Entrepreneur Mindset and Routines: What Sets Apart an Entrepreneur From an Employee

benefits of being self employedAre you an entrepreneur? If your answer is “no” because you do not own a business, here’s a mind shift moment: Being an entrepreneur does not necessarily require owning a business any more than being a lawyer requires working for a law firm. 

Being an entrepreneur is all about mindset, and the right one is what attracts success. So, again, are you an entrepreneur, or an employee?

Skills versus Weaknesses

Entrepreneurs focus on improving their skills, whereas employees focus on improving their weaknesses. Here’s the thing, you will soon join the job market, and will likely answer this question during a job interview: 

“What have you done to improve your weaknesses?” 

Sensible question right? Yes, to an employee; after all, aren’t all employees taught that weaknesses are undesirable hence should be improved?

Entrepreneurs on the other hand view focusing on weaknesses as futile; instead, they draw on their strengths.

Imperfection versus Perfectionist Mentality

Entrepreneurs may occasionally produce lousy work and still thrive, while an employee, the perfectionist, will lose sleep over one lousy line in an email. And who can blame employees, for having this mindset, after all, they are under constant scrutiny of their boss watchful eye, and so they strive for perfectionism? After all, no one wants that indelible negative mark on that all-important performance review.

Interestingly, entrepreneurs thrive on lousy work, because churning out lousy work is more meaningful to them than not producing at all. To an entrepreneur, it is better to create and fail than to not have created at all. 

Saying ‘No’ Versus Saying ‘Yes’ 

Entrepreneurs have the courage to say ‘no’ to opportunities while employees are caught up with every wind of opportunity that blows their way, for fear of missing their big break. 

After all, isn’t it Warren Buffet, one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time who said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.”

It is little wonder then that Entrepreneurs flex their “no” muscle frequently to focus on what matters. Master your craft then, rather than be a jack-of-all-trades and a master at none.

Delegating Versus Micro-Managing

Entrepreneurs very well understand the profit behind delegating, while employee mindset believes only I can do it better than everyone else can. The saying, “if you want it done right, do it yourself” is the employee’s mantra. After all, the employee’s goal is to stand out in their boss’ eyes. 

Entrepreneurs treasure the monetary value of their time and are always looking for ways to get things off their plate, so they can focus on the tasks only they can do. 

Employees are threatened by smarter people hence their need to stand out in the tough corporate jungle, while entrepreneurs well — hire smarter people. 

Mono-Tasking Versus Multitasking

Entrepreneurs perfect mono-tasking while employees (attempt to) multitask. Seriously, there is no such thing as multitasking, as research has shown that it is impossible for our brains to focus effectively on more than one thing at a time. 

Nevertheless, entrepreneurs understand that multitasking means doing nothing well; so they focus on high-value tasks and end with low-value tasks, knocking them off their plate one at a time.

Getting Started

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