Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 10:30 pm
There are many reasons why startups fail, but the lack of self-motivation is one of the main reasons they do. According to Patrick Henry of the Entrepreneur Framework, one reason that startups succeed is that they have founders who are driven by impact, which result in commitment and passion. He also indicated that they are committed to staying on course and sticking with a chosen path. They are persistent and patient in dealing with the mismatch between their reality and expectations. Likewise, in his book You Can’t Do That…, PrimeMovers Founder Mike O’Hagan writes that entrepreneurship requires a lot of tenacity, determination, drive, and persistence.
Clearly, without self-motivation, it can be difficult for entrepreneurs or startups to persevere through the difficult times. They will encounter many challenges, but whether it’s the lack of funding, the lack of market growth, conflicts, or whatever, one must be motivated enough to keep going and to find ways to overcome these challenges.
These are all easier said than done, especially if you’re the sole founder of your business or if you’re the first “employee” of your company. You have no one to motivate you but yourself. You have no boss to please and no teammates to push you. You probably won’t even get much support from the people around you. Most businesses start with a concept that most people find weird or unviable, so you’re basically the only one who believes in what you’re doing—at least initially. In addition, you probably won’t get the results you expected right away, which means that you’d be working hard with no guaranteed rewards.
For someone who’s transitioning from employee to entrepreneur, this can make them decide to go back to their comfort zone–employment, which seems more stable and convenient. It seems easier when someone else—an employer, for example—is in control instead of you.
Even if there is enough funding and the right people are in place, if the founder doesn’t have enough motivation or strength of will to lead their team, then the business will likely fail. At this early stage, a large part of how the business runs and which direction it goes lies on the founder’s vision and leadership.
This is something I experience as an entrepreneur and a startup founder. I went into my business with high hopes and with a lot of vigor and excitement. Reality soon sunk in, though, and although I see steady growth in my business, it’s still not the kind of growth I expected to have. In addition, the ups and downs of running and growing it can be emotionally draining that I get burnt out.
For some weeks, I stopped efforts to grow my business and just focused on the current projects I had. This “pause” led me to realizations on how I should take the time to take care of myself first instead of constantly pushing myself to achieve my business goals and how it’s completely okay to take things slow. It made me realize that pushing myself to work hard at all times can do more harm than good.
Well, based on my experience, here are some things you can do to keep yourself motivated when running a business or startup:
Self-motivation Tip #1: Take things easy. You don’t have to be on all the time.
As an entrepreneur or startup founder, you are likely to wear various hats at the same time. You have to meet with clients, deal with your staff, recruit staff, oversee the work your staff produces, deal with funding, and others.
Indeed, the amount of work you need to accomplish seems to never end. Trying to complete all your to-dos everyday seems impossible, and pressuring yourself to do so can easily lead to burnout.
Burnout is really something that you should avoid because it can make you completely want to stop doing anything. It can make you lose all drive and just give up. However, if you have a business, giving up is not as simple as just dropping everything whenever you want to. You have clients and staff members who rely on you. If you have business partners or investors, then they can get affected as well. It’s no longer just about you. Unlike an employee who can easily take a sick or vacation leave or even resign, an entrepreneur won’t have someone to take over their tasks, especially when the business is still starting. As such, they can’t just walk away from everything without impacting other lives.
To avoid getting burnt out, you should take things easy. It’s okay not to complete all your tasks everyday. Prioritize the important ones and leave the others for another day.
Allow yourself to feel “lazy” and slack off sometimes. No one expects you to perform 100% all the time.
Self-motivation Tip #2: Take care of yourself.
The daily stress and the emotional ups and downs that come with running a startup can take a toll on your health. As such, it’s important for you to take care of yourself. Eat and sleep well. Exercise. These will allow you to recharge and will enable you to effectively deal with the next day’s set of challenges.
This is something I learned from past habits. In my haste and determination to achieve my goals, I would often sleep very little, like 3-4 hours every night, and would even hardly eat. Well, I realized that you can accomplish more and finish your tasks faster and with better quality when you get to rest and eat well. When you forego eating and sleeping, then you’re more likely to waste time as you’ll probably feel sluggish and move and think more slowly. You will also likely make more mistakes.
You’ll be more eager to work when you’re well rested. You’ll also feel more energized and will be more productive. In addition, sleeping and eating good food are good ways to feel better after experiencing some disappointments.
Self-motivation Tip #3. Let go of your losses and move on.
Running a business comes with many new and missed opportunities, as well as wins and losses. While the wins and new opportunities energize and encourage you to keep going, the missed and lost ones can definitely make you feel deflated.
However, there’ no use to holding on to could’ve beens or would’ve beens and regretting things you may or may not have done. It’s more productive to just accept the loss and move on. This way, instead of moping around, you can begin to look for new opportunities and free your mind for the task at hand. Perhaps the lost opportunity wasn’t meant for you—for whatever reason—and something better is in store for you.
I know that might sound like cliché, but when I don’t win a client, I reason that they’re probably difficult to work with or that my services are not exactly what they need; as such, it may just cause problems for the both of us if I got them as a client.
Believe that God or the universe will give you what’s right for you and that they will avert anything that’s not good for you.
Self-motivation Tip #4. Appreciate the slow growth.
It’s often frustrating when you don’t easily and quickly get the results you expect. It can be disheartening when nothing seems to be happening despite the hard work you put in.
Well, as frustrating as it is, there are many reasons you should be thankful for the slow growth.
