I remember the feeling of sheer elation and expectation I felt in the elevator down from the Department of Fair Trading where we had just registered our new business name. How my business partner and I felt like two heady, excited schoolkids as we toasted our future success with champagne at a nearby bar.
Yet, six months down the track, though we wouldn’t trade it for returning to the relative sanity of being employees, most of us with our own businesses can feel the daily grind clouding our initial ”honeymoon” rapture.
Certainly issues such as financial responsibility, balancing work and personal life, stress, working from home, isolation and so on, can contribute to a sense of disillusionment or frustration. The reality of our daily experience may be more like a long, hard and lonely slog than a reaffirmation of our dreams.
So how can we work with the same passion and excitement that we started off with? And if we could work like this every day (maybe not for every hour, but at least a part of every day), how much more effective, happy and fulfilled would both we, and our customers, be?
The demands on our time make it tempting to conduct our lives at surface level, yet it is only by being consistently aware of the deeper layer that we can get back on track. This entails an examination of personal and professional values and an exploration of ways to live our lives in accordance with these values so that each day, week and year feels more meaningful and more authentically our own.
That old feeling
The following tips can be used to help you regain your enthusiasm and remind you of your original intentions for establishing your business.
Reflect on what you imagined life in your own business would be like
Take the time to think about how you had imagined a day in your life would be as a business owner when you first set up your business. Be specific and write your thoughts down. Then record what a day in your life is like at this point. What are the similarities? What are the differences? Which elements can you change about these differences, and which elements can’t you control?
Remind yourself constantly of your reasons for setting up your business
If you are visually oriented, find a suitable image and put it where you can see it from your desk. For example, make it your screen saver. If you enjoy music, find a song that reminds you of your original business goals and play it every morning before you start your working day. Be creative and adapt your reminder to your own personality.
Revise your business plan
Rework your business plan and mission statement every six months or at any stage when your business undergoes a major change.
Keep your business goals in mind
Plan your week so that each day includes a ”mini-goal” to move you closer towards the bigger picture. Ensure that these goals are realistic; they don’t need to be monumental. Then make sure that you actively work at achieving your daily goal every day. You may consider hiring a coach to help you with this, or you could ask your friends and family for their assistance.
Seek social support
Social support is often underestimated. Involve your friends and family in helping you remain focused and motivated. This may take the form of a regular phone call at some point during the day when you tend to get stuck. Or if you work from home and feel isolated, create a local networking group for business owners in your area to meet once a week and bounce ideas off each other.
Have fun!
Make your business environment as pleasurable as possible. Give yourself rewards for goals achieved. When you first started your business, rewards may have been inherent due to the initial excitement. Allow yourself to look forward to achieving your business goals.
It’s important that you retain the initial pride you felt in establishing your business and acknowledge your courage and strength in putting yourself on the line for the sake of your dreams. And if we’ve done it once, we can do it again … and again … and again.
