I couldn’t deliver it all myself.
Instead of throwing in the towel, I stepped back and looked at what was going on. I knew in my heart that I needed to diagnose the problem and fix what was wrong. What I learned was that I wanted to help people, build their businesses and that in order to make the impact I wanted to I could not do it all myself.
I knew that the answer was in building a team and systems. Yeah, I already had one but I wasn’t using them the right way nor had I figured out how to set things up so that I did not have to manage every little detail myself.
Fast forward to 2 years latter… The shift had to take place in my mind first to start thinking like a CEO, I had to decide to make the shift and then do the following:
- Shift to doing income generating work, not the actual work itself
- Building the systems for my team to do the work
- Look at building my services from a profit perspective
- Letting go of perfection and understanding that there is more than one right way
And when I made the shift, I found that I was able to really get myself out of the trenches and start looking ahead and planning my business rather than always being in reactive mode. I’m able to help more people and go on vacation and not lose clients!
And I know for a fact that my team loves it that I’m not a bottle-neck to getting things done anymore! Clients don’t care who does the actual work. What they care about are the results and that what they need gets done and done right.
My clients love it because it gives them more access to me at a higher level where I can help them build and implement the vision.
And how about being able to make a bigger impact and help more people?
Wouldn’t you like to be able to do that?
In order to fully embrace the CEO mindset, 3 things need to happen:
1. You need to get out of reactive mode
Start thinking ahead and build a plan.
Do you have a plan and a vision for your business? If not you’ll want to set aside some time and get it on paper.
2. Make the shift to the CEO Mindset
It’s as simple as deciding that you’re going to make the shift. You’ll never get ahead until you do so. You’ve got to give up the day to day running of your business and focus on the bigger picture.
3. Find someone who can implement your vision for you.
You need to find someone who understands the CEO mindset and can implement your vision for you. Let go of perfection and delegate, understand that there is more than one right way to do things.
Embracing all three of these will get you out of a reactive and into a proactive way of running your business. And as a benefit you’ll find yourself more focused and calm. I’ll even bet that your creativity will increase!
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