Running a small business is no easy venture. While you’ll surely experience excitement and pride during high periods, it can be challenging to get through the lows. Spencer Shaver Denver is a small business consultant and executive producer at Skyward Artists Group. He has worked with over 100 small businesses from coast to coast, helping with marketing, HR, product promotion, staffing, and motivation. Here, he shares four tips to stay motivated through thick and thin.

4 Ways for Small Business Owners to Stay Motivated

1. Take a Break

For many small business owners, the notion of taking a break sounds nice but unrealistic. The idea of taking a vacation may seem ludicrous. However, Spencer Shaver Denver says taking a break now and again is essential to avoid burnout and maintain work/life balance. If you don’t take occasional breaks throughout the day and the year, you’re likely to become stressed and exhausted. Likewise, be sure to get enough sleep as a lack of sleep can result in increased stress and inability to concentrate, both negatives for you and your business.

2. Collaborate

A small business owner is like the coach of a sports team. You’re only as successful as your team, and your team is likely to perform better if they are motivated and inspired. Likewise, they can inspire and motivate you as well. Collaborate and communicate with staff and colleagues. Brainstorm ideas to solve problems creatively, encourage one another in positive times and offer support in the challenging periods. Having a strong support network is crucial to staying the course as an entrepreneur.

3. Set Goals & Stick to Them

As a business owner, you know the importance of setting goals to achieve success. However, setting and sticking to goals is also important to stay motivated. When you have your sights set on something, you have a reason to continue. And when you achieve that goal, the sense of accomplishment you feel will fuel your fire to conquer the next objective. Determine the goals you want to achieve in the short and long-term and establish an action plan for achieving them.

4. Adopt a Positive Mindset

When you’re feeling burnt out or overwhelmed by stress, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Adopting a positive mindset before this happens is ideal, but you can change your mindset from a negative to a positive one as well. Mindfulness tactics, such as recognizing what you can and can’t control, and focusing on the former, can help you to approach each workday with positive energy. Practicing meditation or repeating positive affirmations may also help.

More on Spencer Shaver Denver

Spencer Shaver’s resume is peppered with a range of impressive titles from business consultancy and entrepreneurship to philanthropy and filmography. Behind everything he does is his steadfast faith, inspiring him constantly to create in His name.

Since becoming a martial arts instructor in 1995, Spencer Shaver Denver’s fighting spirit has given him the drive needed to succeed in all of his professional ventures. He looks forward to creating more meaningful work, from documentary films to business plans, while helping other creators and businesspeople explore opportunities, follow their dreams, and achieve their goals.