If there’s one lesson every solopreneur needs to learn it’s that sometimes you are the barrier that’s stopping you from succeeding. Notoriously, solopreneurs often don’t have a support system around them to make them aware of this fact and coming to this realisation on your own is difficult. So, take this as your sign. If you’ve read this far then there is at least a small part of you that is concerned your struggle to succeed could be because of internal influences.
Let’s go through some of the most common (but less talked about) mindset barriers solopreneurs face and determine if any of them apply to you.
Caring what (irrelevant) people think
You should be proud of your business and what you are creating, but pride is a slippery slope that can lead to caring about what the wrong people think. Specifically in the age of social media – where every part of our lives can be documented – we often care a little too much about the opinions of strangers. The only opinions you should take on board are your customers and business professionals with which you share mutual respect.
For many solopreneurs, these worries stem from imposter syndrome. We pay so much attention to these opinions because they fuel the doubts we have about ourselves. This stops us from ever being able to take the next step or achieve the next goal that could be a huge turning point for your business. While the opinions might belong to others, it’s the barrier they create in your mind that affects your business growth.
Feeling like an employee in your business
Despite how much you wanted to start this journey, your business can quickly feel like a job you can’t escape. In the beginning, starting your own business is going to feel like more work than you’ve possibly ever done. And, what’s worse, is that only you can hold yourself accountable and stay on task even when it’s the last thing you want to do. Hustle culture has led us to believe that solopreneurs must work every hour of the day, that even one minute not working could have a significant impact on success.
After a time, this is going to seriously affect both your mental and physical health. You have no free time, you’re earning less than when you were in paid employment and you start to lack confidence in what you’re doing. All of this adds up to a serious mindset barrier that could make you start to resent what you’re doing.
Battling with burnout
Burnout can affect anyone at any time but solopreneurs are not in a position to step away from the thing that is causing them burnout. Employees might be able to ask for help or time away to recover but doing this as a solopreneur grinds your business growth to a halt. Many causes of burnout link back to feeling like an employee in your own business; you are dealing with high workloads, pushing on with a lack of support and trying to be everywhere all at once.
You might have been led to believe that burnout is just something you have to deal with as a solopreneur. After all, you asked for this, right? Wrong. Burnout is not something you can outrun. If you don’t address it and identify the causes, it’s going to break your business. Reaching the point of burnout is going to create so many mindset barriers that you’ll start to feel overwhelmed even when completing the simplest of tasks.
Struggling to let go of control
Part of the reason you became a solopreneur is most likely because you wanted control; control of your work, control of your life outside of work, control of your future. This need for control could be creating an impossible mindset that has a knock-on effect in every area of your business – and in some cases your personal life as well. Sometimes this might be letting go of certain business beliefs you were led to believe, other times it could be letting go of workloads.
Whether it’s struggling to push past your own limitations or outsourcing certain tasks to lighten your workload, believing you have to do everything alone is a counterproductive mindset.
The good news is that you are not alone in these mindset struggles. Solopreneurs all around the world have experienced them to some extent. And, just like them, you have the chance to join an online community that has resources dedicated to reshaping your mindset and reigniting the passion that put you on this journey in the first place.
Join hundreds of solopreneurs who are already benefiting from weekly resources, bi-weekly masterclasses and support whenever you need it.