10 Important ways that successful business owners think differently

Image: Belinda Fewings.

Here are some very important ways that successful business owners think differently. I have also linked to additional resources, which you may find useful.

1. They surround themselves with motivated people. They know that you can’t build a successful company with pessimistic, fear-focussed team members.
2. They have the courage to back themselves, rather than wait for the blind to see their vision. Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, despite senior voices telling him Apple wasn’t a phone company and the marketplace was saturated.
3. They proactively look for interesting, valuable problems to solve. Successful business owners know that the bigger the problem you solve, the greater the potential of your business. You’ll have fewer competitors and command higher, more profitable fees.
4. They create a story around their business that’s worth sharing. If no one is talking about your business, it’s because you’re doing nothing worth talking about. Successful people understand this and get creative. The average business owner looks for excuses and complains.
5. They listen to their marketplace and build value around what they hear. Social media gives every business owner an insight into what people want and need. The most successful business owners get this. They listen. The average business owner uses social media just to broadcast marketing messages.
6. They commit to go the extra mile. And then do it! Conversely, the average business is exactly that. Average. They charge average fees and work with average clients, on average projects. That’s not going the extra mile.
7. They refuse to surrender their focus to the never-ending stream of interruptions. The most successful business owners understand that whatever has their attention, is influencing what they think. They only pick their phones up to use them, so the phone is working for them. The average business owner checks their phone notifications regularly throughout the day. So, their attention is continuously interrupted and their focus constantly off-balance.
8. They invest more in their professional development than their competitors do. They know their business development cannot possibly surpass their own development.
9. They are willing to make tough decisions. Opportunities are a little like groceries: they come with a use-by date! The business owner who waits for fear-focused colleagues to see the opportunity, before taking action, is already too late. They’ll find that the opportunity has either gone, or at best, that they were too slow to fully maximize the opportunity. A casual approach to leadership causes casualties.
10. They use fear as their compass. Successful business owners know that meaningful progress is always preceded by fear. That same fear stops the average business owner in their tracks. Ouch!

I hope you find these ideas useful. More importantly though, I hope you do something useful with at least one of them.