I’ve spent many years studying and thinking about motivation through my career in Human Resources, but of course that has always been
  focused on what motivates employees.  Now I’m self employed the question has changed – how do I motivate myself and most importantly keep myself motivated?

 This should be a fairly straightforward question for me to answer. If I was to be put on the spot to answer it I would probably say that being able to work flexibly around my children keeps me motivated to work for myself.  However, given time to reflect on this question (it is amazing how much thinking you can do within the peace and quiet a 10 minute morning shower allows!) I think there is a lot more to my motivation than that. 
Of course the ability to work around my children and enjoy family time with them is a big motivating factor, but looking after two small children
while trying to run a business can also push that motivation to its extremes!

I think if I am truly honest my motivation lies with the ideas I have and keep having about what I want to achieve and what I can do with my own
business. The freedom being self employed allows me with my ideas and the opportunity it gives me to push myself into achieving things I perhaps wouldn’t have had the courage to even attempt to achieve before. 

Yes I have the requirementto work flexibly, I also have the desire to do something I enjoy and can control the direction of. Some of my motivation comes from a basic requirement to earn money, although on reflection the motivation I gain from money is surprisingly low. 

Being self employed can be hard and at times lonely, I have days where I miss the office chatter and the brain storming at team meetings. It can
be particularly hard if you are having a bad day, perhaps an idea hasn’t worked as well as you thought or sales are going through a slump, and you doubt your ability to make your business a success. It is days like this where I turn to my ‘ideas’ notebook and I focus on all the things I want to do. I remind myself of how much I have already achieved – something I learnt to do with a little help from Joanne Dewberry. I have found that of all the bosses I have reported to over the years I am by far the most critical and demanding, and at first I was the least likely one to give myself a well deserved pat on the back for a job well done. 

Success is definitely a big motivator for me, I thrive from customer feedback and the lovely reviews I receive never fail to put a big  smile on my face. Without that I’m sure my motivation levels would be struggling and I would be questioning whether self employment was the right path
for me.

Would I have started my own business if I had not had children ... possibly not, they were definitely a big motivation for the start of my
business. However I have been badly bitten by the mumpreneur bug and feel  privileged to be part of network of other amazing business mums.
 I can’t really imagine getting so much from a job where I was employed by someone else, and I very much hope that my motivation to run my business will continue to thrive long after my requirement for flexible working has ended.

This is an entry into the JoanneDewberry.co.uk blogging competition.

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