In her 20’s, Yifat Baror was living in Europe and fell in love with lifestyle boutiques.
A natural entrepreneur, she started her own retail business, developed a chain of stores, and expanded into e-commerce with trailblazing email blasts and digital newsletters, long before they were a thing.
Fast forward to today, Yifat is the Chief Growth Officer at Osa Commerce, a SaaS platform that provides supply chain orchestration solutions.
So how did she rise to the top?
In an episode of Resilient Revenue, Yifat explains how a winning mindset not only fuels personal career success, but also establishes the foundation for effective leadership and revenue growth.
The Art of Adaptability
Much like Yifat’s bold transition from retail to e-commerce to SaaS, flexibility is a required skill in today’s business world. When the market is constantly changing, people have to think outside the box.
“We’re a tech company. We want our people to be innovative and bring that daily to their workspace. If you spark that in people and really listen, it provides you that flexibility because you’re fueled by ideas constantly.”
– Yifat Baror
A winning mindset embraces flexibility.
For example, your go-to-market strategy may have been strong when you first created it, however, don’t assume your plans and processes are static. As your product or service interacts with the market, your ideal customer profile (ICP) may evolve.
Infusing continuous learning and iterative processes will build flexibility into a company’s DNA. These practices also have the potential to future-proof the business.
Yifat recommends listening to your audience, understanding their needs, and getting as much feedback as you can. Then, be willing to pivot as needed. Being flexible is foundational for a strong go-to-market.
ROI: The Currency of Trust
In the current economy, many companies are scaling back and watching every dollar more carefully. This situation has caused the “ROI conversation” to arise much earlier in the sales process.
Organizations want facts — they don’t want a sales pitch. So, Yifat advises, especially in the world of SaaS be prepared to answer:
- How will your product/service positively impact the buyer’s revenue?
- Will your product/service pay for itself?
It’s important to showcase ROI from the get-go and focus on concrete results. This means being prepared with data-driven insights, real-world examples, and a clear narrative that showcases how your offering drives revenue.
A winning mindset leans into the ROI conversation rather than avoiding it. It’s about proactively embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities.
Leadership Drives Culture
Yifat has worked in startup environments her entire career — great training grounds for managing constant ups and downs. These experiences have taught her to foster a company culture that accepts challenges and failure.
“If you can learn from your challenges and mistakes and keep a winning mindset, then you can do anything. If your people think that’s true and your leadership reflects that, they’re going to adopt the same mindset.”
-Yifat Baror
In fact, when Yifat experiences wins or failures in business, in both situations, ironically, she says to herself, “This too shall pass.” This mindset helps her accept the good with the bad and not take failure too hard.
Managing Failure
Yifat cautions that as a leader, you set the tone for company mindset in the way you react to failure. She raises important questions like:
- How do you treat failure internally with your team?
- How do you talk about it?
- Are you blaming people?
- Are you in a solution mindset?
Yifat recommends creating a culture of “fixers,” encouraging employees to make things better for your customers and for the company.
Cultivating a Personal Board of Directors
Just as a company’s board of directors help direct the organization’s long-term strategy, Yifat has found strength and support in her career from a personal board of directors.
Yifat’s personal board is a group of women in leadership roles in different industries. They seek each other’s advice on a weekly basis by sharing wins and challenges. Yifat says they keep each other honest.
“Come from a place of honesty and good things tend to open up. When you’re authentic, people tend to be authentic too. People want connections, especially after the few years that we’ve had. Being authentic creates opportunities.”
-Yifat Baror
Tips for Finding a Mentor
For women seeking a mentor, Yifat recommends finding not only someone you can learn from, but also someone who will advocate for you.
When asking someone to be your mentor, she suggests the following:
- Be direct.
- Ask with confidence.
- Don’t be apologetic.
- Say what you need.
- State your expectations.
Mentorship is usually a win-win for both sides because both mentor and mentee learn from each other. Yifat has found that being a mentor has opened her eyes to challenges other people face. It’s also taught her important lessons about hiring and opening doors to people who often don’t get opportunities.
Not to mention, mentorship has the power to cultivate a winning mindset because it inherently acknowledges the value of diverse perspectives. Whether building your personal board of directors, or seeking a mentor, it’s about creating strategic relationships and proactive personal development.
Forget Your Plan B
While conventional wisdom suggests having a Plan B as a safety net, Yifat believes this concept clashes with a winning mindset.
And here’s why: your Plan B can distract you from fully committing to your original goal.
To illustrate, Yifat shared a personal experience of a challenging business venture several years ago. In 2008, while creating an app for luxury e-commerce brands, the market was hit hard by a financial downturn. The app failed miserably, leading to significant revenue losses and forcing the company to consider shutting down.
But rather than retreating to a backup plan, Yifat’s team faced the initial heartache and financial losses head-on. They quickly pivoted, shifting their focus to more affordable brands that better aligned with the changing market conditions. This decisive action saved the app and turned it into a success.
“I don’t really like having a plan B. I don’t think that sets you up for success.”
-Yifat Baror
Focus and Determination
A winning mindset is all about staying focused and determined. When you ditch the backup plan, you’re effectively telling yourself that failure is not an option. This kind of mindset can spark more creativity, innovation, and a stronger push to get past any hurdles because you’re all in on making your plan work.
Be Kind to Yourself
As you work on developing a winning mindset, focus on building resilience not just in yourself, but across your team.
Yifat’s journey highlights the importance of being fully committed to your goals, adapting quickly to changes, and developing supportive relationships along the way. Yifat is a great example of bringing humanity to leadership.
She says, “We all juggle so many things, especially as women. We wear so many hats, and it’s really challenging. Just be kind to yourself.”
