How to Stay Motivated when Starting a New Business

You have finally grabbed life by the horns, taken control of your own happiness and started your own business. But now you’re wondering how to stay motivated when starting a business.

As you may have read before, starting is the hardest part. I totally agree with that but what everyone forgot to tell you is how hard it is to keep going.

If you have just started your own business, then you are probably in the “grind” right now. That is, working as many hours as possible, trying to build your business but not seeing results yet.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, every great business starts here.

But keeping motivation up during this time can be so difficult. You have finally started what you have dreamed about for so long, but you are not feeling the satisfaction you thought you would.

I personally found this part very difficult, so whilst my business was developing, I started finding ways to stay motivated, become more productive and ultimately find happiness during the “grind”.

Here I will share all the tips I have accumulated whilst starting my own businesses, which I wish I knew at the beginning of my self-employment journey.

Set Long and Short term Goals

Starting your own business and working for yourself for the first time can be jarring.

You can suddenly set your own schedule, take all the time off you want and really control how much work you do.

You know what you need to do but have no time frame in which it needs to get done.

This means it is very important that you set both long and short term goals.

Write out where you want your business to be in 1 month, 6 months and even a year from now. This way you can see your progress and keep your business on track.

It is also important that you set goals you can reach within a day or a week. This will keep you motivated as you will feel the gratification that can be hard to find during the first year of owning a business.

In a world where everyone is looking for immediate gratification, starting a business can seem like an impossibly slow slog. So setting small, daily goals will really help you keep going and propel you forward to the next task.

Get a Weekly Planner

My biggest regret when I started my first business was not getting a dedicated planner from the start.

Like many people, I thought “why do I need to write out a plan when I know what I need to get done?”

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Starting any new business has so much involved that even if you think you can keep on top of everything, it won’t take long until you start letting boring tasks slip and start prioritising the easy or more interesting tasks.

Having a planner is a game changer.

Not only can you plan out and prioritise each task for the week, but you can streamline your work time. This helps you to complete tasks more efficiently and gives you more free time to spend with family or friends.

Theme your day

If you have multiple tasks or project on the go at the same time, it is easy to flip flop between them all day without completing any of them.

To combat this, I stick to one theme per day, so it is easier to focus on and complete tasks. For example, I would have one admin day, one creative day and then one marketing day. Obviously there will be some jobs that need to be done daily, but if you can keep the bulk of your work split into themed blocks then you will find your productivity will skyrocket!

If you have lots of smaller tasks, then you could split your morning and afternoon into two separate themes.

Stick to your perfect morning routine

Everyone’s morning routine will look very different, so stick to what you know works for you. Keeping to a strict morning routine will prepare you for the working day and make sure you are taking enough time for yourself each day.

Here are some of the things in mine and why they are an important step in my routine:

Get up at the same time every day. This will keep you on schedule and you won’t have to wake up in a rush.

Take time out for you, whether that is a home workout, some yoga or journaling, this is a very important step that keeps me both motivated and sane!
Get Ready for the day! Trust me, once the novelty of wearing pyjamas to work has worn off, you will see how much more productive you are when you feel properly ready for the day.

Eat Breakfast and Hydrate If your body is not ready for the day, then your mind won’t be either!
Go outside. Getting some fresh air or feeling the sun on your skin can really boost your mood and start your day off right.

If you’re not already, becoming a morning person can be extremely beneficial to your life and to your daily motivation.

Take Breaks

This should be an obvious one but when you are deep into a project that you are finally enjoying, I know how hard it can be to stop and take a break.

It is also easy to think that when you are self-employed you have to go go go. Afterall, if you don’t do it, it is not getting done.

But taking regular breaks for you is actually helping your business.

When you feel refreshed and happier, you will bring the best version of yourself to your work.

Find when you are most productive

Now you don’t have to stick to a strict schedule, you can leverage your time and use your most productive times of day to your advantage.

Find out when you work best.

Whether you are more creative in the morning and more analytical in the evening. Or if you are so unproductive in the morning, you are better off starting your workday at 12pm!

Find out how and when you work best and plan your day around your strengths.

Batch your tasks

This goes hand in hand with theming your day.

If you have a lot of similar tasks you do throughout the week, like creating social media posts, or paying invoices, batching them together can help you save time and get through the repetitive tasks quicker.

You won’t have to keep going back to the same tasks every day through the week. You can get them all done in one afternoon and keep focused on your other tasks for the rest of the week.

Have a designated workspace (that you love)

Although you can now work wherever and whenever you want, I would highly recommend giving yourself a designated workspace.

Especially if you are working at home, it is important to keep your work and home life separate. This way you can switch off your business owner brain and actually relax during your downtime.

Make sure wherever you are working inspires you. Afterall, you will be spending many hours of your life there.

If you are lucky enough to have a home office then carefully consider what colour scheme to use.

Blue is known to aid with focus, so could help you stay on task through the day.

However, if you have more of a creative business, yellow is supposed to inspire and help your creativity.

If you are looking to create your perfect work space don’t forget to include these 14 Work from Home Essentials that will Boost your Productivity.

Believe in the process, don’t listen to doubt

Did you know it takes the average small business 2-3 years to get running and profitable?

(I must confess I am not sure I would have started some of my businesses if I knew that at the beginning!).

But what we should take from this is that great things take time. So, no matter how much you doubt yourself or your business along the way, you shouldn’t give up.

Yes, you will make mistakes and there will be low moments, but you cannot let them define your business.

Learn from your mistakes and use them to propel you forward.

Whatever you do, don’t listen to doubt.

Whether that’s your own self-doubt, or the outside world telling you your idea will never work.

So many potentially amazing businesses have been abandoned too soon because of doubt.

Don’t let yours be next.

Don’t pay attention to your competition

Focus on your own work and don’t let other’s trials or successes bother you.

Maybe their business looks better, or is more profitable. But maybe they started years before you.

You cannot measure your success against someone else’s journey.

Sometimes we cannot avoid all competition, so when you inevitably see some, don’t let it threaten you.

Use it to motivate you.

Find your tribe

Starting a business can be a very lonely existence, especially in the beginning.

Finding people who are going through the same trials as you can be invaluable to you and your business.

Sometimes you need to bounce ideas off of someone who understands the business you’re in. Not your overly supportive mother who has no idea what you are talking about!

You can find your tribe either at networking events or through different Facebook groups and social media.

Trust me, there are hundreds of people out there like you who want to connect and support each other.

Celebrate your small wins

This could be the most important step.

Make sure you stop working long enough to celebrate how far you’ve come.

Just made you first sale? Congratulations!

If you just signed your first client, that’s Amazing!

If you took the plunge and quit your 9-5 to work on your business full time, then CELEBRATE!

However small the achievement seems to other people, you know how hard you worked to get there.

So pat yourself on the back, go out for dinner, shout it from the rooftops or buy yourself a celebration cake from the supermarket!

Remember,

You’re following your dreams and that deserves celebration.

If you have a small business and just celebrated a small win, share it down below.

Let’s celebrate each other’s success!