Why Motivation is Important to Succeed as a Small Business Owner

Motivation gives us the power and energy to engage in activities and tasks. Most people start businesses because of the initial motivation - to be their own boss, have control over their own income, develop a skill. These motivators give us the push to take action. But, motivation does not last. There will be times when you feel low, confused, lonely and doubt yourself. In moments like these it’s important we keep pushing and resist the urge to stop.

Stopping after the tremendous effort we put into our business, which was pushed by motivation, will erode all the success we gained from that effort. Pushing through and sticking to what we started will compound that effort and we will see the result, success and reward which will act as additional motivation. 

Although we may experience times where our motivation is low, there are a couple of activities we can do to help give us enough motivation so we can continue working on our business. 

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FIVE Tips to Motivate Small Business Owners

1. Mindset is Important - 100% Believe That You Will Achieve Your Goals and Set the Expectation That it Will Take Time

Having belief and certainty that you will attain the result, goal, success and reward, that motivated you to start your business, will give you the energy during times you feel unmotivated. 

One reason why we might feel unmotivated is because of our limiting beliefs which cause us to doubt ourselves and think that we will not achieve the goal we set. But, these thoughts are not helpful. If we take some time every day to actively think positive thoughts - I will achieve the goal, I can see the goal, I know I am on the right path. These phrases convince us that we will achieve what we want. 

When we are convinced and certain that we will get to our goal then we are more likely to do the activities required. Build that certainty and faith and it will give you the energy to keep putting in the time and hard-work.

2. Read / Watch Content About the Struggle of Those Whose Success You are Inspired By

We see people on social media and on the internet once they have reached the goal, we rarely see the struggle, hard-work and time that it took the individual to get there. This can make us doubt ourselves, set unrealistic expectations and become impatient. Most people do not share their journey from when they started. So, we do not see how long it took them, how many challenges they had to face and overcome, the times when they doubted themselves and how much effort they had to put in.

I once saw a video of two girls who built an incredibly successful product, but before they got to that successful product they had made 52 versions of it. It was the 53rd version they made that led them to success. Stories like these make us realise just how much patience, determination, discipline and commitment is required. Many of us try something perhaps 3-4 times before giving up.

We need to think long-term. The best way to help us think long-term is to read about and watch the struggles that other business owners went through. Read the stories of the most successful people you know and who you are inspired by. There are many entrepreneurs and business owners who share the struggles and challenges they faced, learn about those. This will help you to set realistic expectations and motivate you to stay committed. 

3. Energise Yourself By Reading / Watching Content of Others Who Have the Success You Want

Earlier I stated that watching the success of others can set unrealistic expectations and make us impatient, but if we look at the success of others with the right intention then it can be beneficial in energising us. If you watch YouTube videos or read blog posts about the success of other business owners with the intention of being inspired, then this will give you the motivation to keep trying. 

Watching the success of other people will remind us why we are working so hard and what the reason for all this effort is. Seeing the successful business owners enjoy the result of their efforts will inspire us to be determined so we can enjoy the same reward. 

4. Create a Visual Goal Board

I have seen so many videos and blog posts on people creating visual boards, and I understand the importance of doing this. By having a reminder of why you are creating this business, why you are working so hard and why you are dedicating your time towards this business it will give you the boost to keep going. We are much more likely to stick to something when we have a goal we are working towards. Take some time to create a visual board which includes all the things that you want to achieve as a result of working on your business. 

Some things on my visual goal board are:

• A computer set-up with monitors, wireless keyboard & mouse, and my laptop (this is the dream set-up I want to be working from)

• Expensive designer dress (I love dresses and want to treat myself to a beautiful luxurious one)

• First-Class train & plane tickets (one of the big goals I have is taking business trips - national & international)

These are just a couple of goals that are on my visual goal board which are motivating me to keep building the business that I am.

5. Motivation is Great BUT Discipline & Structure is More Important

All of these activities will act as motivators to give us the energy and drive to continue to build our business. But, more important than motivation, for you to succeed you require discipline. Discipline is all about creating structure rather than being impulsive. Create structure in your business to make it easy for you to do the work.

Creating weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly plans will make it more likely that you will continue to keep working on your business even when it gets tough. Making it non-negotiable that you will do what you have planned will get you to the success you are aiming for. Set tasks for yourself that you have to do during the week and have weekly check-ins to ensure you are achieving those tasks. It is important that you have these check-ins and that even if you miss a day or two you still keep going. 

Do not let one bad day or a bad week stop you from being consistent and working on your plans because that will turn all the consistent efforts you have made into waste. 

Creating structure can be deciding you might do one thing related to your business every day, or you will spend at least an hour every single day, or that you will complete the tasks on your list. Block your time for tasks and activities, plan in advance what your weekly goals are and make the commitment to work on those goals -  your chances of attaining success will increase dramatically. 

Thank You For Reading!

Just like everyone out there, I struggle a lot with staying committed and working on my goals. I have had many failed attempts and the one lesson I have learnt is that sticking to something is hard but making it non-negotiable that you will do what you have planned will make getting to success a lot easier. So, my greatest advice is to keep going, push through the doubts, stay committed and determined to carry out the plans you create.

Comment down below how you create structure in your day so you keep going. 

Thank you for reading and I will see you in my next post.