6 Tips To Stay Committed To Your Business
Being able to stay committed to your business for the long haul is no easy task. Be honest: are you starting to lose the excitement and motivation for your business that you had when you started?
If so, that’s pretty normal. And it’s nothing to feel ashamed of either.
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Running a home business requires a certain amount of drive and enthusiasm. If we didn’t believe in ourselves and our businesses, we would still be working for someone else. Right?
But when the going gets tough, it’s easy to lose sight of why we started in the first place.
This can cause us to become unmotivated, and it could be the demise of the business we’ve worked so hard to build if we’re not careful.
As a business owner, you really do need to be your own biggest cheerleader, and self-motivate yourself to stay interested in your dream when it feels like no one else is excited about it, or buying from you (yet!)
A home business is like a relationship: commitment is an absolute must if they are to succeed.
As I said in this podcast episode about reaching goals as an entrepreneur, you need to kick your OWN BUTT to stay on track….but I’m here to hand you the shoe. 😉
How To Stay Committed To Your Business When It’s Not Easy Or Fun
Starting any type of business is a journey. No one said it would be easy. But if you are running a business all by yourself, on your own dollar, well it’s just that much harder.
Add to the equation if you are doing it from home with small children at your feet and hello! There’s going to be some tough days.
But, I swear to you, if you stay focused and don’t give up, and really force yourself to remain positive and push through those struggles, amazing things can happen.
Here are some tips for staying focused and pulling through the hard times.
1. Have a Mission Statement
In order to stay committed to your business, you should have a mission statement from the get-go.
It should concisely detail the purpose of your business and its key philosophies. Many entrepreneurs neglect to do this unless it is required to obtain funding.
But a mission statement can help you remember why you wanted to start a business in the first place.
Write a mission statement if you haven’t done so already.
2. Set goals
If you don’t have something specific to work toward, it’s hard to stay motivated.
By setting challenging yet attainable and measurable goals, you increase your chances of succeeding whether you meet them or not.
Here are some tips on how to set and reach SMART goals as an entrepreneur.
3. Don’t overwork yourself
Starting and running a business is hard work, and it’s easy to get caught up in a cycle of endless 16-hour days.
It’s rather ironic that this commitment to your business can result in burnout, which can leave you without the energy you need to keep going.
While it may not be feasible to take a vacation when your business is just getting off the ground, it doesn’t hurt to take a day off every now and then.
Furthermore, taking a breather will give you time to regroup and remember why you chose the path you’re on.
Related: 9 Great Ways To Make Money From Home
4. Get help from others: Outsource!
I resisted outsourcing for years. But now that I do it regularly, I have a ton of tips to help you build your team, reduce the number of hours you have to work, and dramatically decrease your stress levels.
All without breaking the bank.
My business has done a complete 180 over the last few months and I credit so much of that to my team and the support they give me.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a learning curve when it comes to outsourcing.
But as I step more and more into a leadership role within my business, I’m seeing that new attitude reflected in my growth, revenue, and numbers.
And I know you will, too!
Put simply: Outsource the tasks that someone else can do for you.
Small business owners often fall into the trap of thinking they must do everything themselves.
Sometimes they are on tight budgets and don’t feel they can afford to hire help or are unwilling to let go of the total control they have.
What they don’t realize is that by seeking help, they could be earning more income because they are leveraging their time to the tasks that bring in the money.
If you’re suffering from a lack of motivation or feeling overwhelmed, outsourcing can get you back on track by allowing you to focus on the things you love about your business.
How much you can expect to spend on outsourcing?
The answer is as much or as a little as you are willing to spend.
When is the very best time to start outsourcing in your biz?
The best time to outsource is before you need it! Hire help before you are “ready.”
If you are already too busy to even think about it, the best time to hire has passed, but you still need to hire.
So stop procrastinating!
How to find and hire the right people for your team
If you could use a virtual assistant, this program gives you a VA for free in exchange for you giving your VA some skills and business experience.
Having that extra help can relieve so much stress on you.
It will be a whole lot easier to stay committed to your business and fall back in love with it if some of the daily tasks can be delegated to someone else.
5. Automate As Much As Possible
Automation tools are your best friend. Seriously!
I don’t ever want you to manually post and repost your blog posts to Facebook and Twitter. There is no need.
You can save so much time and headache by using a social media automation tool that reposts your content on auto-pilot over and over again. This is called auto-evergreen recycling and it is the #1 lifesaver in any business when it comes to social media marketing.
The one I use is SmarterQueue, and although I have tried others, this one is the best IMO.
You can also automate your Pinterest marketing by using Tailwind – click to read my review and get a free month here.
Moreover, automation doesn’t end at social media.
You should have a good email autoresponder set up that funnels your subscribers through your emails on autopilot too. I use Convertkit and love it.
It can be hard to stay committed to your business when the many social media and email marketing tasks start to pile up.
So make it easier on yourself and take advantage of the automation tools that exist to help you.
6. Evaluate the state of your business
If you’ve hit a rough spot, perhaps a change of plans is in order. You may need to focus your offerings more tightly, rethink your marketing methods, or invest in better equipment.
Just because the plan you created in the beginning, worked in the beginning, doesn’t mean it will work a year in. Constantly evaluate your strategy and tweak and refine it along the way.
Ultimately, be flexible. By isolating and solving the problem, you can get back to business as usual.
6 Tips To Stay Committed To Your Business When It’s Not Easy Or Fun – Conclusion
Sometimes it’s hard to maintain the level of commitment that we have in the initial phases of a business venture.
By doing what it takes to remain focused and remembering why we chose this path in the first place, we can keep ourselves motivated.
When we reach our goals, we will realize that it was all worthwhile. So do your best to stay committed to your business, and know that it takes time.
Don’t give up on your business or blog before it has a chance to prosper. Growing any type of company takes time, effort, and blind faith from yourself that it will work out!
More business resources to help you thrive today
1. Take 20 minutes to listen to this HerPaperRoute podcast episode where I reveal specific things you can do to stay motivated and focused to reach your goals and push through the hard times.
2 Check out this encouraging article to make you smile, from one mompreneur to another.
4. Read the advice from these 8 bloggers who share what they do to avoid and beat blogger burnout.
5. A list of 9 great remote jobs you can do from anywhere
6. For more, have a look at these great resource books.
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How to stay committed to your business and blog when it's not easy or fun. Tips to stay #motivated and fall back in love with your #business as an #entrepreneur.Follow along on Instagram!