Do you believe in a personal development plan for entrepreneurs?
Did you know that the pandemic nearly killed Airbnb? Within a span of only 8 weeks, business dropped 80%. But CEO Brian Chesky didn’t give up. In fact, he leaned into a personal development plan for entrepreneurs, specifically his psychology, creativity, optimism, and courage. Less than three years later, Airbnb was doing nearly $3.5 billion in free cash flow.
Does this mean that a personal development plan for entrepreneurs will generate three and a half billion dollars in free cash flow? Maybe not, but your personal development is linked to your profits.
In this post, we will go over seven steps in a personal development plan for entrepreneurs that encourage the betterment of the individual to better the organization.
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1. Start with a Mindset Shift
Did you know that how you think impacts how well you succeed? Imagine the path you’ve been on thus far. Like any entrepreneur, you’ve likely had several setbacks and a few good wins. Now, imagine what entrepreneurship would look like if you approached the journey with a fixed mindset. If you don’t know what a fixed mindset is, I highly recommend one of my favorite books, Mindset by Carol Dweck.
Fixed Mindset
In short, a fixed mindset is when someone believes that their abilities are fixed – unmoving. On the other hand, a growth mindset is that of a person who believes that they can improve and better their abilities and themselves. Now, back to that entrepreneurial journey: what would a fixed mindset do when met with failure? Accept it. That’s the way it is, right?
Growth Mindset
A growth mindset approaches failure with the belief that improvement is possible – and maybe not just possible, but likely, if effort is put forth. There may be failure in your past, but if you work toward betterment, you can have a success in the future.
When you’re an entrepreneur in a small town, you may think that success and marketing will be simpler. After all, you only need one or two customers to put the positive word out and it spreads like wildfire, right? While that sounds ideal, it isn’t typically true. Change is often resisted in small towns. I can think of two relatively new businesses in my small town that have gone out of business in the last couple of months.
When faced with challenges in a small town, its a growth mindset that will get you through. Forbes claims that 88% of executives believe that a growth mindset is vital for an organization’s success. So, when you’re facing hardship or bumps in the road, a fixed mindset isn’t going to solve your problems…but a growth mindset might help!
If you want to work toward improving yourself and your profit, a personal development plan for entrepreneurs must begin with a growth mindset.
2. Build Up Your Skills, Build Up Your Confidence
Here’s something you probably already know, but may benefit from the reminder. Personal development builds the confidence to show up, whether that’s in person, online, or in your marketing efforts. The better you become, the more confident you will feel in putting yourself out there!
Imagine being asked to speak at an event, and it’s your first speech ever. You’re likely going to be a nervous wreck – I know I would be. But you spend the next few months working on your speech and practicing speaking in front of various crowds. Do you think you’ll feel better when it’s time to give your official speech? Of course you will!
On the flip side, if you do nothing but write the speech before it’s time to get up on stage, you’ll probably be lacking in confidence. Your development of the skill makes you more confident. That’s true in general, too.
So, build confidence by building your personal development repertoire in small steps. Join a local group focusing on a skill you’d like to improve. Post a video a week talking without a word-for-word script. Whatever you think will help build your confidence, do it!
Step two in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to build confidence by building skills.
3. Emotional Intelligence = Better Leadership
Did you know that emotional intelligence, or EQ, can improve all areas of your life? From leadership to marriage to parenting to coworking relationships, EQ is vital to solid human relationships. It helps you to be in tune with yourself so that you can lead a team well.
Even if you are a solopreneur, EQ can help you connect with customers or clients and even get to know yourself better. Self-awareness helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses, as well as how you think and operate. When it comes to being an effective communicator, self-awareness is key.
Self-awareness tells you about your own tendencies. What does your body language communicate? Do you over-explain? Are you an interrupter? Knowing these things about yourself can help you to make adjustments as needed to improve your communication and leadership as a whole.
Step three in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to develop a strong EQ.
4. Time and Energy Management Are Personal First, Professional Second
When you’re on step four of creating your personal development plan for entrepreneurs, you have to focus on the personal aspect in a big way. As much as improving your communication skills might benefit your profits, you can only do so well when you’re sleep deprived. You can only communicate so well when you’re unfocused. So, develop strong personal habits that will translate into improved business performance.
