The life of an entrepreneur can be wonderful – most times it is. You’re in control of your own schedule, you can work as much as you want or as little (depending on your goals), you can go bigger, stay smaller, make your own rules, write your own plan and you’re not at the mercy of an employer. This list could go on, but there are also some downfalls to being self-employed.
For example (I have no scientific data to back this up) I believe most entrepreneurs get bored at some point. Bored with their own businesses. You live, breathe, sleep and eat your business and some days it’s hard to find the motivation to do it another day. Sometimes you feel like you’ve become complacent, and that you’ve already “done it all” when it comes to your marketing – that there’s nowhere else to go. Of course, I believe this is just a symptom of burnout.
One thing that many of my clients have complimented me on is my ability to get them excited about their businesses. As a Virtual Assistant, I have worked with dozens of entrepreneurs and they all do things a little differently. I have a large pool of experiences to draw from because I’m learning from so many different people. Don’t get me wrong here – I don’t run around giving away confidential information or spilling top secret marketing tactics, but I can’t help but learn.
I only work with people who have businesses that I can get excited about and my life is richer for it. I can’t help but share ideas and research my clients’ industry to learn as much as I can. This all spills over into the VA/Client relationship and it’s one of the most rewarding parts of partnering with a good Virutal Assistant. (I have my own Virtual Assistants who help keep me excited about my enterprise!)
Are you excited about your business? Are your feet hitting the floor every morning eager to get your day started, or does your stomach turn with that 5:00 Sunday evening dread that most of us felt back when we had j.o.b.s?
If you’ve lost your ‘mojo’ so to speak, see if you can find yourself a Virtual Assistant. Look for someone who matches your personality, who you think can lift you up and inject some new life into your business. When you find the right person, I promise you won’t regret it.
In essence, what I’m saying is that you can even delegate motivating yourself to a Virtual Assistant!
February 17th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Great post! Not only do I not spend Sunday evenings dreading the coming week – I usually am spending Sunday evening excitedly reviewing my to-do list and getting a little bit of work done. Sometimes I do get the blahs about my work, but usually a few hours away from the laptop is all I need to reinvigorate me!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:13 am
What a great blog, Tawnya! We Virtual Assistants do help our clients stay motivated and on task! And, in turn, you have helped VA’s stay motivated as well! I know I can always turn to VAnetworking.com to find information and networking. Just wanted to let you know you’re appreciated – keep up the great blogs!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Really like where you’re coming from Tawyna – this is just how I feel about what I do in my VA business too! I’ve spent so many years working in entrepreneurs that some of it definitely rubbed off – which is why I’m doing what I do now & loving it! Looking forward to your future tweets!
With warmest regards
Helen
February 17th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
This is a wonderful post — as a virtual assistant myself, can actually relate to it. There really are times that I feel so burnt out and feel like i want to stop and just do nothing. When this happens, I simply follow what my body wants to do, rest for like a day and two. After that, my energy and excitement are relived.
February 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hi Jamie,
Great post! I agree that it is important for us all to stay motivated in our businesses. The great thing for me is that I get to choose the busineses that I partner with so I can have the variety that I need to avoid bordom and stagnation.
Sharing ideas with other VAs who live and breathe similar stuggles also is a big help when I feel like I’ve lost focus or have run out of creative ideas!
Thanks for keeping our engines revved up!
anza
February 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Great post, Jaime!
So many times I have given people the advice to ‘find a VA that fits you’, and this is reflected in your question in your post.
As a VA, I also choose to work with clients whose work excites me and interests me – it helps get me motivated to complete tasks when I am interested in their work.
It also makes me better able to offer suggestions to my client about work projects – when I get excited about doing something with them, it’s infectious!
March 11th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Jaime, you’ve inspired blog posts on @Bar JD Virtual Professionals and Particularly Virtual about the ways a virtual assistant can help rekindle that old feeling about a business. Additionally, when looking for ‘the right VA’, clients can check out the Directory at VAnetworking.com