HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED WHEN YOU'RE OPERATING BUSINESS SOLO

Even though you may be in business by yourself, it doesn’t mean that you are alone. There are so many avenues where you can combine with other business owners to share ideas, mastermind and ask for advice.

The first way I would recommend is getting connected online. There are so many websites out there where business owners can connect. You can Google search your industry and find a relevant forum… eg Finance or IT. You can also join some online networking websites. Social Media websites are the best. My favourite for business is Linked In. If you are not already on Linked In visit www.linkedin.com and set up your personal profile. The next step to get connected is to start joining some groups either based around your industry, location or even your interests… then get involved in the discussions; this is a great way to make some new connections.

Now if you want to get out and about, away from your computer for a change, you can head off to a nearby business networking event. There are so many different ones around. There are breakfasts, lunches, dinners, drinks and even speed networking. Once again you can do a Google search for networking events at your location and find one nearby. There are a few things to keep in mind when looking to attend an event:

1. Have plenty of business cards

2. Have a short business summary (that you have practiced, basically a summary of the key points on what you do) so you can tell people about your business easily and in a manner that is short and simple to make you impactful

3. Listen to others… networking is not about getting as many business cards out to others as you can, it is about building relationship and a strong business network.

Above are a few ideas on how to connect with others which I know always help me stay motivated. Some other ideas on staying motivated and excited about your business are to:

1. Write down your business goals and have some positive affirmations written in the sense that these have already been achieved, then print them out and stick them all over your office and every time you see them, read them.

2. A step on from that would be to build a vision board. A vision board is basically pictures of your goals in a collage stuck together on a board that you would hang up in front of your desk. You can look at your Vision Board all the time and think about the things you want.. But the key here is to imagine it as though it has already been achieved and feel the feeling of already having these things

Well, as you can see there are a lot of things you can do to stay motivated in business and personally… would love to hear your thoughts and ideas too…