When it comes to practicing interior design, you may not doubt your ability to produce a great result for your client. But how confident are you about your ability to run your business? Among the many factors that can impact a business’s success, mindset is a crucial one. If you doubt yourself or worry that your business is not as good as that of some of your competitors, you may be creating mental obstacles that are preventing your business from growing. In other words, you may manifest your anxieties into reality.
Limiting mindsets
Simply put, a mindset is a mental framework through which we process and interpret our experience. It guides how we react to events. Usually it is the product of past experiences that have shaped our beliefs, inclinations, emotional responses, and view of the world.
Psychologists and others who study mindsets and how they affect our behavior and decisions have identified several common types of mindsets. These include scarcity vs. abundance mindset, fixed vs. growth mindset, collective vs. individual mindset, and entrepreneurial vs. risk-averse mindset. Persons with scarcity, fixed and risk-averse mindsets tend to be overly cautious and conservative in their beliefs and choices. They offer suffer from anxiety and self-doubt. That can cause them to self-limit their opportunities for growth and self-development.
Are your own worries holding yourself back from succeeding in your business?
Positive mindsets
Persons with abundance and growth mindsets tend to see opportunities everywhere. They generally are very positive in their outlook and adaptable to new situations. This makes them good problem-solvers as well, because they are not wedded to old ways of thinking and doing things. Consequently, they tend to be very successful at whatever they do. Confidence can be infectious.
Shifting mindset
Because they are intrinsically creative people, it is not uncommon for some interior designers to harbor mindsets about their business skills that can limit their ability to grow their firms. They may have a scarcity mindset that makes them feel that they can never earn enough revenue or attract enough clients or projects, and so they settle for less. They may have a fixed mindset that prevents them from operating their business or marketing their services in any other way. They may be risk-averse and thus unwilling to hire employees or explore new markets. They may feel they are not worthy of charging more for their services or even to have a successful practice.
Mindsets often are deeply embedded in our personalities. However, because they are mental creations, they can be altered. Those who study mindsets recommend starting by exploring through self-reflection what limiting beliefs you currently hold. This can be done through meditation, journaling, self-talk, or, if needed, working with a counselor or therapist.
Once you have identified the limiting beliefs you want to break free from, address them one at a time. Shifting a mindset is seldom easy. It may involve facing your fears or having to reexamine unpleasant experiences from your past. You have to overcome self-doubt and be willing to take risks and try new approaches and behaviors. When you have managed to shift your mindset, you will find it to be quite liberating, and the long-term benefits will be well worth the effort.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset
You probably know or have read about individuals who seem to be born entrepreneurs. Those who study mindsets have identified several traits that these individuals usually have in common. These are:
- Vision – future-oriented, results-oriented, define goals and intentions
- Initiative – proactive, action-oriented
- Resilience – bounce back quickly from failure and disappointment
- Adaptability – willing to change, creative, not bound by habit or custom
- Risk Tolerance – willing to take chances to make things happen or better
- Curiosity – open to new ideas and experiences, want to explore and try new things
- Problem-solving Orientation – view difficulties and challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities and things to be overcome
Not everyone is prone to or nurtured into an entrepreneurial mindset. But anyone can develop an entrepreneurial mindset by adopting and practicing the attitudes and behaviors that produce that mindset. It takes some self-reflection, discipline and practice. Determine where your current strengths are and then create a plan for addressing those aspects that are not so strong or that you lack. You will find lots of helpful information on the internet, and there are counselors and consultants who specialize in helping business leaders to develop their entrepreneurial mindset.
When you approach your business with a growth mindset rather than a limiting mindset, you are more open to new opportunities and new solutions. You will have greater confidence in yourself and a more positive attitude about the future outlook for your firm. Believing in your success will make you more successful.