Running your own business is one of the most challenging and rewarding things that you can ever do. Each day will be filled with highs and lows, wins and losses. And, it’s in those moments that you’ll need a good dose of motivation!
Here are a few tips for cultivating motivation instead of waiting for it …
- Create positive habits: Developing good habits is important for moving toward your goals; and the simpler to implement the better. For instance, when working on client research, set an allotted time on an egg timer. You’ll automatically find yourself far more focused and productive with that time.
- Find someone to hold you accountable: Having an accountability partner or group can be immensely helpful. They give you added motivation to accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself. And when facing challenges, they can help you keep things in perspective. The key is finding people who support your goals and will hold you to them, kindly but firmly.
- View setbacks as stepping stones. It’s easy to get thrown by setbacks and challenges, but when you can see an experience as an incremental movement toward where you want to go, you’re able to get re-motivated more quickly.
- Take just one more step: One of the best ways to build motivation is to take just one more step when you want to stop. If you’re calling prospects and you’re ready to call it quits for the day, make just one more call. If you’re solidifying your next tour idea, do just five minutes more. Taking that extra step makes it easier to pick up where you left off when you come back to it later.
- Start each day new: There’s no question that building your business can be hard work and it’s easy to wake up thinking about all the things you didn’t get done yesterday. So, take a moment each morning to start the day fresh. Focus on the positive achievements of the day before. Sure, there may be things left over that are nagging at you, but try to release those emotions, let yesterday go, so you can tackle them in a fresh, positive way today.
BONUS Tips:
6. Develop a regular routine. You may be tempted to “wing it” every day now that you don’t have a specific work schedule to keep, but if you do that, you’ll soon find yourself disorganized and overwhelmed. A better idea is to approach your business at least somewhat like you approached work. Determine when you do your best work, and then set a regular work schedule around that time, including the tasks you need to complete, regular breaks, and any meetings you have. As you get into your routine, you’ll find it’s much easier to stay motivated to accomplish your goals.
7. Make time for friends and family. When you’re busy starting up and then running a home-based travel business, it’s easy to get so caught up in what you’re doing that you put other things off so you can check that last email, or research just one more tour for a client. That might be fine for the laundry, but not for the family. Be sure to schedule time for them, and guard it carefully. It’s very easy to let work creep in here and there, until it takes over. The busier your business gets, the more important this will be.
As a travel business owner there will be moments when you find yourself running on fumes. In those moments a little intentional motivation can help you take the next step and the next until you suddenly realize … you’re there!
