Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 146: How to Stay Motivated in Your Business (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It)

Transcript

Episode 146: How to Stay Motivated in Your Business (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It) · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Motivation is unreliable and depending on it may be costing you your income, confidence, and momentum.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been waiting to feel motivated before you show up more consistently in your business, then this episode is for you.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'll be honest, sometimes I'm just not feeling it.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that you likely can relate.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is so much going on right now in the world, to say the least, but then also just in life, thinking about family and finances and other responsibilities.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been feeling like this, then I want you to know that you're not alone.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many days where I need to be planning content or sending emails or prepping for client sessions.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I would rather be curled up on my sofa watching the next episode of Bridgeton.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the truth is we will not always be motivated to work in our businesses.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if we aren't willing to acknowledge that, then we could be setting ourselves up for failure because we believe in some type of fictional fairy tale uh version of what it's like to build a business.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is that there will be times where things are going to get hard.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to get hard because we can't control what happens in life.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: We can't control when things come up that may not be at the best time or at the perfect moment.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to navigate it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: We have to navigate it all and still keep everything afloat.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: So often this leads to a lack of motivation.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that lack of motivation can last for a few hours, sometimes it lasts for a day or two, other times a week, a month.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And look, it can even go on a year longer.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is that even though we feel unmotivated at times, we have to find a way to overcome that.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because in order to build something that is successful, we're gonna have to get through those moments where things don't feel as easy.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the beginning of the year is a great time to have this conversation because most often we start off so strong in January or February.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, ideas are flowing, we're super motivated, we're excited.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: No matter how long you've been in business, this is typically the trend at the beginning of every year.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: But then as the months go on and as we move from winter to spring and summer and eventually fall, then that motivation sometimes can begin to decline.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't want that to happen, not this year.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much that we have to get done in our businesses in order to grow and be successful right now.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: That we want to make sure, I want to make sure that your motivation stays high.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about how you can maintain your motivation and refuel it when you need to.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: What I've found is that refueling your motivation requires three things.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: You need a trigger, you need belief, and you need possibility.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: So let me explain.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's a coming cliche for finding motivation that many people use, and it's all about remembering your why.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, even Simon Senec has his book that talks all about why you need to start with your why.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of truth to that statement.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know that whenever I witness or experience the inequities that we often, as women and women of color, face in this consulting industry, I'm reminded of why I started Excel at consulting.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: That has been my why.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: But in all honesty, I'm not always mindful of that why.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, there can be a negative instance that arises that is going to trigger me and make me realize and become more motivated about my work because I am pushing against or fighting against those things that I don't believe in and fighting for what I do believe and what my purpose and mission is.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: But the problem is that these triggers, they may not always present themselves when we need them.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't want them to present themselves in a way that leaves us in a negative mind space.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is why you don't want to rely on chance.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So instead, what I want to encourage you to do, and what I love to tell clients to focus on, is to begin to embed all of these triggers and elements and your purpose and your core beliefs into your work, embedded into your processes, embedded into your workflows, embedded into your frameworks.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: That way, when you're doing the work, you will have these intentional reminders that are show up.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: There will be the case studies that you share or the framework elements that you're presenting, statistics and data that you're sharing with clients that serve as purpose, yes, to educate the client to fulfill whatever you need to fulfill with regards to deliverables or use as business collateral, but it also serves as an intrinsic motivator for you because when you see it, then it reminds you of why you do the work that you do.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it's those reminders that begin to bring you joy as you complete the work.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Motivation is important for us to keep going, and we have to have those triggers there to begin to stay motivated.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, the information, of course, helps your client, but it's also there to inspire you to.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You want to place these triggers all around you so that anytime you can remember why you're doing this important work.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're thinking this is all fluff or just, you know, kind of nice talk, things to make you feel good, I want to share a quote from Harvard Business Review so that you know that this is pertinent, not just for your personal development and growth and motivation, but this also works for businesses and organizations as well, no matter the size.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this quote says even if organizations do manage to define their purpose well, they often don't properly translate it into action or do anything at all to fulfill it.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: In those cases, the purpose becomes nothing more than nice sounding words on a wall.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: In order for us to actually have movement and take action, what we really, really need in addition to that trigger, is belief.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: We have to have belief in our ability to generate the outcome that we desire.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that doubt will do quicker than anything else is doubt will kill your motivation.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So achieving your desire business goals requires you to hold belief.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is belief in three different things.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: You have to have belief in yourself, you have to have belief in your offer, and you have to have belief in your transformation.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, belief in yourself is all about you remembering the quality work that you're able to do, how much of an impact you're able to make, what you bring to the table.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: You have to believe in your ability to serve others, to offer value to others.