The Psychology Of Business
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Psychology – From Greek language, Psyche=Soul and Logos=Word, pertaining to the study of mind, thought and behaviour.
Business – An organisation engaged in the trade of goods or services or both to consumers or purposeful activity.
The Phsychology of business begins with your first thought. When thinking about starting your own business what is the mindset you start with? Are you beginning with what you want to achieve in mind? Do you worry about succeeding and what others will think or say? Is your education a concern, that maybe you don’t have enough or maybe too much of the wrong kind? What about your leadership skills or your financial skills or your time management skills or your people skills? Do you even think about them?………..the list could be endless and you could have worked yourself into a state of self doubt and second guessing before you have even found the business you want!
The psychology of business can make or break you. Always start with the end in mind. When you go out for dinner and the waitress asks you what you would like, do you tell her about the steak you have been fantasising about all afternoon with the button mushrooms on the side or do you say ‘anything will do’…..guess what you will get?….anything!
If you are thinking about starting a business then there is a fairly good chance that you are at least partly ready for it and once you have made the decision to go ahead, don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. The psychology of business need not hinder you at all, if looked at in the right mindset it will actually aid you tremendously.
Your biggest asset will be your belief in yourself but don’t be a fool and think you are ten foot tall and bullet proof either, you will need help, so work out what your strengths are and concentrate on those and delegate the rest. Also, it helps to have support from family and friends but it is not essential, if people are being negative and trying to ‘help’ but not, firmly tell them that you value their input but if they are not going to be supportive right now (because that is what you need most) then they should take their good intentions elsewhere. Believe in your right to a better future and in your ability to get you there. Sometimes the ones closest to us let their own fears cloud their judgement and even though they mean well they end up hindering rather than helping.
Using the psychology of business to paint a vivid picture in your head (which you can translate to paper) of what your business looks like in its prime will show you what you need to do and have to achieve it. Putting your ideas into action will open the floodgates to more ideas and so on and so forth and before you know it you are in business!
Prepare yourself for bad days, they will come. Having a game plan in place to handle potential hiccups will make the problem seem a lot smaller than it would have if you weren’t prepared for it. Always make sure the actions you are taking are moving you forward in your business, if they are not then get rid of them.
Always be learning more about your business and industry so you are equipped for change and growth. There are multitudes of books, courses and free information available for all who are willing to look. The psychology of business is a complex subject, the more you know, the more you can share and use to make your life and the lives of others better.
The biggest part of the psychology of business is knowing when to give it a rest. Having thoughts of your business and all the aspects of it in your head continually can actually hurt you rather than help. Give yourself permission to have a break on a regular basis, take a whole day off here and there and do not give your business a second thought. Go and do something you know will relax and refresh you, spend time with your family or friends, get a massage, play golf or watch a movie, you will find that you will be clear headed and focused when it is time to go back and much better equipped to handle any challenges. Lastly, having your own business is a serious thing and should be treated that way but it is also a fun thing! This is the vehicle that is going to help you achieve all your dreams and goals so have fun with it!