How to keep motivated, when numbers are boring!
It’s no secret that I love working with numbers and that I love working with business owners in relation to their numbers, but I am very much aware that it’s not for everybody. Well at least not at that level. And whilst I’ve made it my mission to help business owners become more familiar with working with the numbers and more comfortable with that side of the business it still becomes a challenge for those that don’t naturally love working with numbers. So what can you do to stay motivated in this area of your business?
1. First and foremost, I would suggest breaking down the information into smaller pieces and tackle one at a time.
It’s just like everything else in your world, when you start to exercise for the first time after a long time you don’t set out to run a marathon on your very first time out. You pace yourself. You make a plan to build up to running a marathon, and you measure your success along the way. It’s the same when working with numbers in your business. Don’t set out to tackle everything all at once, make a plan as to what you want to achieve and then find the information in your business that will help you achieve that. In this instance you’re not reviewing every bit of your financial information at once, you’re gathering the information that matters and keeps you motivated to achieve your desired outcome.
2. Set yourself some realistic goals
If you’re anything like me I love it when I am able to cross something off my list to do. It gives me the satisfaction that I’ve achieved something I set out to achieve, no matter how small the task. Setting financial goals are much the same. Start small but be very clear on the goal and the tasks that are required to achieve that goal. You’ll find then that the focus is on achieving the goal and not on the number itself. Hence keeping you motivated when you tick off each task needed to achieve the goal, the ultimate satisfaction of reaching the end point every single time.
3. Measure the success of your financial numbers
As business owners I’m assuming we are all driven by success in our business whether it be financial success or overarching business successes. But success can only be achieved through measurement. It’s through measurement that we are aware of how many units we’ve been able to sell the product or service. It’s through measurement that we are able to gauge on how popular our product or service is. So therefore, having the appropriate financial measurements in place will keep you motivated to ensure their successes.
4. Learn to shift your mindset about your financial information
The problem isn’t that you don’t understand your financial information, the problem actually is with how much confidence you view your financial information. When we tackle the notion that our financial reports are too difficult to understand and view them more as an extension of our business, you’ll find that you’ll see your numbers differently. Whilst is this won’t happen overnight, it will happen, but not without a real commitment to the process of understanding more what your financial information can do for you. And I guarantee that once you an earth its power, it’ll be hard to look away.
I have a passion for numbers purely because I can see how understanding them really changes the outcome of the business. I don’t say this to add workload when as business owners we already have enough going on. I say it because staying motivated in this area of your business you will find that you’ll be able to achieve so much more as a business owner and you had before. And it will empower you to have complete control over the outcomes of your business decisions.
