Entrepreneurial Mindset
Designers, by the very nature of their practice, need to have an entrepreneurial mindset in order to be successful. Entrepreneurs are commonly able to envision a better version of whatever they are working on, tend to be very self-motivated, persistent, detail oriented, a bit of an overachiever, and very persistent. They frequently create something from nothing. Or they take something and “disrupt” it, asking fundamental questions about it nature, the problem it was trying to solve, the social impact, the environmental impact. And how when it is put into use it will work to redesign the ecology (physical, emotional, and mental) where it is placed.
Commonly however, designers tend to hide in plain sight. Opting to use the excuse of being a self-labeled introvert, designers will frequently keep their ideas to themselves until pressed to share. However, I believe being introverted/extroverted is a spectrum and everyone is capable of both given the right circumstances.
More and more designers are already taking the co-founders seat, whether its companies like Shopify and Zeitworks, or consultancies or service groups, designers are becoming central figures in establishing new businesses. There are some basic best practices for adopting a entrepreneurial mindset that can help designer stop their self-imposed “introvert” exile and join the ranks of co-founders and entrepreneurs.
7 key takeaways from successful founders
Commit to your passion
Understand the needs of the market
Plan your vision and build a strategy towards it
Set clear goals, define milestones and measure your progress
Practice being decisive
Network with other entrepreneurs
Learn from your setbacks and move forward
Four characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
Ability to confront self-doubt
Accountability
Resilience
Willingness to experiment
Confronting self-doubt.
We all have it. We all wonder if we have what it takes. We all feel like imposters from time to time. Success will come with your ability to control your own thoughts and to confront the underlying reasons why you have self-doubt. Whether it is feeling you don’t know enough, that you don’t have permission, that one mistake will label you a failure, or that no one supports or trusts you. It all comes down to your ability to reflect and then come up with a plan for learning, getting forgiveness, failures is part of learning, and knowing that trust is earned through actions starting with communications.
Accountability
We talk about it all the time. Frequently in the third person–they aren’t being accountable, he’s not taking responsibility. Real accountability comes from recognizing you are responsible for the outcomes and actions of your initiative. Even when the outcomes are impacted by things outside your control, being entrepreneurial requires you to avoid focusing on excuses and start taking action. Excuses are delaying tactics, more often than not they are simply manifestations of self-doubt.
Resilience
This is a topic we are all familiar with these days. However resilience in this case is not our infrastructure or our software; this is your ability to recover from mistakes. They are inevitable, they are part of learning, they are especially common when you are breaking new ground, exploring the unexplored. Being able to transform failures into learnings and learnings into actions is the core of leadership. Whether they are your failures or those of people on your team, you need to focus on your goal not on laying blame if you want to inspire those around you.
Willingness to experiment
Whether you are building the next new-new thing, or evolving a cornerstone product, it is critical that you continually ask yourself “what if…” Curiosity is one of the most important traits for success. Force yourself to look at the problem from different angles, from different stakeholder perspectives. To try new approaches, to experiment. Whether its packaging and pricing, technology, organizational models, operational changes, keep experimenting. The one sure way to fail is to retain your status quo. If you are the leader, none of your competitors are standing still; the momentum they are building in order to catch you, will carry them forward, surpassing you.
