How do small business owners stay motivated?

Dear Professor Bruce: I am a small business owner. I am president, vice president, sales manager, treasurer and at times I even sweep the floor. The pressures can be overwhelming. How do I stay motivated?This situation is certainly not unique to you. Most small business owners face the same issues. The good news is that something can be done, and there is something that you can do. David Cottrell, author of Monday Morning Choices (Harper Collins) offers five actions that will help you keep motivated and enjoy your success.1. Determine what are the "main things" in your business. Everything is not important, but everything takes time and adds stress. Once you determine the true priorities for your business, spend your time doing those things and let someone else do the rest.2. Surround yourself with positive people. Positive attitudes makes us happier, more productive and more successful. Some people chose to be negative because they don't realize they have the power to be positive or perhaps they enjoy feeling sorry for themselves. When you hire, make sure that you consider how much time you are going to be spending with that person. Hire nice people, you cannot train nice. A negative, cynical person on your team will drag everyone down.3. Do something different. To achieve success, you have to make the choice to do something different. Never be content with the status quo. The status quo may be comfortable, but you cannot improve while you are in the rut of doing the same things over and over.4. Involve others. People want to be involved in making decisions. Allow them the opportunity to help you and they will become more accountable for your success.5. Give back. The most effective way to stay motivated is to give something back. You can become a mentor for a young person, or use your influence to help raise money for a local cause. There are hundreds of ways to give back to your community. Giving back will energize you and relieve some of the pressures of your business.For further information, please visit www.CornerStoneLeadership.com.Bruce Freeman is president of ProLine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Livingston, NJ and author of Birthing the Elephant (Ten Speed Press). E-mail questions to Bruce(at)SmallBusinessProf.com.