What is your driving force?
Or your Why?

Hi, Brian Jowers here, nice of you to drop by. This week I am considering what it is that drives us to want to be entepreneurs, the motivating factor for running our own businesses, or the ‘WHY?’.

What do we mean by Motivation?

Let us first consider the definition of motivation in a business context:

Definition Motivation: Business Directory

Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.
Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the
      (1) intensity of desire or need,
      (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and
      (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers.
These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class.

Possible factors motivating you to start your own business

Here are a few possible things that can have a motivating effect for creating a successful online business, in no particular order:

Growing more each day

• Perceived financial benefit
• ‘Be your own boss’
• Freedom to work when you want
• Freedom to travel
• Time with family/spouse/grandchildren
• Retire/give up day job

Of course your desire is probably the biggest signal factor adding to your success.

So, get a piece of paper and write down what you want this for. That is, determine your ‘WHY’.

This can be one, or several factors, you mave your own personal factors – I know someone who wants to fund charitable works, another is renovating a property abroad.

The important thing is to write it down.

Practicalities of starting a business

There are a lot of possible pitfalls when you start out.

There is a lot to learn and it is easy to get distracted, see ‘Magpie Effect‘ as one example, procrastination as another (but do not get sidetracked).

Other people can get you down, not having the self belief you have (or they just pooh pooh anything outside of their ‘normal’ working).

There are no overnight riches in a proper business, it takes hard work and many hours working at the computer.

Remember, those practises that offer ‘quick returns’ can all disappear even quicker. A while ago Google changed its algorithms and many business lost most, if not all, of their traffic.

What keeps me motivated

Personally my why is:

Every action brings you closer

• To be able to give up the day job
• Spend more time with family extended across UK, USA and Ghana.
• Travel, revisit Australia

How I keep motivated is to remind myself of my ‘WHY’. Keep it in sight, when you get distracted, there it is. A constant reminder as to WHY you are actively creating a real online business.

Other possibilities

Another way is an accountability buddy. You tell them at the beginning of the week what you are going to accomplish, at the end of the week what you actually did. This helps to keep you on track. Can be your spouse/partner, a business colleague or a trusted friend.

Alternatively get a coach/mentor.

I came across Mr Dean Holland, my coach and mentor, towards the end of last year.

His company, Internet Profits, offers affordable  training, coaching and mentoring through his ‘Affiliate Club’ membership, click this link to find out more.

How are you motivated?

Let me know what is your Why? and how you keep motivated.

Let me know in the comments below….

Until next week.

Brian