Starting your own business comes with plenty of ups and plenty of downs. We’ve all had amazing months where everything in our business is flowing seamlessly. You’re managing to sign new clients, close new deals and your current customers are happier than ever and can’t stop singing your praises.
But then the next few months come along, business slows down and nothing seems to be going your way.
In both situations, motivation is key to your business’ growth. During the up-swings, motivation is easy to come by; sometimes too easy and one becomes complacent. This leads to smaller daily tasks being forgotten about, when a big reason your business was succeeding was your focus on them. During the downswings however, motivation can be extremely difficult to come by and you constantly find yourself glued to your phone, TV or anything that takes your mind off your business.
Building a business is hard work and being an entrepreneur is like being your own superhero and your motivation is an important part of the equation. No one is motivated 100% of the time but implementing different strategies to help you stay consistently motivated can be extremely helpful in growing and maintain your business.
So here are 3 ways to help keep you motivated.
1. Make sure to take plenty of “you” time
Often when running a business, you get lost in the thick of it; seemingly endless phone calls, email threads and meetings combined with the stress of trying to sign new clients and maintain current ones often leads to business owners forgetting to take care of themselves. But this is a dangerous path and often leads to you resenting your business for taking over your life. In order to stay consistently motivated, you need “you” time breaks.
You have to schedule in plenty of “you” time; not only for yourself, but for your business as well. And yes, this includes vacations and no-phone zones times. Make sure to set boundaries with clients and leave time for things that you love doing. Recharge your battery so that you can put more energy into your business.
2. Have sources for instant inspiration
Not a single person is motivated all the time, but the most successful entrepreneurs have inspirations that can instantly motivate them. Everyone has unique inspirations, they can be podcasts, YouTube videos, books or even something non-content related like spending time with a loved one or going to gym.
What’s important is to take action. Don’t sit and wait to get motivated; use your inspirations to motivate you. When you don’t feel like doing any work or can’t be bothered to find new clients, go to your inspiration toolbox, remember why you started and get that instant motivation boost to keep going. You’ll often be surprised by what simple pleasures like a video or an article can do for your mindset.
3. Have a mission that’s bigger than just your business
Look at all the most successful businesses; they are all built around a mission and vision, their sense of brand and self is very strong. They are so much more than just their product and their marketing. The business had a driving force bigger than itself; it had a purpose to help people or make their lives easier, to provide true value to the world.
Building your business around more than just making money helps to give you constant and consistent motivation. Build a business that has an impact on its customers and those that work for it.
Sometimes we all feel a lack of motivation, but it takes consistent motivation to push through these times.
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston S. Churchill
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