“Do you ever feel like running your business is a juggling act with one hand tied behind your back?”
That’s how one small shop owner in Croydon described her week to me recently: rent due, supplier delays, two staff off sick, and a customer complaint flashing on her phone mid-sentence. She smiled, but her eyes said it all: she was exhausted and still had to keep going.
If you run a small business in London, you know that feeling. You don’t get a handbook for uncertainty. You learn as you go, often the hard way. And that’s where mindset comes in: not fluffy motivation, but the kind that keeps your head clear when the numbers wobble and the pressure hits.
This article unpacks three practical mindsets that can help small business owners stay steady and focused when running the business gets messy. These aren’t personality traits you either have or don’t. They’re mental habits you can train, like muscles. Build them, and the next time chaos knocks on your door, you’ll already be halfway ready.
Comfort with uncertainty: Making steady decisions when things keep changing
No small business lives in calm waters for long. One week sales are up, the next the phone goes quiet. A new competitor opens nearby. A key supplier raises prices. The question isn’t how to avoid uncertainty. It’s how to function inside it without freezing.
The most successful owners I’ve met have learned to move forward without perfect information. They don’t wait for clarity before acting, because it rarely comes. They work with what they know now, then adjust quickly.
Here’s how you can train that mindset and make better business decisions under uncertainty.
Start small. When facing a decision, ask: what’s the smallest step I can take to test this idea? Say you’re thinking of adding a new service. Instead of a full launch, offer it to three existing clients first. That small experiment gives you real feedback and reduces anxiety.
Map the risks, don’t drown in them. Write down three scenarios: best case, worst case, and most likely. It sounds simple, but getting the fears out of your head and onto paper gives you distance. Often, the “worst case” isn’t as bad as it feels at 3 a.m.
Keep a flexible plan. Think of it as a guide, not a contract. Review monthly, adjust weekly if needed. This keeps you focused but light on your feet.
Why this matters: uncertainty itself doesn’t ruin businesses. Paralysis does. The ability to make imperfect decisions quickly is often what separates those who adapt from those who stall.
Here’s a quick question to pause on: when was the last time uncertainty made you hesitate longer than it should have? Be honest. That’s where the work begins.
Persistent action: Keeping momentum when results take time
Let’s be real, motivation fades. Anyone who says they wake up inspired every morning hasn’t done payroll on a bad month. What keeps a business alive isn’t constant excitement. It’s steady, persistent action even when no one’s clapping.
Persistence doesn’t mean pushing harder; it means staying focused when things slow down. The trick is to create visible progress so you can see the effort adding up, an approach that keeps your small business motivated during slow months.
Here are a few ways to make that happen:
Break goals into smaller wins. Instead of “increase revenue this quarter”, set micro-goals like “contact five old clients this week” or “ask every customer for feedback”. It’s easier to move when the next step is clear.
Track progress visually. A simple whiteboard, spreadsheet, or app works. Seeing boxes ticked off is more powerful than you’d think. It gives proof that you’re moving forward, crucial when momentum dips.
Normalise failure as feedback. Every failed campaign, delayed payment, or slow month carries a lesson. Ask: what did this teach me about timing, offer, or process? That small reframe turns frustration into data.
I once worked with a small service business that had three months of silence after a marketing push. They nearly gave up. Instead, they looked at their responses and found that most inquiries came from one specific borough. They refocused their ads, doubled down locally, and suddenly the phone started ringing again.
The moral: persistence isn’t about blind repetition. It’s about learning what to repeat and what to change.
Ownership: Building a team that thinks like owners
Ownership is more than holding the keys to the shop. It’s the mindset that drives accountability and growth for small business owners, the feeling of “this is mine, and I’m responsible for what happens here”.
Business owners already carry this instinct, but it’s even more powerful when your whole team shares it. That doesn’t mean everyone works late or sacrifices rest. It means they care about the outcome and take initiative without waiting to be told.
How do you build a sense of ownership and accountability within your team?
Give people control over their patch. If someone manages customer service, let them design their own system for handling complaints. When people shape their own process, they protect its success.
Share performance openly. Discuss targets and results as a team. When everyone sees the numbers, good or bad, they start thinking in terms of solutions, not blame.
Model accountability. Admit mistakes out loud. Say, “That decision was mine, and it didn’t work. Here’s what I’m changing“. That single act sets the tone faster than any pep talk.
But there’s a boundary to respect. Ownership doesn’t mean being available 24/7 or carrying everyone’s stress. It’s about focus, not martyrdom. Healthy responsibility drives results; unhealthy guilt burns people out.
When staff understand that, something shifts. Problems stop being “the manager’s problem”. Wins start feeling shared. And the owner, you, finally stops feeling like the only one who cares.
How these mindsets connect
You might notice how each mindset feeds the others. Comfort with uncertainty helps you make quick calls. Persistence helps you stay the course. Ownership makes you act like it all matters, because it does. Together, they build resilience.
Take a local example. A florist in Ealing saw her shop’s footfall drop when remote work took off. Instead of panicking, she tested small deliveries to nearby offices that still had staff onsite. That was her first step in uncertainty. She stuck with it through slow early weeks (persistence). Her team owned the process: drivers noted which routes worked best, counter staff tracked repeat orders. Within months, deliveries became a steady revenue stream.
That’s what these mindsets look like in action: ordinary decisions made with calm, focus, and shared responsibility that keep London businesses growing.
Practical takeaways for London SMEs
Before you move on to the next thing, take five minutes to reflect. Ask yourself:
- Which of these mindsets do I handle well already?
- Which one do I tend to avoid when pressure rises?
- What single habit could I start this week to strengthen it?
- When was the last time I made a tough decision without all the answers, and how did it turn out?
- Who on my team already shows these mindsets naturally, and how could I learn from or encourage them?
If you want structure, try this: pick one mindset per month to work on. For example:
Month 1, experiment with small decisions under uncertainty.
Month 2, track and celebrate persistence.
Month 3, run a short ownership experiment: hand over control of one task to a trusted team member and see how it feels.
You’ll be surprised how small shifts change the atmosphere of a business.
And don’t do it alone. London has an active small business community: local chambers, peer groups, and meetups where owners share challenges and swap advice. Sometimes, just hearing “me too” from another business owner resets your motivation faster than any webinar.
Running a business will always involve a bit of chaos. Late invoices, missing stock, new rules, changing markets. That won’t change. What can change is how you respond.
Train your comfort with uncertainty. Build persistence into your habits. Share ownership across your team.
Do that, and you won’t just survive the ups and downs. You’ll handle them with a steadier hand and a clearer head.
And if you’re ready to put this into practice, start by choosing one area today: one decision to test, one process to stick with, or one responsibility to share.
Your business doesn’t need perfect conditions. It needs you. Focused, adaptable, and in control.
Tags: small business owners, business mindset, business advice, how to run a small business, business owner tips, mindset for success, staying focused in business, LDN020
