Finding the motivation from within

So as part of my 101 things was to write an article. I'm not sure whether I meant to write an article to a published magazine but I thought I'd have a go at covering one of the talks at the London Business Startup Show which was held on 20-21 May.

I haven't got a business idea in mind but thought I would attend the expo to see what they had to say about starting up a new business. There are a bunch of exhibitors covering services for small business as well as informational stands on how to register your company name, and organisations that you can join etc.

While I'm waiting, I have to admit, these conference chairs aren't too comfy. They recline a bit too much that I feel like I'll fall back. Ok, we’re starting now…

Finding the motivation within

The presentation that I decided to cover was “Finding the Motivation Within” which was presented by Bradley Chapman (founder of Raw Business- The Entrepreneur Network)

One of the key things in business is motivation - without motivation, we'd be in big trouble. During Chapman’s life, he’d experience business highs and business lows with good things and positive outcomes and stupid things with poor outcomes. Operating a business is a wave of emotion.

Chapman had been through lots of adversity, and feels that unless you feel that pain, you don't realise how much pain you need to get through to get back up. If you're thinking about getting into business without that adversity, you'd be constantly concerned about giving up.

Having a salary is your guaranteed money but these will play on your mind when you're starting a new business.  Chapman is frank - being an entrepreneur can be a truly awesome experience but it can also take you down to the depths of despair.

Motivation is everything BUT how do you find your motivation, keep it, and get it again when you've lost it?

Chapman believes that you need these 7 things to keep your motivation:

1. Belief
2. Courage
3. Determination
4. Vision
5. Making decisions
6. Taking action
7. Never Giving in

(and not necessarily in that order!) These could be dealt with at any time during your business career.

Then he makes us go and get connected. He shows us in 60 seconds how to do it. Well basically tells us we need to meet two people – starting NOW! We do a bit of speed networking. WOW! So I meet the person next to me and the person behind me. It's a rush of 30 seconds of pretty much saying your name and what you do and why you're here. 

Chapman stresses how important networking is, and that people make assumptions about those around them. E.g I could assume that everyone here is looking to start a business. He managed to speak to someone in the audience that is looking to do import and export in China, then gives him a contact to meet.

BIG money should not be a key factor for your motivation. There is another way. He shows a slide with a figure of a penny.

"Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"

What he means is that every journey starts with one small step. Doors are meant to be opened so open them, do it every day until you do it naturally without thinking.

This guy is DYNAMIC and was great at getting the crowd going – we all left feeling pretty motivated and to top it off he hands us a penny to get us started.