6 Tips to Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur

The longer you are an entrepreneur, the more you will notice the times of year when business picks up and the times when there is a slowdown. There will also be times when you know you need to pivot but you are struggling to find the time and motivation to put that new initiative into action.

Trust me. I’ve been there.

Here are several practices I use to stay motivated.

Create a list of “Get Money” action items

When you’re in the middle of a funk because a client you were pursuing didn’t sign on, a speaking gig you wanted didn’t pan out, or a business deal tanked, you must create a list of what I call Get Money action items.

These can be a list of paid workshops you can offer, sale prices on existing products you can easily roll out and communicate to your audience or you can design and create a VIP Day service. Each of these examples can bring in more revenue (yes!) and deliver instant inspiration.

Remember your “why”

For many business owners, there is a primary reason or set of reasons why they started the business. Maybe you thought owning a business could lead to more financial freedom and time freedom. Reconnecting with your “why” will help you pull through on the days when you need a little encouragement.

Don’t neglect your routine

If you start your day with a specific routine that gets you energized and optimized for the day, don’t neglect it even when you are unusually busy or coping with a challenging engagement. I have found that my morning routine gets me revved up and inspired, elevates my mood, and helps me focus on what’s important.

Keep motivational content on tap

Whether it’s your favorite podcast, coaching session replays, business mentor, group of entrepreneurs, or audio book, I can’t say enough about how important it is to get out of your head to get the insight, advice, business tips, and tools you didn’t know you needed. If you tend to overthink (like me), find your go-to motivational resource ASAP.

Stay grateful and celebrate all your wins

Do you typically pause to celebrate your wins or practice gratitude for your business? If not, consider that you built a business from nothing but a thought or idea to an identifiable, tangible entity that attracts paying clients. You did that. Acknowledge and celebrate that.

Here are a few other things to celebrate: you built an effective team, you helped several clients alleviate their pain points, you pushed past fear and delivered a kick-ass speech for your first speaking engagement, and, maybe, you were invited to present or speak at an event that will attract even more clients. Yay!

Get to know your numbers

There are inevitable ebbs and flows of being in business. On the days when I need to revisit business projections, look at trends, or identify areas where I can cut expenses, I look at my business numbers. I work with a financial consultant that prepares monthly business reports (profit and loss statement, balance sheet, etc.) and I have my own monthly chart I use to record all business revenue and itemize every expense.

There’s nothing like seeing year-to-date, quarterly, or monthly earnings to get me motivated to keep going until I reach my goals. So, if you haven’t yet, create an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet of your services, sales per month by service, expenses per month, and then add a formula to subtract total expenses from total revenue and another that calculates the percentage of expenses in comparison to your revenue.

I hope these 6 tips will help you the next time you feel disappointed, discouraged or dealing with a temporary business slowdown.

Give these tips a try and send us a note at [email protected] to share your story with us.

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