Written by: Visa Shanmugam, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Building a business is never about building a business. It’s about building yourself so that you can build your business.
There’s a popular but rather dismaying data point that says that small businesses’ failure rate is 90%. Why is that number so high?
In today’s day and age of digital information and access to knowledge, why do so many businesses continue to fail? If we all have access to the same strategies, data, digital media, etc., what makes 9 in 10 fail?
Many fail because it’s not about what you know or do, but who you are when you do those things. What is your collective mindset when you are showing up for your business?
As a woman, who has been in business for herself for the last 9 years, I have learned the hard way that mindset and your energy (mental, emotional, and spiritual) have more to do with entrepreneurial success than any strategy ever will.
The business world doesn’t have to be all competition and cutthroat. It can be highly collaborative and nourishing if you choose to believe that there is more than enough to go around for everyone to flourish.
14 years of schooling, 3 years of undergrad, and 2 years of business school taught me how to survive and compete.
But 9 years of being a business owner taught me how to thrive and collaborate.
Here’s what I know to be true, having learned on the job:
You have what it takes to succeed, even your wildest dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are unrealistic. Great businesses were built on unrealistic dreams.
Not every strategy is right for you. Trust yourself first before you trust any strategy. If something doesn’t feel good to you, then it wasn’t meant to be executed that way.
It’s totally okay to rely on your gut. In fact, your gut has a sixth sense which helps you make intuitive decisions, which data and analysis can’t do.
There is no competition. The only competition is you. You will experience less stress and overwhelm if you choose to believe that there are more than enough clients to go around, and there is more than enough money to go around.
Market saturation is a myth. You can always find a client base if you know what sets you apart and believe in it.
Making a wrong decision is better than waiting to decide because you learn from your mistakes.
Failures aren’t failures. There are only lessons.
Forgive yourself for making mistakes. The most successful people move on quickly, without shame or guilt. The quicker you forgive yourself, the easier you will be able to move on to try new things in your business.
It’s okay to change your mind. It’s okay to quit something because it no longer aligns.
Note: I am not talking about quitting because the going gets hard.....
Your belief in yourself is the biggest determining factor for success. Not your marketing or your sales prowess.
Business is mindset first, strategy second.
Visa Shanmugam, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Visa Shanmugam is a mindset transformation coach helping professionals reach their highest potential in all areas of their life through radical self-love and spirituality. She has overcome an autoimmune disease, depression, and deep cultural programming to creating a life and career of her dreams, including her coaching business, Becoming You LLC. Visa is an MBA graduate from the University of Texas at Dallas and worked for Microsoft and Fossil.
