Are you a mind-preneur?

It’s not easy starting a business from scratch. In fact, statistically the first four years are the hardest to survive when opening a new venture. Long hours, high energy, financial strain and constant problem solving can drain even the toughest, most prepared entrepreneur. This is often an emotional and stressful time. You need to be a mind-preneur.

Successful entrepreneurs know they need more than business skills.

There’s no doubt that it helps to know your market when starting a new business. Skills that include sales ability, financial acumen, people management and strategic planning all help to successfully launch a new enterprise. However, are these skills enough? Increasingly, the answer is a resounding ‘no’. In today’s competitive market, successful entrepreneurs need to know how to be resilient, and resilience is only achievable if you know how to be mindful.

What is resilience?

The Resilience Research Centre in Canada defines resilience as a person’s ability to navigate their way to find resources needed to maintain their sense of wellbeing in the face of adversity. Inevitably throughout life we will all have to face failure. Resilient people manage failure well – they face it, deal with it and move on. In business, failure is inevitable. Every single business owner will be faced with some degree of failure when running their company. Sometimes it may be something small like losing a sales opportunity or missing out on a great office space. Or, it may be something much bigger like losing a major business contract or facing foreclosure. Successful entrepreneurs are able to face a whole range of challenges and still cope without falling victim to an emotional rollercoaster. They know how to stay resilient in the face of adversity. They are mind-preneurs.

What do you do to be a mind-preneur?

The key to managing adversity in business is being mindful when faced with a difficult situation. Drawing on eastern philosophies, Jon Kabat-Zinn from the Centre for Mindfulness has helped to develop strategies to remain mindful even when experiencing high stress situations. Mindful practice helps entrepreneurs to control their emotions rather than having their emotions control them. This is so important when running a business. Here are the top five tips to become a mind-preneur:

1. Stop and be aware. Feeling uncomfortable? Worried? Angry or stressed? Stop, close your eyes briefly and feel the emotion in your body. Where is it? What does it feel like? Take three deep breaths and simply acknowledge how you feel right at that exact moment. Recognising your internal signals is the first step to resolving them.
2. Remind yourself that this is simply an emotion. As Mooji says, feelings are visitors, let them come and go. You are always so much more than the feelings you have at that point in time.
3. Remember – you are not the business. All businesses are cyclical – they have good cycles and slow cycles. That’s the nature of economics. These periods are transient. Success or failure in business doesn’t mean success or failure as a person.
4. Every single person fails at some time. Failure is a universal experience, and you are not alone. It’s just something not commonly shared or talked about, but be assured we’ve all been there! If you’re feeling worried or anxious about a business situation seek out someone to talk to. This may be a business mentor you respect, someone you know from your networking meetings, your local doctor or your closest friend. Make sure you share with someone worthy to hear your story. They need to be in your corner from the get go.
5. Adopt a mindfulness practice. There are lots of resources available online to support your mind-preneur journey. Implement a daily meditation practice, take time for a daily quiet walk in peaceful surroundings, attend yoga classes or head to bed 15 minutes earlier each night so you can implement the first two tips on this list.

The greatest asset in your new business is you. An investment in your own mental wellbeing is actually the best investment your business could get. Be more than a business person – be a mind-preneur.

Leanne Faulkner is best known as the founder of Billie Goat Soap. She grew Billie Goat from a kitchen based hobby and today Billie Goat Soap is sold in over 1800 stores around the country. Her business background and small business experience means Leanne understands the important intersection between emotional wellbeing and entrepreneurial success. Her blog, Failing with Fortitude highlights these challenges. Connect with Leanne on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn, or visit www.leannefaulkner.com