30-Day SaaS Founder Mindset Growth Course
Day 1: Clarify Your Mission
Introduction: Every entrepreneurial journey begins with a mission. Take 10 minutes to reflect on why you started your business: what problem do you want to solve, and what change do you want to bring to the world? The co-founder of the famous SaaS company Basecamp, Jason Fried, had a clear vision of "empowering web designers through simple web tools" when he founded the company in 1999. A clear mission will become your North Star in difficult moments.
Exercise:
- Write a one-sentence description of your entrepreneurial mission: "I founded this company to..." Make sure it's intuitive, meaningful, and motivating when you read it.
- List 3 reasons that drive you to pursue this mission. Consider how these reasons give you strength.
Reflection Question: Why is this mission so important to you? Recall the passion you felt when you first decided to start a business, record this emotion, and reinforce it in your heart.
Day 2: Craft Your Vision
Introduction: With a mission in place, we also need to maintain imagination for a better future. Vision is a vivid depiction of the future that can inspire you to maintain a long-term perspective. As summarized by entrepreneurial media, successful entrepreneurs often adhere to a long-term vision from the beginning and find genuine market needs. Today, let's envision your entrepreneurial success.
Exercise:
- Visualize your future: Close your eyes and imagine your company in 5 years: How will your product change users' lives? What will your team culture be like? Write down this future scenario in a few sentences, being as specific as possible.
- Describe your ideal day: Imagine what your ideal workday as a founder would look like once your vision is realized. Note what you're doing, who you're with, and what achievements you've made. This will help clarify the direction of your efforts.
Reflection Question: To achieve such a future, what do you need to persist with today? What skills and resources do you need to accumulate? List these out to lay the foundation for subsequent planning.
Day 3: Define Your Core Values
Introduction: Core values are the foundation that supports your mission and vision. They serve as your compass when making decisions and facing temptations. For example, Basecamp has always maintained "simplicity" and "user-centricity" as core principles, and its products have stood out in the market due to their simple and user-friendly features. Clarifying your values will help you stay on the right path during difficult times.
Exercise:
- List 3-5 non-negotiable core values for you (e.g., integrity, simplicity, customer first, long-term thinking, etc.).
- Under each value, write a sentence or two explaining its importance to your entrepreneurial journey. For example, "Customer first: Every decision must prioritize enhancing the user experience."
- Reflect on a recent major decision and consider whether these values guided it. If not, how can you better implement them in the future?
Reflection Question: Which values would remind you to stay true to your original intent when faced with short-term temptations (such as trading values for quick profits)? Think about these scenarios in advance to strengthen your psychological preparation against temptation.
Day 4: Write Your Vision Statement
Introduction: Distilling scattered thoughts into words can make your vision more powerful. A vision statement is a short, powerful piece of text describing the future state and impact your company aims to achieve. Many successful founders write down their vision and post it on their desks to remind themselves "why they started." Today, you'll craft your own vision statement.
Exercise:
- Draft your vision statement: In one paragraph, describe your ideal future company and its impact (refer to your imagination from Day 2). Use inspiring language that energizes you when reading it. For example: "Within five years, we will become leaders in the ____ field, helping ____ (target users) more easily ____ (solve problems) every day, making ____ better."
- Refine and read aloud: Review and edit this paragraph repeatedly, ensuring the text is concise and powerful, not exceeding 4-5 sentences. Then read it aloud to yourself to feel whether it's inspiring.
- Optional task: Write your final vision statement on a piece of paper and place it somewhere visible daily, like the edge of your computer screen or the first page of your notebook.
Reflection Question: Does this vision statement truly represent your ambition? Would reading it reignite your passion if you felt confused or tired one day? Make sure the answer is "Yes"—if not, continue revising until you're satisfied.
Day 5: Think Long-Term, Avoid Short-Term Traps
Introduction: During the entrepreneurial process, you will inevitably encounter shortsighted temptations and pressures, such as pursuing illusory growth metrics or seeking quick success. However, truly successful bootstrapped entrepreneurs understand the importance of focusing on long-term success rather than short-term gains and losses. Today, we'll strengthen your long-term thinking to ensure your decisions always prioritize your vision.
