It is not uncommon for business owners to lose passion or drive for their business. Over time, the stress of owning a small business, balancing finances, working to hire good employees, and managing clients can get to be too much. If you are a business owner and are struggling to move forward and stick with it, below are some actions to take right away. 

Wasatch ActionCOACH wants to help businesses of all sizes and offers resources for business owners who feel underqualified or overwhelmed. Our team is here to serve you so that you can continue to best serve the state of Utah.

1- Take Time To Focus On You

Burnout can be a real contributing factor to your lost passion. Taking a step back and focusing on your needs (mentally, physically, and financially) can help you gain some more motivation.

Taking some time for yourself can look like a long vacation, taking a step back from certain duties, taking part in a hobby you haven’t had time for recently, or leaving business duties behind right at 5 o’clock. Taking time for yourself is always important, especially when you constantly need to be creative and use critical thinking. 

2- Remember Why You Started

In order to grow a successful business, you need to have a why behind what you are offering. If you are losing sight of why you started a business in the first place, looking back on your why can help reignite your passion. 

Many businesses offer something to customers that they were lacking. They fulfill a need, cater to those less fortunate, or support the local community. All of these reasons and more can help give you a positive push to reinvest in your business strategy. 

Lost passion in business may also come from a lack of a strong reason. If passion is lacking or your business is not moving forward how you envisioned, try coming up with a new why statement or mission. 

3- Experience What Similar Businesses Are Doing

Visiting the competition may not seem like a good idea when you are losing vision for your company. But checking out similar shops, or talking with owners of other companies can help remind you to want you do like about the industry and what you are trying to change. Noting what other businesses don’t have will help you gain a better action plan of how to include them in your own. 

4- Work To Break Self-Doubt And Grief

Imposter syndrome, anxiety, and fear can all creep up when you are trying to run a business. Working to overcome these feelings can help you feel more joy in your business. Working with a therapist to talk about your feelings may be a source of relief and can help you gain new ideas to implement. 

Making mistakes is something that will happen in business. It is all about how you handle them and how you come back from them. Mistakes can be a learning experience and provide you with the opportunity to show your true values to your customers. If mistakes have caused you grief or to feel like a failure, try reframing how you see past and future shortcomings.

5- Talk To Others Who Are Passionate

Finding a mentor or talking to friends who own businesses may help you feel more validated. Speaking with a mentor can also help spark new concepts and ignite a fire to implement new practices. 

6- Find Joy In An Unrelated Activity

When something starts to get overwhelming, taking a break and doing something completely unrelated to your stress can really help. As a business owner, you have drifted away from family or lost joy in certain hobbies. Pick up a new hobby or go back to an old one and find joy in doing that activity. 

Getting away from your business when it is draining can help you mentally reset and come back to the office refreshed. 

Increase Business Passion With Wasatch ActionCOACH

No matter what business stage you are in, our business coaches can help you get back on a better path to success. If you have lost passion for your business it does not make you a bad business owner. The ebbs and flows of running a business can take a toll on anyone. With our peer support programs, one on one coaching, and great online resources, Wasatch ActionCOACH is here for you every step of the way.

Expressing gratitude and focusing on the positives can make you a more likable person, but did you know that gratitude can help improve your business? The power of gratitude can help improve your relationship with your employees, show your customers you are open to growth, and bring more positivity to the corporate world. 

Wasatch ActionCOACH business coaches have included some of the benefits of leveraging gratitude and how to implement it inside your business. 

Gratitude Negates Negativity

One of the biggest benefits for your business is that sharing gratitude and celebrating wins, negates negativity. When your business or office feels negative, it can be hard to feel motivated to work or to implement new practices. Using gratitude can help boost morale in your office and give employees something positive to reflect back on. 

While removing negativity completely may not be possible, working to provide positive reinforcement, showing praise to employees, and being a grateful person in all areas of your life can help improve the atmosphere and encourage employees to follow in your footsteps. 

Lead By Example

Employees will look up to and reflect the attitudes of the higher-ups in the business. HR can look to hire already grateful and positive managers and leaders to help leverage the power of gratitude from the beginning. 

If you are in a leadership position, you can start now to improve your gratitude. When people in power express appreciation and carry themselves well, naturally others will feel more comfortable. There are many courses and blogs that can help you improve your gratitude, but below are a few ways to leverage the power of gratitude in your business. 

Be Grateful For The Person, Not Just The Output

While giving employee praise is important, it is more important to be grateful for their presence and the talents they bring, rather than just what output they give to your business. Complementing people on their personality and other talents besides ones that are relevant to their work is a great way to ensure that your gratitude is seen as sincere. Some examples include complimenting their critical thinking skills, how they interact with co-workers, their sense of humor, or their creative outfits. 

