All-in-one guide to entrepreneurial motivation and business motivation

Are you experiencing motivation issues when starting or growing your business? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, this not only affects you, but many other newbies who have entered the world of business ownership.

Entrepreneurial Motivation is key to your business success. You will need constant motivation throughout your business and entrepreneurial journey whether you've been running a business for years or are just starting out.

What is motivation?

You probably know the classic definitions of motivation combines:

1. Why we want to do something and

2. The reasoning behind why we behave in a certain way.

The combination of behaviour and reasoning is at the heart of personal and entrepreneurial motivation.

What are the main areas of motivation?

If you’re looking to start a business you should consider how you’re motivated and consider the different types of motivation, which might be able to help you succeed in your business.

Without getting too technical or deep into motivation, but there are a few concepts, which may help you stay the course, so you don’t give up on your dreams through lack of motivation.

• Internal (or Intrinsic) motivation

• External (or Extrinsic) motivation

Internal (or Intrinsic) motivation

Internal motivation is when you do something without any outside pressure? This means you don’t rely on outside influences to ensure you complete your tasks and your activities.

Do you have an internal desire to work through projects and tasks? Maybe you find the reason for doing the work enjoyable or rewarding rather than feeling the need for something (or someone) external to give you a reward or acknowledge your input. If you’re only motivated by internal activities you will not require outside influences to help you move forward on your projects or your business must-dos.

When was the last time you did something related to your business simply for the fulfilment of the activity itself? Thinking about this for a few minutes will tell you all you need to know about your internal motivation.

External (or Extrinsic) motivation

Extrinsic motivation is based on the exact opposite of intrinsic (internal) motivation. This means you’re often looking outward rather than inward for reward, whether that reward is validation, acceptance or escaping a negative experience.

For example, if there is a customer service issue; an externally motivated person may work for the approval and the appreciation of the customer and other results, whereas an internally motivated person may be driven by the need to do the work rather than the result of that work or any appreciation.

Can internal and external motivation be useful?

At the end of the day you’re not a robot with simple inputs and outputs, so you may be internally and externally motivated. Either way, both forms of motivation are direct indications of how you as a solopreneur or small business owner are motivated to drive your business forward.

You may find both types of motivation useful, but there are some other forms of motivation, which may match your personality.

• Introject motivation

• Identification motivation

• Integrated motivation

Introject motivation (or motivation via obligation)

Do you ever feel a sense of obligation to anyone or anything? And has this sense of obligation directed you to do something or perform an action? If so, this means that you have experienced Introject motivation (i.e. motivation via obligation).

If you’re not moving forward due to your personal drive, or an external influence, you could be working on projects through a sense of obligation.

An example could be the obligation to join a family business, as that’s what members of your family do. Without knowing or thinking about things you may unconsciously incorporate the family attitudes and beliefs into your personality.

Introject motivation is different to internal motivation, as internally motivated people may experience a reward or enjoyment from activities rather than an obligation to complete the same activities.

The sense of obligation may well be coming from an internal feeling, if introject motivation is within your personality you are not driven by rewards and enjoyment.

Identification motivation (i.e. do what you do because you are who you are)

Identification motivation is focused almost entirely on how you ‘see’ yourself.

Those who are more spiritual claim that the subconscious mind seeks congruence or being in alignment with mind, body and soul. If you see yourself as a fit and healthy person, you may more often than not gravitate towards physically active and healthy habits.

In essence everything is like an ever enforcing cycle where one activity drives another similar activity and the small choices, decisions become automatic rather than thought through, so your unconscious mind is driving your behaviour.

Entrepreneurial endeavours motivated by identification mean you may focus on activities or projects as a part of your personality rather than gaining enjoyment (internal motivation) or obligation (introject motivation) driving your actions.

Freud believed the unconscious mind has a need to fulfil actions, which aligns with how you see yourself. If you see yourself as an entrepreneur, your subconscious will work to ensure your actions and beliefs are aligned.

The only way to change your motivation personality is to become someone else over time through a focus on deliberate actions.

Integrated motivation (or a combination of belief and identity)

The combination of belief and identity is a strong mix.

When you bring together what you believe and how you see yourself, this means you’re in a position to do what you need to do because you believe in the objective and doing the tasks to attain the objective also matches your identity.

What are some approaches to improve your motivation?

• Become a student of entrepreneurship success

• Recognise strengths and areas of improvement

• Schedule time to relax and recuperate

• Celebrate the small victories

• Get a routine and stick to it

Become a student of entrepreneurship success

Take the time to research and check out the people within your industry or the business world. Take the time to become a student of the people that have the success that you desire. There is a lot of information in the world, which is already out there and can be found on the internet, social media, books or YouTube.

It’s easier to sit back and wait for something to happen, but the world is not waiting for you. The world continues to move forward and if you don’t make a start on your dreams and your plans, you may be left behind.

