As small business owners, we’re fortunate to be doing what we love. I’m one of the few people in my circle of friends that is excited about Monday mornings because I get to do what I feel I’m meant to do, and for that, I’m endlessly grateful.
Sometimes it’s tough to stay passionate when deadlines start piling up, its easy to become overwhelmed when you’re caught up in less than desirable to-dos. Toss in an unsatisfied client, and passion can lead to procrastination. We’ve all been there!
Here are our top 5 ways to stay passionate about your business:
1. Get some support or add to the support team you already have – it’s tough to stay passionate when you’re always in the weeds. Keep doing what you love doing, delegate the rest to team members who love doing what you don’t. Not sure what to delegate? Have team member meetings and share your struggles, you’d be surprised how your team will rally around you. Don’t have a team? If you’re overwhelmed and losing your passion, you need one already.
2. Practice gratitude – seriously this works, I do it daily. Take time every day to focus on what’s positive, and what you’re grateful for. When I first started my gratitude journal, it was so easy to come up with a list. Then after a few bad days, I struggled to find something, but over time I began to recognize the little things in life that brought me joy and ignited by passion. It’s amazing what a simple shift in focus can do.
3. Equally important is practicing self-care – once a week I take a little extra time for just me. Sometimes it’s treating myself to a beautiful bottle of wine, or a manicure. Other times it’s watching a romantic comedy everyone else in my house would hate, with a massive bowl of popcorn. It’s a sweet indulgence I look forward to!
4. Celebrate, often! Your gratitude journal is important because it acknowledges that which you’re thankful for. But celebrating is different all together, how often do you sit back and acknowledge how far you’ve come, or a difficult situation you were able to resolve. Take this one step further and celebrate members of your team – what have they been doing that has exceeded your expectations? Did they complete a course, adding to their skillset? Did they recently celebrate a birthday or anniversary? Putting joy and celebration out into the world always comes back to you with a greater reward.
5. Evaluate – what’s working for you and what’s not. I was joking with a colleague recently about a client that I had years ago. I loved her as a person and believed in who she was and where she was going but working with her was like herding cats. Her creative energy was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, managing her changing expectations was stressful, and we needed to part ways professionally (we’re still friends by the way!). I had to acknowledge what wasn’t working for me, and truthfully, I don’t think our relationship was working for either of us. It’s a tough decision to face what isn’t working, is draining your energy, and causing you undue stress. The same holds for individual tasks, I’m not a big fan of editing audio, and so I tend to let that sit. In chatting with my team, I realized another team member loved it. With a simple reassignment, I was able to let her further enjoy what she’s passionate about, and I was able to focus on a website build I was excited about.
By Peggy Murrah, founder of PMA Web Services
Peggy Murrah is a unique combination of web and marketing savvy, along with dependability and resourcefulness. These qualities have been instrumental in her building a successful business which serves clientele across five continents. PMA Web Services provides marketing direction and strategies for entrepreneurs through mentoring, social media marketing, list building and management, and development/maintenance of their online presence.