What happens when your marketing isn’t working? What happens when you’re in the “trying to figure it out” stage? What happens when everything doesn’t just click into perfect client attraction bliss straight out of the gate?

I’m going to be honest — this is where the rubber meets the road in terms of entrepreneurship.

In my experience, it’s a LOT harder to go from zero to 500 people on your email list than it is to go from 500 to 10,000. I believe it’s a lot harder to go from zero to $2,500 per month in income than it is to go from $2,500 to $25,000 a month.

Because I’ve seen it time and time again.

When you’re trying to figure it out, trying something new, or trying to pivot, I often refer to this as fishing in the dark.

You’re throwing your fishing line out into the dark hoping someone is out there that will want what you’re fishing with.

That phase takes some serious commitment, perseverance, and belief, and it’s so easy to just throw in the towel and say it isn’t working and you’ll never figure it out.

Back in 2013, I went to an event that Amy Porterfield held, and I met six other magical women. For almost two full years, the seven of us would meet every other week for an informal, peer-led mastermind.

It was one of the most beneficial experiences in my business because I didn’t feel so alone in building my business.

I had my fair share of business disasters and setbacks during this time — as did others in our group. There was even a time when I thought about throwing it all in and just going back to the corporate world. I’d been approached by Microsoft with a really interesting job, and it was incredibly tempting.

But I didn’t want to let a few business setbacks make me give up on my dream. I KNEW I wanted my business, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it a reality. So, instead of taking that job as an employee, I negotiated to be a consultant instead, giving me the money I needed AND the flexibility I needed to build my business.

I dug in my heels, rolled up my sleeves, and figured it out.  

More than any strategy or offer or anything else, that MINDSET, I believe, is what set me apart.

Bottom line: You can change your mindset — and your chances of success in your business — with your words and beliefs.

Biggest Show Takeaways:

• Someone who has helped me tremendously is Carol Dweck and her work around the difference between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset.
  • Carol did a Ted Talk on the power of believing that you can improve — which she calls The Power of YET — because these beliefs will make or break you in building your business.
  • Carol wanted to see how children would cope with difficulties. So, she went to a class of 10-year-olds (4th graders), and she gave them problems that were a bit too hard for them on purpose.
  • Some of the kids had shockingly positive responses to getting everything wrong on Carol’s test. They said things like: “I love a challenge!”
  • Some students understood that their abilities could be developed. They had a growth mindset where getting something wrong was the first step in learning something new.
  • For other students, this was tragic because they had a much more FIXED mindset, and failing at this test showed that their intelligence had been up for judgment and they’d failed.
  • Instead of looking at the possibilities of the power of YET, they were gripped by the tyranny of now.
  • In a follow-up study Carol Dweck and her team did, they found that many of the students with a fixed mindset said they’d probably cheat next time because they just couldn’t face the possibility of failure.
  • In another study, they found that kids with a fixed mindset who had had a failure would look around for someone who did worse than they did so that they could feel better about themselves.
  • In study after study, kids with fixed mindsets found any way they could to RUN from difficulties.
  • Failure to them is something to be avoided at all costs because it means they’re a failure.
  • Kids with growth mindsets took failures in stride and used it as an opportunity to learn something new and grow.
• The truth is you and I can choose — we can choose to have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.
• Many people who get frustrated and don’t give their business everything they’ve got are suffering from a fixed mindset. They’re afraid to go all in because if it fails, they’re a failure.
• Those who have tenacity and dedication to themselves and their business EVEN IF there are big risks and scary decisions to make have a growth mindset because they know that even if they fail in business, they are not a failure.  
• There have been times when I’ve had a very fixed mindset, when I felt like failure defined me and branded me as a failure. Everything felt hard, and it was very difficult for me to make decisions because I was afraid of doing things wrong and failing even more.
• When I found out about Carol Dweck’s work and really started implementing some of the growth mindset mantras into my life and business, things really began to change.
• Now when something is a failure, I just take it as a learning moment. I get curious about why it failed. I try to find whatever lessons I can so that I don’t have to make that mistake again.
• We are BUILDING something from nothing. We’re using the power of our minds, our skills, and hard work to create a business out of nothing. And, of COURSE, we will make mistakes. That’s a given.
• We need to be really intentional about how we talk to ourselves.
• I’ve got a printed list of re-frames in my journal, so I have to tools to stop negative thinking and turn it around. See which of these phrases sound good to you:

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Carol Dweck’s book: Mindset the new psychology of success
• Carol Dweck’s TEDx Talk: The Power of Believing That You Can Improve
• Want to know which marketing funnel is right for you and your business? Take this free and easy quiz, and in less than 5 minutes, you’ll know EXACTLY which funnel is right for you.