We all experience slumps in our enthusiasm for running our business. It is a rare person (if she exists at all!) who can maintain a high level of energy all the time. So how do you pep yourself up? Here are some tips:

• Use a business coach. A good business coach can give you the positive push you need, provide accountability and increase your enthusiasm immensely.
• Network with other business owners. Talking through struggles and triumphs with other business owners can be a great release and a great way to increase your energy levels. Mutual support and a shared understanding will improve your outlook.
• Find a mentor. While it is valuable and important to meet with other business owners, meeting regularly with a mentor who has more experience is a great way to be encouraged. Mentors can often be a source of advice and a sounding board for new ideas.
• Commit yourself to lifelong learning. There is no one who can profess that they have learnt ‘everything’: there is always something new to learn. And learning has the added bonus of increasing your enthusiasm.
• Take a break! Too often we fall into the trap of thinking we need to keep working and get the job done. But our energy levels will continue to drop, and productivity will suffer, if we don’t take regular breaks.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Good bosses are concerned with their staff motivation. They will put processes in place to ensure that productivity is optimum, that workers feel supported and that staff are generally happy in their workplace.

But what about you as the business owner? Do you have processes in place to make sure you keep motivated? What is it that motivates you to keep moving forward in your business?

Often these questions are not answered by women business owners. They are too busy either dealing with staff motivation or get caught up in the daily tasks of ‘doing business’. And then burnout starts to appear on the horizon and they realise that they’ve neglected to take care of their own motivation.

Sometimes, all it takes is being cognisant of your underlying motivation for running your own business. You may be motivated by seeing positive outcomes and results. You may be motivated by the fact that you are the boss and don’t answer to anyone else. You might be motivated by the flexible lifestyle your business affords you.

However, for most of us, those reasons are not always enough to get us through the tougher times. You may need to put in place other external motivators that help to push you forward. This might be meeting regularly with a business coach. Or it might be booking regular weekends away so you have those to look forward to at the end of a stressful work period. Or it might be surrounding yourself with other female business owners who can rejoice or commiserate as required! Most importantly, make sure you take care of your own motivation first otherwise it will have a trickle down affect throughout your whole business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Most women in business are juggling many things, and despite our best intentions, it can feel quite chaotic at times.

Last year, I set a goal with my business coach: to be content with the chaos. This wasn’t something I was particularly keen on doing. Yes, I wanted to do something to improve the “balancing act”, but navel gazing is not generally my thing. Anyone who knows me well would agree that I'm a very pragmatic, task oriented, "get on with it/over it" kind of person.

But despite my misgivings, we started out by observing what felt chaotic. Amazingly, the very act of writing down those things began a process of feeling okay about the chaos. I began to pinpoint areas that really triggered those feelings of chaos and working out "is it me or my environment?". I began to approach “chaos” with a bit more clarity and sanity!

It was interesting that a really simple exercise resulted in small but significant changes in my perception and therefore outlook.

And often it is small changes that can make all the difference: making time for a 15 minute walk during the day; getting to bed 30 minutes earlier; getting up before the kids so you’re ready for their morning routine; taking time for small celebrations (eg clearing your inbox!).

In the words of Frank A. Clark: “Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things”

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender