5 negative (but normal) mindsets of small business owners & how to overcome them

We all experience negative thinking that holds us back from growing our businesses. Especially in a creative industry, like the jewellery world. When we are creating something, putting your handmade products out into the world can be scary and make you feel venerable. But negative mindset becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, if you think you’ll fail you probably will.

The five main types of negative mindsets we creatives find ourselves dealing with are fear, overwhelm, imposter syndrome, procrastination, self limiting beliefs or self sabotage. As I write this I am currently processing at least four of these mindsets, hopefully we can work through them together.

Fear

We have all experienced fear at one point or another'; fear of public speaking, fear of making a mistake, fear of putting yourself out there. You never fully overcome fear, you need to learn how to live with it and make it work for you. Find moments of calm that work for you; yoga, journaling, a walk in nature for example. Shift your mindset to one where fear is totally normal, acknowledge it and accept it, making progress is a risk and we fear risk whether we want to or not. Try to allow yourself to feel it, you feel fear because you care, it comes from a positive place, it’s a sign you’re on the right track.

Overwhelm

One of the most common issues for small business owners or solopreneurs is overwhelm. Running a business by yourself or even with a small team is hard, there will never be enough hours in the day to do everything you feel you need to do. The first step to overcoming overwhelm is to get it all out of your head. Utilise Google Calander or apps like Trello or Asana to help you organise. Or write it all down on sticky notes and put them up on your wall if you prefer working physically rather than digitally. Once every little task is visible, break them down into even smaller tasks, schedule in time to do them and focus on ticking one off at a time. Most people find starting with the easiest smallest task is best, tick off a few and feel that sense of accomplishment. This will build momentum and make the bigger tasks seem more achievable.

Imposter Syndrome

I would venture a guess most of us have felt this at one stage or another. Thoughts like “who do I think I am to be doing…” are just stories our brain creates to try to keep us safe in our comfort zones. To overcome this you need to make a note of all the reasons you are worthy. All the things you have learned, experienced or done to get to where you are today. Refer back to this list anytime you feel imposter syndrome creeping back in.

Procrastination & perfectionism

Procrastination is often caused by fear, overwhelm or perfectionism. We often feel like if we perfect whatever we are doing then there is no way it will fail. Ask yourself why exactly you are procrastinating? If it’s fear you know that’s completely normal and you know how to break down a large project into smaller ones. Pick the smallest task you can and complete it, action creates action and action creates clarity. Your jewellery or product being 80% perfect is probably someone else’s 110% perfect. So as long as your product functions how it should then put it out there, you can always tweak it later. Showing your work is far better than seeking to perfect a product no one will ever see.

Limiting beliefs

Again limiting beliefs are just stories your brain tells yourself that holds you back. These can sometimes be rooted in past experiences. If you had a big launch before and made no sales your brain might tell you that will happen again so best not to try. But these thoughts are not facts. They are just stories designed to keep us safe in our comfort zone. Start noticing these thoughts when they arise and nip them in the bud. Repeat after me, they aren’t facts, just stories and stories can be rewritten. For example, when pricing your products you might think “my customers won’t pay this much”, that’s a limiting belief. Try to turn this into positive action by telling yourself instead of reducing your prices, you will work to attract customers who will pay your worth.

Each of us will have our own unique set of negative mindsets to overcome. Spend some time identifying yours. this might feel like a waste of your precious time but believe me, in the long term you will save yourself a lot of time and anxiety. In the immortal words of Susan Jeffers PhD, “feel the fear and do it anyway”.