A positive mindset and a healthy dose of optimism is essential for every entrepreneur otherwise we’d be better off as employees following somebody else’s dream. But a positive mindset will only get you so far.
Spoiler alert: you still have to put in the hard work. Work smarter rather than harder where you can but you still have to work.
You still need the discipline to keep yourself going on tough days and to be able to motivate yourself (and your team)to keep working towards your dream.
You will need to be able to keep your head and think clearly in a crisis because, rest assured, there will be many crises along the way and you are the leader who will need to deal with it. That’s the counter side to the freedom that your business gives you.
You will need to be a visionary who can see what direction your business needs to take, and a pilot to get it there.
Initially you will be the captain guiding the ship from the bridge whilst also stoking coal in the engine room. At some point you will take on a team, at which point you will need leadership skills (and probably a healthy helping of patience)
Ideally you will have a team whose strengths complement yours and a board or a business coach to hold you accountable for all those actions as well as to help you along the way.
I’ve learnt over the years that business is a lot easier when you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. If you’d value an experienced sounding board, I’m always happy to help through leadership coaching, mentoring and the occasional useful introduction.