Any business has its challenges, there’s no doubt about it. Many of our partners in The Northern Affinity are self employed or part of an SME. These often pose their own unique ups and downs. How do we stay motivated when we hit the inevitable bumps in the road? We thought we’d compile a few tips and tricks to keep you going when the going gets tough.
Set short term goals.
We all have big goals for our businesses, there’s no doubt about it. Ambition is imperative to driving a successful business forward. However, sometimes in challenging times, those goals and aspirations can feel a million miles away. Setting a list of short term goals will help to plan out your days and, more importantly, give you a sense of achievement at the end of them!
If you know you want to double your annual turnover in 5 years, break that down into smaller manageable chunks. This way, you can devise a realistic and achievable action plan and get your mojo back. Whether it’s a bad day or a bad week, reaching those mini victories is a fantastic way of keeping your business moving forward.
Remember to take care of yourself.
70 million work days are lost every year because of mental health related issues. Pretty alarming, right?
When we start out in business, we often forget about looking after number one. Understandably, we put our hearts and souls into making ourselves and our companies a success but this means we sometimes forget to put the same effort in to ourselves and our own wellbeing.
If you’re finding yourself becoming unmotivated or disillusioned, maybe it’s time to evaluate whether you’re doing right by yourself. After all, a car can’t run when it’s all out of fuel. The ‘SHED Method’ is a practical way of checking in with yourself to find out whether you’re performing at your best. Put some time back into you so you can maximise the time you put into your business.
Relight your fire.
This may be the simplest of advice but often the hardest to heed. It’s really hard to stay motivated during challenging times if you lose sight of the reason you started. Motivation without underlying desire will only get you so far.
At times like these, it’s useful to have nailed down your business mission, vision and values. Being able to refer back to these will be useful during difficult periods. You will remember why you started.