Mindset Of A Successful Online Business Owner
Explore similarities & differences between online business owners’ mindsets with the roles of self-employed, business manager, entrepreneur, or solopreneur.
Self-employed, Business Manager, Entrepreneur Or Solopreneur?
Do you want to be self-employed, a business manager, an entrepreneur, or a solopreneur?
No, it’s not the setup for a bad joke. All four actually run a business of some kind!
However, just like four people walking into a bar, differences in attitude (mindset) lead to different ways of operating.
Think of it like this: four people walk into a bar, but each orders a different drink. You wouldn’t expect the bartender to serve them all the same thing, would you?
The same goes for running a business. Each role that an owner can see themselves in needs a slightly different mindset for success.
Whether online or not makes no difference to the general traits. It’s like saying, “water is wet” or even “business is business”.
But seriously, mindset drives actions, and different mindset requirements make the three roles different. It’s like how different toppings make a pizza unique.
So, when creating a start-up venture, whether online or not, it’s useful to have a clear idea of which role you want to play.
Do you want to be the self-employed expert, the business manager running the show, the entrepreneur with big ideas, or the solopreneur handling everything on their own?
Just remember, you only have a limited number of lives (or hours in a day), so choose wisely!
Defining The Roles: Do You Have The Mindset Of An Online Business Owner?
Defining these roles is important because it’s the first of the four cornerstones of any business.
It’s like building a house. You need a solid foundation before you start putting up walls and a roof. Without a clear idea of your role, your business could come crashing down like a house of cards.
All four roles are important, and needed by society. The questions are, which role do you want for yourself and do you have the ideal mindset and skills?
Self-Employed
Some self-employed roles are often referred to as “trades” in many countries.
Self-employed people tend to be experts in a specific subject. They learn a skill with which they provide goods and services that they then exchange for payment.
They prefer to not work for one specific boss. In effect, their customers become pseudo-bosses.
They tend to operate as a one-man band or work with a very small number of colleagues. They tend to earn an income based on the number of hours they put in.
Business Manager
“Business manager” doesn’t necessarily mean having a title of “Business Manager”. They’re responsible for the day-to-day running of an organisation that tends to provide multiple products and services and has the capability to expand its customer base and its products.
As a result, the number of people employed within the business increases (and decreases), as needed. Relationship management is important in all cases and is a key skill in any business organisation.
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs tend to be people with big ideas, who find and lead a team that implements the ideas.
They tend to be mostly involved with the development and to be less involved in the daily operations necessary to deliver a product or service.
Solopreneur
Solopreneur is a relatively new word in the Oxford Dictionary and is simply defined as an entrepreneur who sets up and develops a business on their own.
This means that they take on a role of handling every aspect of their own business.
Most leverage technology to become as efficient and effective as possible which nowadays means running their business online.
They tend to be something of a cross between self-employed and entrepreneur.
13 Similarities…
So, do you have the mindset of an online business owner?
Whether you want to be self-employed, a business manager, an entrepreneur, or a solopreneur, there are some common traits that all successful professionals share.
It’s like being part of a secret club, except the only way to join is by having a professional attitude.
As a minimum, under the guises of all four roles, is the implication, perhaps to different degrees, that they want to be largely in control of their own destinies and don’t want to be directly employed by a third party.
There are many other similarities, mainly to do with mindset (attitude) and a professional outlook.
Having put together the following list, I realised they’re also in the main, useful guiding principles for life in general!
Here is a short list of 13 similarities between being self-employed, a business owner, an entrepreneur or solopreneur. All are attributes of a professional’s mindset:
1. A Reason Why…
Knowing why you want to do something is paramount.
It’s not always clear at the start.
However, with any venture, before long, enthusiasm can be challenged.
The going will sometimes get tough.
A good solid understanding of why a venture is being undertaken will help enormously with motivation.
And you don’t want to end up like the chicken that crossed the road without knowing why…
2. Passion And Enthusiasm
Along with having a reason to be setting out on any journey, professionals need to find a passion for wanting to do what they do.
