Sound Bite - Momentum Matters: Here's How To Stay Motivated As A Solopreneur

Watch the Episode on YouTube

Staying motivated as a solopreneur can be so hard! Whether you're in the thick of scaling your business or just starting out, finding ways to keep that momentum going is key. 

In this short episode, we talk about the importance of celebrating milestones big and small, setting aside time for self-care, how time-blocking can help you stay focused without burning out, and more!

So, be sure to tune in!

Like the show? We'd love it if you'd leave a 5-star review!

Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr's SoloSuite Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. 

So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, click here to check out SoloSuite Intro!

Transcript

Carly Ries: 00:00

Staying motivated as a solopreneur can be so hard. Whether you're in the thick of scaling your business or just starting out, finding ways to keep that momentum going is key. So in this episode, we talk about the importance of celebrating milestones big and small, setting aside time for self care, how time blocking can keep that momentum going and help you stay focused without the burnout, and so much more. It's a quick, quick episode, but we hope you find it valuable, so tune in. You're listening to The Aspiring Solopreneur, the podcast for those just taking the bold step or even just thinking about taking that step into the world of solo entrepreneurship.

Carly Ries: 00:39

My name is Carly Ries, and my co host Joe Rando and I are your guides to navigating this crazy, but awesome journey as a company of 1. We take pride in being part of LifeStarr, a digital hub dedicated to all aspects of solopreneurship that has empowered and educated countless solopreneurs looking to build a business that resonates with their life's ambitions. We help people work to live, not live to work. And if you're looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is not the the show for you. So if you're eager to gain valuable insights from industry experts on running a business the right way the first time around, or want to learn from the missteps of solopreneurs who've paved the way before you, then stick around.

Carly Ries: 01:19

We've got your back because flying solo in business doesn't mean you're alone. So, Joe, when you work in corporate America, a lot of times you're working towards the next promotion. To be the manager, to be the boss. Like, you just have little milestones that you're working towards. You wanna win a company contest or hit that bonus.

Carly Ries: 01:40

As a solopreneur, you're already the CEO. You are already winning all of your contest

Joe Rando: 01:47

And the bottle washer.

Carly Ries: 01:48

Exactly. And so how do you stay motivated? You don't have those little incentives that it's like, oh, I got a a raise. Like, you decide what you pay yourself. So it that we share this time and time again that people kinda get stuck in a rut because they don't have those wins.

Carly Ries: 02:07

And so today I just kinda wanted to address how to stay motivated from that standpoint, because I think it's just really important important to celebrate everything big and small. I don't know. What are your thoughts?

Joe Rando: 02:20

I totally totally agree because if you don't, like you said, you get stuck in a rut and you wind up feeling like every day is the same as the last one, and that can get tiring after a while. And you need to think about those things that can help you to feel good, to feel like it's a little special time, a little special day. But there's a lot of other aspects to staying motivated besides that, but I think that's an important one to start with because it's probably one of the the biggest risks that every solopreneur faces.

Carly Ries: 02:50

Yeah. Well, so what are some things that you have to stay motivated?

Joe Rando: 02:54

My things are the little things that, you know, the podcast that gets a lot of downloads, a social media post that people really love, Well, like, now we're writing the Solopreneur Business for Dummies book and finishing a chapter and feeling good about it. You know, I've been doing this for a long time, and I've just learned to find the little joys in those little moments, because nobody's going to come really and pat me on the back or I mean, you know, sometimes, we get a little team of people here.

Carly Ries: 03:28

I'll pat your on the Back, Joe.

Joe Rando: 03:28

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. But it's just, you have to find those things when you get that done. and I have to fight it because sometimes it's just like, okay.

Joe Rando: 03:36

That's fine. Let me go to the next thing. And it's like, that is not healthy. So you sit back and if you wrote a blog and you feel really proud of that blog, read it over again, you know, and just kinda savor in the fact that you did something good. And that's what I do.

Joe Rando: 03:50

I don't know. What about you?

Carly Ries: 03:52

I go hiking. As weird as that sounds, when I know that I did something well because I'm like you, if I celebrate something, I'm like, oh, well then I have momentum. I'm just gonna keep cranking it out. And that's just a one way ticket to burn out. And so what I've tried to do and train myself because I love hiking.

Carly Ries: 04:10

I love being outdoors and just exploring the mountain. And so I say, okay, if I get this chapter done which I need to get this chapter done that I'm working on, then I can take the dog up to the mountains, hit the trails, and just be in my happy place. And that doesn't sound like a huge, like, pop the bottle of champagne celebration, but it's what I look forward to. And I know that until I get that one milestone done, I'm gonna work and then celebrate with the things that I enjoy. But what I see time and time again is people will celebrate getting a new client or, raising their prices, and they get a big paycheck, and then their celebration is they go below it.

