This article talks about how having a successful startup isn’t only about the business idea but also about one’s mindset towards it. It will help you to navigate and work towards achieving an optimistic, but realistic approach to your startup – one that is more growth-oriented. Adopting a startup mindset often proves beneficial on the professional, and by extension, on the personal front as well.

• Introduction
• Rise in startups during Covid-19 and global statistics around it
• What is a success mindset? Why is it important?
• What’s the X factor that every startup owner ‘must have’?
• What’s stopping most startup owners from succeeding?
• 10 ways for you to develop a success mindset for your startup
• Skills you need to scale up and stay relevant in the startup ecosystem
• Walking towards sustainable growth with a startup owner mindset

Introduction

Startups have created new markets and completely modified (read: disrupted) old ones via innovative services, products, or just ideas that make the world a better place. However, there’s more to this process of starting up than meets the eye.

To make startup companies work practically, there are certain things one must keep in mind. But before we dig into that, let’s look at some statistics about startups.

Rise in startups during Covid-19 and global statistics around it

Reports have found official statistics indicating that a boom in entrepreneurship was recorded in a lot of countries in the year 2020 during the pandemic, let’s take a look:

• In July 2020 in the United States of America, there was a 95% increase in the number of applications for starting a new business as compared to July 2019. It was also at its all-time high with about 5,51,65,700 applications (Census Bureau)
• There were about 84,000 new businesses registered in October 2020 in France, which was not only record-breaking but also 20% more than the number of registrations in the same month in 2019 (McKinsey).
• In the United Kingdom, there was a 30% rise in the number of companies that were registered in November and December 2020 (National Statistical Office).
• Ten thousand new businesses were registered in Japan in September 2020, 14% more registrations as compared to the same time in 2019 (EU-Japan News).
  

While all these businesses were blossoming and blooming, there were a few that did exceedingly well, while the others were still trying to get their business ideas off the ground. So, what contributed to their success? A huge contributor was the startup success mindset.

What is a success mindset? Why is it important?

A startup success mindset isn’t something you would read about in a book and imbibe overnight.

It is something that requires you to engage in deep-rooted thinking and in getting the fundamentals of understanding the mindset of successful entrepreneurs right.

A success mindset refers to the right mindset for business. These could be – being adaptive to change, focused on growth, and having a positive mind-frame that helps get the job done. Entrepreneurs who adopt a startup success mindset can step aside from their competitors simply by thinking differently. It allows them to perceive the world in a better and clearer light – not just professionally but also personally.

Here are a few things that are instrumental in developing success mindsets:

• Focus on growth
• Adapt the abundance mentality
• Aim for long term success
• Don’t allow the fear of failure to prevent you from trying
• Think out of the box

Understand the ‘must have’ X factor for every startup owner

While Darwin did talk about the survival of the fittest – a startup needs much more than just survival. To maneuver your startup from survival mode to thrive mode, you need the infamous ‘X-factor’.

X-factor, in layman’s language, refers to a variable in an equation that has a significant impact on the outcome of the said equation. For example, it could be loyalty in relationships and sportsmanship in competitions.

 Ever wondered what it is in the case of startups?

The X-factor for your startup is a combination of:

• Good work culture: People will always remember how you make them feel. The edge you can have over your competitors is how you treat the people associated with your brand – your internal and external stakeholders. Unlike larger level corporates, every department is closely-knit in a startup, which is why your startup must live up to the values it endorses. Ensure that your team understands you, your purpose, and thinks of the startup as their own.
• Customer relations: Listening in on your customers’ needs, preferences, and most importantly, their pain points are huge deciding factors for startups. 
• Unique Selling Point (USP):  Your USP is an indispensable tool that carves out the path to a startup’s success.

Having these three factors in order can elevate the chances of startup success by a huge proportion.

Here are some additional factors that will help you move closer to the X-factor:

• Be passionate about things. Your team plays off on your energy and vibe. If you care, your team will, too.
• Be honest with both, your team as well as your customers. It creates trust and closeness.
• Be as optimistic as you can be and adopt a “do” attitude towards life and work.
• Let your startup be accessible to people easily, while you remain accessible to your team.
• Be confident, humble, competent, and respectful – because your team learns from you.

While the ‘X-factor’ can be something else for a few businesses, work culture and customer relations are great places to start. Not only does a great work culture make people working for you feel like they are working for something they like, but it also allows them to work better holistically. As far as customers go, a customer-first approach is always appreciated.

What’s stopping most startup owners from succeeding?

Out of all the startups, only one-third of them are able to sustain and return profits to investors. There are a lot of factors that prevent a startup from reaching its full potential and soaring high, such as:

1. Not having a growth mindset: Startups may not have the luxury of extravagant budgets and may have limited resources, so making your mindset the driving force can go a long way.

2. Lack of proper strategy for marketing: With the right marketing, you can sell products and services that users didn’t even know they needed or existed. In the race to perfect their products and services, startups may often miss giving enough attention to marketing strategies. This results in a lot of effort, time, and money amongst other resources going downhill – with little to no returns.

The difference between having and not having a marketing strategy is the same as playing the piano and hitting the keys on the piano. The job is the same, only if the effort is directed properly.

3. Great planning but lack of execution: Startups are known to work with talented, but smaller teams, so naturally, work allotments may get confusing sometimes and yield no profits.

