Ways to Stay Motivated as a Small Business Owner

 It’s easy to get motivated to start your business, but there are points where it’s hard to stay motivated to keep going – after all, you’re the boss!  No one is standing over you telling you to do something… well, except that customer that has a deadline.  But the other stuff, such as planning, goal setting, cleaning out the box of clutter in the back room, those things are hard to stay motivated to do someone telling you to do it!

Here are a couple ideas to get you back on track…

Create Clarity – a clear vision and purpose strategy.  You must know the WHY of what you are doing.  That’s where the big impact comes as a small business.  Once you understand the why then the how is much MUCH easier.  It doesn’t make it simple, but you realize the importance of your tasks and can get motivated to go back to work.

Staying Motivated – You need to do this every day!  I created the “Two Minute Commute” Podcast to help. Since small businesses have shorter commutes you don’t need a long podcast, you just need a quick jolt of inspiration to get you from your kitchen to your home office.  Subscribe to my podcast and see what I have to say…  It may be a temporary boost, but sometimes motivation happens from simple little phrases.

Boring Graphs – Keep tallies of important KSI’s (Key Success Indicators), such as Sales or Likes.  Record this information every month.  When you are feeling the need for inspiration, pull out the chart and look at how far you’ve come.  It’s hard to remember, but at one time you were super excited you had 37 people following you on Instagram! 

Do you have a Personal Mission Statement? This is different from the business mission statement.  Read my section on “Subject Matter Experts” when you develop your personal mission statement it will help you align you goals and values with your business.

Here are 11 Great Motivation Boost Ideas for Small Business Owners that I compiled...  I say, read the list, try one, and see if it get’s you back on track!  Some are kind of lame, but depending on your mood it might be just what you need! 

• 1-Think about your business role in community – jobs provided, contributions you’ve made
• 2-Talk to peers – seek out other entrepreneurs and business owners with clubs and networking
• 3-Take a look at your goals and set some new ones – Reevaluating your goals will help –set realistic goals
• 4-Break things down in to smaller pieces
• 5-Think back to when you started the business and why you did it – go back to basics and reignite your enthusiasm
• 6-Talk to your customers – they will inspire you!
• 7-Take care of your health – go for a walk, spend time meditating – recharge! Change your setting.
• 8-Relive past successes – nothing better than looking at a victory!
• 9-Find an accountability partner – could be a friend or a coach – but it needs to be someone that will hold you to your goals.
• 10-Inspirational activities such as conferences or a TED talk
• 11-Take regular breaks (schedule them)!!!

Another great way to stay motivated is to subscribe to my blog, including the "Two Minute Commute" all from ProfitCenterCoach.com!
(OH look at that... an easy sign up form is right here!  haha)