Five Ways to Ignite Passion in Your Business
How do you power forward in your business when you lose that sense of passion that was once there?
I had tea with a woman this week who asked me this question.
And the more I got to reflecting on the response I gave her, the more I realized that this message is so relevant for most of us.
Because the thing about all businesses is that there will be times when your passion and creativity soar and other times when they plunge.
Which leaves us wondering what to do when those sparks aren't flying.
Oftentimes, clients express feeling like those passion-plunging moments mean the business is falling apart.
Nope. This is not the case.
Your sense of passion will ebb and flow with the seasons of and day-to-day routines involved in running your business (think: operations, marketing, finances, administrative tasks).
While this is totally “normal,” there are ways to reignite that spark and bring more joy (back) into your business.
Here are 5 Ways to Reignite Passion in Your Business:
OVERCOME BURNOUT
Burnout can be a significant contributor to loss of passion, so this is the first thing to address.
When was the last time you took a morning to hike by yourself, or went on vacation?
You don’t need a pristine beach and 3 weeks in another country to feel like you’ve gotten away; staycations that involve intentionally unplugging for a period of time can have the same effect.
When we lived in Denver, I used to go up to the mountains and sit in the lodge while my husband and kids skied. Tea, a good book, a quiet nap and beautiful scenery was always refreshing - even if just for a few hours.
Overcoming burnout just requires you to incorporate breaks and YOU time into your ongoing schedule.
What helps you feel connected to yourself?
What hobbies do you enjoy?
What environments inspire you?
What movement and activities make you feel more alive?
2. RECONNECT
Most likely, this deep-seeded passion is what led you to start your business.
However, once you got into the day-to-day routines involved in running your business, that initial motivation was drowned out by tasks that don’t bring you as much enjoyment (back to: operations, marketing, finances, administrative tasks).
Reconnect to the parts of your business that excite you most.
Recall your why - the ultimate purpose of you doing this work in this way.
Revisit the vision that originally fueled the motivation to pursue this passion in the first place.
Cultivating an emotional connection that propels you back to the fresh energy around your work will feel like a rebirth.
3. OUTSOURCE
Doing more of what you love is another way to experience this re-awakening...
Which means you need to offload the things that don’t bring you ease and joy.
Performing tasks that drain or put you into a brain-trash-tailspin doesn’t actually serve your business…
Outsourcing them does.
When you outsource tasks you don’t enjoy, time, space and energy become available for your creativity and passion-filled zones.
Feel like you don’t have the budget to hire someone yet?
It’s worth taking on another client - which is the work you love, right? - to pay for this service. And as your business grows, you will be able to expand the capacity of your team.
Start small. Just pick one task that drains you most and offload it first.
4. LEAN IN FOR SUPPORT
Surrounding yourself with support is powerful at every stage of business.
Whether it’s being in community with other awesome service providers and female business owners who “get you” and understand the entrepreneurial journey, or hiring a mentor who is several steps ahead of you… leaning into external support not only helps you through these dips in passion, it serves as your source of guidance, your space for learning, and your sounding board that helps you feel held and seen.
5. LAUGH
When I worked for a high-end shoe designer in New York City, I remember feeling like the environment was a pressure cooker. Everyone was serious. All the time. It felt as if everything might come crashing down as a result of who knows what kind of shoe catastrophy. SHOES!
What I realized back then (early 2000s) is this: You can have a serious business that you don’t take too seriously.
When we see our businesses as our everything, the intensity sucks out all the joy.
To reinstate the energy that passion brings into your business… laugh daily, have more fun and accept that your business is just one piece of your life and who you are.
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Experiencing the passion rollercoaster? I can help you get grounded and recentered in your business so that you're feeling more joy and ease more of the time.