That doesn’t necessarily mean a passion for a specific business area although that helps. It’s a passion for doing what it takes to deliver something of value to the world.
When the going gets tough (and it will), enthusiasm is largely driven by a passion for what you are trying to achieve and why you are trying to achieve it.
3. Confidence
Professionals need to be confident in their own abilities.
They know that they don’t know everything, and believe they can learn what they need to when they realise they need it.
If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
4. Self-discipline
Success takes focus. Professionals eliminate distractions and develop daily habits designed to lead toward their long-term goals.
They just forget that Netflix is always there to distract.
5. Self-motivation
Professionals know that no one else is going to make decisions, nor take deliberate action for them.
They know they will have to take action themselves or pay someone else.
They take responsibility for getting things done and for the resultant outcome.
They don’t allow procrastination to control their lives.
6. Open-Minded Awareness
“Minds, like parachutes, they only function when open” – Lord Thomas Dewar
Awareness is the key.
Becoming aware is the start of everything.
You literally don’t know what you don’t know.
Knowing and accepting that you don’t know everything, leads to a more open-minded attitude.
And you can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.
7. Competition
Professionals are not afraid of competition.
They know that competition always reflects an opportunity.
The thing is that you can’t be the best without beating the rest!
8. Persistent Determination
Professionals know that they’ll experience setbacks.
Events will not always go their way and they will make mistakes.
They learn from experience, make changes and keep moving towards their goals.
Remember that life is sometimes like a game of Whac-A-Mole!
9. Strong People Skills
Professionals, ideally develop good communication skills.
They handle relationships well with all stakeholders including competition, supporters, employees and customers.
I often have to remind myself that being a hermit isn’t a viable business strategy.
10. Work Ethic
Professionals lead by example.
They’re willing to do what it takes to succeed.
Including taking a nap when necessary – they won’t sacrifice a good nap for anything!
11. Customer Oriented
All successful businesses have customers. All four roles require a focus on delivering something that a customer wants and on excellent communications and relationship development.
12. Creativity
All professionals need to be appropriately creative at times.
This doesn’t necessarily mean inventing something new.
It means having the ability to be flexible enough when needed to deliver customer requirements.
Remember, creativity is not limited to painting and drawing.
You can be creative with spreadsheets and data analysis too!
13. Regular Reviews
Professionals keep a check on progress and on their goals.
They regularly seek feedback and look for ways to improve their performance.
On Friday nights, after checking their Google Analytics, they review the pizza menu for the best deals.
6 Main Differences…
As already indicated, there’s a lot of crossover between the four roles.
Also, often people start off in one role and evolve into another.
There is nothing wrong with that, so long as it works well.
Things tend to go sour when someone, for example, sets out to be a businessman and finds themselves in what is essentially a self-employed role.
Having said that, many self-employed people do run small incorporated businesses, entrepreneurs run, what tend to be larger businesses and solopreneurs can create large empires on the internet.
Mind you, by the time any business becomes an empire they’re not usually being run solo anymore!
The following list highlights 6 main differences in mindset needed for each role.
1. Attitude to Change
Self-employed – likes to establish regular work to bring in regular income.
They do tend to be able to cater for individual customer needs within their field of expertise.
Business Managers – tend to create a stable organisation that only changes when absolutely necessary.
A business tends to be process bound and resistant to change until it’s inevitable.
Entrepreneurs – rather than simply embracing change, like to drive the changes.
They are constantly open to the possibility of a better way to achieve something.
Solopreneurs – live in a world of self-employed entrepreneurs.
They need to be aware and accepting of change as it happens.
2. Attitude To Opportunities
Self-employed – look for customers to deliver a product or service within their expertise.
Tend to have a relatively short-term thinking habit.
They tend not to consider selling any business they develop.
They tend to address opportunities based on localised personal experience and they’re the type of people who will stop at nothing to finish a project.
Businesses – tend to have a broader (less local outlook) than the self-employed but also innovate slowly in order to minimise risk.
They tend to be relatively slow to recognise opportunities and tend to be slow to pass on control of their business.