Be Grateful For Everything, Big Or Small

It may seem easier to be grateful for large successes and accomplishments that gain you more sales, but being grateful for even small victories or steps in the right direction is important to showing sincere gratitude. The power of gratitude really only works when employees see you as sincere and genuine. When you genuinely care about all the positive aspects that your employees are contributing, it will not be hard to express it. 

Small wins add up and compound to make your business more well-rounded. The power of gratitude will help increase the number of small milestones that will lead to bigger milestones. 

Address The Worries About Expressing Gratitude At Work

Some employees or even managers may have reservations about expressing themselves or giving people praise at work. It is best to discuss these openly and sooner rather than later if you really want to leverage the power of gratitude. 

Traditional values of employees providing labor and bosses providing compensation and not sharing any type of emotion at work are fading out. Employees may worry about sharing too much or overstepping what is an appropriate work relationship. Expressing sincere gratitude should not be seen as awkward or unnecessary. 

Studies have shown that 35% of people believe that expressing gratitude at work could lead people to take advantage of them. Gratitude helps to promote collaboration and productivity, so it is worth the initial awkwardness of giving a compliment. 

Business Techniques With Wasatch ActionCOACH

If you are looking to leverage the power of gratitude or improve your leadership skills, our team at Wasatch ActionCOACH has the tools to help. Our business coaches are passionate about improving the functioning of many businesses along the Wasatch Front. We offer many resources outside of coaching as well to help leaders, business owners, and even employees improve their workplace. Check out our blog or our videos for quick answers and comprehensive information.

Speaking to other business owners, leaders, or corporate workers can help you score some success. Networking is important for helping your business stay afloat, getting a job after schooling, and making great friends. Our business coaches want to help clients network effectively and gain new perspectives. Below are some of the best tips to network and build the number of people in your corner. 

1- Come With A Goal In Mind

Going to a networking event can be daunting with the number of people that are there and the pressure to speak to the right people. If you go into a career event or networking event with a specific goal in mind, you will have a better idea of who to talk to and what to say. 

Maybe your goal is to get 10 new leads or to find a connection that can teach you a new skill. Having a specific goal and even a written plan will make the conversations go smoother. 

2- Have Ice Breakers In Your Back Pocket

Starting a conversation can often be the hardest part, so having conversation starters or icebreakers prepared can help curb some anxiety you may have. Conversation starters like “What do you do for work?” or “What drew you to this event?” can get the conversation flowing and show the other person that you are interested in more than just adding people to your list of connections. 

3- Look For Someone More Experienced

The best thing to get out of a networking event is finding someone in your field with more experience. Talking to someone with more experience can provide you with new perspectives, and ideas to elevate your skills, or give you an in at your dream company. Someone with more experience may seem intimidating, but working up the courage to speak with them will make them feel good and give you the tools you may need.

4- Don’t Forget To Listen

When asking questions, even if you don’t get the answer you expected, active listening can still help you. Active listening means listening to the answer and digesting it, instead of just listening to formulate your answer back.

When someone truly listens to our advice and takes it to heart, we gain a self-confidence boost. Listening to a higher-up and taking their advice will give them a great first impression of you. This is a great way to network effectively and potentially score you a job. 

5- Hold Firm On What You Want

If you have set a goal before a networking event, you need to stick to it and speak to people who are willing to help you. Speaking with people who are not going to listen to you or seem interested in helping you, don’t lower your standards. If you want to network effectively, hold true to your standards, your dreams, and your self-esteem. 

6- Utilize Online Connections

With LinkedIn and other social media being in high demand for business, don’t forget the tools you have at your fingertips. Sharing social media handles with a connection can make your relationship deeper and more personal. Social media for your personal use or business can be shared to increase people that see your content. When you network effectively, provide a business card with your company’s social media or LinkedIn profile, as well as other contact information.

LinkedIn is also a great way to gain connections without physically going to a networking event. You can find recommended people through your current connections, connect with people in your current company, or ask people to connect you with others they think would be helpful for you. 

7- Stay In Touch

A network connection is all for naught if you don’t connect outside of the event or stay in touch with them. Using a connection just to get what you want is kind of rude, so even if the connection is purely business related, staying connected with them on social media, reaching out to see how they are doing, or helping them celebrate their accomplishments is a great way to keep that connection alive. 

Network With Wasatch ActionCOACH

Working with our team at Wasatch ActionCOACH gives you access to networking resources, peer groups, and 1-on-1 business coaching. Each of our business coaches has extensive business experience and wants to give you relevant advice. Serving businesses along the Wasatch Front is our passion, and working with us will set your business apart from the competition. Contact us to get started today, or check out our educational videos on our website.