Celebrate Your Business Milestones
Many teens and young adults will be celebrating a major milestone this month as they graduate from school and enter the workforce full-time. If they choose to work for a large organization, then their business milestones will often be celebrated too -- from being warmly welcomed as a new hire, to successfully finishing the training process, to receiving a pin or other recognition on their first anniversary with the company, all the way to a retirement party at the end of their career.
As you probably know, that won’t be the case if they choose to launch their own business. If you work for yourself, then your business milestones often slip by quietly and unnoticed. Your closest friends and family might never read your newsletter, blog, or social media updates. They might not listen to you on the radio, clip out a newspaper story that quoted you, or come to your workshops/events.
In short, you might not have many cheerleaders. You might be one of the few (or only!) sources of motivation to keep going, keep striving, and keep working to make your professional goals a reality.
So how do you keep your energy level up? One way to stay motivated is to celebrate your own business milestones – even if no one celebrates them with you! Track your successes over time. Build a portfolio. Celebrate the first time you reach your salary goal for the year, and celebrate whenever that number goes up another 10%. Celebrate the first time you successfully overcome a difficult sales objection and create a major win-win solution. Celebrate each of your anniversaries as a business owner.
Remember: you don’t have to wait until you’ve solved all your challenges and reached all your goals before you can celebrate. As Barbara Hoffman wrote, “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!”
As you read this, are you overdue for a celebration of your own tenacity as a business owner? If so, then it’s time to break out the champagne, go out for a steak dinner, or whatever a reward for you might be. Enjoy and celebrate your business milestones – you deserve it!