Entrepreneurs – look for opportunities to develop new ideas much of the time.
They are comfortable pursuing untested ideas.
They are generally comfortable selling any formal business they develop.
Solopreneurs – need to be aware of opportunities as they arise and be willing to avoid the fear of missing out (FOMO) that many experience i.e. they need to become especially good at figuring our and managing risk and knowing when to say “NO”.
Having said that, successful solopreneurs are usually open to approaches from others – especially when they’re intent on buying the business.
3. Point Of focus
Self-employed – focus on delivering the best service to their customers based on a set of pre-learned skills.
Businesses – over time, the focus within a business tends to be on managing people in order to consistently deliver a stable product or service to customers.
Entrepreneurs – focus on selling ideas that may not have yet been proven.
Solopreneurs – need to be able to switch their focus day-to-day dependent on the needs of their business.
They need to be able to handle all aspects of their business.
4. Attitude To Risk And Decision Making
Self-employed – setting up can feel very risky but once established most likely have a low threshold for risk in order to protect short-term security.
Businesses – are similar to the self-employed but their reason for careful risk management is often because they have a larger number of employees and others dependant on them.
Entrepreneurs – tend to make big calculated risky decisions that can produce long-term risks or long-term greater rewards.
Solopreneurs – need to be able to make good, speedy day-to-day decisions and to evaluate risks fast before committing.
6. Team Building
Self-employed – mainly employ themselves only or work with a partner.
They tend to only employ others when they need to.
Usually only when they have personal time constraints and have the resources to pay someone else, and then they manage them closely.
Businesses – tend to employ people for specific, usually, well-defined roles and (like the self-employed) tend to manage people closely.
Entrepreneurs – employ experts as managers and delegate responsibility so that they can focus on whatever they consider is most important.
Entrepreneurs perhaps work towards replacing themselves so that they can move on to the next project.
Solopreneurs – need to be able to learn what they need fast when they need it, or be prepared to sub-contract to experts when appropriate.
7. Thinking Big
Self-employed – tend to limit their thinking to within their own experience. They often dream of bigger results but tend to put most of their time into creating and delivering a product or service from within their current experience.
Businesses – often start out in an entrepreneurial fashion and, over time, think within the artificial constraints of their initial business idea.
Entrepreneurs – a visionary outlook. Entrepreneurs don’t limit their thinking and then they take action.
Solopreneurs – by definition get started on their own and at the beginning thinking big can be a challenge.
The thing is that most solopreneurs tend to have a short-term outlook in the sense that they overestimate what is possible in a month and underestimate what they can achieve in a year!
Successful solopreneurs tend to develop a medium to long term outlook and develop excellent day-to-day disciplines.
All four roles benefit from understanding and setting three types of goals – which are essential for the solopreneur.
So What?
If you want to branch out on your own, or start a business, or with entrepreneurial ambitions it’s good practice to be aware of what it will take to be successful…
… and to know yourself. Be honest with yourself.
Examine your own values and beliefs (mindset).
Above all, if you plan to set out online, most start out as solopreneurs.
Successful solopreneurs tend to develop a unique mix of skills and mindsets that enable them to thrive on their own.
They need to be able to wear many hats and juggle multiple responsibilities.
They must be comfortable with the uncertainty that comes with being self-employed and be willing to take calculated risks.
In addition, successful solopreneurs are often excellent communicators, both in terms of marketing themselves and in building strong relationships with their customers.
They also need to be resourceful problem-solvers who can find creative solutions to challenges that arise.
At the end of the day, whether you are self-employed, a business manager, an entrepreneur, or a solopreneur, it all comes down to mindset.
Each role requires a different mindset and skill set, but all successful professionals share a few key traits: a strong work ethic, a customer-focused approach, a willingness to embrace change, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
And, of course, a good sense of humour can never hurt when navigating the challenges of any profession!
You can make changes to your attitudes if you choose.
Your mindset is where your future success starts.
Mindset is the foundation for anything we want to achieve.
If you have any contributions to make or questions, please add them to the comments…
🙂
Richard
