Now you’ve made the decision to start your own online business. Starting an online business is great. You’ve given up that steady pay cheque and instead invested in yourself. No one’s motivation can truly be tested as well as yours; the entrepreneur’s. So it’s time to get yourself motivated and stay that way. Starting, you feel excited, hopeful and motivate but after a while, your feelings start to change. Your motivation begins to decrease slowly. Things may not go as planned. You start wondering whether what you are doing is worth your time and efforts and whether this business makes sense at all. At this kind of time, you do not need to lose faith, just keep going because if you decide to stay in the game no matter what, you’re sure to succeed. Just like Julie Andrews said “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th”.
Entrepreneurs who have made it have also gone through it and they know that starting an online business is like a roller coaster. One day you feel fantastic and unstoppable, the next you are desperate and think your business is never going to make it. It’s in these tough moments that your success takes shape.
How really do you get motivated when starting a new online business?
Make a Review of your “why”
Remind yourself of the reasons why you started. Of course you will definitely have your reasons for starting your own online business be it you started it to get a side income or you wanted to resign and work from home, probably you just wanted to make this world a better place for everyone you love. It is always helpful and motivating when you remind yourself of those reasons and when you feel down it will help you refocus on your drive.
Make a list of and focus on your goals:
Create a list of your goals. Whenever you see your goals on paper and organized into bite-sized subsections your work will end up much more manageable, and easier to accomplish. You could even spend 10 minutes twice a day, preferably first thing in the morning and last thing at night, reviewing them. Visualize yourself as having accomplished those goals, and let yourself feel the emotions.
Make whatever you are doing fun:
Many people feel unmotivated because running their online business is just not fun enough. If you find yourself in this situation, you must find a way to make it more exciting. Look for ways to reduce the stress of running your business while increasing your fun, you will be motivated again.
Hang out with motivated people:
Avoid people who are negative and who drain your energy as much as possible. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but do try to minimize contact with those types of people, especially when your own motivation is low.
Instead, actively seek out motivated people. These might be friends or they might be business peers.
Don’t dream too big or too small:
By having small attainable goals they will be easier to complete, therefore you will get the sense of achievement to keep you motivated and push you to your next goal. Aiming too low won’t motivate you because there is no fun, no challenge to excite you. You already know you can make it at the same time, when you aim too high, you tend to feel intimidated, you think that your objective is impossible to reach, which has a bad impact on your motivation too. Instead of putting strain on yourself and your business by reaching too far too soon, it may be a good idea to think small but not too small.
Never stop learning
Learning about starting your own business and the niche you operate within can make the process of starting up in business a lot easier. Look at online blogs that offer actionable advice. Online business blogs and forums are available all over the web; take some time to join the most relevant forums you can, and chat to other people on the same path as you. When you feel your motivation lacking, talking to others in the same boat as you is a great way to stay motivated. If you keep learning about your product you will find that your ambition and inspiration is reflected in others pushing you to keep on striving towards your end goal.
