Developing the Mindset of Successful Entrepreneurs

Will the way a person thinks affect the likelihood of his being a successful entrepreneur? Indeed!

Studies have shown that a person who has an entrepreneurial mindset thinks differently than those who are satisfied with just being mere employees.

An entrepreneurial mindset focuses more on effectual thinking instead of causal thinking. Effectual thinking is very important especially in the starting a new business venture.

The Difference Between Causal Thinking and Effectual Thinking:

Causal thinking is the type of thinking entrepreneur wannabes indulge in. Causal thinking deals with having a goal in mind and having a definite plan to achieve the said goal. It also encourages a person to find better ways to implement the plan and achieve their goal.

Of course, the person has all the flexibility in the world to find several alternatives to achieve the goal he has first set and this goal stays the same all through out.

Effectual thinking, on the other hand, is a fairly different idea. And yes, it starts the same way as a causal thinker would have it.

There are set means, yes, but the goals develop over time and are molded by the imagination and interaction of the entrepreneur with the other people who contribute to his business.

With effectual thinking, there are no set goals in the beginning. The formation of goals by an effectual thinker is based on three factors:

Personality: (what he is as a person)

Knowledge: (his formal education and training)

Network: (who he knows socially and professionally).

How Entrepreneurs Think:

Elaborating the difference between causal thinking and effectual thinking does not mean that an entrepreneur only uses one type of thinking. In fact, the best entrepreneurs make use of both types at the right time.

For someone who is still starting out, effectual thinking should be put into action. Why? For two things.

First, being an effectual thinker means being creative. You are not limited by your means as well as your goals. You may think of alternate routes to get to your goal, but if it doesn’t work, you can easily scrap those routes altogether.

And since effectual thinkers aren’t limited to one grand goal, success may come from an unexpected direction and in the most unexpected time.

Secondly, when you become an effectual thinker, you develop all the characteristics required to make an entrepreneur successful.

These characteristics include creativity, resourcefulness, tenacity and persistence along with your intuitive feelings..

Effectual entrepreneurs aren’t fortune tellers and they do not try to be one. Instead, they will work to create the future that they want their businesses to be in.

Becoming Successful:

Success does not come overnight and effectual entrepreneurs know this. If the first plan doesn’t work, then it’s time to move on to the next one, and so on and so forth.

Being successful is just like playing hide and seek with you as the “it”. Just because success doesn’t come from the first place, as a true entrepreneur you continue moving forward looking for it.

As an effectual thinking entrepreneur, you are allowed to adapt to the moment and change goals on the fly.

Remember, the best entrepreneurs make use of both types of thinking. As a budding entrepreneur yourself, you would do well to follow their example.