Article Growth mindset: how to get into a mindset that can transform your business

Feeling like you’ve plateaued with your freelance translation business?

You’ve got to a certain point and you’re very proud of how far you’ve come, but you’re stuck in a bit of a rut. You feel like there’s nowhere to go from here.

The good news is that couldn’t be further from the truth. When it comes to your freelance business, the sky is your only limit.

And the key to growing and succeeding on your own terms? Believing you can.

Yep. It might sound simplistic, but it’s true. The only thing you need to change to turn things around is your mindset.

A growth mindset is about believing that with plenty of work and effort, you can make significant, lasting change.

As opposed to a fixed mindset, having a growth mindset means constantly being open to absorbing new knowledge and pushing yourself to achieve more - without tipping over into burnout, of course.

It’s about knowing that nothing will be handed to you on a plate, and nothing is a given.

But with a bit of determination (and plenty of self-care) you can acquire the skills you need, get the clients of your dreams and build a profitable, stable freelance business that works for you.

You can ‘have it all’, whatever that means for you.

Here are some tips for getting into that mindset and setting yourself up for (your idea of) success.

1. Break ambitious goals down into manageable chunks

The key to making big changes to your business isn’t focusing on the end goal, but on how you’re going to get there.

Breaking big goals down makes them less overwhelming and gives you a clear road map.

If you want to earn more, work fewer hours or work with more direct clients, then you need to decide on the small steps you’re going to take every single day, week and month to make that a reality.

That will give you structure and drive, and when you stick to it you’ll feel like you’re really making some tangible progress.

2. Celebrate the small victories

Recognise your own hard work and all the small things you achieved. Because if you never reward yourself for everything you’re doing, then you’ll struggle to keep going.

If you tend to focus on what you haven’t achieved rather than what you have, try sitting down at the end of the day, week or month (or ideally all of the above) and writing a list of all the small wins. Both personal and professional.

You’ll be amazed by how much you’ve crammed in, and motivated to keep up the amazing work.

3. Don’t take it personally

Know that you’ll make mistakes. They’re par for the course and part of the learning process.

And, you’ll get bad feedback. Even if you know you’ve done your job well, your clients won’t always like it. That’s life, unfortunately.

The important thing is to work on not seeing criticism of your work or your business as a personal attack.

Whenever you have a negative experience, be honest with yourself about whether you could’ve done anything differently, and give yourself due credit for what you know you did well.

Think about what lessons you can learn from it, and what you can put in place to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Then put it firmly behind you, and set your sights on the next challenge.

4. Focus on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses

Part of getting into a growth mindset is accepting that you can’t do it all. There are things you’re good at, and you can do efficiently, like translating.

But then there are things you’re not so good at.

Out of the things you’re not so good at, think about which are:

• Skills that are worth investing time and money in developing and improving - perhaps social media marketing or SEO.
• Skills that are not worth your while investing in, and you need to outsource - perhaps writing the copy for your website or your tax return.

Work on a plan to improve the skills you do want to focus on, and put the responsibility for the rest on somebody else’s shoulders.

Things will get done far more quickly and to a far higher standard than you could ever have done them. You’ll feel like a weight has been lifted and be able to focus on other things. Success on your own terms

Remember, having a growth mindset means you’re always improving, but it doesn’t mean your business actually has to grow.

Sure, grow, expand, outsource, set up an agency and take the translation world by storm if that’s your dream. We’re right behind you, cheering you on.

But if you’re happy as a company of one, then that’s amazing. We love seeing freelancers doing their own thing and writing their own rules.

But you can still use your growth mindset to make your business work better for you, and live life to the full on your own terms.

Let LSP.expert help you take control and transform the way you look at your business.

Give our free 30-day trial a go and see for yourself just what a difference it could make.