So, make sure you’re getting a good night’s sleep – regularly. Develop a time for focused work and use mind maps to clear out all of the mind clutter pulling you away from your work. Create a routine that you follow as much as possible. These habits are great ways to use your personal habits to influence your business success.
I like to batch tasks and use the Pomodoro method, but since everyone is different, you must find what works for you. My Mondays are for social media content creation, which I do in 25-minute spurts with 5-minute breaks. Tuesdays are for writing, and I still use Pomodoro, but tend to go for 50 minutes of work with 10-minute breaks. This is how I operate best. How do you operate best?
Your energy is an asset. Don’t waste it on things that aren’t important! You might find that the Pomodoro works for you, but you use it on the wrong things. What will move the needle? Do those things when you have the energy, not when you’re losing steam.
Step four in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to focus your time and energy management on personal tasks first, then professional tasks.
5. Set Goals That Align with Your Business Vision
SMART goals might work for some (not me!), but values-based goals are better for long-term growth. Why do you have the goals you do? Did you just randomly decide to work on something for no particular reason? Setting personal development goals that directly support business objective, such as improving public speaking to improve your pitch, will help you to better yourself personally and professionally.
What does your vision look like? I encourage you to write it out in detail, including the values you act on, and then read it every single day. It can be easy to have a vision and then make nonsensical changes in the spur of the moment. So, be sure you know where you want to go before you take a detour. Of course, if you truly want to change your vision, it can be done. But you shouldn’t change things up on a whim. Think about it and make changes only after you’re sure.
Your goals should point you to the values-based vision you’ve written down. That vision is what will keep you on track and those goals should only bring you closer to the picture you’ve painted.
Step five in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to create a detailed vision and generate logical and values-based goals to reach said vision.
6. Keep Learning = More Earning, A Personal Development Plan for Entrepreneurs Tip
I’ve always said that I am a professional student. But, I always considered that in the context of being a literal student – paying a university to be a student. After 3 degrees (BSBA, MBA, DBA), I wondered what I was supposed to do now that I’d spent so much money on schooling and had none left to achieve. It didn’t take me long to realize that I don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars to be a student.
Every book I read, every podcast I listen to, every coach I follow on YouTube, every mentor I learn from is my education. I keep learning (in a much cheaper way than before), and I’m still a professional student. I tailor my reading and listening to things that I want to learn to better myself and my business.
It is my personal aim to read at least 25 work-development books and 25 personal development books this year, in addition to the fiction I read on the weekends and evenings. The more I learn and the more I apply, the more earning potential I have.
If you’re hesitant to “waste” time learning things that small town businesses don’t need, you have the wrong outlook. Small town businesses might need more knowledge than you think! It’s hard to run a business in a small town – the more you equip yourself with information, the more likely you are to have big successes.
Learn for Free
If you don’t have the funds to buy books regularly or pay for coaching, there are plenty of options out there! The library is a great resource for development books; my local library even has Kindle and audiobooks, so I’m sure yours does, too. Go search for personal development videos on YouTube- those are free, too! Reading this blog post and others like it are also helpful!
Step six in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to keep learning so you can increase your earnings.
7. Leading By Example Builds Trust
Have you ever thought about how your personal growth might impact others? Whether its your team or your community or even your family, working on your personal development can help people to see the effort you are putting forth. In my experience, I’m more willing to support a business when I see how hard someone has worked. I think a lot of people are uninterested in giving their money to someone who doesn’t try.
Build trust with your increased effort into yourself and your business. Sharing your journey can show your vulnerability and authenticity, which also attracts people to your business. If you want loyal customers, be real.
Step seven in the personal development plan for entrepreneurs is to show others how you’ve been working on yourself.
A Personal Development Plan for Entrepreneurs is Vital to Success
Your personal development is the soil your business grows from. So, invest in yourself! Read, get some coaching, sleep well, and work out; these are significant steps in changing your life and business.
What is one personal growth area you will invest in this month to impact your business? Add it to your personal development plan for entrepreneurs and watch your growth compound.