Carly Ries: 04:52

And I think that you also, when you're celebrating these milestones, still remember that you are a solopreneur and you have to prepare for the ebbs and flows that come with solopreneurship. So if you get a new client that's paying you say 5 k, don't go spend 5 k. go celebrate. Go have a nice dinner. Do what you need to but then save it.

Carly Ries: 05:12

Like, I see it happened so many times and it's just my cautionary tale that I've heard from others.

Joe Rando: 05:19

And I've seen it with people with jobs. You get a big promotion, big raise, and all of a sudden, oh, let's move. Let's buy a bigger house. Let's get a better car. It's like, no.

Joe Rando: 05:26

No. Yes. Don't do that.

Joe Rando: 05:28

But I'd like to take this in another direction, too, because there's another aspect to this that I think is important for staying motivated. And this is something that I've kind of learned. For decades, my wife and I would jog. We jog 15, 20 miles a week. And we moved a few years ago.

Joe Rando: 05:49

We got caught up in the whole moving thing. She broke her ankle. All this stuff happened. And recently she was told she should never run again. She should just walk.

Joe Rando: 06:00

And the whole jogging thing kind of went by the wayside because she was half of my motivation. so recently I have said, you know, I've got to fight some other thing. Because the jogging you know, I could do it here, but we live on this huge hill now, and getting back jogging back would be very difficult. It's incredibly high up, and it's very steep.

Joe Rando: 06:24

But, anyway, so, I started doing other things. I started doing weight training. I started doing rowing machine. I have a rowing machine that I use, and I alternate days. And I also, eat really, really healthy food.

Joe Rando: 06:40

And I make sure I get enough sleep if at all possible. And then avoiding alcohol. And it's incredible what those changes of making sure you're getting the exercise, that you're not eating all processed food, eating healthy food, low fat, you know, meats and lots of veggies and fruits, getting enough sleep, and keeping the alcohol to a minimum is huge in terms of waking up and being excited to work.

Carly Ries: 07:03

This is so true. I mean, I feel like if you fail in one of those categories, it's kind of like a ripple effect, and it can impact everything else. I know if I have a couple glasses of wine, then I'm eating pizza at 9 PM.

Joe Rando: 07:17

Yes. Yes.

Carly Ries: 07:18

I'm dehydrated and then I'm not productive. I'm an early bird. And if anything throws off my schedule the day before and I sleep in, I'm just off the rest of the day.

Joe Rando: 07:30

Yep. It's absolutely true. And I think some people feel like, oh, I have to work. I have to work. I have to work, and they don't get enough sleep.

Joe Rando: 07:37

And then, you know, you wake up, you're tired, then you say, Oh, I'm tired. Maybe I should eat something. And then, it's just, a cycle. I found it really, really works for me. I can't tell you the difference it makes.

Joe Rando: 07:50

Yeah. So, and then another thing I think that helps with motivation is, as you probably well know by now, I am not a naturally organized person. Right? I am, if left to my nature, there would just be piles of stuff everywhere, and I wouldn't know where everything was in them either. But I have forced myself to get some level of organization, and doing that makes such a difference.

Joe Rando: 08:15

I think recently you've heard me whining about, oh, I got so many tabs open, and I can't handle all these tabs, and I need them. But I figured out how to create groupings of tabs around different things I'm working on. So now I go, Oh, I gotta work on podcasts. Click. Open up the podcast section.

Joe Rando: 08:30

There's all my podcast stuff. Oh, I wanna look at analytics. I click the analytics tab. And these kinds of things, they make you more work more efficiently, but there's also this kind of level of dread that gets removed because you're not sitting there going, I don't know what that is. I gotta look through 87 tabs.

Joe Rando: 08:46

I gotta look through this huge pile to find, what it is I'm looking for. And then you just get into procrastination mode. Right? Oh, let me check my social media feed to see if something's going on there. And it really helps to keep things organized so that you know where stuff is and you can get to what you need to do without having to break your brain in the process.

Carly Ries: 09:05

Well and I think a big hurdle people run into with that is they're like, well, when do I have the time to organize all of that? And I think you just have to look at it like an investment rather than an expense for an adult leader because it will save you so much time in the long run. It's hard. Like, it's one of those things where you'll have a mental block about it for weeks, maybe even months. And once you finally do it, you'll have that, oh, I should have had earlier realization.

Joe Rando: 09:32

I think it was Jay Schwedelson might not have been, but I think it was him, and he put a post up, and he said, I just did something I've been putting off for 6 months. It took me 15 minutes. I will learn nothing from this.

