The mindset of an entrepreneur is a matter of how you think, feel, and behave! Whether you are an entrepreneur or not, in this post, we’ll present research-based facts on how to cultivate a mindset of one!
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What is a mindset of an entrepreneur?
Your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you view the world and yourself and strongly determines how you think, feel, and act. Imagine it like a pair of glasses from which you look at reality. What you have in front of you is the same, but how you look at it will change your whole experience. So, why should you cultivate the mindset of an entrepreneur, even if you might not want to become one?
Because it will allow you to leverage your full potential at a far greater level than you would with a fixed mindset. So what does it mean to embody the mindset of an entrepreneur?
Embodying the mindset of an entrepreneur
After reading a bunch of recent research on the topic, we identified three main categories that define that: thinking, feeling, and behaving like an entrepreneur. Let’s take a closer look at each. When it comes to thinking, it’s all about strategizing and recognizing opportunities around you while being creative, solution-oriented, and optimistic towards the future.
But remember, thinking like an entrepreneur, is only one aspect of the mindset. Feelings such as a sense of resilience towards failure, confidence under uncertainty, a strong sense of inspiration, and passion are all reflections of an entrepreneurial mindset.
You may already recognize some of these features in yourself, and so do we, but what strikes us the most is what research has to say about the behavior of a person with the mindset of an entrepreneur. The key behaviors are focused attention, adaptability, execution, uplifting others, resourcefulness, networking, and emotional intelligence.
When we identified these from the research, we realized that “mindset” is much broader than just how you think and feel. In fact, your behavior directly guides and reflects how you think and feel, making these behaviors crucial for maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset.
How to cultivate the mindset of an entrepreneur?
This is the best part; Entrepreneurs are made, not born. So, everything we just explained can be learned no matter where you’re on your journey! You can implement several practices, but the most important one is educating yourself.
Too many of us stop studying and acquiring new skills after traditional education when we could leverage additional decades of learning. Books, audiobooks, online courses, and seminars, to mention a few, offer you infinite possibilities of learning, which consequently give your brain new concepts and ideas to contemplate, which with time, might inspire you to revolutionize your life completely.
On top of that, you can even consider resuming your traditional education later in life, thanks to fully remote universities. And don’t forget, learning can also happen through practice. By exposing yourself to a new challenging situation, or setting intentional goals that stretch you, can help you embody the mindset of an entrepreneur.
You could look for a job opportunity at a startup, which will immerse you in an environment where you will naturally increase your entrepreneurial mindset and learn more about your actual capabilities.
How to strengthen your entrepreneurial mindset through cognition?
To sum this up, the most important takeaway is that you can continually develop your mindset, actions, and your skills. When you turn your attention inside, you can identify individual abilities and opportunities that will help you recognize what type of characteristics you want to adopt or further develop.
It is important to remember that the ultimate key is that thinking, feeling, and behaving always have a personal touch, making each entrepreneur or entrepreneur-minded person uniquely capable of benefiting from the fruits that this mindset provides.
In addition to the things you just learned, cognitive aspects such as motivation, self-confidence, and deeper intentions are essential to enhance the development process. Knowing what you want and need to focus on and combining the things you study with feedback from your environment allows you to build your mindset holistically.
We hope this post helped you better understand the power of an entrepreneurial mindset and why you should adopt more of it in your life, no matter where you want to go. If you’re curious to learn more and ready to go Beyond Sapiens, we recommend you read more about our Business & Individual Maximization Coaching programs!
References
Yan, J., 2022. Assessing the impact of entrepreneurial education activity on entrepreneurial intention and behavior: role of behavioral entrepreneurial mindset. Environmental science and pollution research international 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23878-w
Cui, J., Bell, R., 2022. Behavioural entrepreneurial mindset: How entrepreneurial education activity impacts entrepreneurial intention and behaviour. The International Journal of Management Education 20, 100639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100639
Konovalenko Slettli, V., 2019. Developing entrepreneurial mindset for transformational entrepreneurship: The case of Nordic transformative learning circles. Journal of entrepreneurship, management and innovation 15, 77–105. https://doi.org/10.7341/20191543
Handayati, P., 2020. Does entrepreneurship education promote vocational students’ entrepreneurial mindset? Heliyon 6, e05426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05426
Kwapisz, A., 2022. Entrepreneurial Action and Intention: The Role of Entrepreneurial Mindset, Emotional Intelligence, and Grit. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy 5, 375–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127421992521
Colombelli, A., Loccisano, S., Panelli, A., Pennisi, O.A.M., Serraino, F., 2022. Entrepreneurship Education: The Effects of Challenge-Based Learning on the Entrepreneurial Mindset of University Students. Administrative Sciences 12, 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci12010010
Larsen, I.B., 2022. Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset: A typology for aligning instructional strategies with three dominant entrepreneurial mindset conceptualizations. Industry and Higher Education 36, 236–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222211038212
Farida, F.A., Hermanto, Y.B., Paulus, A.L., Leylasari, H.T., 2022. Strategic Entrepreneurship Mindset, Strategic Entrepreneurship Leadership, and Entrepreneurial Value Creation of SMEs in East Java, Indonesia: A Strategic Entrepreneurship Perspective. Sustainability 14, 10321. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610321
Al-Ghazali, B.M., 2022. The role of five big personality traits and entrepreneurial mindset on entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Saudi Arabia. Frontiers in psychology 13, 964875–964875. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.964875
