How to Stay Positive as an Entrepreneur

We won’t sugarcoat it — being an entrepreneur can be tough.

You work day and night for often very little reward or recognition, especially in the early days. Your social life becomes a distant memory, and you start to forget what hobbies you used to have. Meanwhile, weekdays and weekends blend into just one long, neverending work week, and you can’t remember your last vacation. (And no, that time when your phone died doesn’t count.)

We all have days when the challenges of owning a business feel overwhelming. So, how can you stay positive in the face of adversity and keep up the momentum without completely burning out?

For starters, don’t beat yourself up for feeling overwhelmed. It’s just a sign that you need to take a step back and make some changes in a more positive direction.

Below, we’ve got six simple tips on how to stay positive as an entrepreneur to help both you and your business to thrive.

How to Stay Positive as an Entrepreneur

1. Take a break

When you’re an entrepreneur, it’s easy to let your business take over your entire life.

Hey, we get it. You’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into building a business you want to make into a long-term success. And your workload might be so huge that hitting the pause button might seem downright laughable.

But the reality is if you don’t take care of yourself – physically, emotionally, mentally – then you aren’t doing yourself or your business any favors.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but shifting your focus toward yourself and allowing yourself some downtime is sometimes the best thing you can do for your business. When you take the time to rest, relax, and recharge, you’ll return to your work with a clear head and be better equipped to make sound decisions.

Taking care of yourself on a personal level not only helps you to be a better entrepreneur but also makes you a happier and healthier person.

2. Have clear goals

Flying by the seat of your pants as an entrepreneur might be exciting for a while, but it’s also exhausting (not to mention a really bad idea).

Stay focused on where your business is going and outline some goals for both the short and long term to help you measure your progress. Short-term goals should be smaller and more achievable, while long-term goals should be more challenging and represent what you want to achieve in the future.

Having both short and long-term goals will help you keep your focus, measure your progress, and maintain a positive mindset even when you face day-to-day challenges. Additionally, it’s important to regularly review and update these goals to ensure they still make sense for your business and are helping you stay on track.

3. Get your rest

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean working non-stop and staying up all night. When you’re overworked and burned out, your productivity sucks anyway, so it’s not even worth it.

A recent study concluded that “Sleep duration (both short and long), insomnia, sleepiness, and snoring were all associated with decreased work productivity.” 

Giphy of a tired man standing in front of a copy machine. Text on the image reads: "With insomnia, nothing's real. Everything's far away. Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy."

So, commit to not working at least an hour before bedtime and get serious about getting some good old-fashioned sleep.

Need help quieting your busy mind? Try incorporating meditation into your bedtime routine with the help of a tool like Headspace. Your productivity and personal well-being depend on it.

4. Don’t compare yourself to others

It can be easy to compare yourself to others, especially if you feel like you’re not achieving the same success as those around you. However, it’s important to remember that everyone’s journey is different.

Comparing yourself to others can be damaging to your self-esteem and can lead to feelings of inadequacy, so it’s important to focus on your own goals and accomplishments.

It can be helpful to learn from those around you and take inspiration from others’ successes, but it should not be used as a yardstick to measure yourself against. Everyone is unique and should be proud of their own progress, no matter how big or small.

It’s important to remember that everyone’s journey is different.

If your business isn’t accelerating as quickly as your neighbor’s, it doesn’t mean it’s a failure. Keep focused on your own goals and your own path, not somebody else’s.

5. Get out of the house

When you work from home, especially in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, you can easily end up working in a vacuum. Many of us have limited interactions with other human beings on a daily basis besides virtual meetings.  Showering (or even wearing pants) is often entirely optional.

As ideal as this arrangement might be for many of us, this can also present challenges in maintaining a work-life balance. It’s important, however, for the sake of maintaining a positive outlook and a successful business that you get away from the computer and out into the world.

"Working from home can mess with your head" cartoon
Source: https://invisiblebread.com/

Walk the dog and chat with your local business owners. Rather than having just another conference call, meet your clients for lunch now and then for some friendly facetime. Join a networking group or attend an industry conference to connect with others who can help to motivate and inspire you.

Read also: How to Stay Productive When Working From Home

6. Accept that you can’t do it all yourself

As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to try to save on costs by taking on too many responsibilities yourself. While this may seem like a good idea in the short term, it can ultimately end up costing you financially, as well as taking a toll on your mental and emotional well-being. 

It’s important to acknowledge when you need help and reach out for assistance, whether that’s hiring employees, bringing on an accountant or other professionals, or outsourcing certain tasks. Doing so can help you feel more supported and ensure that your business operations are running smoothly, which can do wonders for your state of mind.

Your mindset can have a positive impact on your business

Maintaining a positive outlook as an entrepreneur can have a tremendous positive impact on your business. Staying positive can help you make better decisions, stay motivated, and remain resilient in the face of challenges.

If you find that you need help managing your business accounting, our team at FusePhase would be more than happy to take these tasks off your plate. We understand the importance of having a solid handle on your finances and are here to provide the support and guidance you need to keep your business on track. Let’s connect to see how we can help you reach your financial goals.

This article was originally published on Oct 5, 2016 but has since been updated for accuracy and relevancy.

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