6 Steps to Entrepreneurial Mastery

Going out on your own and starting your own business can seem daunting.

You may ask yourself, “How will I leave the big paycheck behind? What are my chances of success? Does anyone want what I have to sell?”

If you have done your homework ahead of time, that answer will be a resounding yes. Sometimes it’s your own personal journey that drives your passion to launch something bigger than you. Sometimes it’s a group of people you have observed and feel compelled to help.

I know I felt that way when I launched The Great Do-Over. I remember vividly sitting on the meditation cushion when the vision came… I was bathed in this golden light (trust me, this freaked me out) and there I was blogging and speaking with women and helping them to refocus in midlife and create fulfilling careers and relationships.

While I was earning a hefty six-figure salary at the time, that idea frightened me a bit. “How am I going to walk away from what I have and launch something I have no clue how to do?”

But when you are seeking for an answer and it comes, you don’t question the answer, you just ask, “How?”

That was my quest. To find out how to be successful and be of service at the same time. It wasn’t always easy. Sometimes I ventured down the wrong road, hired the wrong coach and didn’t invest wisely.

But with each turn – success or setback – there was learning. I’ve reduced them here to the 6 steps to entrepreneurial mastery. 

Six Steps To Entrepreneurial Mastery

#1 Mission
What is your big why? Investors are most interested in investing in companies that have a mission and purpose. Who is it you serve? What is the drive behind you wanting to launch this business?

Tip: spend time researching the statistics that support your mission. Tell your story and quote your ideal clients. Nothing tells a story better than the people you are here to support with your product or solution.

#2 Mindset
The entrepreneurial journey is not a straight line up. There are twists and curves and it looks more like this:

The most important thing is to master your mindset. Focus on success. Take time to work ON your business as well as IN your business. Where you are going? Keep your head in the little wins along the way. Focus on staying alert, in touch with your intuition and firmly grounded in your body.

Tip: At this stage the most important thing you can do is stay in alignment.  Meditate, journal, go to the gym and eat clean food. Have a mentor you can turn to for support and course corrections. Be wary of taking too many courses or joining an online B-School that is too broad to be useful. Watch out for decisions based on fear or resistance. You need hands-on help here. Get a mentor who can grow with you.

#3 Method
Having a mission and the right mindset are necessary foundations. Now it’s method that will get you launched and growing. You need a solid blueprint for how you will develop, market and sell your offering. It’s important at this stage that you are clear about your forecast and funding, and that you have nailed your ideal client and that your offering has been tested and is solid.

Tip: Work with someone who has been there, done that and has the scars to prove it. Make sure you don’t enroll in courses or training you are not yet ready for. Check with your mentor on what your best next step is.

#4 Money
Don’t underestimate what it will take for your business to reach a sustainable level of success. Women entrepreneurs are launching new businesses at one-and-a-half times the rate of men, but more than 90% of those businesses will fail to reach sustainable success in five years. Ensure you are not bootstrapping your savings or maxing out your credit for your future success. This limits your ability to grow. There are new sources of funding options emerging daily. Know your options so that you can build a solid foundation with the right staff, the right technology and the right marketing from the start.

#5 Mastermind
In Napoleon Hill’s 1937 book, “Think And Grow Rich,” he highlighted the power of the mastermind in building the success of entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie. A mastermind is a group of successful business owners who together create a master- mind of all of their wisdom and experience and that wisdom is applied and shared with the entirety of the mastermind group. No successful entrepreneur goes this road alone.

Tip: Make sure you have a group of “like minds” (those with equal or greater skill and experience) on whom you can rely for advice and input. Be wary of joining groups or spending high membership fees without vetting your peers (I have made this mistake too!).

#6 Momentum
Follow your own momentum. The temptation for creative entrepreneurs when launching a piece of their business is to then focus on the next bright shiny object of their creativity.

Tip: Focus on one thing. Build it. Grow it. Give it good solid momentum in the market before building your next thing. Entrepreneurs that jump from one concept to the next never create sustainable growth or market advantage.

In my business mastermind group, I teach that Mindset + Mechanics + Metrics = Money. They are the three legs of the entrepreneurial stool. Miss any one and your business topples over.

Thanks for reading! If I can be a sounding board for your passion-based business idea, connect with me here.