Business Growth Series: How to Improve Your Entrepreneur Mindset

Starting and growing a successful handmade business isn’t easy. One of the most important things to focus on as your business grows is your mindset. You won’t be as successful as you could be without really diving deep into mindset obstacles that might pop up and learning ways to overcome them. It’s a natural journey as an entrepreneur and handmade business owner.

Here are some of my best tips for growing your business with an entrepreneur mindset.

1) Don’t Stress About Copycats

There are so many things you can’t control when it comes to running your business, and one of those things is the actions of other people. Many handmade sellers get so bogged down with copycats and doing everything possible to avoid being copied. However, as an entrepreneur, you should have bigger things to focus on in your business - not minor problems that just drag you down.

If someone copies your work or business idea, it’s a sign that you’ve made it. The bigger you grow, the more this is likely to become a common recurrence. People see your success and want to take the easy way out by attempting to copy what you’ve done. In the long run, they won’t be successful in business as they don’t have their own creative thoughts and strategies -- and hey, they aren’t you. They haven’t put the love, passion, time, and dedication into running a business as you have!

And, let’s be honest - most of those copycats won’t be around long enough to truly become a problem for your business.  Who can keep selling a dirt cheap prices? Not them for too long!

2) Focus on a Success and Growth Mindset

If you and your business are going to rise to the top, it’s essential to stay focused on you, your customers, and your business. Everything is a learning experience.

Have a bad customer experience and review? Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about what you could have done differently as a professional business owner. What learning lesson is there from this experience? There is usually some takeaway that you can use in your business moving forward when you stop taking things too personally.

3) Don’t Listen to Non-Supporters

Do you struggle with negative comments and no support for your handmade business from your spouse, family, or friends? Don’t take that personally.

Most people don’t understand everything that goes into running their own business and being an entrepreneur. If they aren’t your target audience and haven’t been an entrepreneur, it’s likely they just don’t understand what you do and how amazing it is.

They will come around eventually, and even if they don’t, do not let their inexperience with owning a business tear you down.

4) Find Your Tribe

The best way to overcome mindset obstacles and negative energy around you is to surround yourself with people who get it. Find your tribe of people that understand all of the challenges that come with running a successful business. These are your people and will help you stay on a positive mindset and growth pathway, even if you start doubting yourself or having those pesky negative thoughts.

One such community, especially for handmade sellers, is a group that I am a part of as a Handmade at Amazon advisor called Make & Flourish. If you are a handmade seller looking to grow your business and connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs, I can’t recommend joining Make & Flourish enough.