Achieving financial success is something many of us entrepreneurs dream of. Not having to worry about bills, having enough for emergencies, retirement, and luxuries, plus being able to contribute to causes we care about in our communities – it is what we strive towards.
However, attaining financial success is not just a matter of having a brilliant (and lucrative!) business idea.
For many small business owners, what gets in the way of their financial success is their mindset. Mindset blocks and limiting beliefs can be massive hindrances in achieving financial success in your business.
In this article, I’m sharing three big mindset shifts you need to make if you want to achieve financial success.
Recognition of the Impact of Systemic Oppression on the Ability to Attain Financial Success
Before we explore how we can shift our mindset, we must acknowledge the role that systemic oppression plays in our ability to achieve financial success.
Systemic oppression shows up in economic, social, political, and cultural systems and exists at the institutional and structural levels. Systems of oppression put people who hold non-dominant identities at a disadvantage and disproportionately affect members of historically excluded and underrepresented communities.
The effects of systemic oppression act as additional barriers and hindrances to wealth creation and retention that need to be overcome to attain financial success in businesses. In the face of such deep-seated, intentional, and pervasive systemic oppression, we must recognize that achieving financial success is not simply a matter of shifting your mindset.
In addition to the mindset work we must do as individuals, we must also strive to identify, challenge, and dismantle these harmful systems in society to allow for more of us to attain financial success.
Mindset Shift #1: Move Away from Scarcity Thinking
One of the biggest mindset blocks entrepreneurs face in achieving financial success is scarcity thinking. A scarcity mindset stems from the belief that there are limited resources available, which leads to the idea that what you have should be safeguarded carefully.
Dominant messaging in society promotes competition. It feeds us the narrative of a zero-sum game – that when others are winning, we are losing. It breeds the fear that we give away our resources, we are falling behind. This drives us to become fiercely protective of what we have in our business – particularly financial resources.
As a result, we may avoid making investments in our businesses, focusing only on the fact that we are “losing” money. This can keep us stuck in the same place instead of being able to grow. Scarcity mindset in entrepreneurs can also show up as saying “yes” to opportunities that are completely aligned or that don’t move our businesses in the right direction.
Scarcity mindset can stunt financial growth and prevent you from being able to achieve your financial goals.
Instead, what you need to do is to break free of this scarcity thinking. Adopt an abundance mindset and recognize that there is more than enough to go around. Train yourself to view investments, whether in your business (e.g. hiring help or implementing systems that help your business move more efficiently) or in yourself (e.g. professional development, working with a coach, or building skills to improve your services) as positive outflows that will produce returns in the longer term.
When you shift out of your scarcity mindset, you can start making proactive decisions to move the needle on growth in your business. In this way, you will be able to start bringing in more financial resources into your business and reach financial success.
Mindset Shift #2: Cultivate Belief in Yourself
This is an interesting phenomenon that affects countless small business owners – a lack of belief in themselves. When they first decide to start a business, they are full of confidence that they have something that can help others. Yet, as they start to build momentum in their business, they begin to question if they really have what it takes.
This feeling can broadly be termed imposter syndrome – an internal perception that you are a “fraud” and feeling like you are not competent or good enough. Imposter syndrome can lead to anxiety and depression, and cause entrepreneurs to hinder their own financial success or to even give up their business dreams.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners encounter imposter syndrome at various stages of their business, even successful ones like Will Smith. However, what ensures their success is that they do not allow themselves to be impeded by it. Like any other self-limiting belief, you too can overcome imposter syndrome.
Nurturing your belief in yourself is a slow process, but a worthy exercise. Keep track of your successes and achievements and take the time to celebrate them. Avoid falling into the trap of comparing yourself with others. Practice giving yourself grace and self-compassion when you make mistakes or things don’t go according to plan. Recognize that this process is not a one-and-done, but likely an ongoing exercise in recognizing and addressing your feelings of imposter syndrome.
Mindset Shift: #3: Avoid Perfectionism
Have you ever been in a situation where you have a great idea for an offer – only for it never to see the light of day? You start creating it and then get caught up in making the perfect website, writing amazing copy, and putting everything together – yet it never seems good enough. Perhaps you never even get that far – you get trapped in the ideation stage and can’t decide between Offer A and Offer B, so you don’t put anything out to your audience.
If that sounds familiar, you are not alone.
A lot of business owners get stuck in perfectionism and it becomes a huge factor in not being able to achieve their financial goals.
Perfectionism impacts even famous people like Beyonce and Adele and it can show up in many different ways. It could be that you avoid putting anything out until it meets your extremely high standards, which often results in not putting anything out at all, or constantly putting off sharing your offers and procrastinating.
For me personally, it shows up as analysis paralysis. I can get sucked into doing a lot of research, considering all the different pros and cons, or just feeling like I need more information before I make a decision. Ultimately, I end up not taking any action.
In whatever form we encounter perfectionism in our business, it is standing in the way of our financial success. While it can push us towards achieving ever greater things, when we let our perfectionistic tendencies take control, it can be a hindrance to achieving financial success.
To overcome perfectionism, start by recognizing how it shows up in your business and questioning it critically. Does your offer really need to be improved or is it good enough? Do you really need to tweak the website copy again before you publish it? If this email was written by your biz bestie, would you tell her to rewrite it or just hit send?
When we stop being so harsh on ourselves and expecting everything to be perfect, we can take more action, faster – and action is what gets results. As my business mentor Rachel Rodgers often reminds me: Take fast action – when you do, you fail faster and get to the positive results faster.
Shift Your Mindset with Support
Mindset work is an ongoing process for entrepreneurs and small business owners. It’s not something that happens once and you never have to think about again. As your business grows, you will inevitably come up against these mindset blocks repeatedly.
That’s where having support can be useful to help you navigate these mindset shifts to achieve financial success.
If you are interested in getting that support from a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are building their businesses and striving to achieve financial success, I would love to invite you to the House of CEO Membership. Get the tools, strategies, and support you need to build a thriving business. Join the membership here.
