One of the things few people say about owning a business is that there will be times when you won’t feel motivated to go on. And that’s no matter how big or small your business is, no matter how much money you made, or even if the reasons for feeling down are personal and not business related. And there are numerous ways to find the energy to go on. I’ve used many of them along the years. Some worked for me, others didn’t, so I decided to dedicate a section on this blog to MOTIVATION – in general, in business, and even personal. I won’t share it all at once – as I want each bite to be completely understood. And, as I promised to keep the articles here as clear and concise as possible, you’ll be seeing various motivational techniques and habits in the future. So:
NEVER forget what motivated you to start a business/go freelance
Remember the beginning
As any business has a beginning, one of the things I force myself to remember is what made me start that business. Along the years I had to go back to that simple essence on a number of times. And, more importantly, I had friends that needed to be reminded to check their initial motivation before deciding to give up.
So my advice is: be really motivated when you start a business. (Keep in mind that I’m talking here only about the motivation part – though I don’t forget that you need a business plan and more to be successful.) And, even more important:
Don’t lose the motivation the first time you encounter an obstacle
Perhaps a friend doesn’t like your website. Or your business idea. Or…
Be sure that there will be people who will support you, but there will also be people who won’t stand by you. Perhaps even some who will criticize you without reason.
Be sure that there will be clients who won’t pay on time. Or at all. Maybe even your first client. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up so soon. Keep motivated. Look for other clients and opportunities. Move forward. (We’ll talk about this in future articles as well.)
Motivation might change
Yes, I said I’d only talk about a single item. But this is an important addition: in time, motivation might change.
And that’s OK.
As long as you assume those changes and use this new direction for your business.
For instance: perhaps you launch a travel blog just to share your impressions. Not thinking about who will read it, but thinking of it as a journal.
In time, with many articles well written and your own voice, more and more people might visit it. At some point, for various reasons, you might be contacted with an advertisement opportunity. Or, on the contrary, you might decide on your own that you want to monetize your blog. To maybe even have it make enough money to travel only from it. Or live out of its income. That’s definitely a big shift and a change of motivation. Your focus is different. And it is ok. Things can change in time. Just adapt and add this new motivation. And don’t forget it!
Keep yourself motivated so that you can motivate others
As you can see, this first article is about yourself: you, the business owner/freelancer. Because you have to be motivated in order to be able to motivate others (employees or collaborators). If you are not motivated, then you probably won’t get things done, or not that good, or not that faster, etc.
Like I said, there are many ways to keep yourself motivated – and I’ll discuss them in future articles. But for now concentrate on this question:
What motivated you to launch your business/go freelance?
