A little thought on how music can help you run a better remodeling business. I promise, I don’t sing in this video, but you’ll hear some decent music…

“I am losing my motivation for the business and starting to not have patience with clients or employees.”

“I am losing motivation. MOTIVATE Me!!”

Each month, my Remodelers Circle members get some 1on1 time with me through something called a ‘Coaching Gym’ – they click a link and select a time for a 1on1 talk. When they fill out the request they answer this question:

“What specific topic would you like to discuss on our call? This is key to the meeting! Please list 1-2 topics below.”

Two of my remodelers this month had very similar answers to that – you see them above. Both have to do with losing motivation.

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As a business owner myself of 10 years, I know exactly what they’re feeling.

We work and work and work. Juggle employees, marketing, sales, financials, production, operations, home life – the to-do list is long.

Kiss the spouse. Hug the kids.

Play with the dog. Get some sleep.

Rinse and repeat the next day.

It can make us weary. We can lose motivation. We’ve all been there.

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I wrote up some ideas on what to do when you’re not motivated below – I hope you find one or two of them helpful:

One way to get motivated and to snap yourself out of a funk is to focus on WHY you do what you do.

Why do you enjoy running your business? Think about the freedom and advantages it gives you.

Focus on the people you’re able to serve. The excellent experience and results you’re able to deliver. Think about all of your great clients.

Think about the excellent remodeling work you accomplish every day. Take a little time to be proud of your work and what you’ve built with your business!

Focus on the employees and trade partners you have. What a gift! What’s something you can do today to show appreciation for them? When you show appreciation to others it usually helps you feel better too.

Maybe you’re not motivated because you’re not investing time in your faith. In study/journaling/prayer. Fix that.

Set-up a time to have lunch with a dear friend or family member. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break and having lunch with a loved one can help you regain perspective.

Maybe your health is crap right now. When you’re not exercising or eating well – you feel like crap. Your energy dips quickly. And that can hurt your motivation. If that’s you – improve that in a small way today.

Maybe it’s money/financials that are stressing you out, which drains and unmotivates you. “I work so stinking hard – where’s the money?” – If that’s the case set up a meeting with your bookkeeper or CPA or business coach. Get a good, clear understanding of where you’re at – and focus on a 30 or 60 day financial plan to improve your financial position. Baby steps.

Sometimes you need to just simplify things – review your to-do list and just pick ONE thing to focus on and knock out. Sometimes ‘eating your frog‘ can motivate you big time.

Maybe you just need to put some headphones on and play your favorite music for a bit to clear your head and get you ready to attack the day.

Lastly, and I touched on it a bit above – talk to someone about how you’re feeling. A trusted friend/family member. A fellow business owner (like I said above, we all go through phases where we’re feeling beat up and not motivated.)

Don’t be shy about replying back to this email and let’s shoot some emails back and forth or get on the phone for 10 minutes.

Hopefully there’s something in the list of ideas above that are helpful reminders for you today.

There are different times of the year that are natural to step back and take stock of how things are going and where you’re at.

New Year’s is a big one and so is Labor Day.

At Labor Day, you’re through a good portion of the year.

The summer is mostly in the rearview mirror and we get back into a more regular and consistent schedule.

Here are some questions to think about over this long Labor Day weekend:

1. You started the year with some clarity and big plans. When you think of your business – What’s working? What’s not working? Pull out a sheet of paper, slow down for a minute, and write some things out.

2. Your work/life balance – what is your plan for the next 30 days to improve it?

3. How’s the financial side of the business? Are there any expenses to cut? What are you going to invest in this fall?

4. Should you go into your estimating spreadsheet/system and increase things across the board 3%? 3% increase on $500,000 in revenue is $15,000. Small change, big result. It would change a $50,000 project to a $51,500 project. Your prospect won’t blink at that and the extra revenue will help you hit your financial goals.

5. What are you doing to become a better salesperson?

6. Encouragement and Accountability – are you lacking in either of these areas? Should you consider joining a mastermind group of your peers or hiring a business coach to help you?

7. Is there a hard decision you’ve been putting off? Maybe it’s an employee or trade partner you need to have a heart to heart with or let go of. Set a ‘next step’ and a deadline for when you will have the conversation or part ways with them.

8. What’s something you can do in September to feel more organized and in control of your business?

9. Look at your bookshelf – grab a book that you’ve been ‘meaning to read’ or that impacted you in the past – can you read 30 pages of it this weekend?

10. Should you talk to Kyle about your business and how he can help? If you’ve found my content helpful for a while, post Labor Day is a great time to talk. Reply back and just say ‘Let’s Talk’ and we’ll schedule a time to discuss you and your business and how I might be able to help.

Lastly – enjoy a 3-day weekend! You deserve it – you’ve been working hard.

But… When you get back to things on Tuesday – summer is behind us, kids are back in school, it’s time to recommit and kick some butt for the remainder of the year. Let’s go!