What Entrepreneurs Need To Know About Staying Motivated
This is a guest blog post by Amelia Shockley, Content Writer for PayWow. PayWow is an authorized payroll solution designed with the needs of small businesses in mind.
Entrepreneurship offers plenty of motivation in the beginning. Getting a business off the ground is an exhilarating and hopeful experience. Have you ever noticed that business leaders tend to be high energy people? There’s a reason for this! It takes a lot of spark and fire to take on something like running your own business. Traditional employment has its drawbacks, but making the switch to entrepreneur MUST have a drive other than “be the boss” behind it. For anyone who thinks that starting their own business means they won’t have to work anymore: think again!
If you’re an entrepreneur with even one week’s worth of experience under your belt, you know how much work is involved. You know how difficult it may be to keep your motivation going. Eventually, the reality of the drudgery and difficulty, not to mention the risks, sets in. You need some renewed inspiration to keep you going. Here are some tips on what you entrepreneurs need to know about staying motivated.
What Entrepreneurs Need To Know About Staying Motivated
Get Back To What Got You Started
Presumably, there was a reason you started your own business. And hopefully not just a reason, but a driving force. It will be helpful to you to remember that impetus now. Perhaps you had a unique idea that will help reduce household waste and help the environment. Or, perhaps you want to manufacture a product in a way that will lift up overlooked populations.
Contrary to popular belief, many entrepreneurs aren’t in it just to suit themselves and make money. Many people establish a business in order to help others in their community and benefit the greater good in some way. Entrepreneurs have a special skill for not only seeing a need but also knowing how to fulfill that need. The needs that entrepreneurs address aren’t just for particular items. Business owners have the potential to meet the need we all have to not just survive but to serve a greater purpose.
If you’re in it just for the money, or just to put on that label of “boss,” you probably won’t survive very long. Odds are, though, that there’s a deeper motivation behind why you set out on this venture to become an entrepreneur. Remember that motivation now.
Take A Look Around
Chances are, you aren’t going it alone. Most entrepreneurs, even the smallest of small business owners, have one or two employees. Or, you might have a contractor you work with on a regular basis. These people have faith in you and your business. They agreed to work for you. Take that as a vote of confidence. And don’t take that vote of confidence lightly. Unless your business is entirely family-owned and operated, your employees are likely perfect strangers. Or, they were when they walked in the door. All they had to go on was some basic information about your business – likely much less than the bank requested when you applied for a business loan! Yet they determined your business was something to believe in. That believed you were someone to rely on.
Even if you don’t have employees, there are people around you supporting your entrepreneurial endeavors. Even if they aren’t offering financial support or doing any work, there are many ways to support an entrepreneur. It’s very difficult to get things going with absolutely no encouragement. Perhaps your 3rd-grade teacher told you that you could make it as a restauranteur when you racked up cash at the school’s bake sale. Perhaps your neighbor’s appreciation for your solution to his overgrown crabgrass problem motivated you to open up and operate a landscaping service. Take these figures from your past and place them forward into your future, coming to them again and again in your mind every time you need motivation as an entrepreneur.
Remember, your employees are counting on you. Remember, Mr. Smith’s lawn won’t mow itself.
Take A Break
This may be the toughest tip for an entrepreneur to take to heart. New business owners especially may feel that taking a break or vacation, however small, is impossible. In business, it seems as if there are always balls in the air, and they all may drop at any time. What if you’re not there to catch them?
Taking a pause may mean putting your business on pause. Unless your clients or customers are constantly beating down your door, you may be able to take a moment to breathe more easily than you think. Can you give advance notice of your attention to take a break? You might set an example to others around you! You may, in fact, be giving others the permission they need to take a breather. Imagine how much better off we all would be if more businesses, and business owners, encouraged a healthy balance of work and rest.
Reduce Stress
Stress is a major motivation killer. You need to get rid of it wherever you can. Be proactive about taking care of yourself, body and mind. Make sure you are eating well, exercising and keeping on top of your regular, annual physicals. In addition, have you tried meditation?
As mentioned earlier, entrepreneurs tend to be high-energy types. You might think of a certain letter that kicks off the alphabet. Yes, Type A. These types of dynamics, seemingly tireless individuals are loathing to pause for even one moment. However, the benefits of meditation have been proven, and those benefits are particularly helpful to the goals of an entrepreneur.
While you’re adding good habits to stay healthy and avoid the effects of stress, you might want to consider removing some things from your working life. Entrepreneurs have many responsibilities; that’s a given. But are you taking on too much? Is there anything that you can delegate elsewhere? Think honestly about what you need to do, and what you’re simply choosing to do. Could you choose to let others handle a few things so that you can reduce your stress load? Delegating increases your motivation by lessening the stress you experience. Not only that, but you may find your motivation increased when you’re able to spend more time doing what you truly want to do!
If you’re discouraged, try this.
You can increase your motivation by delegating today. Payroll is one of the most time-consuming tasks that an entrepreneur deals within running their business. And yet, payroll is necessary. Those employees that have faith in you? The main thing they are counting on is that they will be paid. You can pay your employees and have time for yourself and your business! PayWow is a service that not only helps you run payroll, it perfects payroll. Plus, PayWow handles time management and tax compliance! Can you believe it? It’s time to believe in yourself, and in your business, again.
