5 Mind Hacks You Need to Know Before Starting a Business Ever use the Pomodoro Technique? You work in short bursts of extreme productivity, then take a break. Try it.
By Syed Balkhi Edited by Dan Bova
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Starting a new business is both an exciting and daunting experience. The typical entrepreneur is racing toward the goal of being successful, but the truth is,he or she will likely struggle to get there. If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you need to understand your customers' psychological profile, as well as how you can manage, even manipulate, your own psychological state to become a more productive business owner.
Related: 5 Brain Hacks to Boost Your Motivation
Below are some of the ways you can start your business on the right foot by delving into some excellent brain hacks to improve your chances of creating a worldwide recognized brand.
These hacks are gaining ground owing to the scientific research surrounding them. When you combine more than one of these methods together, you have the chance to drastically improve your odds in what today are so many overpopulated industry segments -- with so much noise.
Now, here's how to dive in to those hacks:
1.Use your brand's colors to your advantage.
Color plays an important role in the way we perceive companies and their functionality. A revealing study by the University of Winnipeg found that 62 to 90 percent of buyers surveyed said they make up their minds whether they are interested in a brand, or its offerings, based on the colors used in the brand's design.
Related: Neuroscience Tells Us How to Hack Our Brains for Success
How can you use colors to convince your customers that your product is the right choice? Here is a chart that shows colors and what kinds of emotions they evoke.
Image Source: CoSchedule blog
You should think about the kind of product you're creating, and how you expect customers to feel when they see your brand. In the example above, the brands that promote creativity or have products designed to increase creativity have used the color purple. The SyFy channel, which thrives on creative (and sometimes hilarious) ideas, uses purple to create a brand that is instantly recognizable.
2. Make complicated topics easy to understand.
One of the best ways to win over your audience is by explaining a process or idea in terms that virtually everyone can understand. Think about the last time you had a question about a topic, looked up what other people were saying and found some articles that left you scratching your head even more than when you started.
You never, ever want to leave potential customers more confused than they were before. Use the power of storytelling in combination with simple language to make complicated topics easy to understand.
If the topic you're covering requires multiple pieces of content, don't forget to intertwine the content as it comes out. If readers come to your business site and get an answer to their question bolstered by facts and confidence, they are more likely to convert -- because they trust your brand.
3. Make an impression, using imagery.
We have all heard about how first impressions are everything. This rule applies to your business, too! According to a study titled Behaviour and Information Technology, most users decide whether or not they are going to stay on a website in 50 milliseconds! In other words, you have to let potential customers know exactly what your product does when they land on your website.
Along with the first impressions advice, we're also told throughout life that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. It turns out that this is true! You can tell your customers more about what your product or service does, how it will make them feel and what problems your product will solve -- using just your imagery.
Quick, check out the following image.
Image Source: Crazy Egg blog
What did you think when you merely glanced at this Coca-Cola ad?
As it happens, the color red encourages feelings of excitement. But this imagery manages to do so much more than that. At first glance, the image is of two happy people. At the same time, the word "happiness" is right next to the Coca-Cola logo. If someone, for whatever reason, has never heard of Coca-Cola, his or her first experience with this ad will promote positive emotions and, hopefully, create a positive customer.
4. Keep your inner monologue in check
As someone who wants to start a business, you're probably feeling confident and excited. Sadly, however, more of us struggle with feelings of self-doubt, even if we are doing something well. You need to learn to hack your mind and keep your inner monologue in check when it starts hampering your progress as an entrepreneur.
The best way to keep your self-doubt in check is by focusing on the positive outcome you hope to achieve. It's a difficult process, to be honest. But here's the thing. When you start focusing on positive things, you train your brain to push out negative feelings and emotions.
Obviously, we are only human and sometimes have doubts and negative emotions. But learning to control our thinking and focusing on productive, positive thoughts can breed positivity and increase our chances of success.
5. Hack your time-management abilities
Time management is one of the most challenging, but important, aspects of any business. You're going to have a million things going on at once and you'll need to learn to manage your time properly.
One great way to manage your time is by using The Pomodoro Technique. Basically, the Pomodoro technique involves your managing your time by working in short bursts of extreme productivity, followed by a short break.
Related: Science-Backed Brain Hacks to Crush Your Goals
When you use this schedule over time, you'll hack your brain into entering productivity mode when the timer is going; and then you can relax on your breaks. The Pomodoro method helps you build discipline and use your time wisely, which helps you get things done in a timely manner.
