In many cases, when an entrepreneur decides to make the leap to leading their business and leaving salaried employment, then it comes with plenty of challenges. One of these is the lack of a person or group of people above them, who can set deadlines, goals, and incentives. This leads to the priority of self-motivation, especially now that you are in charge of your own business.
This is actually more difficult than you might think, especially in the starting stages of the business and the experience is entirely new to you. It gets even more challenging considering that you might think more about working on the business much more than taking care of other aspects of your life, such as your family and personal development, as these are often placed on the back burner.
All this will make you wonder how you will maintain your focus, when you are trying to juggle the business and your life. However, it is easier than you might realize, as it only requires practice, dedication and time, just as you would expect from any business. Here are some ways to help you become and stay motivated, enough to see your business grow and succeed.
Setting personal statements of your vision and mission
Just because your business idea is amazing, it does not mean it is guaranteed to succeed and thrive, just like advice from the Stylecaret’s Co-founder Nikki Singh, who recently said, “it takes plenty of hard work and sacrifice to make a business successful, and part of that involves having a vision to help you focus.”
All businesses, regardless of the specific niche, must always have a vision or mission statement. This is what will define the goals, objectives and operation methods of the business, as well as its core values. If you need to convince and motivate stakeholders to invest in your business, they will need to see your business vision.
The most important task here is writing the mission statement, carrying it with you everywhere. Read it aloud, tell others about it, and memorize it. it should always remind you of why you created the business in the first place, and guide you on those days you feel low (and trust us, they will happen).
Making a solid plan
You cannot have a mission statement and lack a plan to execute it – otherwise, it would be like heading into battle with the best equipment and most advanced lighting techniques, but no strategy on conquering the enemy, which leaves you vulnerable to serious defeats. The plan involves putting two things in consideration: your long and short term goals.
That also means that the plan will change according to the circumstances your business finds itself in as well as your professional and personal requirements, unlike the vision and mission statements. The aim here is having and setting a clear understanding, which helps you to know the things you personally want to complete, and the methods of accomplishing it.
Having a routine
It is important to motivate yourself into starting something, whether it is your job or a business. That makes it important to always begin with a morning routine, and free your body and mind to be alert and focused to make new habits, while preparing to focus on the day ahead.
Every morning, make sure to refine and review your plan at all levels, and add or remove things you think should go into or out of your plan. This will help you to prevent the dreaded case of burnout, and help you stay focused as you achieve your goals.
Remember to set aside some time for yourself
It is very easy for you to get caught up in so many things when you are involving yourself in stabilizing or creating your business, but it is important to remember to set some alone time. In this time, permit yourself to do something for self-care – it could be doing some exercise, thinking, meditating, or taking a walk.
You should always remind yourself to take care of your own health as well, such as drinking water and eating healthy meals, which will help you to remain focused for longer.
Set reminders for yourself and plan ahead
Even if you have a plan, you cannot stay in a routine easily – it is difficult to form new habits, until you become used to them. Because of this, make a point of writing and setting reminders throughout your day, which will remind you to take care of various tasks and your daily goals.
That is what alarms are for. Use your alarm system, which helps you stay focused on the task you are doing. There are other methods as well, such as time blocking (where you set a certain task to be done at specific time blocks), and using various productivity and motivational apps if you are a hardcore entrepreneur.
Setting rewards
It is human nature to want to react positively to incentives, such as wanting to get rewards when you hear the top students will receive goodies after an exam. In the same way, prepare yourself to treats when you accomplish goals or maintained positive habits – this will ultimately encourage you to stick to those habits, and set even longer goals to accomplish; it makes the entire journey more interesting.
For instance, going out for a nice dinner with friends over the weekend when you accomplish all your goals for that week. It will remind you to make the best of the time you have left.
Engaging with friends
In certain instances, peer pressure can motivate you to accomplish things, so engage friends in some instances to help you accomplish your own goals, or any goals you set with them. There are also plenty of mobile apps that can make the experience more interesting – such as KlashApp and Make Me, or you can work with your friends through text messages and social media posts.
Conclusion
It is difficult to accomplish your goals alone while trying to grow and establish your business ideas, but through these tips, you can find ideas to do so.