What Keeps You Going?
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If you’re running a business you’ve faced difficult times. No business plans, launches and has all the success it could want without struggle. It’s just the nature of creating something – specifically creating something that involves other people. And if you’re selling anything – ad space, products, services, etc – you’re creating something for other people.
So when you find out you’re marketing isn’t working like you thought or that your great idea isn’t seen as such a great idea by the people in your market – what do you do?
When the sales slow down and the bills aren’t getting paid – what do you do?
And on those days that you have no motivation, no real desire to grind away at making your business work – what do you?
In other words, what keeps you going?
For me, personally, it’s my vision. Certainly it’s the goals I want to achieve, that’s part of it. But it’s not all of it.
What keeps me going is wanting to live the lifestyle I want. Not just talk about it or dream about it – and not just touch it from time-to-time. But to actually live the lifestyle I want.
For me that means putting time with my wife and kids before anything. It means taking a day off when my wife’s sick or needs some rest. It means making 4 day weekends so my family can enjoy a camping trip. It means being incredibly active and highly available to my kids. It means living a life that’s balanced with some freedom.
You see, I don’t want a life where I’m bogged down by my work. If I did, I could go out and work for any corporation, put in less effort and allow someone else to dictate my lifestyle. Sure, I want – and do – make a nice living. But I don’t want my pursuit of money to become more important than what’s more important to me – quality time with my family, hiking, my spiritual practice, etc. All these things I put above making money.
BUT, I still focus on making money – as a means to the ends I wish to live by. So I work in my business to make money solely so I can have the lifestyle I want. And that’s what keeps me going on the days when it’s just not so easy or comfortable to work for myself.
So that’s me. How about you, what keeps you going when it’s less than easy?
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Jim Pearson has spent more than 25 years helping small and mid-size businesses find solutions to their business problems. He specializes in sales, marketing and rapid revenue growth and has helped hundreds of companies make more money.
Gene Culver has more than 15 years of diverse business experience across the music industry, telecom network marketing and business coaching. His specialty is helping individuals with marketing, their internet presence and lead generation.
Reflecting back after reading this post, ad desire to have “freedom of lifestyle” has been a huge motivating factor for me.
That vision that you mention, of your ideal lifestyle, I like your advice to focus on that vision when the going gets tough.
Thanks for the tips!
Feedback Secretss last blog post..Contact Adhesion in Social Networking
I remind myself that IF I can make this work I will never have to spend my days behind a computer designing subdivisions anymore. I’m doing what I love, and I feel that I’m good at it. My next goal is to get other people to see that.
Kim Lapaceks last blog post..This is why I never Organize my Crafting area…
My boys keep me going. I have 3 boys, have been raising alone. The boys
need me here at home my middle son
has a traumatic brain injury. I must make
this work for all of us.
Wendy Humphreyss last blog post..Looks Like Surgar ZNE
You definitely have your priorities in the right place. Our kids are grown, we were in business for ourselves, and my husband still made time for me and our kids. You can’t put a price on time spent with your family. Workaholics don’t know when to stop. It sounds like you have things well balanced. Kudos to you:-)
Cindy, Michigans last blog post..Rawhide or Bully Sticks?????
Trying to start my own business was definitely harder than I had ever imagined. Things didn’t start flying out of my online store like I thought they would. I’ve been at it now for a year and a half and there have been many lows and long periods of no sales.
I’ve thought many times about giving up but what keeps me going is the kind of life I want to provide for my children. Our first child is due the first week of March and I want to be able to stay home with him and give him complete access to me. My mom stayed home with my siblings and I when we were too young for school and I think it’s one of the greatest gifts she could have given us. I know that I cannot do this without contributing some how to the family income and this business is my attempt.
So in times when things aren’t going as well as I’d like, this is what keeps me going. It motivates me to do the research about advertising and to keep creating and to be confident that this will work!
Amy
http://www.amyyang.etsy.com
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I was just laid off from my job after almost 3 years. I am on unemployment making about half of what I was.
I found that although financially it is harder it has changed my life for the better.
It forced me to live more within my means and I have been much more focused on the basics and not taking anything for granted.
I have been spending way more time with my wife and kids, which makes has made us overall happier.
I think if unemployment lasted forever I might stay unemployed forever. Hahaha! Now that was a joke but you get the point?
It is really not all about money but like you said it is a means to an end for the lifestyle you want to live.
I share a similar vision because there is so many pleasure ideas I have which costs money so I am forced to go after it as well. Plus, it is nice to be good at something.
For example, I have gained the reputation around my family and friends that I am the computer “expert”. I can truly say that I know PC’s inside and out but I am no expert in all aspects of techology, yet. Hahah!
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I love creating startups. This is my first shot at an ecommerce website and I am having a blast. The focus for me is quality, customer service and building a brand for future retail stores.
We are a custom trail mix site. Customers choose nuts, dried fruit, seeds and more them they select how many ounces they want for each item and it is custom mixed for them.
The name is Nutty Idea http://www.nuttyidea.net
Such fresh quality and our customers rave about us to their friends giving us that viral marketing we all want. This has been a great learning curve but business is coming quick and steady!
My business is 6 months old and I’ve launched it while taking care of my baby (now 10 months old). I definitely have these days!
What keeps me going is the desire to have a lifestyle with freedom and be able to have the time I want with my family. My love of what I do (photography) also helps.
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Passion, passion, passion!
Just like a good marriage, if you go into it without passion or lose passion along the way – good luck dealing with the troubled times.
I always recommend to my readers and customers that they create a business that is built on their passion. And I don’t mean the passion of making money, either. There was never a business that didn’t hit a rough patch nor will there ever be. If you are solely passionate about making money, chances are high you will ditch your business if the money stops rolling in. This is similar to marrying a spouse only for their money or their looks. I believe it is the passion of your purpose and / or the passion that you have for serving your market that will keep you going.
I know it does for me.
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