EPISODE 007 | APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY

A few weeks ago, I shared a Journal post on the essential skills to start and grow your business, focussing on the importance of mindset and attitude, and today, I wanted to bring this to the Podcast and share a little more.

I remember before I started my business, wondering what the key skills that every successful entrepreneur had and wondering if they were skills that I could harness and learn.

Over the years, I began to realise that it’s not necessarily down to specific experience or knowledge, it’s definitely not something that you learn in traditional courses at school or indeed university, and to some extent even at business school, instead it’s so much more about mindset and attitude. I have heard so many people say, a successful business is 10% talent and 90% attitude, and to some extent I agree.

So, today, I will be sharing with you, the essential, foundational skills that I feel are required for all business founders, leading up to and during the start-up days and for growth, with a special focus on mindset and attitude, and their indispensable role in entrepreneurial success.

I will also explain how each one is very much learnable and share some ideas to help you along the way.

It’s important to note, that everyone has the potential and can learn these skills to start and grow their own business, and this episode is for you, whether you have a glimmer of a business idea or you have a fully-fledged business and would love to find ways to grow and expand, both personally and for your business.

1. WILLINGNESS TO LEARN

This implies the belief that skills and abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This perspective is vital, as it fosters resilience, encourages the acceptance of challenges, and helps overcome failures.

With a focus on being willing to learn, also referred to as a growth mindset, we begin to view failures not as the end of the road but as valuable feedback to learn and evolve. It’s this willingness to learn and find solutions to problems and failures, that absolutely sets you up for success. The most successful people are the ones who will have failed the most. They are also the ones who view these failures as learning steps, to help them find better solutions.

2. OPTIMISM

Being an entrepreneur requires dealing with uncertainty and at times significant setbacks. Maintaining an optimistic attitude towards such challenges propels entrepreneurs forward, allowing us to envision possibilities where others see problems. Embracing an optimistic attitude fuels our creativity, facilitates sensible risk-taking, and strengthens our resilience.

 3. CAN-DO ATTITUDE

Even if we don’t have the skills we need in the moment, we need to know that we are capable, and that we have the ability to find ways to execute our daily tasks and achieve our goals, both the small goals and the audacious ones.

This belief contributes to building an unstoppable can-do attitude. When we have high levels of drive, we are wholly willing to-do, and we focus on seeking out solutions, we will always remain motivated, we will persevere during the inevitable tough times, and we are far more likely to achieve our goals.

4. RESILIENCE

Setting up and growing a business you will always face obstacles; it is the ultimate puzzle to problem solve. The ability to bounce back from adversities, with plenty of resilience, is such an important trait that differentiates those who move forward and achieved success, and those who stumble and ultimately stall.

Embracing and growing a resilient attitude helps us to navigate difficulties, adapt to changing situations, and emerge stronger and stronger.

While some of us may naturally possess a more positive mindset and attitude, these qualities can absolutely be developed and strengthened. Some of the skills and attitudes came naturally to me, and others I have very much needed to learn to embrace and grow into.

Depending which skills resonate most with you, if you feel you would love to bolster one or two, I would love to share a series of strategies with you, to help you embrace each of the four – willing to learn, optimism, can-do attitude and resilience.

As always, you have a choice whether to embrace and learn, or simply to succumb and decide otherwise … I have a feeling though that as you are here, listening to me, that you sit firmly in the former! In light of that, the following steps will help you to learn and cultivate the four key skills that every successful entrepreneur possess:

1. EMBRACE CHALLENGES

Find ways to regularly step out of your comfort zone and embrace challenges, whether in your day-to-day or in larger projects that you have been thinking about for a while. Taking action and proactively embracing challenges will help you foster a growth mindset and build resilience. If you look at every challenge as an opportunity for growth, you begin to see potential obstacles as something entirely different, they become positive and something you seek out to embrace.

As a child, we are all naturally born with the desire to learn, it leads us to mastering our most important, foundational skills. But, so often, as we reach adulthood, our desire to push ourselves further and learn new skills, can begin to wane as we limit ourselves, believing that it might be too late to learn new skills that feel outside of our natural character.

I remember this exact feeling when I had a dream to launch my own business. At the time I was in awe of other entrepreneurs. I felt their skills and experience were beyond anything I could develop … but as my desire to be my own boss grew, I became open to learning. I devoured every article, book and guide I could find. I spoke to experts who would generously give me their time. I was willing to test and trial. I knew that if I didn’t have specific experience or knew something important for my growth, this wasn’t my identity, it didn’t define me, it simply meant that I didn’t know it … YET!

2. REFRAME FAILURES

Instead of viewing failures as setbacks, consider them as learning experiences. This approach helps you to truly foster a positive attitude and helps you build up a powerful amount of resilience.

Everyone has the choice to be a pessimist, realist or an optimist, and regardless of what life throws at you, you can absolutely choose how to see the world and embrace any one of these attitudes.

I have met extraordinary people who have faced some of the most unimaginable tragedies, and yet, they are some of the most optimistic people I know.

Optimism is infectious, unfortunately so is pessimism, so choose to surround yourself with those optimists and even on those tough days where you are facing failure after failure, it will be your fellow optimists that will help pull you through. And always look to return the favour.

