8 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Stay Motivated as You Build Your Business

Are you finding it challenging to keep working on your business? Do you think it’s time to give up? Feeling you’ll never make it?

You’re not alone.

Around 18% of businesses fail within their first year, and more than 50% go off the rails within the next five. So, start-ups are risky propositions, like anything new, really, but what causes them to fail?

Bad business plans, lack of financing, wrong location … the list goes on. Yet, what really lays a business low is a lack of motivation. You see, motivation is the backbone of work — no motivation equals no work and no business.

But does that mean losing motivation to continue working on your business when market research has proven it’s a dead-end wrong? No. Losing motivation when help is just two minutes away is not great — for your mental health or money.

So, how do you fix that? How do you keep yourself motivated throughout all the trials and cliffhangers during your start-up journey? Let’s find out.

Best Ways You Can Stay Motivated When Building Your Business

When you see your business flailing like a fish out of water, desperate for some help, but the help needs a miracle to arrive, your motivation goes down the drain.

How do you stop that? Let’s look at eight easy ways to become and remain motivated while running a business:

Find Your “Bigger” Purpose

Why did you begin your business? What are you working towards? Is there a larger goal behind your new start-up?

For example, Amazon wants to make people’s lives easier by providing them with a platform where they can access everything at a click. In addition, it wants to provide people with solutions before they are even aware that problems exist.

Similarly, behind Elon Musk’s massive companies is his aim to make humanity a spacefaring species. And he has worked towards that goal from day one, building rockets, signing up with the government, and testing space shuttles.

So, what is your goal? Once you learn it, you can find the inspiration and motivation to achieve your goals.

Identify Your Abilities

“Know thyself,” said every philosopher ever. Why? Because it’s golden advice. When you know your abilities, you know which problems you could run into along the way and how you could use your skills to promote a better outcome.

Knowing yourself also makes you aware of your shortcomings. For example, if you’re terrible at setting people at ease but are a brilliant coder, you need someone to do your customer service.

Of course, the same logic applies to any skill you don’t have.

Also, by knowing what you can and can’t do, you build your self-confidence and self-esteem, both of which are essential if you want to become a successful business owner.

Reflect on Your Reason for Pursuing This Path

When we become mired in the day-to-day of our business, we forget why we’re doing what we’re doing and lose motivation in the face of hardship. So, reminding yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing is essential to remaining motivated as an entrepreneur.

So, if you’re running your artificial organ-producing business so that other parents don’t have to struggle through the pain that your child did, remind yourself of that.

Remember: Rome wasn’t made in a day. So, it’s going to take time for your business to stand up too. But if you feel hopeless, remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Why? Because thinking about your dreams and making them true is one hell of a motivational push.

Appreciate Your Journey

You’ve worked your nails off, spent hundreds of sleepless nights in the office or small cabin or attic, and achieved something you’d only dreamt of before. But the nightmare competition you’re now facing is making you think you won’t make it.

What should you do?

Appreciate your journey and everything you’ve learned. Remember all the hard work that has gone into your business, all the people who’ve supported you, and all the lessons you’ve learned. Think about them. Would you have had these opportunities if you hadn’t started your business?

No. It’s likely you wouldn’t have.

So, if you’re feeling down or hopeless, remind yourself of all the things you’ve learned, everything you’ve done, and what you hope to do in the future.

Stop Agonizing Over Your Mistakes

Failure is the ladder to success. You fail once, learn what’s what, and do it right the second or third time. And that’s true for both ordinary people and entrepreneurs. In fact, it’s probably truer for entrepreneurs because they have to start from scratch.

So, cut yourself some slack when you’ve failed spectacularly. For example, if your mistake was jumping on the gun and hiring a full-time marketing expert who charged you a pretty penny, then do better next time by hiring an independent contractor instead.

Aim to Do Everything Two Times Better

Motivation comes from achievements, so what’s better than doing things you never thought you would be capable of? For example, if you’re used to creating a marketing plan within three days, why not challenge yourself to do it in two days while keeping the quality?

When you succeed, the feeling of achievement you’ll experience will push you towards trying more things, which will help you find motivation. So, if your motivation meter is riding at low, choose something you’re good at and try to do it two times better.

Become Conscious of Your Thoughts-Emotions-Actions Loop

We often become overwhelmed because we allow our thoughts and feelings to consume our minds. So, for example, when an investor has, yet again, rejected your offer, you may feel demotivated and just done with it all.

But why are you feeling that? Is there any way you could control your reaction?

Yes, you can. Here’s how to do it: Take a look at your thoughts. What are you feeling? Once you can detect your emotions, find out what action you take when in their grip.

If you become fully conscious of your thought-emotion-action loop, you’ll be able to control your own mind. So, even if your motivation is taking a vacation, you’ll have the logical assurance that everything will work out in the end.

Make Changes Where Needed

If you constantly procrastinate until the last moment, you’ll always end up delivering late.

Similarly, if you can’t tell the difference between fake and real pay stubs, you’ll be at risk of being scammed.

And feeling down and wanting to walk away are direct results of these shortcomings. These feelings are huge motivation-killers.

So, if you’re struggling with remaining motivated because your actions rarely lead to positive outcomes, take a look at yourself. What can you change? If forcing yourself to work on a project earlier than you want or taking an accounting course to learn the difference between real and fake pay stubs works, do that.

But if nothing works, it’s time to broaden your horizons and let bygones be bygones.

The Takeaway

Maintaining high levels of motivation is not easy. It’s a skill that takes time to pick up and master. But if you keep your head down and work on it, you’ll never face any motivational troubles again! Or not as much as you used to.

So, if you’re struggling with remaining motivated, pick a few of the above strategies and follow them to the T to become a motivation powerhouse.