by: Melinda Cohan, Jul 7th, 2016

Note: This is the first article in a 5-part series designed to guide you in aligning your business mindset, actions, and goals, and therefore supercharging your productivity and success. (episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, episode 5)

Do you remember the first time someone referred to you as an entrepreneur?

I’ll never forget the first time someone called me that. It was like a badge of honor—one I didn’t deserve.

I didn’t consider myself an entrepreneur; I was a coach. I thought: An entrepreneur is someone who takes big risks, does their own thing and is SUPER smart and savvy. I don’t know anything about business! I’m not business savvy. Sure, I’m a good manager and great at the work I do, but to own my own business? No way!

After all, at that point in my life, I had been fired from my job and had decided to turn what was then a fun hobby—coaching—into something that could support me financially.  And that was exactly how I thought of it: coaching was something I was really good at and loved doing; I consider it my higher purpose, even – and I also got paid for it. (Which of course, is just awesome, right?)

The thing is, I was a “technician” (or as some would call it, a “practitioner”), getting paid to do something I was good at – and something I loved.

That’s a FAR cry from being an entrepreneur.

For me, the technician mindset was all well and good, until someone else saw me as an entrepreneur… and that was the spark that allowed me to begin to see myself as one, as well. That’s when things really changed for me. In fact, that’s when I was able to achieve rapid growth and success with my coaching.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re in the “I’m a coach,” mindset, you may set goals and intentions as a business owner, but you still take action as a coach – as a technician.

Therefore, you don’t grow your business as effectively as you could.

If you can get into the business owner mindset, your actions will align with it, and you’ll supercharge your productivity and success.

That said, let’s talk now about the evolution of the entrepreneur.

Imagine, for a moment, a ladder.

The Evolution of the Entrepreneur starts at the Technician Rung.

The next rungs are Hobbyist, Business Owner, CEO, and Shareholder.

I want to ask you to take a moment right now to decide which of those rungs you are currently on, in your business.

Don’t think about your answer too long—just throw it out there.

Now, I’d like to invite you to answer a few questions to help you determine which rung you’re really on. 🙂

Then, in my next article, I’ll outline the specific characteristics of each rung, and how to move from one to the next, so you can run your business AND live your life with the success and freedom for which you work so hard.

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The Quiz:

1. When someone asks you “what do you do?” how do you respond?
   1. “I’m a coach”
   2. “I help people” (or some extended variation of this)
   3. “I own my own business where I coach people”
   4. “Through my products and services I help people accomplish XYZ”
   5. “I’m invested in businesses”
2. When it comes to being an entrepreneur, what are your biggest fears?
   1. “Will I have to get a j-o-b so I can make enough money?”
   2. “Will I hire the right people?”
   3. “Will I be able to scale my business and leverage my full team?”
   4. “Can my team members and Directors really do as well as me, and take care of this business as if it were their own?”
   5. “Will this bring me my expected return on investment?”
3. When it comes to being an entrepreneur, what are your greatest desires?
   1. getting paid to do something I love
   2. helping clients, making money, and having a big impact
   3. working smarter, not harder
   4. leveraging a team to scale the business so it runs without me
   5. creating consistent passive income
4. When it comes to marketing, which is the most accurate?
   1. You get furious when someone tells you to pick a niche.
   2. You dabble in different approaches, rather than having a consistent strategy for bringing in a steady stream of clients.
   3. Your marketing is effective and you see a steady stream of clients and cash flow as a result of your efforts.
   4. You have multiple marketing strategies in place, and they’re all generating steady streams of clients.
   5. You’re researching vertical markets you can serve.

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The Analysis:

If your answers are mostly A’s: you’re operating from the mindset of a Technician.

If your answers are mostly B’s: you’re operating from the mindset of a Hobbyist.

If your answers are mostly C’s: you’re operating from the mindset of a Business Owner.

If your answers are mostly D’s: you’re in the mindset of a CEO.

If your answers are mostly E’s: you’re in the mindset of a Shareholder (if this is you, congratulations!).

Why congratulations?

You’ll have to wait for next week’s article … 😉

Stay tuned to your inbox for Part 2 of this article series, in which I outline the characteristics of each Rung, and provide you with specific steps for moving right on UP the ladder … from Technician to Shareholder.