Hemi Hossain: Mindset is key to success in the age of digital entrepreneurship

“My hard work eventually paid off, I was able to get a good job, my wife was with me in Melbourne, and she was working too. At my job my manager saw the potential in me and encouraged me to take on more responsibilities, I was performing well, and for the first time after moving to Australia, life started to seem excellent and smooth,” Hemi recalled.

However, success came at a price and, despite his achievements in his working life, his health took a turn for the worst. Hemi was hospitalised for four weeks due to severe pancreatitis, forcing him to slow the pace and reconsider what he truly wanted for his life.

“I began thinking, is this the life I really want? Am I who I want to be? I decided that if I am going to be ok through this illness, I will quit my job and find my own financial freedom, my time freedom and more space for my family,” Hemi said.

“I also wanted to help people and contribute to society, but if I continued doing what I was, despite having a good and secure job and a great employer, I would be failing myself.”

Unfortunately, like many of us, Hemi had his dreams but felt bound to his old life, so struggled to break away from what had become a comfortable career and take a risk to better his life for himself and those around him. He felt, firsthand, the many limiting beliefs business owners face every day – am I good enough? Will people want to work with me? Do I deserve my own success?

In addition to this, Hemi, as an immigrant, was concerned about the negative impacts of working in a country where he did not fluently speak the language. After six years of putting off pursuing his desire to build his own business and help others, it was his then manager who gave him the final push.

“In 2012, my first son was born and I realised I was still stuck in the same loop. So, I finally quit my job…I began asking those around me what they thought, and one of my bosses told me that I was a person with natural leadership, so why didn’t I pursue that? She suggested life coaching, as that was one area that was really progressing,” he said. Hemi took the leap, completed his life coaching training and threw himself into learning everything he could to create a platform to share, teach and encourage others to follow their hearts. He found himself speaking to many immigrants, like himself, to help them map out the life they wanted in Australia as successful entrepreneurs. Hemi decided the best move was to switch gears slightly, and tailor his services to career coaching and set up his initial 6-week program.

As his experience, training and an array of clients increased, Hemi realised the importance of coaching in the digital entrepreneurship realm. He transformed his course into his signature 6-month digital entrepreneurship training, which has proved especially popular with women business owners.

“The world is all about digital and artificial intelligence at the moment. Regardless of what your job is, you need digital marketing just to put yourself in the market, because if people don’t know you, they are not going to give you the work. The positive is that this means with just a computer and your skills, you can do business from anywhere in the world, and with a good strategy, you can sell anything,” Hemi said.

“For women who may be struggling with the demands of also raising kids and time management, I think it is a really beautiful time for business right now. With a virtual workplace and digitally mobile lifestyle, any aspiring women entrepreneur gets the flexibility to attain that balance. Digital business means the woman entrepreneur has the tools that she needs to build a business from home while creating a work schedule that allows her to balance work and family.”

Not only does this evolving business landscape change how we conduct ourselves in terms of marketing techniques, physical location and embracing automation, but from a coaching point of view, we need to keep up in terms of our entrepreneurial skills and mindset.

“Staying on top of your entrepreneurial game all starts with having the right attitude and mindset that is willing to restructure, change and transform. In business, I tell my clients they need three ‘m’s’ – mindset, monetisation and marketing. This means that before you start anything, you need to have the mindset.

“As a business owner, you are everything – you are HR, you are the

marketing person, the accountant, the admin person. That means you need to know how to control your emotions, how to show leadership and how to manage your people and your business… When your mindset is right, you think clearer and your decision-making is much easier. Mindset is key to any business because it must start from you.”

In addition to an open mind and willingness to learn, Hemi encourages people to understand their own personal limiting beliefs, and learn to let go of them and embrace opportunity. He understands what it is like to doubt yourself and the courage needed to step out of your comfort zone and into something new.

“Some of the most limiting beliefs that I have heard from my clients were mine too. For example, when I started I was afraid I would not be able to convince my audience: I overcame that my encouraging myself to believe in myself and the service that I was offering. If you do not believe in yourself and your service, your customers won’t either,” Hemi said.

“Another big limiting belief is the question, what will happen when I fail? This is not a wrong thought, self-doubt is natural, but do not let it not overcome your idea of becoming an entrepreneur. Let this doubt guide you to be better.”

Hemi offers the following advice for any professional or entrepreneur finding themselves plagued by doubt and fear.

• There are trials and errors you have to go through before making your business a success. All you need to have is a mind that believes in your product/service and develops a positive attitude and mind, freeing it of the negativity.
• Get out of your comfort zone, because that’s where the magic happens. Never hesitate to shift and move because of your personal insecurity.
• Stop using perfectionism as an excuse to sabotage your entrepreneurial journey and procrastinate. Setting a high standard for oneself is good, but not at the expense of doing nothing.
• Work with others and get help to achieve your dreams. Every individual, as well as an entrepreneur, has something different to offer. If you are unsure, hire a coach, he/she will identify your potential and help you to pursue that. Learn to embrace your uniqueness often, which women often see as a flaw.
• Take a risk. Ask yourself, is this really what I want? If so, just go for it. Women are less bold risk-takers; at times, this can be a drawback. Do not let your hope be squashed with self-doubt.
• You deserve to be successful. This is one self-limiting belief I have seen a lot among the immigrant and Bangladeshi women. They fail to recognise their ability to contribute to the world and as an entrepreneur. Everyone has a unique gift and talent to offer. It is our duty to recognise that and acknowledge our self-worth. It is only when you recognise your worth, others will too.
• You never know how you might inspire others. When you have self-doubt, have it for a minute but do not let that not cripple you because your work can inspire someone else.

A growth mindset is essential to overcoming these, and many other personal, limiting beliefs. Hemi believes that life is an opportunity that should not be squandered, and in this fast-paced digital world, there are more opportunities to grow than ever before.

But, how do you develop a healthy growth mindset amongst the stress and pressure of business? In this age of digital entrepreneurship, there has never been a better time to reach for the stars. Hemi offers five simple suggestions to keep you on the right path:

• Learn every day. Take up challenges that allow you to learn something new, develop new skills and be open to new avenues that will help you come up with innovative business ideas.
• Be persistent, things will not go the same every day. There will be lows and failure; it is during this time that perseverance will be critical. Frustration can lead you to quit, but determination will help you to focus and carry-on.
• Embrace challenges and failures. You cannot attain success without challenges or failures. Confront them, learn from the pain it brings and become stronger. Failure and challenges are the master teacher. Accept them and learn from them as they will be a key to your success.
• Be open to feedback. Listen to positive criticism and understand how you can use it to your benefit and improve, but always be authentic.
• Celebrate others as well as your own success. This helps you to create a positive atmosphere and encourage you to aim higher. Celebrating others also helps you learn from their success, so you can deploy similar techniques in your own life, too.

Hemi has just released his first book, titled, Fire Your Boss; Transform Your Life From Employee to Digital Entrepreneur. As a culmination of his years of experience and customised strategies developed through his own life, Hemi offers real strategies to help readers transform their lives with greater freedom.