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: All of this is what helps you to have more confidence in the work that you're doing.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to allow doubt or fear or even a sense of imposter syndrome to somehow dappen your enthusiasm.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: You have to have that excitement about your work, and that starts with belief in what you can do.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: But then you can not only just believe in what you do, but you have to believe also in the offer that you have.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what you're putting out into the world.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is what you're using to serve others.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to know and believe in that offer in order to market and sell it effectively.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, in order for you to show up excited and to talk about the business that you have, to talk about your consulting services, to talk about what you're able to accomplish, you have to believe in that.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: You have to have full belief in your offer and what it can do for someone else.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have that, then yes, it is going to be difficult for you to be excited and motivated to take action to market and sell consistently.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we have waves where we may feel more motivated than others some days, but for you to do this consistently, that's going to take another level of belief.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then on top of that, it's not just believing in the offer that it's a good offer, but you have to believe in the transformation that what you're actually going to help them accomplish is meaningful, that it's valuable, that it is going to generate a return on investment.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: That helps you to market and sell more convinced conviction.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: All of this goes hand in hand with how motivated you stay.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're unable to effectively sell, if you are going in and out of feast or famine mode, then you are also going to be going on this roller coaster ride emotionally.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's constantly this up and down, this push and pull.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't want that.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are going to be fluctuations.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are going to be times where things may not go our way.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, if we have the belief around those three things, ourselves, our offer, and the transformation, then we can remain excited because we know that we have something solid that we can stand on.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are coupling that with having more purposeful work, that actually helps to show up in a very different way.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then the last piece of this puzzle is the possibility.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: When you see that the potential for what you can do in your industry or world is something big, it's something major, it's something beyond yourself.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you a goal or a target to reach.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing about having a goal or a target is that it's something to shoot for.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a milestone.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It is something that you're working toward.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the great thing about having it is that you can see progress.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: The most defeating thing is to do something over and over again, to take action over and over again and feel as if you're not making any progress, that you're staying in the same place, that you're stagnant.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to spin your wheels and not go anywhere.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: All of that comes from not embracing the possibility of what can be.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: You will have times when you find it difficult to navigate the consulting world.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of competition out there.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have AI now that is fusing itself into our world.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And in doing that, it's making it harder to stand out as an expert in this space.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to have something to lean on.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the great part about it is that it's pretty simple to keep this motivation going when you're intentional about building it.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is that often when we go through those moments where the motivation lags or it drops, it's because we have not been intentional in ensuring that we're refueling that motivation and that we're sustaining it.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we feel those ebbs and flows.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: There are going to be times that we don't feel motivated, and that is normal, that is human, that is natural.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: But the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who doesn't is how quickly you can come out of those periods where you have the lack of motivation and refuel that motivation so that you move forward.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: The quicker you can do that, the quicker you can turn around and shift that mindset, the more successful you're going to be.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to require us motivating ourselves to do the things that we know are required in order to maintain the momentum that we need and to achieve the goals that we want to achieve.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this is true no matter how long you've been in business.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: You could have been in business for two or three years, five or 10 or even more.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every new level is going to require growth.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to require growth that stretches you and that at times will overwhelm you.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you're going to feel and have days where you don't want to do any of it.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: So remaining consistent is something that takes discipline, dedication, and yes, it does take motivation.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: You will have times when you will find it difficult to motivate yourself.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do not fool yourself into believing that you will always be motivated.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: That is an unrealistic expectation.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about always being motivated, but it's about having a system in place to help you overcome the temporary feeling and allow it to be as short-lived as possible.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And friend, if we can do that, we are going to keep moving in the right direction.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because another part of this is that my goal is for you to succeed.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's for your more women, especially women of color, to grow and have sustainable, thriving consulting businesses in this phase.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that means that I'm counting on you to stay motivated so that you take action and so that we reach your goals this year.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's what this conversation is all about.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have been feeling a little bit lackluster and not as consistent as you like to be, let's go ahead and nip that in the bud.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Share this with someone you know that may be feeling the same way.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we're all going to end this year stronger than we did last.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this is just a little bit of extra support to let you know that I understand.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know what it's like to have so many responsibilities, so many things on your plate, and still having to show up and build something so major like your own business.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's a huge feat.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: But you're doing it.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to make sure that you keep doing it over and over and over again.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because the goal is not just to start a business, but it's to actually build one that thrives and that we can sustain over time.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, take care.