I have a theory, a theory that is based on practical experience and a great deal of “doing business”. Most businesses fail for one of two reasons: cash or because the fact that the owner lacks motivation. Despite all of the proclamations otherwise, I would say that the second of those two reasons is the main contributing factor behind why most businesses fail in their first year.
So, what should you do to stay motivated?
Have you ever tried working at night? It’s amazing – a lot of business owners prefer it, there’s something about working while it’s dark all around and there’s nothing going on that just stirs up your passion and keeps you going. Try it.
Get a call answering service:
Call answering services literally revolutionized my life. Each evening I create a schedule for the following morning’s work – nine times out of ten this schedule is ruined due to the fact I get interrupted by incessant phone calls I feel obliged to answer. Put a call answering service in place and sort the problem, you will find you will be more relaxed and productive on the telephone, too (just make sure to call back within 24 hours though!).
Try mindfulness:
Business owners need to relax – in my experience, there’s no single better way to relax than through meditation. Try it now – sit down for ten minutes and do absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. Better yet, sit down for ten minutes and just monitor your breathing in and out, when you breathe in say to yourself “I am”, when you breathe out say to yourself “relaxed”. It’s amazing, and it works – it truly helps focus your mind.
Better yet, take an MBSR (mind based stress reduction) course – while it may sound a little “out there”, these courses are more and more becoming the norm in business circles. In fact, Google is a bit of a pioneer in this field, having launched their own “search inside yourself” training program for their employees.
Monitor your time:
Where is your time being spent? You probably think you know the answer, but I can almost guarantee you are not as productive as you could be – no-one is. Use a service such as Rescue Time to monitor precisely where your time is being spent – this program in particular works amazingly well if you spend most of your day in-front of a computer.
Take some profit, hire an intern:
We small business owners absolutely hate sacrificing profit – in the early stages, we may even live in fear that everything will collapse around our ears and we won’t be able to pay for what we need, much less an employee.
Well, the truth is, hiring an intern was probably the best thing I ever did – I could put aside all of the monotonous tasks and get back to what I was I good at: delivering excellent quality services and selling our service. The intern could take care of the rest.
The UK in particular is great for apprenticeship schemes – you can hire an intern for as little as £99 per week, and trust me on this, they are typically more motivated than you average full time employee (we now have three!).
Are you looking for more information on franchise opportunities? Visit FranchiseOpportunities.org.uk now, and browse through a broad selection of franchisers.
Featured image on home page courtesy of Chris Bachner.