4. Not choosing the right people for your business: It is crucial that everyone associated with your startup has what it takes to make it successful as you do, be it investors, contributors, employees, or stakeholders. It isn’t just the leader who needs to have a success mindset but also the team.

10 ways for you to develop a success mindset for your startup:

1. Don’t settle or stop

It is crucial to not let your success make you complacent. While it is only natural to want to enjoy where you are for a while, ensure you do not become stagnant. Having a startup comes with its ups and downs, so ensure you have a success mindset that doesn’t let failure stop you from moving forward. 

2. Surround yourself with good people

Humans are social beings and hence, the people around us play a major role in who we become and how we think. For this very reason, it is important to surround oneself with good individuals – professionally as well as personally.

3. Never stop challenging yourself

Once you have laid the foundation of your startup and it’s up and running, you need to keep setting newer, tangible goals, think SMART goals. Overcoming newer challenges will make you feel more confident in your role as a founder of the startup. It will make you strive to do better and lend a massive boost to your success mindset.

4. Make sure to give yourself breaks

As the old proverb goes and a study found – all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Adapting to changes and facing challenges, while constantly striving for growth and learning can take up a huge chunk of your mind. Taking breaks to rejuvenate yourself must be considered as a type of maintenance for your success mindset.

5. Be open to learning

A huge part of having a success mindset is to keep learning every single day, be it from your friends, your family, or your colleagues. If possible, startup owners must find mentors who they resonate with. Mentors can lend guidance, elevate confidence, and come with a bag full of life experiences that you can learn from. This can help you become a better leader to your employees.

6. Have a basic routine for your mornings

A huge part of having success and a growth-oriented lifestyle revolves around a lot of tiny habits and a certain amount of discipline in life. Startups may not have a lot of consistency as owners may still be exploring the market and setting the foundation. At times like these, having a decent morning routine can set the right tone for the day. It also gives you a perceived sense of control.

7. Failure isn’t the end of the road

As a startup founder, you will need to navigate through a lot of unchartered territories. In times like those, ensure to allow yourself the liberty to fail and be open to learning from your failures. Failure carves the way to a learning opportunity, so don’t let it become the reason you give up.

8. Set personal goals that are achievable and time-bound

Building a habit of setting mini goals such as going for a morning walk for 30 days or journaling can make you feel good about yourself while adding to your everyday routine. This consistency will balance out the uncertainty that comes with startups. It will also keep you grounded and focused when work gets stressful.

9. Remember to remember your proudest moments

Being positive is an important part of inculcating a success mindset. Remember the things you’ve achieved, and maybe make a journal with your proudest moments that you can go through now and then. Your past successes have the potential to pave the way for your future inspiration.

10. Do not ignore your gut instincts

Your startup works not only because of the product or service you’re selling but also because of your leadership mindset and decision-making skills. Being able to make sound decisions using facts and figures along with trusting your gut can make you feel immensely confident.

Skills you need to scale up and stay relevant in the startup ecosystem

Building a startup and growing a startup are two completely different ball games. This shift requires a significantly new mindset and training. Additionally, with the rise in the number of startups in recent years, competition is dense. Hence, here are a few skills you must acquire to scale up:

1. Learn how to learn

If you believe your startup has the potential to grow into a big business, learn how you can make it happen. Read case studies that will help you understand it better.

Starbucks started with 6 stores in Seattle in the year 1987 and is now up to 30,000 worldwide – and this wouldn’t have happened without consistent learning. There are four components to institutionalizing a culture of learning in your startup, and they are:

• Learning is a never-ending journey, so keep at it
• Your experiences are one of the best teachers you’ll ever come across
• Be open to experimenting with new ideas
• Learn from your competitors too

2. Shape your startup well

A lot of startup founders focus so much on the present that they blur out their long-term vision. Ensure to constantly hire new people with fresher perspectives, experiences, and expertise.

Also, before scaling up, reboot your organization by having a proper organizational structure, better operational planning, and retaining your company culture – because that is your best competitive asset.

3. Create a market for yourself

Startups can’t always scale up in the same niche they started in, which is why it is important to be able to identify whether you need to or not. However, if you are scaling up – you need to find your target audience and if it doesn’t exist, create it for yourself.

For example, Instagram wasn’t always about photography. It started as Burbn which was an application that merged photography with gaming. When they decided to scale up, they simplified their business model.

Walking towards sustainable growth with a startup owner mindset

Your company should grow at the same pace as it can deliver quality. For instance, let’s assume that you are a food product owner, and you end up having way too many customers for a week than you can handle. Now the first couple of days, you would be able to manage somehow. However, gradually the quality of your food might start to deteriorate in your quest to attend to all your customers. This can result in more negative marketing than you signed up for.

Here are a few tips for you to grow sustainably as a startup owner:

• Have different, strategic growth plans, such as a one-year plan, a three-year plan, and a five-year plan.
• Keep evolving. Ensure that your business is consistently growing and hence, adding something to its story. For instance, Instagram has been evolving consistently with new features and algorithms over the years. It is no longer just a social media platform to post pictures but is a great place for small businesses and startups to start off
• Have a proper hierarchy and a standard operating procedure so everyone is aligned and aware of their roles and responsibilities.

As you may already know, startups are a crucial part of our economy. People have brilliant ideas that help us in unimaginable ways. For this very reason, every startup owner needs to work towards a better and sustainable future for their startup by focusing on strategy and a success mindset.