How to Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur

Motivation for Entrepreneurs

Conceptualizing and seeing a startup through to completion can be overwhelming. While robust planning, strong resources, and efficient marketing are mandatory, staying motivated all through is equally important! This article discusses how to stay motivated as an entrepreneur and nail the journey!

The Era of Entrepreneurs and Hustlers

We are living in the age where almost every other day we see a new venture taking shape, be it a café, a training institute, an e-commerce platform or a food delivery service. The world seems to be brimming with ideas and just about everyone wants to do something unique, garner recognition, monetize their talents and skills and join the league of successful hustlers!

With big dreams and a large appetite for growth, these enterprises kick off their ambitious projects with great fervor. Soon after conceptualizing an idea, they go all guns blazing in carrying out several brainstorming sessions, identifying their audience, building roadmaps and determining key resources. They embark upon their entrepreneurial journey quite feverishly not realizing that a lot is at stake.

Roadblocks carpet the way for the entrepreneur

Bringing a concept to life is no child’s play. Each task involved comes with a host of challenges. The entire initiative can become rather overwhelming for the entrepreneurs, especially for the first timers. The budding entrepreneurs are usually unable to anticipate the daunting responsibilities of juggling between multiple tasks. They may find it very difficult to navigate the uncharted territories, unforeseen roadblocks and roundabouts. Sometimes they may take rash decisions and uncalled for risks. And even before they realize, they begin to lose their focus and their determination starts to fumble. In fact it has been seen that several startups dissolve during the first decade of their existence.

What is the importance to staying motivated for an entrepreneur?

Regardless of howsoever many times the importance of staying motivated has been iterated in the most revered prophecies of success, this attribute, proudly worn by the go-getters, has never lost an iota of its brilliance. Remember, staying motivated will help each piece of the big picture fit in seamlessly and before you’d know, you’d be busy donning the hat of an achiever!

How to stay motivated as an entrepreneur?

Here are top 4 tips that tell you how to stay motivated as an entrepreneur, even when everything around you is falling apart:

1. Start Your Day Right

It has been seen that successful people start their day before the average person. Waking up at an early hour allows you ample time to plan your day and take charge of your life.

Begin your day by tidying up your space; fold your sheets and make your bed. Author Charles Duhigg calls it a “keystone habit” in his bestseller, “The Power of Habit”:

Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.

Charles Duhigg

Remember that your body is your temple and before anything you need to ensure that it is healthy enough to take on physical and mental tasks. A set of exercises will keep your fitness in check while amplifying your productivity twice as much!

2. Remind Yourself of Your Goals and adapt to change

There will be times when you’d feel mentally drained out or hit a roadblock. Times where you’d be required to re-calibrate your approach almost entirely. Or when you may begin to question your decisions. You may even begin to question your abilities as an entrepreneur. Please know that it is absolutely alright to feel overwhelmed; it is all a part of the process. No big entrepreneur has had it easy and if it is happening to you, big chances are that you are on the right track.

This is when you must remind yourself of the bigger picture, the reason why you put in so many hours of efforts into your initiative. Remind yourself of the dreams you saw with your eyes wide open- monetary gains, bringing about a difference in the society, garnering laurels and making your people feel proud. Constantly reminding yourself of the picture you envisioned at the very outset, will spur you on. The obstacles, no matter how humongous, will begin to fade away.

In the face of the unprecedented circumstances, businesses can put up an amazing fight. As a businessman you need to have great adaptability and make use of opportunities being presented from time to time. Give your strategies a complete spin and re-imagine the business models with changing times and demands of the customers. At the same time look after yourself. Look for ways on how to stay motivated as an entrepreneur.

3. Take a Break and Reward Yourself

If you are under the impression that successful entrepreneurs do not make time for recreation, you’ve got it all wrong! Therapeutic capabilities of a break can never be undermined. Even if you don’t feel mentally or physically exhausted, you still need a break to kickback and unwind, indulge in some recreational activities, take yourself out on a mini vacation, or just revisit a hobby.

For even the tiniest of achievements in your quest, reward yourself by making time for recreation. The anticipation of rewards is a great motivation for entrepreneurs. Rewards will rejuvenate and de-stress you inside out. It will help you to bounce back all charged up. It may even change your perception to the problems at hand. You wouldn’t even realize and the issues that seemed unnerving earlier will now have solutions miraculously flooding your mind! That’s the power of a ‘break’; it rewards your hard work like nothing else would, giving you a fresh perspective on things and even propelling your mind to think out of the box!

4. Surround Yourself with Positivity

Create a workspace that exudes good vibes and attracts optimism. A well-ventilated and aptly lit area, preferably painted in all white, decorated with pictures of motivational quotes, fresh indoor plants, tidy desks and neatly organized files and folders relaxes the mind. A soft, uplifting melody playing in the background is a bonus!

Consider burning some subtle fragrance oils in a corner and if you can convert a shelf to a dedicated coffee station, you’ve nailed it! The idea of a fresh cuppa whenever one craves, or even just the sweet smell of the brewing filling your surroundings is potent enough to lift your spirits up several notches and keep you refreshed and all focused on your goals.

Now, the way you’ve surrounded yourself with things that instill bliss and bring in good energies, you must also surround yourself with people who have an optimistic approach towards life, be it your family, your dearest pals or even kids who would look up to you as their inspiration- reconnect with all.

Build a network where you can exchange new ideas, learn from others’ experiences and share yours. This doesn’t rule out the fact that you won’t need critics. In fact, you must have people who speak from their experience and have a different perspective on things. However, consider snapping off connections that demean your efforts and glorify your past. Keep a headstrong approach all through, work hard in silence and let your success be your noise!

The Bottom-line – Motivation for Entrepreneurs

The hard labor involved in seeing a project and a brand, through is mammoth. One needs to keep their cool at all times and focus on the goals. High-risk high-reward approach is key, which simply means that in order to gain something big, one needs to step out of their comfort zone.

You have had enough courage to take the plunge and with that you have taken the first step towards the future you envisioned for yourself, something very few have the determination to accomplish. There’s no looking back now. Listen to your gut, lead a disciplined routine, tread cautiously, unwind regularly, think positively! Remember Steve Jobs’ Famous Speech about connecting the dots looking backwards and not by looking forward.

Remember that Rome was not built in a day and entrepreneurs constantly need motivation to build the Rome of their dreams!

Editor’s Note:

If you enjoyed reading this article on how to stay motivated as an entrepreneur, you will also like How to practice the art of self love to lead a fulfilling life by the same author.

You may also like to read about achieving SUPER physical fitness and mental health or on how to internalize your locus of control.

About The Author

Manasi Srivastava is an experienced writer. She is also adept at voice overs. She has a penchant for art and is a hoarder of beautiful handicrafts and works of renowned painters and artists.

A self confessed coffee enthusiast, in her free time she loves to whip up a fresh cup, pen down her thoughts and spend some quality time with her daughter. She is parent to seven pooches too, who keep her life buzzing with something new and exciting each day!