CEO Mindset Mondays
I’ve never been the type to wait for permission. Lead, follow, or get out of my way—that’s more my speed. But when I left my 9-to-5 and started building Backbone America, I ran into something unexpected: being a founder required a completely different kind of leadership than I was used to. It wasn’t just about being decisive or driven. That’s when I started paying attention to the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur—not just in theory, but in real life.
It was about how I thought—what I believed about responsibility, risk, time, even failure. In me. In the clients I served. In the habits that actually moved things forward. And no, they’re not some mythical traits you’re born with. They’re choices. Muscles. Mindsets you train.
There’s this myth that successful founders were born wired for business. That they just knew how to lead, decide, strategize. But every entrepreneur I’ve respected—and every part of me I’ve grown—has proven otherwise. These traits don’t appear on day one. They’re forged in decision fatigue, late-night pivots, and uncomfortable self-trust.
Taking Responsibility Instead of Orders
When I first launched Backbone America, I didn’t realize how much I was still thinking like an employee. I found myself looking for validation before making changes. I deferred to client “demands” even when they clashed with the strategy I knew was right. I approached decisions with hesitation—asking, Should I do this? Should I do that?
I’ve always been someone with strong opinions. But there I was, second-guessing myself in my own business. Truth is, it wasn’t indecision—it was fear. Fear of making a mistake that would cost me money. Fear of getting it wrong.
And I want to say this clearly: starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart. Like any investment, there’s risk. But unlike stocks or real estate, this one’s personal. It’s an investment in you and your future. And that? That’s always worth it.
One of the most important characteristics of a successful entrepreneur is radical ownership. Not just of outcomes, but of the process. Of the pivots and hard calls. Of the moments when you bet on yourself—without guarantees.
That doesn’t mean going it alone. It means not outsourcing your agency. Seek guidance, sure. But then decide. Choose a path and act.
Will there be consequences? Absolutely. Some will stretch you in good ways. Others won’t. But every single one teaches you something you’ll need later.
CEOs don’t wait for permission. They trust themselves, take responsibility, and move forward—mess and all.
Progress Wins Over Perfection, Every Time
This one still gets me.
I like clean launches. I like polished decks. I like feeling like I know exactly where it’s all going. But real startup life? It’s rarely that tidy.
Backbone America didn’t begin as a business—it started as a blog. Just a space to share information I thought might help someone. It wasn’t until I got laid off that I seriously tried to turn it into something bigger. And even then, I fumbled. I didn’t know how to market. I failed at networking. I didn’t even know how to run an ad.
I dipped my toes into great ideas that went nowhere because I struggled to implement. I’d second-guess myself, wait too long, tweak too much.
But here’s the thing I come back to: the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur include the ability to keep going. To move forward even when it’s messy. Even when the page isn’t perfect or the funnel isn’t flawless. That’s what makes Backbone America what it is—resilience, not polish.
I’ve had false starts. I’ve had things flop. But I’ve never stopped learning—and that’s what separates a visionary from a dreamer. A visionary isn’t someone who just has big ideas. They’re someone who brings them to life.
And when I launched the first version of the 31-Day Business Startup Challenge, it was far from perfect. But it worked. It gave people structure. It gave me feedback. And it gave us all momentum.
Waiting for “perfect” is how businesses starve before they even get a chance to breathe. Done is better than perfect. Always.
Time Is Currency—and CEOs Spend It Strategically
I used to book every call someone asked for. I’d shuffle priorities to make room. I told myself I was being helpful—that availability meant value.
It didn’t. It meant burnout.
Win-Lose or Win-Win
Looking back, I was stuck in what Stephen Covey calls a win-lose mindset—where someone gets what they need, and someone else pays for it. I made accommodations that didn’t align with my energy, my calendar, or my goals… but I did it anyway. I thought saying yes made me collaborative.
It didn’t. It made me invisible to myself.
