We’ve talked before about how, as a business owner, you shouldn’t mire yourself in the day-to-day minutiae of your business and how hiring more employees can buy you freedom.
Now, you may read those words and think, “Easier said than done.”
What’s holding you back from getting it done, though? I’m willing to bet it’s your mindset. Specifically, you’re probably stuck in a “lack” mentality.
Lack mindset, or “dearth mentality,” is the idea of scarcity, the idea that there’s only so much wealth to go around, resources are finite, and we need to protect what resources we have.
Here’s a prime example of how mindset plays out in business. For years, I refused to hire a pricey experienced manager for my law practice. Instead, I wrecked my life trying to manage on my own, even though I had NO IDEA how to manage a staff.
It was indeed a case of “the blind leading the blind.”
I couldn’t let go of stuff that I could “just do on my own,” –but that only led to me troubleshooting menial things for 12 hours a day and very little else getting done.
At the edge of burnout, I finally realized that my ego was what was holding me back.
The work I was comfortable doing – legal work, secretarial tasks, managing the day-to-day operations – was the least valuable to the firm, myself, my family, and my employees. But what I needed to do – hire a great manager, develop a business strategy, cultivate client relationships was out of my comfort zone.
Remaining in the “comfort zone” was holding me back because I was uncomfortable doing the “newer” things, as is the case for most of humanity. We take solace in the familiar; what we know we can do. The unknown can be downright terrifying, and overcoming the fear takes a mindset shift (you thought I was going to say “leap of faith,” huh?”).
For me, the shift took place around my idea that a business manager was “pricey.”
Here’s what I realized: when we think about business expenses at price rather than value, we shortchange ourselves, our clients, and our employees.
Reframing the “cost” of a business manager as an “investment” created a seismic shift for my firm. By hiring a business operations expert, I even lowered payroll because he streamlined our operations, which created efficiency across the firm, and made us a better team.
Now, I’m working 7 hours a day instead of 12 while managing the business from a strategic point of view. I leave the secretarial work to my secretary, my IT problems to my IT folks, and my staff executes the production work.
I spend my days cultivating relationships with clients, developing solutions that are proactive, not reactive. I’m offering protection from liabilities rather than responding to crises.
All by shifting my mindset from what something costs to what value it brings.
Now, instead of living in a lack mentality, I’m experiencing abundance. I’m living a higher-quality life with a better balance between work and family. My employees are happier, and the firm has less turnover. I’m creating longer-lasting relationships with existing clients while also focusing on finding new ones.
Our mind is a powerful, but double-edged, sword. When we allow ourselves to marinate in the idea that “there isn’t enough time/money/resources,” then we create a self-fulfilling prophecy that affirms the thought we started with. Shifting our thoughts and actions has the power to move our circumstances in a new direction.
