As a business owner, keeping motivation for your business at high levels should be as important as any other aspect of your plans.
By learning how to manage setbacks and stay motivated, you can avoid falling into the trap of self-doubt as you struggle at different points of your business journey.
Here are Hatch‘s five steps to re-ignite your business motivation in times of a setback.
1. Take a step back
Sometimes, taking a small break from whatever we’re doing can have a massive impact on motivation levels.
You can use this time to reflect on why you started your business.
There is nothing like reminding yourself of the reasons why you are doing something to invigorate your energy and motivational levels.
Ask yourself, ‘Who will benefit from my work?‘
If you find your motivational levels completely depleted, take yourself out for a walk or a treat. Pushing yourself to output productivity will only further strain your energy levels and motivational capacity.
2. Re-evaluate your goals
It can be hard to remind yourself of your vision in trying times.
Now that you’ve reminded yourself of why you started your business, and who will benefit, work on a road map to achieve your goals.
- First, set your big goals.
- Once you’ve outlined the main goals you want to work towards, break them down into smaller segments.
This way you will be working towards smaller incremental goals which will increase the rewarding satisfaction every time you achieve a goal.
The more frequent you achieve a goal and gain the satisfying feeling of checking it off, the more likely you are to remain motivated to achieve the next goals.
Don’t forget to give yourself a reward for each big goal achieved, and celebrate with your loved ones.
3. Prioritise
Sometimes setbacks come at the worst possible time.
To make sure you’re not missing out on something extremely important, write down a list of your priorities to keep an eye on as you take a step back from your usual routine.
Make sure to include your mental health in these priorities.
When’s the last time you took a holiday?
Almost one in 10 business owners are likely to suffer from burnout every year due to the amount of energy they put into their businesses.
Once you’ve taken a step back and re-evaluated your goals, encourage yourself to believe that you will achieve these goals.
Whilst being positive may sound like a cliche, it is very important.
4. Allow yourself to be inspired
All too often we think that business ideas need to be purely our own, and that we should lock those ideas away in a safe somewhere to protect them from theft.
Ideas are often developed by talking to people, and being inspired by their stories and testimonies.
By going out and talking to people about your ideas, you will not only have the opportunity to develop and refine them by starting to test your product/market fit, you’ll also be naturally increasing your business motivation as you talk about your passion and gain external people’s encouragement.
5. Share the load
Now that you’ve shared your ideas, consider sharing your workload.
Ask yourself, ‘Am I taking on too much?’
Many people try to take on too much at once, and often end up feeling burned out and too unmotivated to continue.
To ensure the sustainability of your business, make sure you’re not spreading yourself too thin and consider delegating some of your tasks.
By trusting in your team and not taking on too much yourself, you can avoid a motivational meltdown.
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