One of Covey’s core principles in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to think win-win—to create situations where everyone involved benefits, including you. That shifted everything for me. I stopped viewing boundaries as resistance and started seeing them as balance.
It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to make space for your needs. And with the right systems? Sometimes you don’t even have to say no. Boundaries can be baked in—like a scheduling tool that protects your availability without you lifting a finger.
My Time; My Terms
When I started working as a Business Process Automation Engineer, I finally saw how time could be reclaimed. Systems, workflows, tools—they all made things faster, smoother, more intentional. But even with those tools, a question started to creep in: Is this it?
Was I going to spend the next 10 or 15 years pouring my best hours into someone else’s goals?
Even deeper—I started wondering: If I built a business for myself, would I be working 60-hour weeks just to scrape by? That didn’t sound like freedom. That sounded like a different kind of trap.
So I made a decision. I would treat my time as capital. I would build systems, yes—but I’d also create boundaries. I’d invest in automation, processes, and people. I’d stop glorifying the grind and start building for sustainability.
That meant asking a different question: What would actually move me forward? What would take me to the next stage—not just in business, but in life?
One of the most overlooked characteristics of a successful entrepreneur is how fiercely they protect their time. Every yes is an investment. Every no creates margin. Time isn’t something they spend accidentally. It’s something they allocate with precision.
So I started blocking it. Guarding it. And most importantly, spending it on what mattered—not what screamed the loudest.
Curiosity Is a Competitive Edge
I didn’t know what I didn’t know—until I started unlearning the things that no longer served me.
Here’s the twist: I’ve always been a learner. When I was younger, I genuinely thought I’d be a professional student. I love research. I love information. I’ve joked more than once about being an information whore. I consider myself a renaissance woman—a polymath. I know a lot of things about a lot of things.
But let’s be honest… having a general wealth of knowledge t isn’t the same as having deep expertise. Marketing, for example, was one of those gaps. I had instincts, but no framework. And that cost me.
Still, my curiosity carried me further than I gave it credit for. I’ve wasted money in the past—on tools, people, strategies—because I didn’t yet have the knowledge to know I was being taken for a ride. That same curiosity, later on, is what helped me recognize real value when I saw it. I might not be able to do everything myself, but I now know how to assess whether it’s done well.
That’s the edge curiosity gives you. Not just ideas—but discernment.
We can’t do it all. And we shouldn’t. But if you want to find the right people, delegate the right things, or pivot at the right time—you need to know enough to choose well. That only comes from learning, observing, and staying open.
The characteristics of a successful entrepreneur aren’t built on being the smartest in the room. They’re built on asking better questions. Exploring new tools. Reading, listening, testing. Staying humble enough to keep learning.
Curiosity keeps your business relevant. But more than that—it keeps it resilient.
Confidence Comes from Doing, Not Knowing
We tend to think confidence is something you’re born with. Like it’s baked in. But I’ve found the opposite to be true. Confidence is built—through motion, not mastery.
In the early days of Backbone America, I agonized over everything—from pricing to platforms. I hesitated. I tweaked. I delayed. I thought I needed certainty before I could act.
But the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur aren’t rooted in certainty. They’re rooted in action. Small, imperfect decisions—made consistently—build momentum. And over time, that momentum builds something even more valuable: self-trust.
These days, I move faster. Not recklessly, but with clarity. I don’t assume I’ll always get it right. I just trust that I can adjust when I don’t. That confidence didn’t come from knowing everything—it came from backing myself before I felt ready.
You don’t have to be born for this. You just have to build for this.
If you’ve ever questioned whether you have what it takes, let me say it plainly: you probably do. And what you don’t have yet, you can grow.
Start with one shift. One decision. Choose today to trust yourself more than you did yesterday.
That’s how it starts. That’s how it compounds.
Want to strengthen your mindset without spinning in circles? Download the free CEO Mindset Mini Guide. It breaks down five powerful mindset shifts—like ownership, resilience, and time strategy—with real examples, simple exercises, and daily affirmations to help you think and lead like a business owner, not an employee.