Case Inspiration: Chris, the founder of Ruca, mentioned when sharing his experience that self-entrepreneurship taught him the most valuable lesson: always maintain control and belief in your vision, focus on long-term value rather than immediate gains. It was this determination that allowed them to build meaningful, impactful products at their own pace.
Exercise:
- Short-term vs. Long-term Listing: List your current main goals or problems, then consider both short-term solutions and long-term approaches. For example, a short-term temptation might be "reducing product quality for faster monetization," while the long-term choice would be "continuously refining the product to win word-of-mouth." Write them down for comparison.
- Check decision tendencies: Review important decisions you've made in the past month and ask yourself whether these decisions were for short-term benefits or truly conducive to your long-term vision. Record two or three examples in your journal and reflect on whether adjustments are needed.
- Commit to long-term thinking: Write down a commitment on paper, such as: "I choose to be guided by a long-term vision, even if it seems more difficult in the short term." Date it as a pledge to yourself.
Reflection Question: What is currently making you feel anxious or pressured? Are these pressures driving you to make choices that go against your long-term interests? How can you adjust your mindset to view current problems from a long-term perspective? Write down your thoughts to prevent falling into similar predicaments next time.
Day 6: Mindfulness Practice for Founders
Introduction: Mental construction requires a stable mindset. Mindfulness is an effective method that can help you maintain clarity and peace in the ever-changing entrepreneurial environment. Many entrepreneurs reduce stress and enhance focus through mindfulness practices like meditation and deep breathing. For example, entrepreneur Matthew Bellows mentioned that regular meditation helped him maintain inner calm and focus while expanding his business. Today, we'll try simple mindfulness exercises.
Exercise:
- 5-minute breathing meditation: Find a quiet place to sit down and set a timer for 5 minutes. Close your eyes and focus all your attention on your breathing. Feel each inhalation and exhalation, letting thoughts flow naturally without chasing them. If you get distracted, gently bring your attention back to your breathing.
- Body scan relaxation: If you have time, do a head-to-toe body scan. Focus on the sensations in each part of your body (such as head, shoulders and neck, chest and abdomen, legs and feet), consciously relaxing tense areas.
- Mindfulness record: After practicing, write down your feelings in your journal. For example: "After meditation, my mind is clearer, and anxiety has eased." Record these positive experiences to encourage yourself to maintain the mindfulness habit.
Additional Tip: Scientific research shows that mindfulness can improve your adaptability to changes and difficulties, allowing you to make calmer, less impulsive decisions. Spending a few minutes "being with yourself" each day will, in the long run, help you lead your company forward with a clearer mind.
Day 7: Positive Affirmations
Introduction: The entrepreneurial journey requires constant self-motivation. Positive self-talk can reshape your beliefs and maintain your confidence in adversity. Many successful entrepreneurs practice positive affirmations daily to reinforce their determination. A commonly quoted saying reminds us of the significance of perseverance: "I've come this far, I want to see what happens if I never give up." Today, let's practice the power of self-affirmation.
Exercise:
- Write 3 self-affirmation statements: Based on your situation, write down three positive, first-person "I..." affirmations. Ensure these statements energize you immediately upon reading. For example: "My efforts will eventually pay off," "I have the ability to overcome any difficulty," "I am practicing my mission, and I'm improving every day."
- Daily declaration: Read each of these three affirmations aloud 3 times. This can be done after waking up in the morning or before resting at night, integrating it into your daily routine. Read with a firm, powerful tone, as if giving yourself a pep talk.
- Post reminders: If convenient, write one of the most meaningful affirmations on a sticky note and place it on your desk, computer screen, or phone standby screen as a constant reminder.
Reflection Question: When you encounter setbacks, what negative thoughts typically come to mind? Select one or two and try to flip them into positive statements to add to your affirmation list. For example, change "I might not make it" to "I am continuously growing, and I am fully capable of handling this." Record this mental shift in your journal.