How do I motivation myself as a Solo Entrepreneur?
How do I gather the momentum to take action, especially when I’m feeling lost, overwhelmed, tired, lonely, or short on time, energy and money?
These are feelings and situations that face all solo entrepreneurs, usually more than once, in their journey. In this current economic climate, where everything seems so much harder due to the stress most people are under, the soloist is going to be facing even tougher challenges.
Remembering that a person who is self motivated is usually driven by some internal dream, I have found that the following self motivation tips work for me.
1. Identify Your Dream
I believe I’m self-motivated, because some inner desire has been driving me since I was a teenager. However, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I could clearly state what my dream was. When people asked me “what do you want to do when you grow up?” my answer was always “I want to start up a website called Rent-A-Skill.” Someone asked me once: “why have you not started?” My answer: “Because I don’t know what it is I need to do.” I needed clarity. I needed to identify my dream. It took me several years of self-reflection to do this. All solo entrepreneurs must go through this process if they want to succeed. If you don’t identify your dream, you will not have strong enough motivation to continue when during challenging times.
2. Clearly State Your Dream in a Memorable Format
Once I identified my dream, I had to put it into a form where I could be easily reminded of it on a day to day basis, especially when things got overwhelming. Some people use vision boards. Other people tell as many people as they can about their plans. Find a technique that works for you. My dream is clearly stated in writing and posted around my home and office, with pictures of places I want to spend time at and objects I would like to one day have reinforcing my words. From my observations over the years, most solo entrepreneurs’ dreams are basically the same, but the action plans they follow will be different. Like me, I imagine you will be wanting to build full-time income through leveraged sources, to give yourself and your family a substantial lifestyle.
3. Start Taking Action
I’m not a detailed planner. I have spent years identifying my dream, and plenty of additional time putting it into a form where I can be constantly reminded of it. Now I’m itching to get started. If I further delay myself by researching and learning every skill I may need to be the successful entrepreneur I dream of being, I know I will lose motivation. Some people need a road map or clear plan to follow. They want to be spoon fed every step of the way. They prefer the simple life, no surprises, no challenges, no highs and lows. Not me. Or you. Solo entrepreneurs have courage. They know that by taking big risks, they will receive big rewards, if not financially, at least emotionally. Solo entrepreneurs have faith in a higher power. They know that by taking small steps along a dark unknown path, the help and clarity they need will appear. Solo entrepreneurs have belief in themselves. They know that for each attempt they make, they have the ability to face the challenges head on. This self motivation tip recommends that you ‘just do it’. By taking some small action, you will increase your self-confidence, no matter the outcome of your attempt. Success or failure gives the same results: you learn from your previous step and adjust your next one accordingly. Start today by listing your skills on the Rent-A-Skill website.
4. Keep It Real
As I drove to my ‘real’ job this morning, the road ahead was blanketed in a thick sea fog. The night before I had been reading about a similar incident experienced by self-motivated, successful website owners.
Like them, my visibility was limited and I could only focus on a small portion of the road ahead. A great analogy of the solo entrepreneur’s journey, right? Or is it? A solo entrepreneur’s journey is massive. We’re told to aim for the furthest stars so that we may hit the moon… and so we do.
Our goal definitely goes beyond the visible horizon, regardless of fog, rain, snow or sunshine. Often our dreams take us the equivalent distance of several times around the world. When we embark on a long journey, how do we do it? By keeping it real. We get in our vehicle (car, bus, plane) and start moving, traveling for hour after hour, Kilometer after Kilometer, in the moment, facing each bend in the road, road block, detour or delay when it appears, often without warning, and not a moment before or after. Solo entrepreneurs must do the same in order to be successful. We must plan as best we can for the expected contingencies, and deal with the unexpected when they appear.
We cannot bury our head and deny these challenges exist. A certain amount of negativity is healthy, because it gives us feedback and allows us to make the adjustments that are necessary for our success. Keep it real when you get feedback. It needs to come from more than one source (three or more is a good number), or over a period of time. I recommend you adopt the ‘three months to change a habit’ rule before you make drastic changes to your plans.
5. Follow Your Plan
The last of these five self motivation tips looks at the importance of pursuing the right plan. Who’s plan are you following? Yours, or someone else’s? By all means study your heroes and heroines – the successful people you model yourself on. Remember though, that solo entrepreneurs realise that no one else gets their dream better than themselves. They are leaders, not followers.
You are an unique individual, with your dream that provides the fuel for your self motivation. You will never be content duplicating a system or another person’s dream, because it does not give you enough internal drive to pursue your own.
I believe that the above five self motivation tips are a good starting point on your solo entrepreneur journey, but I recommend that you start to take notice of what is working and not working in the overall picture of your plan. A solo entrepreneur’s journey should be challenging, exciting, and confidence building. It should be a positive, growing experience.
Most of all it should reinforce the dream we all have to live a substantial life as your own boss!!
