The Seven Secrets to Developing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

I was several years into my business when I realized I’d never given much thought to being an entrepreneur! And yet here I was, positioning myself as someone who helps others start and run their own businesses. Yes, I’d been a business owner in previous lives – once in practice in Zimbabwe and the other in private practice in Santa Monica, Calif. But I was never truly in business for myself back then – there were either sponsors (the construction company that backed my practice in Zimbabwe) or partners to provide a safety net.

This time it was different – it was just me. No backers and no partners. What has kept me thriving, and loving what I do, is the mindset I had to develop. Let me explain …

When I opened for business in 2002, I imagined I was creating a job for myself as a coach and speaker. I also believed I was escaping from the dictates of bosses, insurance companies and patients. Only after I read Michael Gerber’s book, The E Myth Revisited, did the thunderbolt strike. Until then, I’d been nothing more than what Gerber calls a technician (in my case, a trained coach), struggling to find people to deliver my service to. I had failed to grasp that I was an entrepreneur, employed by my own business, with responsibilities to manage and grow the business.

As an entrepreneur, by Gerber’s definition, I needed to think about the purpose of my business beyond providing myself with an income and something to do. How about you? How much of a conscious entrepreneur are you? To get started in business, you must first answer these questions:

What problems does my business seek to address?

What is the business opportunity?

And how must my business work to accomplish the results it seeks?

Once you have this figured out, it’s time to reveal your “entrepreneurial mindset,” the one that will free you up to become your own best boss ever.

Here are seven secrets to help you discover the mindset that will work for you.

1.. Understand what motivates you. Are you thinking of starting a business as a refuge from a clinical practice or executive position you hate? Or are you genuinely fascinated by a problem to solve? Do you still love to practice and want to feel more in control of the decisions? Even if you are running away from something, as I was, be sure that there is sufficient pull toward another career opportunity to justify the sacrifices and hard work.

2.. Know what you love. It isn’t enough to no longer love clinical practice or sitting in another committee meeting. To run a successful business, you must feel strongly about what you are trying to accomplish. Not necessarily moment by moment, (as who can love balancing the books or making a cold call to a possible source of patients), but week by week and month by month. If the word “passionate” feels like overkill, then settle at least for intrigued, fascinated, truly interested!

3.. Be quick to explore and slow to “fix it.” As physicians, we’re expected to arrive quickly at diagnoses. Then the pressure is on to come up with a rapid solution. As an entrepreneur, you’ll benefit from slowing down a little — being curious, experimental and even playful with your approach to a problem. Rushing in with a premature solution may deprive you of the real opportunity to provide business value, to be different and to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

4.. Make nice. Dogmatism and entrepreneurship mix like oil and water. To run a successful business venture, you’ll have to give up those worst physician traits – like throwing instruments, making snarky comments at junior staff, and barking orders (exaggeration intended!). This is the time to consider really honing those emotional intelligence skills of tact, persuasion, empathy, good listening, self-awareness and self-management.

5.. Talk and listen to other physician entrepreneurs. It surprised and delighted me to hear repeatedly from other entrepreneurial physicians that, overwhelmingly, their mindset was still one of needing to contribute and to do something meaningful. The original idealism that had inspired them to become physicians had not dimmed – it just needed a new lamp from which to glow. Yes, bigger income prospects played a role, but far less so than flexibility, freedom to set their own schedule and knowing that they were creating something of their own invention.

6.. Be clear about who your clients are. Focus on who you truly wanted to serve , and be intimately familiar with their needs and struggles. Ask “What problems intrigue me?” and “How do I want to help solve these problems?”

7.. Develop your systems. The manager, the third “business persona” defined in Gerber’s book, is in charge of the business processes and systems. He or she will have a mindset of efficiency, effectiveness and doing the right thing at the right time.

Consider how to leverage your time and avoid bogging down in administrative trivia (which can fill a 26-hour day!). Dissect each of your business activities and document the steps needed to accomplish them, and begin to identify the simple repeatable processes that could be delegated to a lower-paid staff person. To get fired up to become a successful entrepreneur, what mindset do you need develop?

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