As a solopreneur you need motivation, direction, and accountability to keep your business growing. It is so easy to get complacent or in the mindset of, “I’m doing ok, so why try harder or invest more towards it”. Or to say, “I’m not making enough progress, I want to give up”. Let’s explore 5 ways you can keep your solopreneurship on track.
1. Set Goals & Develop A Routine
You must have a plan and goals in place to give you direction. Why are you running your business? What do you want to be working towards? Why are you working so hard keep your business running? What goals are going to keep your business growing?
You should also have a routine to your day. When you have a job, you have to go in at a certain time and you are expected to do work. You need to treat your business with the same respect and give it structure. Sure you get to set that structure, but you need some kind of structure. Routines actually help to keep you motivated because you don’t have to keep making so many decisions every minute of every day. To get more advice on setting goals and routines start here.
2. Have Financial Goals & A Budget
Your budget and financial goals should be the backbone of what is driving your business. Without financial goals, you have a very time consuming hobby, you happen to be calling a business. If you don’t have a plan to go after the dollars, you aren’t taking your business seriously enough.
Do you know how much you are making? Do you keep track of your profit (revenue-expenses=profit)? What is your financial goal for the year? What is it per month? How many products or services do you have to sell to reach that goal?
3. Keep Learning
I read once an active mind keeps the brain young. You should never stop trying to improve your skills and your processes when it comes to your business. Be open to new technology and experiences to keep your ideas fresh and your business current. Read inspiring books, keep up on tech news, listen to podcasts, take a class, or even just be engaged on social media.
4. Collaboration
Working with someone else often is a great motivator. Having external pressure and accountability is a great way to keep you focused. It also helps bring in new ideas, energy, and exposure to your business. This can be a formal collaboration as in working with someone on a project, or a more informational collaboration in terms of connecting in Facebook groups, mastermind or pairing up with another solopreneur to be an accountability partner.
5. Treat Yo Self
Give yourself a reward for all that hard work. Recognize when you have wins and give yourself breaks. We are often our own toughest critics. It can be hard to realize all that we do get done in a day or a week, especially in the beginning when you might not be rolling in clients or money. It takes time to build your business up, so make sure you are giving yourself the recognition you deserve. A few examples may be: giving yourself a special break during the day, a reward at the end of the month, setting a goal with a material award at the end, or keeping a journal of your accomplishments. Don’t be that asshole boss that doesn’t recognize your employee’s hard work…even if that boss/employee is just you 🙂
BONUS
Maybe you need a little help to bring more structure to your business? I have a few packages that can help you with that! Check out my work with me page or better yet, book a discovery call! This call is no obligation, no pressure call to see if you would be a good match for one of my offers. What do you have to lose except feeling unmotivated?