Carly Ries: 09:44

Yeah. And honestly,  

Carly Ries: 09:46

you know what I do, Joe? When I have to clear up my inbox, when I need to clean up my tasks and everything, I just put on my favorite TV show in the background because it's mindless work. Like, you have to get the folders and

Carly Ries: 09:59

You have to get everything organized, but you're not performing brain surgery. So if it's helpful to have your favorite music playing, your favorite show on in the background, whatever

Joe Rando: 10:08

Favorite Podcast. Like, this one The Aspiring Solopreneur in the background. No. It's okay.

Carly Ries: 10:12

Yeah. Exactly. Thanks, Joe. Good shameless plug.

Carly Ries: 10:16

Do whatever it takes. It doesn't have to be a boring like, you can make that a game and then celebrate the way that you've got it organized.

Joe Rando: 10:23

Well, it feels good afterwards. You know? It's kinda like working out. Oh, I don't wanna work out. Then you do it and you go, I feel good now.

Joe Rando: 10:29

So it's a great investment. Another one for me, time blocking. Right? Time blocking is great because you put it on your calendar. You got an hour to get this done.

Joe Rando: 10:38

Now you got stress. Right? Now you got pressure. That and if you lean into that, it can really help you crank out work and get things done and be motivated to work, and not to be distracted and procrastinate.

Carly Ries: 10:53

Yeah.

Joe Rando: 10:54

But, and I used to be this time blocking lunatic, and I time blocked out my life for 2 weeks, and it doesn't work. You start planning more than a couple of days ahead, you know, maybe beyond tomorrow. What happens is now all of a sudden, priorities change. Something happens.

Joe Rando: 11:12

Something comes up. Somebody needs something, and now your time blocking plan has gotta be modified. So now you're spending time and wasting time modifying a plan that you spent time building. So you don't do it because you don't wanna waste the time to change it after you set it up, and you gotta get the work done. So then you stop trusting your calendar, and then, you know, you miss a call with a potential client or something because you didn't pay attention to your calendar because it's loaded with all this stuff that you didn't need anymore.

Joe Rando: 11:36

So my rule is time block for today, time block for tomorrow. Once in a blue moon, if something is critical to get done on a particular day and not before, I'll time block it. But that is done very judiciously.

Carly Ries: 11:51

Yeah. No. These are all great points. I think the biggest part about all of this is just to be mindful of it. Because a lot of times people are like, I can take care of myself later.

Carly Ries: 12:01

I can celebrate my wins later. Everything's later, And that just isn't good for anybody. I think really prioritizing a plan of how you could achieve prioritizing fun time and achieve organizing and achieve taking care of yourself, put an actual plan in place for that so that you don't forget because you will forget if you don't keep it top of mind.

Joe Rando: 12:24

One more question before we get wrapping up here. What do you think of affirmations as a way of staying motivated?

Carly Ries: 12:32

I really like them. But here's what I will say. So, affirmations, mindfulness, manifestation, these are all things I think that are buzzwords right now and some people are, like, ignore it immediately and some people would really buy into it. Affirmations are just a great way to set your intention for the day. And I don't know if you ever saw that video of the little girl on YouTube where she's like, I love my mom.

Carly Ries: 12:58

I love my dad. And she's just in front of the mirror giving herself a total pep talk. I'll link it to the show notes because this video is worth a watch for everybody. I'm a big fan of affirmations. And I think if you set that intention at the beginning of the day to stay motivated with whatever affirmation you choose, it is so helpful rather than starting the day, sleeping through your alarm, being stressed out from the get go.

Carly Ries: 13:22

If you can just, lay in bed for a minute, think about those affirmations, it is a game changer. I know it's hard because so many people, have positive or negative connotations with it. But the fact of the matter is it's just how you set your mind for the day.

Joe Rando: 13:39

I'm just curious. So awesome.

Carly Ries: 13:42

Yeah. But, that's just our quick take on on all of this. We would love to hear from all of you how what you do to stay motivated. But as always, please give us that 5 star review. Subscribe on your favorite platform.

Carly Ries: 13:54

Subscribe to YouTube. We so appreciate the support, and we will see you next time on The Aspiring Solopreneur. You may be going solo in business, but that doesn't mean you're alone. In fact, millions of people are in your shoes, running a one person business and figuring it out as they go. So why not connect with them and learn from each other's successes and failures?

Carly Ries: 14:14

At LifeStarr, we're creating a one person business community where you can go to meet and get advice from other solopreneurs. Be sure to join in on the conversations at community.lifestarr.com.