10 Strategies for Staying Motivated While Building Your Business

Transcript:

Introduction: Navigating Motivation in Business

You know. Sometimes your motivation levels will drop. You do things with good intentions and the day doesn’t quite go how you want it to go. As a business owner, I’m sure you totally understand where I’m coming from. Well, today has been one of those days for myself. I didn’t feel motivated to do a podcast episode.

I went home, tucked into my dinner and sat there for an hour, mulling… about my day and starting to feel annoyed with myself. It’s very simple. When you set yourself a task, especially one that’s as important as this, you need to try and find that motivation in, in just doing it.

I’ve now arrived back at my office. It’s 8: 31 p.m. and I’m now talking to you. So I wonder if you can guess what we’re going to be talking about tonight.

Shall we start?

The Inevitability of Motivation Fluctuations in Business

When you first launched your business you were probably filled with excitement and energy. You’d spend months or even years developing your idea and you are determined to make it a success. But as time goes on, it’s natural to experience ups and downs in your motivation, as I am today.

Running a business is hard work, and it’s not always easy to stay motivated. You may face setbacks, challenges, and obstacles that make you question whether it’s all worth it. However, staying motivated is essential if you want to achieve your goals and build a successful business. In this episode, we’re going to explore some ideas to help you and myself stay motivated as we build our businesses.

Strategy 1: Setting Realistic Goals and Celebrating Wins

I suppose one of the best ways to stay motivated is to set realistic goals and definitely celebrate your wins. We don’t celebrate enough as business owners. When you achieve a goal, take the time and celebrate your success and celebrate it with loved ones or partners that are in your life. It’s important to acknowledge your progress and your business’s progress and give yourself credit for the hard work you’ve put in.

At the same time, it’s also essential to set these realistic goals that are achievable. Setting goals that are too high or unrealistic can be discouraging and demotivating. Instead, break you down and grind you. Big goals need to be smaller, manageable. Steps that you can achieve over time. Celebrate your progress and use your wins to fuel yourself and keep you motivated.

Strategy 2: Learning from Setbacks and Failures

In business, equally as in life, there will be times when things don’t go according to plan. You may experience setbacks, failures, and losses that can be demotivating. However, it’s important to learn from these experiences and use them as an opportunity to grow and improve. So instead of dwelling on your failures, Take a step back and evaluate what actually went wrong.

Be like myself, I analyse absolutely every mistake to try and identify what I can do differently next time. This process will help you learn from your losses and prevent you from doing the same thing again in the future.

Strategy 3: Staying True to Your Mission and Purpose

Every successful business that I know and have worked with, they have a clear mission and purpose. And your mission should be the driving force behind everything you do, and it should be the foundation of your business.

When you’re feeling demotivated, take that step back and remind yourself of your mission. Why did you start this business in the first place? What impact do you want to have on the world?

When you focus on the mission, you’ll be more motivated to work towards your goals. Your mission should be inspiring, should energise you and give you a sense of purpose. If you’re not passionate about your mission, it may be time to re-evaluate and find a new one that aligns better with your values and goals.

Strategy 4: Focusing on Customer-Centricity for Motivation

Our clients are the bud of our business. Without them, you wouldn’t have a business at all. It’s important that we stay customer centric and prioritise their needs and wants. When you’re feeling demotivated, as I said, take a step back and think about what your customers want. What problems are they facing and how can you solve them?

What can you do to improve their experience with your business? I suppose what I’m saying is by staying customer centric… You’ll be more motivated to provide excellent products, services that actually fit in with their needs and your customers will appreciate your efforts and they’ll be more likely to recommend you to other businesses.

Strategy 5: Networking for Inspiration and Growth

One thing that I’ve always enjoyed doing is, what they call networking. I think it’s a great way to stay motivated and inspire you as you build your business. Especially when you’re connecting with other entrepreneurs, you gain new insights, ideas and inspiration that can help you improve your business.

There are many different networking opportunities available from local business organisations to online communities. The idea is you keep your head to the ground and you start finding where these opportunities are to meet these people and expand your network and don’t be afraid to share your ideas and express and express your experiences and by giving back to other people that you’re meeting, you’ll build the relationships and establish yourself as a thought leader in your specific industry.

Strategy 6: Prioritising Self-Care and Well-Being

I do find that running a business is all consuming, but it’s important that we take care of ourselves. If you want to stay motivated and productive especially, make sure you’re, you’re getting enough sleep, which sometimes is very hard. Eating that healthy diet and exercising regularly, people say that all the time, take breaks throughout the day to stretch.

I like to go outside and just meditate for a while, as in good thinking time. Being away from your desk is extremely good for you, so maybe go for a walk and schedule time off to recharge and spend time with the family and friends. You have to remember your health and well being are just as important as your business.

By taking care of yourself, you’ll have more energy and motivation to tackle the challenges that come with building your business.

Strategy 7: Seeking Guidance from a Mentor

When I was starting out in business many years ago, I was very grateful I had a mentor and he was an incredibly valuable resource and helped me build my business. A mentor is someone who has been where you are and can offer guidance, support and advice. They can help you navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and provide you with valuable insights and feedback. I think it’s important when you go out and you look for a mentor, choose someone who has experience in your industry or niche. Look for someone who shares your values and vision for business.

Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. It’s extremely hard to ask for help, but it’s extremely important. Many successful entrepreneurs are happy to mentor and others share their knowledge and expertise. I’m always happy to share my knowledge and hopefully expertise. I think it’s important, especially for the younger generation to be there and be a foundation for them to grow.

Strategy 8: Visualising Success to Stay Driven

When thinking about my businesses, I like to sort of visualise the success of the business. You see, visualisation is a powerful tool for staying motivated. And focused, and if you take time to visualise your success, imagine yourself achieving your goals, growing your business and making a positive impact- then it’s worth doing that.

Visualising your success will help you stay motivated and focused on your goals. It’ll also help you overcome any obstacle or challenges that come your way. By keeping a positive mindset and focusing on your vision, you’ll be more likely to achieve success in your business. And I say that without a doubt.

Strategy 9: Continuous Learning and Staying Informed

Like all things, it’s important to keep learning as you build your business, attend conferences. I’m a big book reader, well, more audible listener, and I hunger for articles. And I still take courses on the likes of Udemy to expand my knowledge and skills. The more you learn, the more confident and motivated you feel about your knowledge that you can actually share.

Learning new things also helps stay current with the latest trends and best practices. within your industry and maybe new industries. Actually, I think it’s worth listening to many industry topics because there’s always something you can bring into your business. It can inspire you with new ideas and help you find innovative solutions to problems. And that’s by investing in yourself and guess what? You’ll build a stronger, more successful business learning.

So from me being unmotivated, I obviously came back into the office and became motivated because I wanted to tell you about motivation. Now staying motivated as you build your business is essential for achieving your final goals and making that vision we discussed a reality.

Strategy 10: Embracing the Journey of Business Growth

Now remember, celebrate those wins, learn from those losses, but most of all focus on your mission. You’ll be more likely to stay motivated and build a successful business. And finally, remember, building a business is a journey, not a destination. And hey, enjoy the ride and embrace the challenges along the way.

Closing Remarks: Enjoying the Entrepreneurial Ride

You all have a lovely evening, and I speak to you soon.