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Are you feeling like you are not achieving your goals as quickly as you would like and maybe you need to reconsider your options? Thinking of dropping your dream and settling back to your old routine? Think again!
Determination is one of the key traits of successful entrepreneurs and business owners. Sometimes it’s easier to just give up, but if you want to succeed you need to find strategies to help you keep going. Here are some of the strategies that I use:

1. Join a Facebook group or forum with entrepreneurs with similar interests.

You need to surround yourself with people that understand what you are going through and can offer support and help when you need it. I barely used Facebook in the past but I have now joined a number of Facebook groups for women entrepreneurs and writers and I’ve found a lot of help and support in those groups. There are a lot of people with similar goals to yours who will be more than willing to offer their knowledge and help or to just offer a bit of support. Run a search on Facebook and/or Google to find relevant groups or forums.

2. Get an accountability partner.

An accountability partner is someone that has similar goals to you. Someone with whom you keep in touch regularly, share your goals with and report progress to. Someone who is going to cheer for you, give you ideas and make sure you keep working towards your goals. This has been the number one motivator for me during the last year. I would not have been able to publish my book or create this website without my accountability partner.

How to find one? Check Facebook groups and forums for people with similar interests. If you struggle to meet the right people, why not just post a question in one of the groups to see if anyone is looking for an accountability partner? Make sure you are in the right time zone with whoever you choose though, as it can be quite difficult to coordinate times to chat if you are in very different time zones.

 3. Build a “Vision Board”

Why are you starting a business? Are you after more flexibility to be able to spend more time with your family or dedicate to your hobbies? Looking to improve your quality of life by working on something that you love? Trying to secure financial freedom? Having our key motivators always fresh in our minds is a great way to stay motivated. For me, a “Vision Board” is the perfect tool to keep all my goals and motivators always present, rather than making a list. Create a Vision Board and put it in your office or wherever you normally work.

If you need some help or ideas to create your Vision Board, there are plenty of resources on the web about Vision Boards. You can also find plenty of ideas on Pinterest or if you’d rather read a book about it, I recommend Christine Kane’s “The Complete Guide to Vision Boards“; I read it before I started my first Vision Board and it’s a straight forward and to the point introduction to Vision Boards.

4. Read or watch a motivational story.

Reading other success stories never fails to motivate me. There are some amazing stories of women like you or me who have achieved amazing things. If they can do it, so can YOU! Some of my favourites are:

• Amy Purdy’s “Living beyond limits” TED talk.
• 4 Inspiring Stories of Women Entrepreneurs From Around the World.
• Carrie Green’s “She Means Business“. Carrie is the founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association. In her book, Carrie goes through her success story and she also shares her knowledge, advice and other women’s success stories.
• How she did it: read the stories of successful women entrepreneurs at the Female Entrepreneur Association.

There are hundreds of success stories out there. Look around you. Since I started to work on my Business, I’ve noticed that there are many women entrepreneurs around me. There are thousands of amazing women entrepreneurs out there!

5.Stay positive.

Being positive can really help you stay motivated and focused. It will also help you get through the day. It definitely helps me get through those little stressful moments when the kids are having a tantrum, fighting or I’m just having a tough day. When I feel stressed or down, I try to focus on being positive: I straighten my posture and try some positive affirmations. I think something like “I’ll get through it. It’s just temporary.”

Focusing on your posture will help you feel more positive, confident and energetic. Scientists have found links between posture and mood. When you are feeling depressed, you are most likely going to be slouching and if you make a conscious effort to straighten your posture, this will help you improve your mood. For me, the change is nearly automatic when I combine the posture change and the positive affirmation.

6.Be thankful for what you have.

Gratitude will help you stay positive and improve your relationships. Scientific research has also shown that gratitude improves physical and psychological health and helps build mental strength.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

When you have a bit of time, check Louie Schwartzberg’s “Nature. Beauty. Gratitude” Ted talk. Another favourite!

For me, motivation is something that you need to work on daily; schedule small tasks that help you stay motivated daily: keep in touch with your accountability partner and your FB groups, check your progress and achievements regularly and keep your vision board where you can see it every day.

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