Motivation?

[The_Fat_Boy]

what are who motivates you when you start dragging

sales start to drop, you get overwhelmed, hours are getting to long

what re-energizes you to kick it up a notch and get fresh

thank dennis

 

[brad_randall]

The thought of having to work for someone else again.

There’s a lot of responsibilities that come with ownership, but the ability to call your own shots make it all worth it.

 

[royster13]

Fear of working for the “man”…

 

[Deacon_V]

Ditto. We’re in for the whole game, no Plan B so my motivation is knowing I am responsible for not only my future, but my Son and his family, plus that of our 25 employees. It keeps you moving forward. I’ve been the worker bee before, then moved into ownership…sold out after 10 years and became worker bee again thinking I was done with the whole ownership thing. nope. I love being “the guy” in charge and for some sick reason evidently need that stress on me to keep the plates in the air. Hope to never see that change, at least for the coming 15 years, then I’ll be the “former owner who now sits on the beach and watches the sunsets”.

 

[j_r0kk]

Dennis,

Create a new challenge for yourself. Shoot for a record week. Those are always fun. Either way, just remember that you’re one of the few who’ve survived this crazy business. That in itself is something to be proud of.

 

[wa_dave]

Hi Jim. Great to see you back on the boards. Hope everything in your new non pizza life is going great and treating you well.

Dave

 

[Kris]

Coming to believe for me it is balancing the responsibilities at work, home, time off, etc. I think forcing ourselves to take time off when possible and not feel guilty for doing so. I tend to go nutso working and not taking the time off to feed the other areas in my life that are just as important as work.

Kris

 

[indie_pizza]

We’re in our second year of reviving a failing 15 year old Mom 'N Pop store. I feel what you are going through quite often.

I have a couple remedies that work for me. The best one is to “call in” by scheduling myself an abnormal day off and go spend the day with my 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter, usually matching one of my wife’s days off. We just have a family day and enjoy the liberty that being my own boss can offer. Or, my wife and I will leave the kids with family overnight and slip out of town for a break from all our responsibilities. We’re fortunate enough that her job more than covers any monetary needs we have.

Second, and this one may seem a little odd. I’m not a big health nut, but when I’m feeling really run down, I start a campaign to support my body. It’s a routine that I wish I wouldn’t fall out of so easy, but at least I can get myself to do stretches of it:

1. Drink a 32 oz glass of fat free milk with Ovaltine in it.
2. Dose myself with a daily multivitamin plus E, D, and fish oil
3. Dose myself with vitamin C during the day (don’t take at the same time as the others, the acidity destroys the other supplements.
4. Drink a 12 oz glass of water with 4-8 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract (again, don’t take with other supplements because of the acidity.)
5. I have a 8 1/2 minute Palates video that focuses on my back and abs.

 

[Piper]

That’s not odd at all indie. I’m willing to bet that when most people start “dragging” it’s because they’re not taking proper care of their diet and water intake, especially in the business we are in.

If you’re working a 12 hour day and not taking the time for proper meals you’re going to be ineffective. I actually bring all of my meals from home because I eat a lot healthier than what we serve in my restaurant (shhhhh) and a measured water bottle to ensure that I get enough water (1 gallon everyday.)

Business-wise, what keeps me motivated is the fact that we’re starting to make some substantial money after six years of blood, sweat, tears and the oft-felt fear that the light at the end of the tunnel was a freight train.

 

[Tom_Lehmann]

The stark realization that my butt was on the line, my financial future was in jeporady, my dreams were about to be shattered, and I was going to have to tell all of my employees that I had failed them, and if I didn’t do something about it, nobody else was going to. At least for me, those were some pretty sobering thoughts, and no matter how tired or defeated I felt, I was always able to come up with the strength to put another day, week, month behind me. Slowly but surely, I weathered out the storm, and finally began to make some real profits from the store. Then I hired a manager to take care of the little things, and all of the daily stuff, and life didn’t seem so bad afterall. Then I awoke from my dream…No, just kidding! LOL
It was a combination of reality, responsibility, pride, and fortitude that kept me going. The old saying about trial by fire comes to mind. If it doesn’t kill you it will make you stronger, and I might add, smarter.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor