7 Ways to Get Motivated to Start and Grow Your Own Business

Even if you believe that you have a great business concept, you still need the motivation to work towards bringing the idea to reality. A switch from conceptualizing to acting on the execution is one of the most challenging aspects of getting started.

Motivation and consistency are very important to find success. Statistics suggest that more than 50 percent of all small businesses will fail within the first four years of establishment. In fact, of all small businesses launched within a year, only nine percent made it to the fourth year.

A sufficiently high level of motivation that’s sustained in the long run will necessitate a proactive approach on your behalf. And that’s what leads to success.

Techniques to Get Your Motivation Up in Business

If you are keen to know what it takes to get motivated to start and keep going in business, here are a few of the best techniques to get acquainted with today.

1. Define a mission statement to guide you

Keeping an eye on the end goal is one of the keys to a high level of motivation.

Very often, entrepreneurs and startup owners will get lost in the mundane, everyday tasks. As a result, they may lose focus and they may get caught up in the small things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Define your mission before moving on to set up a company.

Your mission statement will be determined by many aspects of your business – the company’s culture, core values, organizational structures, interactions with customers, and so on.

Write your mission statement. Read it out loud when you feel lost. Remember the initial enthusiasm and unique appeal of your business concept to get back on track, regardless of the hardships.

2. Track key performance metrics

Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential, regardless of the business concept or the sphere that you want to develop the idea in. Key performance indicators give you some clarity about your progress and the ways in which you’re still missing the mark and could improve.

When you’re involved heavily in the everyday development of your business, you can lose sight of the goal ahead or just how close you’ve gotten to it. Tracking your KPIs will give you raw data and numbers you can rely on to draw a valid conclusion about your progress.

Every business has specific KPIs. For example, for the dating company I work at, Doulike.com, the KPIs are the number of visitors, page views, number of subscriptions, bounce rate and the demographic profile of website visitors. Having a high bounce rate would be indicative of a low engagement level. Consider your own website functionality and content changes that will get people spending more time exploring the different pages and ultimately conducting business with you.

KPIs are not universally applicable to every business. As you move forward, you will get a better understanding of how to track performance and how to make the most sense of the data. Use the data to make corrections on the go and to keep on navigating the challenging business waters.

3. Take time to celebrate small successes

Even the smallest of milestones matter. They suggest you’ve managed to move one step forward and that you’re already closer to achieving your goal.

Break down a major goal into small, easily attainable milestones. Take some time to mark each accomplishment and celebrate it. Little rewards will give you and your team the incentive to move forward and to keep up the good work.

Don’t make the mistake of setting large, complex goals that will frustrate you or take years to complete. Doing so is an effective way to lose your motivation altogether.

Instead, every single milestone you set should be broken down into small parts that are easy to accomplish. You can then adjust your goals upwards after achieving each milestone.

4. Consult with a mentor regularly

Is there a person who inspires you either personally or professionally? If so, you know how amazingly stimulating the interactions with this individual are going to be every single time.

Find and converse with a business mentor. It is a great move as far as building up your motivation levels are concerned. A mentor or trusted business guru will guide you, pinpoint your mistakes, identify hardships and opportunities, and give you solutions based on their hard-won experience.

It feels good and is always empowering to know that you have someone knowledgeable and supportive who’ll back you up even when the challenges ahead seem insurmountable.

5. Build a daily routine

As already mentioned, motivation and consistency go hand in hand. To start and continue investing time and work into your business development consistently, you will have to put together a sustainable success routine you follow daily.

Start every day with a good breakfast and a quick chat with your team. Use this time to understand their feelings, their motivation and their ideas for making the business better.

Dedicate some time to communicating with clients, business partners, investors and everyone else involved in the process, as well.

Your routine should also incorporate strategic, organizational and corporate culture elements that ensure hands-on involvement in the most important processes.

6. Engage in fun, inspirational activities

Sometime you’ll feel like giving up. Engaging in an activity that is a source of joy and inspiration in such instances will be one of the best ways to ensure your emotional and physical well-being, which is a prerequisite for your long-term success in the business world.

Some entrepreneurs find inspiration in TED talks. Some listen to podcasts or read business books. Some attend networking events where they connect with other like-minded individuals. Others practice meditation, play a musical instrument or go out to watch/play a favorite sport.

Find the right inspirational activities for you and let that be a source of positivity enabling you to move forward even when you feel that you can’t really move on with certain business activities day-after-day. As some people find an outlet in sports, in outdoor activities or art, discover your own outlet—the one thing that makes you feel good and restores your faith in your own abilities.

7. Spend quality time with loved ones

Spending quality time with your loved ones will make you feel much more positive about yourself and your business. It will keep you well-grounded and you will remember why you absolutely have to overcome every difficulty and challenge you encounter in business. It will be a constant reminder why you thought to start a business in the first place and believed you could succeed.  

The benefits of having warm, hopefully supportive, relationships with loved ones are many and varied, including building self-esteem and a positive sense of self-worth and value.

Conclusion

There isn’t a one size fits all solution as far as business motivation is concerned. You may have to identify the right formula through trial and error. Do what seems logical and appropriate at the time. If it’s not the right motivational approach, you can always move on to something else.

Starting a business takes a lot of courage, regardless of the specifics of the business or the industry. The fact that you’re even considering such a project makes you one very bold and exciting individual. So, don’t be afraid to take the next steps forward.

Surround yourself with the right people and keep trying. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. A lack of experience can make the beginning difficult, but as you move forward you’ll feel less shaky and belief in your own capabilities will grow from strength to strength.