- Unless you’re already an expert at running your business, the slow growth enables you to learn the ropes so-to-speak, with minimal impact in the event of failure. If you have only one or two clients and make a mistake, then the impact isn’t as much as when you make the same mistake with 10 or more clients already on board.
- By growing your business slowly, you’d probably already have a good grasp of what to do and what not do by the time you get to ten clients. You’ll have time to improve your work processes such that your business has a stable foundation for growth and expansion.
- When you grow slow, there’s plenty of room to make adjustments in your products or services, as well as in your business plan.
- Growing slow can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, which can make you prone to make mistakes or which can cause too much stress.
- Consider the slow growth as your “training.” You’ll have time to consult others and to figure out your business strategy. Growing fast can feel like you’re being thrown into strong currents when you’re just beginning to learn to swim.
Self-motivation Tip #5. Celebrate the small successes.
You don’t have to wait for big wins or for your main goal to be achieved before you celebrate. Be sure to celebrate even small wins or milestones, whether that’s getting a client lead, making a small sale, or having superb employees.
Appreciating the small blessings you receive will fuel you to keep going and to work harder. Celebrating them will serve as your reward for all your hard work.
Self-motivation Tip #6. Look ahead—things will get better.
No matter how difficult things get and no matter how slow progress may take, keep in mind that things won’t always be this way. Things will get better, and the time will come when you’ll look back at your difficulties now and think that they were trivial. You’ll one day look back and realize how far you’ve come.
I always get inspired by people who started with nothing or with something small and who make it really big after some years. Facebook wasn’t always as big as it is now. I didn’t even think anything of it when it first came out, but they’re now a major player in social media.
I also have friends who started their businesses in pretty much the same way I do mine now, and their successes encourage me to keep going. They help me believe that with persistence, you will eventually get to the point where you won’t have to work so hard to gain and keep customers or sell your products or services. Even if it takes time, if you keep working towards your goals, then you will eventually reach them.
Always think positive, and believe that your breakthrough will soon come.
Self-motivation Tip #7. Focus on why you’re doing what you do.
Someone who starts a business usually has reasons beyond earning a living. Some believe that they can make a difference with what they do. Some have an incessant need to express themselves and their ideas to the world. Whatever that reason is, focus on it, as it will keep you going regardless of the results you’re getting.
For me, I really love to write. I find myself looking for ways to write and express myself if my current job doesn’t allow me to. As such, even if I experience challenges in growing my business, I would still be motivated to write, as it’s what I love to do.
Another “why” for me is because I want to achieve financial freedom and have a lifestyle that allows me to work while still having enough time to do the other things I like. This will also allow me to help others. I know that I can achieve these only by succeeding in my business. In this regard, keeping my eye on the big picture motivates me to keep going despite the hurdles along the way.
Self-motivation Tip #8. Rethink how you’re doing things.
If your current “strategies” don’t seem to work, then try to think of other ways of doing things. Coming up with and trying different things can energize you as they give you something new to look forward to. There’s always an excitement that comes with doing something new. It’s almost like giving yourself a chance for a do-over, and this time, things will perhaps go better.
When I held online calls with prospective clients, I used to keep the camera turned off as I’m quite shy. However, I seem to have a difficult time connecting with clients. They also say that I have a child-like voice, so clients might be thinking they’re speaking to a child.
One client I had a call with turned her camera on while we were talking, and it made me feel more connected to her, like I knew her personally. From then on, I would turn my camera on for meetings as well. While still making me feel nervous and shy, it’s also kind of exciting to see how the other person looks like. When the other person sees that I have my camera turned on, they usually turn on their camera as well. One client even told me that I was likable—an impression that he couldn’t have gotten without the visual aspect of the call.
Self-motivation Tip #9. Reflect on your past challenges and achievements.
Experiencing difficulties and failures can make you question your capabilities and the path you’re on—whether it’s the right one to take. You may even find yourself engaging in negative self-talk.
Well, don’t be so quick to belittle yourself. Reflect on the challenges you’ve experienced in the past and how you were able to overcome them. They show you how resilient you are, and they show that you’ve been strong enough to overcome these difficulties. These mean that you’re capable of overcoming the current ones as well.
Self-motivation Tip #9: Take time to have fun.
“Busy” is a word that describes most, if not all, entrepreneurs. No matter how much work you have, though, remember to take some time off and have fun. You’ll find that you’ll feel rejuvenated and excited to work again after allowing yourself to have uninterrupted fun, whatever that may be for you.
For me, I like meeting with friends or joining groups that engage in intelligent conversation—philosophical discussions, debates, and the like. Although such activities take away around 4 hours from my supposed work time, they make me feel refreshed afterwards, making me enjoy working again once I get back to it.
Self-motivation Tip #10. Nurture your spirit.
It’s important to nurture your spirit, as this will allow you to find some calmness amidst all the noise that’s in your head—from work stresses, worries, or problems. Taking the time to pray or meditate can help you relax and feel at peace, enabling your mind and your emotions to get “rested”—from thinking or feeling too much. By focusing on and being aware of only the present, you can achieve a sense of freedom. It also enables you to achieve a sense of balance, which in turn helps you better deal with the daily challenges of running a business. It will help you stay level-headed during times of chaos and will help you make sounder decisions.
Conclusion
Self-motivation is at the core of what drives you to succeed. It enables you to persist and to do what needs to be done even when things get tough. Caring for yourself enables you to better care for your business and for others. As such, make yourself your top priority, and the rest will follow. You are the foundation of all your dreams, so ensuring that you are strong, loved, and cared for will make it easier for your dreams to be built and fulfilled.
May all your dreams come true! 😊
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
