As an entrepreneur you are often required to wear many hats, especially when you start your business. All of a sudden you are a bookkeeper, a marketer, a sales person, a production worker, etc. You look after all facets of your business.
Self-development and self-care is very important, not only for the mind and body but also for your business. As an entrepreneur you should always be looking to learn, to soak up knowledge so that you grow and your business grows with you.
Successful entrepreneurs know that this is the secret to accelerating business success.
Want to take your business to the next level? Let me share three steps to accelerate your business success:
JOIN A MASTERMIND
What is a mastermind you might wonder?
The concept of mastermind was invented by Napoleon Hill. He described the notion of a mastermind in his book Think and Grow Rich. He wrote:
“The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”
“No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind [the master mind].”
A mastermind related to business is a group of people who come together, share common goals and work together to achieve these goals. They hold each other accountable, harness the power of the group and gain considerably more momentum than they would on their own.
People in the mastermind are invested in each other’s success and give as much as they take by supporting each other, offering advice, promoting each other’s businesses and assisting with leads and opportunities. A mastermind is invaluable as you are part of a group which means that you have more than one person to learn from and a good mastermind is led by one of more coaches that have successful businesses. The better mastermind groups generally include group coaching, one-on-one coaching, structured learning, social activities to encourage group interaction and a discussion and inspiration forum.
HIRE A BUSINESS COACH OR MENTOR
Whilst self-education through books, workshops and e-courses is highly recommended, having a coach often takes your business to a whole new level and often much faster. All successful entrepreneurs have mentors, they learn from those who have walked the path before them and often contribute having success to having a good mentor. Look at people such as Richard Branson, Marie Forleo, etc. They have all had mentors and continue to surround themselves with inspiring and knowledgeable mentors. There’s no better and more accelerated way to business success than learning from those who have walked the path before you.
STUDY (BOOKS, SHORT COURSES, ONLINE COURSES, ETC.)
Books are a fantastic low cost (or free from the library) option to learn. I love and recommend reading books by people who have successfully built and grown their business. Books that describe how these successful entrepreneurs made their success. Think of people like Richard Branson, Natalie MacNeil, Lisa Messenger, Sophia Amoruso, Ariana Huffington etc.
Courses are a great way to learn and you can do it either online or offline. It doesn’t have to be a university degree, there are plenty of courses that will teach you a specific skill that’s applicable to your needs. Online courses are great because you can go at your own pace and are not required to attend classes at a specific time or location. Offline courses are great because you do get out of the house and you get to interact with others. See what works for you, the comfort of doing it from home or the fun and interaction in a classroom.
BIANCA VAN MEEUWEN // HAVE IT ALL ACADEMY
Bianca van Meeuwen is a marketing & social media coach, addict, expert and educator. She helps entrepreneurs and small business owners who are passionate about their businesses do more business with marketing & social media. She is the creator of the Ostrich Guide to Social Media, the ultimate step-by-step DIY guide to using social media in your business, and the founder of the Have it All Academy. Follow Bianca on Facebook.
