- by Amanda Abella
One question that keeps coming through my inbox has to do with how to stay motivated. It seems as if many beginning business owners are fired up one day and then lose their drive the next. The result is this sort of jerking back and forth between progress and stagnation.
I’m not going to lie to you. If you’re in this situation right now, it’s extremely frustrating. I know because I’m seeing so many people who are close me going through it as we speak. The good news is there are solutions. Here are some tips on how to stay motivated as you start your business.
Focus on the progress you are making.
I was recently speaking with a coaching client who has made tons of progress in a very short amount of time. The problem is she doesn’t see it. Instead, she seems to focus on how slow everything is moving.
On the one hand, this is normal for us impatient humans. We want things to happen quickly. On the other hand, by focusing on the wrong things, we keep ourselves from progressing faster because we’re not focused. Essentially, we shoot ourselves in the foot and see the same results.
The key is to focus on whatever progress you have made up until the point. For example, I used to celebrate any money I made, even if it was just $4 I made from one affiliate sale. And I mean really celebrate it. I felt just as good making those $4 as I do now making five-figures a month.
Focus on the marathon, not the sprint.
The other reason business owners can’t seem to stay motivated is because they exhaust themselves quickly. This looks like feeling a fire and putting in a 14-hour day on Monday and then sleeping until noon on Tuesday. It’s not that they are lazy, it’s that they burned themselves out. It’s also totally unsustainable.
The fix is simple: Realize that starting a business is a marathon. By focusing on endurance, you soon realize you probably shouldn’t try to get everything done in one day. It just doesn’t work. Instead, you focus on the most important tasks over time.
This also helps you cultivate long-term motivation. When we focus on sprints, we are only motivated for a short period of time. However, when we’re focused on the marathon, we are focused on staying motivated for the long game.
Focus on the vision.
If you happen to read motivational books about building companies, you may notice how they all mention creating a vision. This is because if you don’t have a vision then you can’t make decisions. If you can’t make decisions you can’t stay motivated because you don’t have any priorities. In other words, it’s another way to burn out.
In order to stay motivated for the long run, you must have a vision. Why are you doing this? Who is your company serving? What is the point of all of this? What are you working toward?
By answering these questions, you’ll be able to stay motivated as you build your business.
Final Thoughts
While it seems like the ability to stay motivated comes easier to some people than others, the truth is they struggle just like everyone else. The difference probably lies in how they view their accomplishments and their vision. This, in turn, allows them to stay motivated.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu