During a new venture, you’ll likely find yourself approaching your work from a number of different mindsets. It’s important to have some emotional intelligence to recognize where you are mental as you work on an entrepreneurial endeavor. Oftentimes, the worst mistake an entrepreneur can make is to focus so wholeheartedly on the venture itself that they forget their position as a leader and guide. It’s good to shift your mindset and take a new approach from time to time.
The following 4 don’ts are essential to avoid as an entrepreneur. Learning to recognize when you are falling into these traps is a life lesson as much a business lesson.
Don’t Ignore Your Mental Health
Entrepreneurship is a deeply stressful calling. Oftentimes you’ll have to put in long, exhausting hours for little return. There will often be times that your attempts at a new venture will fail for no reason you could control. These can contribute to burnout or worse, and addressing these frustrations and mental health struggles is critical.
You are your own best tool for success, make sure that you take care of yourself.
Don’t Fall for the Sunk Cost Fallacy
“Quitters never prosper” is an old, flawed adage. Entrepreneurship is filled with teaching moments about knowing when enough is enough. There are hundreds of stories of entrepreneurs who stuck it out through the worst moments, and came through with a bigger and better business – but these stories are the exceptions, not the rules. One of the best lessons you can learn from the career is to know when to cut your losses and start fresh elsewhere.
Don’t Take it Personally
When approaching new investors or building a business from the ground up, you will face a lot of nay-sayers and doubters. This is natural, and oftentimes criticism comes from a place of compassion. Taking criticism, doubt, and rejection with grace and poise will impart others with more confidence and appreciation for you and your work – even if they don’t see things the way you see it.
Don’t Get Lost in the Weeds
When the going gets tough, the tough take a step back. A fresh perspective is an underrated tool in the entrepreneurial toolkit. Perspective allows you to cut to the heart of your trials and tribulations, and see the solutions that you might not have seen when you were right in the thick of it. Don’t spend too much time hands-off, but know that sometimes you have to check in with yourself on how things are going, and see the bigger picture.