Understanding the Entrepreneur Mindset for Long-term Success

How to differentiate it from an employee or freelancer mindset?

Something happened yesterday and the day before that prompted me to write about understanding the difference between the entrepreneur mindset and employee mindset. Differentiating between the two makes a world of difference.

I read a rant yesterday about not making enough money writing for Medium. How you get paid a few measly pennies per article. It was a good rant, to be fair. The author presented their case very well. They said that the only people making any substantial amount of money might be the ones who’s been writing for Medium forever; that may be right.

The night before, I was discussing my progress on medium with a friend, whom I’ve encouraged to write on Medium because she is such a great writer. I told her I was satisfied with the progress I was making. I told her that I had surpassed what I earned in November in a little over two weeks in December.

She asked, “What does that mean in terms of cents per word?”

“I really don’t know,” I said, “because some of that income is from stories that I wrote last month, so it’s passive/residual income.”

It all got me thinking about the difference between how an employee thinks differently from an entrepreneur. When I first started working for myself, my thought process was very much like an employee. The only difference was that I made my own schedule, and I didn’t have anyone to whom I had to answer. It took me some time before I was able to see the difference between the two mindsets.

There is a distinct difference between the entrepreneur mindset and the employee mindset. Even if you’re a freelancer, you may not be an entrepreneur, because you might still be thinking like an employee. Most freelancers do.

While there are many differences between the two, there is one clear and distinct difference that sets the two mindsets apart.

Employees think in terms of trading time for money, which is why a lot of freelancers talk about cents per word, or how much are they getting paid for the story or work done.

The entrepreneur mindset, on the other hand, is about building a business. An entrepreneur does not trade time for money. Instead, the entrepreneurs invest their time into a long-term strategy of generating income. Yes, the cash flow is essential, and it is a part of their plan, but it may not be the prime motivator. They may find other means of generating cash flow while they build a long-term income.

Another difference is that the employee mindset is about getting paid for work now. In contrast, the entrepreneur mindset is about building a sustainable business that continues to pay off long after the initial work has been performed

Employees think in terms of earning an income. Entrepreneurs think in terms of generating profit. Being able to distinguish between the two mindsets is imperative if you want to build a substantial income from your writing on Medium.

One of my favorite songs is Takin’ Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive, and it perfectly puts in perspective the difference between the Employee and the Entrepreneur Mindset.

You get up every morning From your ‘larm clock’s warning Take the 8:15 into the city There’s a whistle up above And people pushin’, people shovin’ And the girls who try to look pretty And if your train’s on time You can get to work by nine And start your slaving job to get your pay If you ever get annoyed Look at me I’m self-employed I love to work at nothing all day And I’ll be

Taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) I’ve been taking care of business (it’s all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime

It’s about taking care of business. When you take care of your business, your business takes care of you.

“You can let others tell you what it means to be successful, or you can decide it for yourself.”

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