This is an incredible example - a few years ago I volunteered as a mentor for the charity The Princes Trust. During that time, I had the opportunity to meet and support a young offender. Her story was heart-breaking, and given her circumstances, I think most of us could quite easily have ended up in her situation. What was extraordinary though, despite her earlier choices and failures, her focus on her future was wholly inspiring. She was determined to gain new skills, work hard and seek new opportunities. As she began to achieve her goals, she then in turn inspired those around her, she began to create an extraordinary ripple effect, having a far more profound impact than she had ever thought possible, simply because she decided to reframe the way she viewed her failures.

3. STRONG DESIRE

I truly believe that you have to have a very strong desire to start a business, you have to really want it and this is often the secret between why some start and for others their ideas, simply remain as exactly that, dreams left on a notepad.

If your desire is strong enough, this will enable you to see past the obstacles and help you to pick yourself up after all the inevitable knock-backs. Once you have that steadfast vision and you can genuinely feel your desire, this is when the magic happens and you build and build, until there is simply no stopping you.

My original desire was simple, during my maternity leave with our first son, I was heartbroken at the idea of returning to work and leaving him. This incredibly strong desire and motivation was enough to help me to overcome those previous obstacles, to the point that finding a solution and making it work, was simply the only choice.

Take time to really understand your own desire and think through your vision. Visualise it, imagine what it will feel like once you have achieved it. Really, really put yourself into the shoes of your future self, knowing that it is entirely possible. Having a strong desire wouldn’t necessarily be described as a skill, but the skill lies in the ability to really know who you are, to really understand what it is you want and to be prepared to find all the resources you need to make it happen.

Anyone and everyone can do this! You can definitely do this! And if you are in any doubt, send me a DM via INSTAGRAM and I will happily tell you otherwise!

4. MINDFULNESS

I think today we are beginning to move beyond us simply thinking that mindfulness refers to meditation, and that instead mindfulness can be achieved through so many different ways, from exercising (whether rigorous cardio or a calmer yoga session on your mat), to any form of creativity (cooking, flower arranging, writing, needlework etc.), reading (I love my early mornings and weekends, when I take some time to myself and read a bunch of different publications, mainly across art, travel and business publications) to breathwork (I discovered James Dowler a few years ago, who is quite extraordinary and offers a form of mindfulness that is perfectly suited to those whose minds tend to wander during more traditional meditation.

Something that has particularly helped me, is having defined periods of time to actively focus away from my work and day to day roles, and instead on tasks that need a completely different type of focus, I find this helps me to gain perspective, a sense of optimism and positivity.

We all have slightly different ways that help us to reach a sense of calm and a feeling of mindfulness. Some can be elaborate and require significant investments (I am dreaming of a home sauna and cold plunge pool one day!), and others as simple as a walk through your neighbourhood or an early morning coffee before everyone else wakes.

5. MENTORSHIP & NETWORKING

When we engage with mentors and peers, we gain new perspectives, we focus on learning, and we improve our mindset and attitude.

I have had a personal coach for the very first time over the last few months, and I’ve found having someone else’s view on different aspects, has been hugely helpful. And having an incredible, supportive group of friends and other business owners is hugely helpful for all of us, those who are likeminded and are familiar with our own role and day-to-day.

I remember facing a very tricky period within our business, I spoke very openly to several people and was amazed by their level of support and kindness. They offered an amazing level of support, and I found talking through the situations and then in turn hearing their own similar experiences, alongside their varied solutions, helped me to find and implement my own solutions.

I often receive messages from those on our newsletter list, and when I can, I will always willingly share my thoughts and advice. And within our Masterclass Live Q&A sessions, I LOVE going very deep to help every one of our students to find exact solutions to support their unique circumstances, alongside sharing the most practical frameworks and steps to help you establish and grow your own successful and profitable businesses.

You can read read more about our annual Creative Business Masterclass HERE, where our most in-depth and life changing Live Q&As happen.

Now that we've discussed the importance of willingness to learn, optimism, a can-do attitude, and resilience, I want to emphasise that mastering these skills is not an overnight process. Like any other skill, it takes time, practice, and patience. It's about learning from our successes and failures, always seeking improvement, and most importantly, never giving up.

Every successful entrepreneur started somewhere. They too had doubts and fears. But they pushed past those, fostered a positive mindset, learned from their mistakes, remained optimistic, developed a can-do attitude, and displayed resilience when they came across some of the biggest obstacles. They sought out help when needed, found mentors, and built a network of support.

So, embrace those challenges that come your way. Use failures as learning experiences. Understand your strong desires. Practice mindfulness in ways that resonate with you, and always, always, keep learning and growing. Seek out mentorship and networking opportunities - you'll be amazed at the wealth of wisdom and experience others are willing to share.

You have what it takes to succeed in your entrepreneurial journey. Remember, success is often more than 90% attitude, and attitude is something you can control. So, stay positive, stay focused, and keep moving forward.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope you've found this episode helpful and inspiring. I truly believe in each one of you and your ability to achieve great things. Whether you're just starting out with an idea, or you're looking to grow your existing business, these foundational skills will help immensely.

Remember, mindset and attitude are everything. If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram. I'm very much here to support you.

Warmest,
Philippa x