Best Ways to keep motivated ?

[elite123]

What are peoples best ways of keeping fresh, motivated, enthusiastic each day about their business ?

[multilingual]

I usually try and spend half an hour each day looking at something new away from my desk.

Driving a different way back on the school run, going to a different shop for a pint of milk, filling up with fuel at a petrol station that I have never used before, read a different Newspaper, talk to a stranger, etc.

It might sound a bit pointless, but it is amazing what you learn when you take yourself out of your usual surroundings.

This morning I took my car in for a service and, rather than asking my wife to pick me up from town, I decided to catch the bus. (Haven't been on a bus in 20 years!) I ended up chatting to a guy at the bus stop who is a retired businessman.

These things keep your mind fresh, or that's what I find anyway! :)

JB

[Jayne]

Hi,

I have two ways, one...being in the UKBF

and two...phoning my Gran...because everything I do, is a load of rubbish and will never work, she says, then gives me gives me advice, in her own special little battle axe way, which gets my back up and makes me work harder :lol:

Do you want her number :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jayne

[Steve Roberts]

What motivates me is "beating KPIs". I have systems in place in my company which measure absolutely everything on a daily/hourly basis. As such, we know exactly where we are at any given point in time. (What you can't measure you can't control.)

The month just gone (November) was great because for the first time in the company's history we achieved £1m sales in a month - we average about £700k pm. As such, bonuses all round for everyone. But it was great to watch all the numbers increasing (enquiries, meetings, offers, etc) and then that eventually cascades down to hard cash!

[clairemackaness]

Every deal I strike no matter how large or small keeps me going and watching those deals slowly rise in price works every time.

I also get a little kick out of my website stats as i check them every day and although small at present, they rise a little more each day.

Last but not least is opening the freebie paper to find an article about me!

[SillyJokes]

I like seeing how much better we are doing this month compared to this month last year.

Also I like to see the average numbers of orders rising each week.

I like adding new products to the site and seeing them sell.

I like it when we help out customers who have been let down by competitors.

I like it when we get some good PR in the press.

We have a stupid ship's bell on the wall which we are mean to ring when something momentus happens but it is such a 'motivational manager' thing to do that no one ever rings it. We just say 'Ding Ding, just sold a new Fur Trapper Hat," or some such.

Then of course I like thinking of all the things we have not even started doing should we ever to run out of stuff we are already doing. It's nice to know that there is always something you can do to improve the business, so you can always keep on growing.

[Cornish Steve]

The month just gone (November) was great because for the first time in the company's history we achieved £1m sales in a month...
Congratulations!

[mumper]

I'm still motivated by being my own boss - busy or quiet, it's still good to make my own decisions.(Luckily it's busy at the moment though)

[ink4-u]

Hello Jay here
well i work from home and it is the best ever, i have never worked for someone else in an organisation though. I just have solitare on my PC and have a break with that. Talk a lot on MSN to friends. And have a break as much as i want to. And i find im ok!

[Hayles]

Hello!

There have been many, many times in the last two or three years that I've been really fed up with this business lark and needed inspiration and motivation. I guess I've kept going because I believe in what I do - I'm always telling my business partner that we'll be rich this time next year... :wink: Although, probably like yourself, I've really doubted it sometimes.

But I suggest you think positively about even the smallest jobs or contracts - you never know where they'll lead.

When we started our catering business and were desperate for jobs, we were asked by a local charity to provide a buffet at a really cheap price (really cheap!!). However, we did it as we were new and thought at least it was getting our name out and about. Anyways, to cut a long story short (as Pizza Hut will be delivering soon :D ), a guy from the charity was friends with a guy from a local BIG company. He recommended us to his friend and we started doing business buffets for this company on a regular basis. We've just put in a proposal to provide all their catering requirements - staff and corporate lunches, functions, etc! If we get the contract (we'll know next week), we really have made it. (And maybe we really will be rich this time next year!)

From acorns....

Hope that's motivational enough for a Friday evening?!

Hayles

[Amber]

I find checking my bank account quite motivational, especially near the end of the month. I also try to take time out to remember jobs I've had in the past: the office politics, the commute, the petty rules and restrictions... At the end of the day, the determination to never have to go back to that is all the motivation I need :)

[Shelley]

Staying focused and remembering that you are sooo lucky to be your own boss and not having to answer to someone everyday. Every decision is yours and makes everything a challenge in some form. You never know what the day will bring, be it good or bad there is always something learnt. and i agree its always nice to check you bank balance.

[StoneLink]

Hi,

Asking powerful questions. e.g., What would I do today if I knew I could not fail?