Growing Your Business Is 1 Prosperous Reason to Read: Get Into An Entrepreneurs Mindset

For one thing, it gives you a sense of who I am and that is my personal brand right? 

Authenticity is vital and being authentic ensures that shift from the employee (where you represent others’ branding) into an entrepreneur’s mindset.  We spend so much time carefully sharing the “message” we are told to share. Often that includes specifically crafted content and communication reviewed and approved by supervisors, legal teams, and a board or C-Suite. 

In my 6-Step Checklist to Escape the 9-5, “shift your mindset” is step 2.  Because the checklist is based on my experience going from employee to entrepreneur and I was so conditioned into a 9-5 mindset, I believe it truly is a “step” to take. Books can help with that- massively.

For business: the reason to read number 1 is the most important

For those of you who are diving into entrepreneurship, you can back me up on this: it’s a bit lonely. You can’t run into the breakroom to gather opinions on something, you no longer have a manager or supervisor to approve your creation and you absolutely do not have corporate teams on speed dial. 

• No IT team, if you’re laptop starts freaking out or if you need to edit content for a video training. 
• No legal team if you have a question about setting up your disclaimer or privacy policy on your website. 
• No marketing team to post your social media content at the right time in the right cadence.

Books can be your friend, my friends. I am a big believer in online courses, but books are different, as you know.   While courses are vital in your entrepreneurial journey, books can be a reference you go back to continuously. 

There are so many topics this applies to:

Mindset

Finding books that help you think differently, even break out of what you have been trained to think is vital. You can build your confidence by understanding mindset in itself. 

According to Oxford Dictionaries, mindset is defined as: “the established set of attitudes held by someone.”  As a GenXer, that established set of attitudes included the belief that you had to be the first in and last out at “work.” Meaning 9-5 was really 8-6, 7-7, and even weekends. Essentially, it is a pretty common attitude to think that someone not exerting a ton of effort into spending hours proving how many hours we are “working” isn’t up to standard.

To ditch that set of attitudes fostered by the 9-5 belief system really is a mindset shift. Books can help you realize what else is out there. 

Productivity

When you are out there trying to build a business, it is easy (if you’re anything like me!) to wander down some seriously distracting rabbit holes. What worked for you in the past may help: time-blocking, batching tasks, etc., or maybe your new life is so vastly different that you need help navigating it. 

Finding the right system to keep you productive is essential. And it is so very personal. Each of us is wired differently not just in how we learn but in how we function effectively. Books give you the option of exploring productivity tools that are tailored to you and your business. 

Inspiration and encouragement 

Other people’s experiences and learnings can inspire you to take action but can also be encouraging. Knowing that others made it through into success, or that the struggles you have were had by others, is not only a comfort but can greatly impact your ability to continue moving forward. 

The reasons I read are the reasons I chose blogging as my profession 

Simply put: I got into blogging because all through my career (and even in my personal life) writing is the easiest way for me to share, encourage, and communicate in general.

I get super-excited about the stuff I read, the lessons I learn.  It’s my hope that through my writing, and of course, particularly through my blog, I share lessons that are valuable to others. 

Beyond that, I passionately mean to inspire and encourage! 100 percent. 

LEARN MORE

Let’s talk about the books that helped me on this journey out of the 9-5 and into blogging

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

This may sound obvious by the title, but it isn’t. Not in the way it encouraged, inspired, and ultimately continues to impact me and my business. 

If I’m honest, it’s about the first 86 pages and the stories towards the back. This book was my affirmation, in fact, it was my “hallelujah” symbol in a way. 

As a GenXer who was conditioned to the tradition of 9-5, I read, in black and white, that it was not only OK to step back from the 9-5 belief system but to shift my mindset out of it. 

In fact, it was sensible to use the skills I’ve learned and earned all these years to:

• do something I love
• earn an income doing it
• and ditch the idea of retirement (and waiting to be a certain age) to simply enjoy life

The Essential Habits of 6-Figure Bloggers

I knew that all that stuff I saw online about making 6 figures in minutes (ok maybe 30 days?) was unlikely. 

And guess what, I was right! 

Yes, I work with a business coach, but having read this book and keeping it on hand means I have access to 17 bloggers’ stories, words of encouragement, and a realistic explanation of what it means to be blogging to earn income. 

There are a number of ways to earn income as an online entrepreneur and with blogging, I may have chosen one of the longest roads from point A (launching the thing) to point B (making money)! But I have no regrets. 

Reading Miller’s book does three things:

1. Paints a realistic picture of building a business, especially a blog, online. 
2. Breaks down the habits that truly are essential for entrepreneurs into sections with stories that coincide. 
3. Offers an easy read; one that you can come back to time and again, as you need reminders and reinforcement.

And a bonus: each story ends with how you can connect with the blogger interviewed! I’ve followed a few and definitely get value doing it. 

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz

What? A fictional novel that can even be categorized in the romance category? So I am completely confusing you with this choice, I am sure. But this one is all about my need to be in the entrepreneur’s mindset and blogging for my chosen profession. 

In my journey, my why includes the ability to live wherever I want. For me, that was Colonial Williamsburg and before blogging, in my last 9-5 life, I was pretty restricted in that I traveled so much and had to be in a position to get the flights I need (easy access to a hub). Preferably located in the “center” of the country to ease travel days, because most of my travels were just for 1-2 nights. 

And now, after my blessed COVID layoff and the launch of my new career blogging, I am living in Williamsburg! Where The Lacemaker takes place on the eve of the Revolutionary War. 

Thus: this book, rich in history and able to make me visualize the past as I wander my new hometown, is a glaring (in a bright and sunshiney way) reminder of my why.  

Call to action: read a book and shift into an entrepreneurs mindset

Whatever calls to you, read it. There is always something to be gained from a book. 

And if it is something you need to reference time and again, keep it within reach. My 4-Hour Workweek and Essential Habits of 6-Figure Bloggers books hang out on a bookshelf in my office.