Running a business is not easy. In fact, it’s pretty darn hard. In fact, it’s really, really darn hard.
For the uninitiated, they are sure to learn this fact again, and again, and again.
Even when things go right, you’ll be worrying about the five things that can go wrong.
Of course, this is not something that lasts forever. You will need to pay your dues to improve your competencies, know your place in the market and do your best to keep yourself relevant.
All of this takes energy. It can demotivate you if you’re not good with facing obstacles.
You might find that your performance isn’t quite where you’d like it to be. You may be struggling to grow that profit line for reinvestment into your business.
While running a business (despite this difficulty and potential business problems), can be rewarding, satisfying and give you the best working memories you’ll ever make, it’s also a heroic challenge to undertake. For any heroic challenge, you’ll need drive.
It’s difficult to motivate yourself to grow your business, especially if you’re operating as a solo entrepreneur. Even if you have a successful side business, it can often be difficult to pick a direction for it to go in the future.
So in this post, we’ll be taking a look at where you can find inspiration to grow your business and how you can raise it to brand new heights.
Use other entrepreneurs as a point of reference
One of the best ways to motivate yourself is to look at other entrepreneurs as a point of reference.
Business founders like Rick White and billionaires such as Jeff Bezos are on completely different scales, but they both share similarities in the way they approach life and their businesses.
Looking at their personal journey through entrepreneurship can be a great source of inspiration that will help you learn more about what it means to be a successful business owner.
Find ways to pivot your business
Another great way to inspire yourself is to look for ways to pivot your business.
A lot of companies stagnate because they fail to find effective ways to pivot the products and services they offer. They focus too much on one thing and fail to diversify, even in the same industry.
For example, they might neglect a certain demographic that enjoys their products, or they might miss an opportunity to fill a market niche because they’re too stubborn to create change.
It’s important to identify opportunities that allow you to pivot your business to reach a new audience or reconnect with an old one.
Look at new business ideas and find a way to work them into your current one
When starting a new business, people often brainstorm lots of different ideas before they pick one to settle on.
If you’ve been through this process and have saved that brainstorming process, why not go back and look at your past ideas? You could find a lot of inspirational ideas by simply looking back at what you used to do.
This will allow you to get a better understanding of the decisions you made that led to your current business. When tracing your steps back, you could uncover lots of past ideas that you never brought to life.
Talk to your customers for inspiration
One of the biggest sources of inspiration on how to grow your business is your audience.
Your customers should have plenty of comments for you and your products and services. Encourage them to speak by giving them an opportunity to contact you.
For instance, you could send emails asking your customers how they felt about your recent products, or you could use social media as a way to encourage and listen to feedback about your products.
There are plenty of free ways to learn more about what your audience thinks about your brand and they’ll likely include comments about what they want to see in the future.
Love your craft
Loving a craft is essential if you hope to refine your abilities and truly become a master at something.
Without this interest in mastery, you can often find yourself rooted towards less important matters in your daily life. This can send a business wayward.
We all know when a business or even individual respect has lost their hunger and drive. It’s clear to see. You see this with artists, musicians, and especially brands.
It’s not uncommon to reminisce about the golden age of a certain matter, and this can be quite sad. As a leader, you must never allow yourself to be counted in this number.
Loving a craft is essential. It can help guide you through life. It can make you useful.
When you really know your stuff, you also become an organic leader, ready to apply yourself distinctly to any situation that requires you.
This, in itself, is intensely motivational. It might be that you get a master’s degree in Information Technology Leadership and this is what inspires you. You may decide to apply as an apprentice for a small craft and work your way up.
You may decide to use your self-taught skills to weave a product or piece of content that’s sure to turn heads, beginning the slow march to reputation-building you have dreamt of.
No matter what you choose, the ability to find internal drive will need to be something you do. Think of it like a fire that keeps you going, rather than a cup to be filled.
Waking up each morning and reminding yourself you do what you do is essential.
Keeping a vision, bringing something new, staying proud of your own efforts are all positive emotions to feel, and help reinforce your sense of belonging in a given craft.
It’s not hard to see how an internal drive can build from that point. You may be pleasantly surprised.
With these very simple efforts, finding the internal drive to lead a business will slowly begin to kindle.