“It seems the harder I work, the more luck I have.” —Thomas Jefferson
Working for yourself sounds great in the beginning but you can soon find that giving up your employment isn’t always as glamorous and easy as it seems.
Working from home can become lonely after the novelty wears off. Procrastination or a lack of motivation can start to creep in and sometimes you might even find yourself missing the ease of the 9-5 more than you thought!
But remember you started your business for a reason and any lost motivation can always be found again.
Go back and remember why you started this, have you become complacent? Is it just a bump in the road? Or are you feeling overwhelmed?
It’s important to understand how to motivate yourself to keep going on even when it’s getting tough.
So, to support you here are some top tips to stay motivated as a solopreneur;
1 – Make your business fit your lifestyle
Freedom is often one of the top reasons entrepreneurs believe the corporate world and going to business by themselves. Entrepreneurship offers the chance to fit work around your lifestyle to be flexible whether it’s for your family, your hobbies or anything else.
So are you actually doing this?
If you started your own business so that you could be flexible around school runs but end up needing childcare then maybe you need to rethink your daily schedule?
Or maybe you’ve always wanted to be able to ride your horse every morning but find yourself rushing back to start work.
Maybe, you hate the busy gym early morning and evening periods – start earlier and hit the gym midday!
Aligning your business with your lifestyle plans will boost your motivation by finding the satisfaction and balance.
2 – Find a coworking space
Being able to work from home has so many benefits, but not seeing anyone all day can be so lonely!
You may find yourself going stir crazy or ordering extra parcels to chat to the delivery guys.
Or maybe you are finding other house members too noisy.
You maybe able to find a brilliant co working space near you to work in a relax and focused environment as well as being able to work alongside like-minded individuals.
You may find that these spaces also have useful workshops or other events.
3 – Build a network
Building a network is so important to help with your success.
You may find the coworking space a great place to start to network and build up some supportive connections. They know how you are feeling sometimes more that your best friends or family if they are all employed.
People in your network may be able to offer useful tips and insights and support you further down the line in your business or just be a sounding board.
You can build your network by attending networking events mastermind groups online networking through social media and lots of other ways to find like-minded entrepreneurs.
Your support network will also help you to keep accountable which is essential when your motivation is lagging.
4 – Balance
Balancing your workload and time management is a lot easier said than done. However it is a crucial part of staying motivated as an entrepreneur. Studies show that small business owners tend to work longer hours than the average worker so it is definitely worth setting a time limit for yourself and taking regular breaks so that you stay both productive and motivated.
It’s hard to find the right balance and you might not make it at first but start by time blocking and setting weekly and daily goals and you will find out what works for you if you work too hard you’ll burn out but if you don’t work enough hours you won’t make any progress.
Keep your vision in mind but focus on the short term goals and remember that your journey as an entrepreneur is a marathon not a sprint.
5 – Celebrate!
As an entrepreneur there are no managers or bosses to tell you what to do but this also means that there’s no one to congratulate you when you’ve worked hard, completed a task or goal. Often we therefore forget to celebrate ourselves even the small wins because we are always looking at the bigger picture.
Make sure you celebrate every time you reach a small goal or milestone and attach a reward to each one this can be a small gesture like your favourite dinner or an afternoon off at the end of the week or for larger goals treating yourself to a new item or fun day out, whatever makes you happy!
Try and create a network that you can share those celebrations with.
Always try and to remember to enjoy the journey and have some fun along the way!
Staying motivated as an entrepreneur is harder than it seems but with organisation, self-discipline and by implementing these tips and adjusting them to suit you, you will find what works to stay motivated and be a truly successful business owner.
Get ahead, get it done.
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