Your mindset in the business of renovating determines your success in making a profit. Doing the courses and learning the skills required to get the job done are important, but unless you can translate your knowledge into an action plan, you are not going to change your life.
Bernadette Janson spoke to Michelle Lewis, our renovation and mindset coach, about the value of mindset in renovating. She believes strongly in the power of investing in yourself and how it makes it possible to change your mindset. She said:
We all grow up with certain beliefs as children and in our families. And sometimes those beliefs can be huge blocks to our success and to ourselves… And so I’ve worked really hard on working through those blocks and having a mindset where I can really achieve anything that I want to
The Value Of Mindset In Renovating Towards Success
If you keep on the same trajectory, working a regular job, not investing in yourself and your future, your future will look the same as it did yesterday. It is important to recognise that and to know that you have the ability to make some changes in your life that will positively affect your future.
The equation that equals success is 20% skillset plus 80% mindset or psychology. You can do all the courses you want, but unless you take your knowledge and have an action plan, you’re not going to change your life.
Michelle coaches a lot of women around their mindset, especially renovators. Some of the most common obstacles to success that women face when renovating for profit are:
- Lack of confidence
- Lack of knowledge
- Lack of skills
- Lack of experience
- Fear of spending money
- Fear of losing money
- Unsupportive partners
Success begins at the end of your comfort zone.
My mom had a saying: “There is no shame in going broke. Get on and do your best.” She was saying that it is okay to accept that things may not work out the way you hope. There may be a negative outcome, but if you are okay with it, it becomes easier to move forward. It means getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
Michelle teaches our Wonder Women techniques to stop them from going straight to their stress response and becoming overwhelmed. Meditation, gratitude and journaling are all examples of practices you can use to ground yourself and focus on what needs to be done. Rather than wasting energy on thinking about what might happen, that energy is better spent taking action.
Be Willing To Make Mistakes
Women in general have a tendency to beat themselves up when something doesn’t go according to plan. We don’t cope well with failure or losing money. It seems that men are better at taking failure in their stride. They shrug their shoulders, ticket it up to experience and move on.
If you are not willing to make mistakes, you cannot learn. Women tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect: The perfect wife, the perfect mother. If they go out and tackle a project, the outcome needs to be perfect.
Perfectionism is another waste of energy. We all make mistakes. The secret to success is channelling that energy into accepting the failures and focusing on what you are good at. Use the team around you to support you in the things that you are not as skilled at.
Your first renovating project may be a bit daunting, but once it is complete, your confidence will climb. It will become easier to move on to the next one, knowing that you made mistakes but overcame them.
The School Of Renovating is a wonderfully supportive community of (mostly) women. We understand that renovating is not just about the renovation. Life goes on behind the scenes. We have other commitments and stresses to deal with in our lives. You can ask the Wonder Women community about anything related to renovations. The support from others makes it easier to make some of the more tricky decisions that you may not be ready to make on your own.
How To Shift Your Mindset To Achieve Success In Renovating
Start with your ‘why’. Figure out what drives you:
- What is it that you want from life?
- Do you want flexibility in how you spend your time?
- Are you looking for passive income?
- Do you want to step away from the work you are doing?
Have a look at your values and what brings joy to your life:
- Do you enjoy DIY?
- Do you enjoy project management?
- Does finding the deals give you a thrill?
- Do you prefer to work on your own or with others?
Once you know why you want to start renovating for profit and what you enjoy about it, you can write down your goals. Look at where you want to be in five years, two years, next year. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. And then read your goals at least once a day to imprint them on your mind. The right mindset is key to success in your renovating business.
When your goals are written down it is time to create your renovation project action plan. Break down your goals into actionable tasks. Access the goal and break it down into simple steps. Set aside some time every week to set up your systems so you don’t get overwhelmed.
You Are Enough
Women often struggle to put themselves first. Michelle works on the concept of being enough with our Wonder Women. Our role does not define us. We are enough as we are. Yes, we love our families and we look after them, but we can also look after ourselves and have goals of our own. Our goals don’t have to be attached to someone else.
Mindset is constantly evolving. It starts with accepting ourselves for who we are right now. Zig Ziglar said:
Motivation is like bathing; you need to do it every day.
It takes time to work on your mindset, but the rewards are bountiful. You can’t look after others if you don’t look after yourself first. We have the power to choose the life we want for ourselves.
It is never too late to start chasing your dreams. Women often spend most of their lives chasing after other people and helping them achieve their dreams. That is why women come to renovation later in life. Don’t fall into the mindset that you are too old to start. Even after forty, or fifty, or even sixty, you are enough.
Keep An Open Mind During Your Renovation Projects
When you renovate a property with the goal of selling it to make a profit, the final product needs to have a broad appeal. Some people approach their projects with set ideas about what a home should be. It is important to accept that the market may not agree. This is important to achieve success in your renovating project.
Ask yourself whether you are renovating for the love of your house and the love of having everything perfect, or are you renovating to make a profit? When you renovate for profit, do what works. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Do what the broader audience will find appealing. Keep colours neutral and include small wow factors. Provide a clean, safe, neat home. And do it in a way that allows you to make a profit. You are not ripping off the buyer; you are creating a beautiful home.
It pays to have an entrepreneurial mindset. When you are renovating for someone else, you need to deliver a quality home within a tight budget. That often means you will need to compromise on some aspects of the renovation. The buyer won’t pay what it costs for you to deliver what you want to deliver.
Don’t Underestimate The Value Of A Mentor
It happens all the time that people will write down their goals and then walk away from them and forget them. No one comes back to them and says: “Hey, how’s the project going?” Having an accountability partner, a coach or a mentor helps you stay on track to achieve success in your renovating goals.
In our high-level community, we have weekly catch-ups. The women say that is one of the most powerful things that keeps them moving forwards. They know that if they haven’t done what they said they would do the week before, someone’s going to call them on it. No one gets kicked out if they let the ball drop, but rather the community offers gentle support.
Renovation can be a lonely journey. It is often just you and the trades. If you don’t surround yourself with a community of women or other people who are interested in the same thing as you, it can be quite isolated.
A Successful Mindset Is A Must For A Successful Renovation Business
Michelle is an asset to our team at The School Of Renovating. Not only does she support and guide our wonderful community of women, and she also teaches them they are enough, that they can, and should, take care of themselves and make plans to achieve their goals.
Educating yourself so you have the knowledge and the skills to renovate properties for profit is important, but having the right mindset is what makes it possible. Your mindset will determine your success.
If you want to meet up with a group of savvy renovators come over and join the She Renovates Facebook group. It is full of (mostly) women who are working hard to make their dreams a reality.
