If you are a small business owner, you know the daily struggles that come as a result. There can be staffing issues, cash flow problems, or other unforeseen incidents. It can be very rewarding, but it can also be difficult at times. For many small business owners, staying motivated can be tough.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure you can keep going during the good and bad times. You have to keep yourself motivated for entrepreneurial success.
Self-Care
Taking care of yourself is something that is really important but often overlooked. However, you can’t look after a business and a group of employees if you’re not looking after yourself. You need to be able to motivate the people around you, and that often starts with self-care.
If you’re tired all the time and complaining about life, your employees will notice. If you look unhealthy and unkept they will notice. What you do as the boss, influences their behavior. If you are not taking care of yourself and they start following suit, productivity and morale can go down – significantly. You have to set the standard by taking of yourself so they will take care of themselves too.
Strategies for Productivity
There are many ways to stay organized, and at this stage in your life, you’ll probably have found some things that work well for you. Make sure you’re using those strategies or looking for new ways of doing things. You want to implement the best approaches to tasks so you and your team are able to get all the things done that you need to. Make sure that you are constantly aware of any deadlines that you have, and have strategies for getting your work done promptly and in an organized way. Using these strategies will keep you on schedule and energized for the long haul.
Listen and Read
There are so many things out there online, from motivating social media accounts to blog to keep you motivated if you pay attention. You could look a startup podcast that resonates with you and listen to it when you’re out and about. With so much information being put out daily on the internet, you can always find something to inspire and motivate you. You can also stay updated with new ideas, technology, what’s trending in your industry, etc.
Don’t forget about the old fashioned book. Many of us, including myself, still find motivation from a good book. If you don’t like to read, many now come in audio formats as well.
Build a team
Many aspects of a business can be – boring. That’s why you need to surround yourself with the right team. Find individuals who can excel at the parts you don’t like to do. For example, I don’t want to spend time making the needed changes to my website. It’s something, I am just not skilled at doing, nor do I have the desire to do it. I found the perfect person, Cindy Wyckoff of Design It Digital, to work with and we make a great team. Finding someone to take that stress off of me, helps to keep me motivated as I get to do the things I enjoy doing.
Find the fun
As I said, business can be boring at times. Or, you can get so carried away with creating products or providing services, you stop having fun. Business can be fun if you want it to be. Sometimes you may have to make time for by planning a few activities. Take your team to lunch or host an evening of entertainment with a local singer or musician. Strive to create a happy workplace and you’ll find the motivation of your team will rub off on you.
Small things can make a big difference in your mood and how you feel. With the day to day activities of running a business, you can easily find your motivation fading away. For your own entrepreneurial success, you will want to invest in the time to keep yourself motivated. It will definitely be worth it. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, personality assessments, and a signature program, the Infinity Coaching Inner Circle. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
