The Power of Small Wins: How Celebrating Milestones Can Keep You Motivated
Onboarded a new client? Got some great customer feedback? Raised your prices to reflect your true service value? All of these achievements call for celebration. Because, let’s be honest, running a business is tough. It’s exciting and rewarding, but it also comes with challenges.
By celebrating even the smallest of wins, you can give yourself recognition and remind yourself that you’re moving forward, one step at a time.
How can celebrating business milestones keep you motivated?
Running a business can feel like a bit of a rollercoaster, particularly as a freelancer or solopreneur, when all aspects of the day-to-day running are on your plate.
However, it can be helpful to think of your business journey as a linear rollercoaster, rather than a circular loop — yes, there are ups and downs, but momentum is always pushing you forwards.
Noting checkpoints along the way can help you recognise how far you’ve come.
By recognising these checkpoints or milestones, you can also:
Shift your mindset: It’s easy to find yourself focusing on the negatives, such as a quiet month, a missed deadline, or other roadblocks. Celebrating your wins can help you reframe these challenges as learning opportunities and the chance to grow.
Enjoy a dopamine hit: Seeing the fruits of your labour can also trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that creates a feeling of pleasure and reward. This ‘happy hormone’ can have a motivating effect, encouraging you to repeat behaviours that led to its release.
Increase focus: Reflecting on achievements and business milestones can also create a sharper sense of focus, reminding you that every small action contributes to your larger goals.
Greater clarity allows you to prioritise tasks that align with your business vision, creating a sense of motivation, even during slower or more challenging periods.
For more motivation tips, take a look at our guide on how to stay focused when you’re pulled in a million directions.
It’s also worth noting that teams can benefit from recognition and celebration, too. So whether you fly solo, have a team of freelancers, or work in a partnership, acknowledging achievements and milestones can do wonders for morale and reinforce goals.
How to identify business milestones to celebrate
Some business milestones may seem obvious. The day you launch your website, register a limited business, or reach a certain income can be clear-cut achievements. But not all wins are officially documented.
You may find it helpful to identify bite-sized milestones along the way. Start by noting down your overall goal. What’s the big driver behind your business?
Once you have that, break it down into smaller, more manageable achievements.
Do you want to reach a certain number of clients on your books? Let’s say you want 10 recurring clients. This big goal can be split into a range of smaller wins that build up to it, so try working backwards…
Securing 10 permanent client contracts
Securing five permanent client contracts
Getting great feedback from your first three clients
Getting your first permanent client
Having your first discovery call with a prospective client
Sending out messages to 10 potential clients
Going to your first networking event
Putting together an outreach message
Pinning down your elevator pitch
And so on
What do you find challenging?
You may also want to look at the areas you personally find challenging.
Tailor your business milestones to your way of working so that when you celebrate those achievements, it delivers a genuine feeling of satisfaction and progress that resonates with you.
Perhaps you tend to take on far too much work at once and find yourself reaching burnout. A great win to celebrate is finally taking the leap and delegating or outsourcing to lighten your workload and focus on the areas of your business you truly love. You might reach out to an accountant to take on your finances or hire a freelance virtual assistant to handle administrative tasks.
If you’ve been nervous about networking, then celebrate logging onto an online coworking session or attending an in-person event. It might seem scary at first, but once you’ve done it, you’ll see that you’ve overcome a huge challenge, and this sense of achievement can boost your motivation.
Celebrate your wins and stay motivated
How you reflect on and celebrate your achievements is really down to you! Whether you share an update on social media, clock off early, or treat yourself to a cuppa and a slice of cake, recognising and marking your achievements can provide a welcome motivation boost.
For more motivation and productivity tips, explore the Bizzybee blog. And if you need a hand with social media, e-commerce management, admin assistance or accountability, see how a creative virtual assistant can help lessen the load while you focus on growing your business.
