What Will We Do?I technically own my own business. But really, I am an idea guy with a bunch of years of experience helping clients with marketing strategy and digital presence while ensuring it helps their overall business objectives. And it needs to make sense for their situation and abilities. In other words, theory won't help a soul without realistic actionable ideas.
One issue that is similar to every manager or owner I speak with is there is always pain and there are always items they want to improve, just like me and you. My clients and prospects are always looking for ways to bring value and increase the revenue line, just like you and me. And I need to continue prospecting and I'm sure you do as well.
You Are Busy Enough
Some have suggested that I must be far too busy to speak with potential new clients or discuss new projects. If your local coffee shop had no customers for the next month, they would have no business. I'm always up for a meeting with someone new to discover how I may help them. How about you?
But wanting to grow and moving forward with the action you need to do it are two very different things. It takes motivation to keep moving forward. And as my friend Mitch Joel says, this isn't just business, this is personal. So if you own your own business, rejection can crush motivation.
Last week I met with someone in the morning who is starting a business and a senior executive from a large corporation in the afternoon and the conversations were remarkably similar. Both want to look at ways to better navigate what they could do to reach their goals. The same is true for the 100 people attending my upcoming social media workshop in March. The same is true for you and me.
Biggest Factor is Motivation
Whether you are a sole proprietor or a c-level executive running a publically traded organization with a global footprint, you must find ways to lead while motivating your team and yourself. Leadership can be a lonely journey within a team environment.
This is particularly delicate if you or your company is active online. You have to stay positive and you can’t post stuff that bums people out. No one wants to read it. You have to find the balance between connecting and selling while you navigate the overwhelming amount of data. Welcome to the human race.
To-Do List Keeps Growing
Much goes into running a business and this becomes especially clear when you are running your own company. You have to be the person finding new customers, developing and revising offerings, creating new content, while delivering the best results for clients.
Context is important but it can distract us. We can get preoccupied by what others are doing and comparing those efforts to our own. We can become unmotivated. We must remember that every situation is different and our perception is often not their reality.
How do you keep yourself and others motivated?
knealemann
image credit: sportsillustrated
