Growth Mindset: The Secret Sauce of Entrepreneurial Success

In today’s ever-changing world, if you don’t develop a growth mindset, you will get left behind.

Your mindset is the driving force behind every decision that you make. At the end of the day, it determines your success or your failure in business. In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology for Success, Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck explains that “The attitude we bring to our daily activities can play a large role in shaping and extending the ways we utilize our innate talents.” 

People with a growth mindset believe that their intelligence can be developed through hard work. They possess a passionate love of learning and view failure as a gift. In contrast, people with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence is fixed, that mistakes are signs of failure, and that talent, void of effort, is what creates success. 

Which mindset do you adopt? If you are trapped in a fixed mindset, now is the time to change it! Entrepreneurial success demands that you do so. Read more at ProjectLifemastery.com.

7 questions to help you figure out if it’s time to quit your job to start your own business

Quitting your day job to be your own boss, set your own hours, and make your own decisions sounds like a dream come true for anyone stuck in a job they hate. Striking out on your own sounds like the perfect solution to your workday woes. But, after the initial enthusiasm, the downside starts to sink in. Starting your own business means leaving a regular paycheck and tossing benefits aside. There’s a ton of risk. But the potential for reward can be oh so alluring.

So, how can you tell if it’s the right time to jump ship and start your own business? Read more at FastCompany.com.

Student Entrepreneurship Fuels Business Growth And Learning

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers pointed to a disturbing trend. While graduates believe they are well prepared for a job, employers increasingly think otherwise.

Nick Bayer, Founder and CEO of Public Benefit Corporation and hospitality company Saxbys expressed it to me this way: “The job market demands skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, problem solving, cultural agility—attributes that are extremely difficult if not impossible to teach in a classroom.”  

Bayer developed the Saxbys Experiential Learning Platform (ELP), a student-centric entrepreneurship opportunity where partners with leading universities to give students the opportunity to run a business, specifically a bustling on-campus café. 

Each ELP cafe is helmed by a Student CEO (SCEO) and a team entirely of undergraduate students who fully responsible for the business, and in return receive academic credit as well as financial compensation.  The program also has an important educational component. Starting three months before their term, the SCEO completes 100 hours of training centered in the following three areas:  Team Development; hiring, inspiring & empowering a team of on average, 50 of their peers; Community Leadership, engaging with stakeholders to become a valued cornerstone on campus; and Financial Management, being fully accountable for the Profit & Loss statement of the cafe. Read more at Forbes.com.

5 Ways to Conquer Entrepreneurship at a Young Age

When it comes to success, age is really just a number. All one needs to succeed in the business world is a strong drive and guidance to be able to navigate the waters and make the right choices.

Here are a few tips to help young entrepreneurs thrive in the business world… Read more at Influencive.com.

How This 19-Year-Old Became An Expert And Bestselling Author

My name is Ali Scarlett, and I believe information is a form of power. To empower others so they can achieve anything they set their minds to, I shorten other people’s learning curve by sharing all of the wisdom I acquire as a lifelong student of personal and professional development.

Thinking over my career options, I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But, I didn’t exactly know how I was going to grow my business if I started it. There was never any concrete idea of where the revenue I needed to confidently run and grow my business was going to come from. Until I became a bestselling author.

Publishing a book positioned me as an expert in my field. It put me in a position where instead of going out looking for customers, customers started to come to me. It gave me a competitive advantage over my competitors because they didn’t have the authority I did. And, now, I’m going to show you exactly how I did it so you can gain the same life-changing results in your own life and business. Read more at YFSMagazine.com.

A Message from Acceler8Success Founder, Paul Segreto

Fear can only be realized as we’re able to admit being scared. It’s only with that admission and realization that we can work through fear and hopefully, overcome it. As fear is such a strong emotion that easily grips the soul, it takes time and patience to overcome such a grip. Little by little, fear can replaced by courage gained from confidence that fear is just a challenge to be conquered.

Although, conquering fear does not have to be done alone. Instead, collaborative efforts aligned with common goals truly exemplify the phrase, ‘strength in numbers’ and it’s that strength that will make it easier to defeat fear. Easier said than done? Possibly, but the alternative is being overwhelmed by fear and that, we recognize, is not living…

Talk to a friend or a colleague today about your fears. Doing so will go a long way toward realizing that there truly is nothing to fear, but fear itself.

Have a great day. Make it happen. Make it count!

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Clubhouse

Clubhouse is where founders go to chat. 

Upon its launch last March, the social app quickly became popular among investors, who hold regular, live audio-only discussions, called “rooms,” in some cases within various topics of interest to groups called “clubs.” Business owners soon followed, building a roster of virtual educational events and places to hone their storytelling skills, commiserate about entrepreneurial life, and share experiences with the likes of high-profile users like Daymond John and Jason Fried. 

If you can get an invitation–Kristin Marquet Chester, owner of New York City-based Marquet Media, recommends starting by asking your closest friends and then making requests on social media if needed–here are three types of rooms and clubs worth checking out for entrepreneurs. To find these events in the app, search for the relevant speakers or the name of the club. 

The access to famous people on Clubhouse is “mind blowing,” says Jeremy Knauff, CEO at digital marketing agency Spartan Media. “It’s like cramming everybody into a stadium and doing an episode of Shark Tank.” Spend enough time networking with people on the app, and you might be able to connect with and ask questions of celebrity entrepreneurs directly. Read more at Inc.com.

Entrepreneurs and the “High Hope” Environment

A sense of “hope” is different than being “optimistic,” which generally has a positive view of the future but not the desire or ability to create that future. Hope has two important components– being proactive towards achieving set goals and having “pathways” to achieve those goals. Recent research shows entrepreneurial startups that create a “high hope” environment can increase productivity and foster higher performing employees. Hope is the key success factor in entrepreneurial ventures.

High-hope organizations are led by entrepreneurs highly involved with employees in a formal goal-setting process. The process includes accountability sessions or check-ins between the leader and employees and instills clear and proactive communication. Entrepreneurs in a high-hope company have a strong physical presence, frequent supportive interactions with employees, seek teaching opportunities, and are highly aware of employee accomplishments and acknowledge them accordingly through words of encouragement. Flexibility to reach company goals is perceived positively, empowered employees to find creative solutions to problems, making the company more effective. Research has indicated a positive correlation between high-hope leadership and employee satisfaction and the likelihood of employee retention. Read more at SmallBizDaily.com.

“Hope is the spark of the spirit that keeps us moving through difficult and trying times; the beacon of light when we are struggling to find our way out of the darkness. Adversity can be overwhelming and it is easy to get swept up in a feeling of hopelessness, but like the cherry blossom- a symbol of new birth, you endure the harshness of the cold and emerge anew. Hope does indeed spring eternal.” – Laurie Edwards-Tate

Before we take off for the next few days to enjoy family during this special time of year we wanted to be sure to wish all our friends, colleagues and far-away family the very best wishes as they celebrate the things most close to their hearts. Enjoy and please be safe!