How to Stay Motivated In Your New Business

Feel like you have lost your entrepreneurial urge? Maybe you should apply for a job with the European Space Agency. It is looking for volunteers willing to spend three months in bed! Scientists want to learn more about the psychological effects of weightlessness, so the agency is chasing volunteers interested in a few months of nonstop pillow talk.

By BOB ROSNER StartupJournal.com in the Wall St. Journal

Of course, if you would rather hang on to your current business, you will need to find a way to motivate yourself out of bed each morning. Below are some tips to get you going. For more, check out Jennifer Kushell’s "The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge" (Random House, 1999).

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Is there a pattern? Keep track of when you run late. Is it a certain day of the week? What were you working on? Tied to last night’s bender? Try to pinpoint the problem so you can tackle it.

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Can you reduce your energy drain? Look for anything — or anyone — that de-motivates you. A negative business partner? Move your desk, minimize conversation and in general put distance between yourself and the culprit. Tasks you hate? Do them first thing in the morning and get them over with so you can look forward to the rest of the day. Figure out which things suck you dry, then find ways to minimize their impact.

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Do you keep yourself in shape? Athletes keep themselves in shape — why shouldn’t you? Keep track of your sleep, meals, exercise, etc., to see if there is a relationship between those factors and your productivity and attitude at work.

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Do you take advantage when you are on a roll? You know those hot streaks at work when everything seems to take half the time and effort? Watch for those moments and ride them as long as you can. Then think about what might have triggered them — and if you can reproduce that effect.

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Do you reward your own efforts? Do you live for compliments from customers? It can be dangerous to give others that much power. Get in the habit of giving yourself your own rewards. A nice meal, a bump to first class, a call to a good friend — all are great ways to give yourself a pat on the back.

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Do you encourage others to look over your shoulder? A little external pressure can sometimes stoke your fire. Someone once told me he lists projects he is procrastinating over on his computer’s screen saver — where everyone can see them.

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Is it time to move on? Sometimes all the motivational tricks in the world won’t make a difference; it is the business that is wrong, not its individual elements. If that is the case, start looking for other opportunities.

Hopefully this will be your wake-up call for tackling your motivational problems.

— Mr. Rosner is the author of Working Wounded, a Web site and internationally syndicated column. He’s also the co-author of "The Boss’s Survival Guide" (McGraw-Hill, 2001) with Allan Halcrow and Alan S. Levins.

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