3 things every successful entrepreneur believes
“Nobody lives here, I can’t hire anybody”
That’s what a franchisee told me at a recent group coaching call.
After a 10+ years in entrepreneurship, I’ve learned a simple truth –
The most important factor for success is NOT your location, your customers, or the economy –
It’s what you believe.
Your thoughts define your actions, and your actions define your outcomes.
If you ever catch yourself saying:
“We can’t be successful because nobody has money”
“We can’t make our store work because the town’s too small”
“We can’t be successful because of [insert any other external factor]”
…then, your beliefs are holding you back.
Today, I’m going to share the 3 things you (and your team) must believe to be true to achieve your goals.
The “Belief Tripod” of Success
There are 3 core beliefs that separate thriving companies from struggling ones. I call it the Belief Tripod:
1. We live in a great market
2. We provide a great product/service
3. We have a great company
When you and your team truly believe these 3 things, you become unstoppable.
Obstacles turn into opportunities.
Disadvantages become advantages.
You find a way to win – no matter what.
But if even one of these beliefs is shaky, it sets off a chain reaction of blame, excuses and poor performance.
1. We live in a great market
If you don’t fully believe in your location, you’ll start saying things like:
“Nobody here has money”
“The economy is terrible right now”
“Our location gets no traffic or visibility”
Notice how these statements blame external factors. But the reality is, there are successful businesses in every market – during booms, busts, and everything in between. The only thing stopping you is your own disbelief.
2. We provide a great product/service
The same goes for your product or service. If you don’t believe in what you sell, you’ll make excuses like:
“Our product is not good enough yet”
“There are so many better options out there”
“We can’t deliver great results consistently”
As a franchise, you sell a tested product. Others made it work – why not you? Shift your mindset from the shortcomings to making progress.
You’re responsible for your product.
3. We have a great company
And finally, if you don’t believe in your company, you’ll say things like:
“My employees aren’t skilled enough”
“Our systems and processes are lacking”
“We don’t have the resources to compete”
Now, you may be thinking “But some of those things are true for my business!”
And you’re right – every business has real challenges, gaps and limitations. But here’s the key:
Blaming external factors never serves you
Your beliefs determine how you respond to challenges.
If you believe your market, product, or company are not good enough, you’ll lower your standards.
Blaming external factors prohibits you from growing.
When you attribute your results (or lack thereof) to things outside your control…
…you remove yourself of responsibility.
This makes you develop a victim mentality:
You wait for circumstances to change, instead of focusing on what you can change.
This is a recipe for stagnation and mediocrity.
The most successful companies take extreme ownership of their outcomes.
In fact, some of the greatest businesses were born and thrived during the most challenging circumstances. Uber and Airbnb launched during the depths of the Great Recession. Warby Parker took on Luxottica’s complete dominance of the eyewear industry.
The common thread? The founders believed in their market, product, and company – regardless of external factors.
That belief forced them to innovate, persevere, and ultimately disrupt their industries.
How to re-program yourself to overcome limiting beliefs
Limiting and empowering beliefs are two sides of the same coin – you can choose which side you want to focus on.
You can flip every limiting belief into an empowering one.
How?
By asking yourself the right questions. To go back to the group coaching example –
Limiting belief: “Nobody lives here, I can’t hire anybody.”
Empowering belief: “This is a small town, there aren’t millions of great jobs. So if we can provide a great job, we will attract the best talent that’s in the market.”
Here’s how I shift a negative belief into a positive one:
- Identifying: What negative statements do you catch yourself and your team saying?
- Ask: What’s a more positive way to see this?
- Plan: What would you do differently? How would you show up each day?
- Action: Take immediate action following your new perspective
Remember – you achieve what you believe.
If you only take away one thing from this newsletter, make it this:
It’s not the external factors themselves that cause businesses to fail, but rather how you choose to respond to them.
Reply back and share one belief you’re committed to changing this week
Cheers,
Brian Beers