You can discover and learn almost anything and anytime. There are many well known entrepreneurs and business owners that have created similar businesses. You just have to look for them.

It only takes time to search, review and learn something. It takes no time at all to attempt a new skill. If you make a mistake or fail, you only need to get up, dust yourself off and try again. Eventually, you will succeed or you will quickly learn what you need to delegate in order to do so.

Your knowledge is never wasted, it just may not always be used in the same manner you expect.

Recognise strengths and areas of improvement

Take time to assess your skills, your background and your knowledge.

Is there a skill you can do that other people cannot do? Can you take a step back from your day-to-day business and choose activities or products/services that make you stand out from your competitors?

Finding time to do something that is different to the norm and having something unique from the competition will help with your business motivation. Can you gain experience outside of your industry, which would make your skill set more interesting and more unique than competitors?

How many times have you tried to motivate yourself by being different? If you’re different and you're skilled, you may have a Unique Selling Point (USP).

If you have a USP, this means you have the ability to offer something memorable for your customers, which stands out from the crowd. This in itself will help you with your motivation, as you know you have the skills to do something that competitors are not currently offering.

Schedule time to relax and recuperate

Modern life is difficult. Tiredness and exhaustion can damage your motivation.

There are times when you need to relax and there are times when you don’t have a chance to do the things that you know you should do. Actions and tasks pile up, emails continue to hit your inbox and your customers keep calling.

There is never enough time in the day to complete everything.

During moments of intense workload and stress, it can feel like you’re walking through a fog and you may find it difficult to visualise the end of your business journey.

If you ever feel like this, you’re not alone, it can be truly awful to feel like you must do something but feeling like the world is on your shoulders.

That’s when you need to deliberately schedule time within your calendar to relax and recuperate. Tiredness and stressful situations can take their toll on your entrepreneurial motivation. There is a straightforward way for you to improve your state of mind. Put your tools down and take a break.

It’s easy to say and not always easy to do, but you may need to take the time to relax and recharge without believing you need to plough through all of your activities without any time to relax. There’s only one of you, and you need to look after yourself.

Business and entrepreneurship is hard. Take a break, relax and go back to your work when your head is clear.

Celebrate the small victories

Life is too short to work without recognising your successes, no-matter how small.

Business is a journey, but it’s difficult to appreciate the journey if you only focus on the future. Celebrate and mark your recent achievements and then plan your next objective with a clear mind.

If you only work, there is no room for anything else. This can be a serious issue for long-term relationships and the relationship with yourself is one of the most important relationships for any new entrepreneur.

When you get your first customer, release your first product or reach a minor milestone; stop what you’re doing and celebrate. This may help you place more significance on the present moment, which helps mark your memories when you’re looking back on your entrepreneurial journey.

Life is a collection of moments and if we miss too many of them, things can very quickly move in an undesirable direction and we may very quickly start regretting starting business or doing the hard work without any of the rewards.

Get a routine and stick to it

We are only a collection of our habits which means that everything we do comes from habitual moments throughout our lives.

What do you do when you first get up in the morning? Have a coffee, check your socials, read emails from the night before or go for a run. What do you do after a hard day working on your mission; have a glass of wine, head to the pub or maybe get some fast food as a treat? If you roll the habits together over a long life, you will have your outcome.

The same applies to business and entrepreneurship. Are you working on the actions that need completing? Could you delegate more to other people? Do you need to send that email when another more important activity is waiting?

You can decide your life goals and how to achieve them. If you take one thing from this section, please understand that your routine will determine how you meet your objectives.

You must be disciplined to ensure you’re meeting your objectives and not spending time completing other people’s objectives ahead of yours.

If you have a day job and your business is a side project, you may need to organise your daily routine to allocate enough time to your side project to ensure that you’re allowing yourself the time to complete your tasks and objectives.

How can mental strength impact entrepreneurial motivation and peak performance?

Sometimes life can be a struggle and you may sometimes get into a rut or feel as though you don’t want to do anything. Things are not working as you would like or you’re not feeling as sharp or as creative compared to past moments.

All of this combined has the potential to negatively affect your chances of reaching our dreams. Only when you understand what is causing this can you find a suitable solution to give your mind a chance to recuperate and overcome the next business challenge.

What can you take away to help with your business motivation?

As an entrepreneur and business owner your motivation is one of the most important factors for your day to day activities.

There is not one specific way to stay motivated, as everyone is different. It is essential that you take the time to review and understand your current behaviour, so you can handle the bumps in the road at any point within your business building career.

Everything explained within these pages points to the emotional, physical and psychological side of motivation, which is much more than simple words, but a change in your beliefs and your lifestyle. Once you understand what motivates you and ways to ensure you stay motivated you are on your way to business success.

Good luck!