27 Vital Tips for Staying Positive

In this article, 27 business owners share their tips on how to stay positive as a business owner. Please share with all your friends and networks so everyone can benefit from this knowledge!

INVEST in your Knowledge

Invest in yourself and increase your knowledge bank to enable you to move to your next level of success.
Janice Davies Attitude Specialist

Worried Entrepreneurs? Five Simple Tips To Stay Positive

Staying positive in an Entrepreneurial game can be challenging. Here are the five simple steps to help worried entrepreneurs stay positive
Lalitha Brahma, Elbee Services, LLC

Surround Yourself with Beauty

Just like the practice of Feng Shui suggests, surround yourself with things that support you, your intentions, and your goals. Buy a plant with rounded leaves or a bouquet of flowers near your desk. Hang a painting that brings you peace, and choose soothing colors to surround you. These things will bring mental clarity and positive thoughts in your direction.
Michelle Hill, Winning Proof

The Power of Positive Influences

Surround yourself with an optimistic circle of friends and associates. Positive people can be uplifting, allowing you to see things differently and keeping you from floundering in negativity. Those around us can influence us – good and bad – just as we control them. So it is important to remember that we have the power to positively impact other people’s lives as much as our own. Be a positive influence, and it will be contagious.
Kelley Briggs, DesignWorks NY, LLC
www.designworksny.com

It’s All About Your Mindset

“Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” Henry Ford – Spend time and energy on developing positive self-esteem, a healthy emotional awareness, and a disciplined mind talk. Your mind talk is the most critical ingredient in having a positive outlook on life. It will be this that makes the most significant impact on whether you succeed in life and in business and, above all, give you the tools to enjoy the experience along the way.
Vanessa Davey, Venus Clubs NZ

Problem, No Problem

There is never a problem in small businesses, only the opportunity to learn and implement a profitable solution.
Ian Nye – Consultant

Sales Strategies for Hard Times

Sales and marketing organizations everywhere want to answer one question: “How can we sell our way out of trouble?” Doing more of what you’ve always done isn’t going to help. What works in good times may actually be counterproductive in hard times. Be proactive and read some of the latest sales strategies that work during challenging times in this whitepaper.
Ralph Vugts, Huthwaite Sales Performance

You are not alone

As small business owners, we can often become overwhelmed with the tasks that face us daily. We are, after all, the marketing department, the finance department, the HR department, and the technical expert. All these tasks can take their toll on us, leaving us feeling negative and wondering why we even decided to get into business. But wait! There is hope…
Jitesh (Jits) Doolabh

Celebrate Success

As a business owner, you will have successes and failures: some big and some small. It is important to celebrate every victory, whatever its size, and not let the losses get you down. Use failure to learn something new, a lesson on how to improve your business, so you are better prepared next time. Take the address, then move on.
Michael Smyth, Approachable Lawyer.com

“It Is What It Is”

It is not about denying the current situation but acknowledging today’s challenges and having an action plan to overcome them. Where we put our attention is all that matters. If our attention is on the following crucial action towards a solution, we are treading the path to success.
At this moment, I need nothing. There are, however, some situations I am going to change.
Ted Sweeney, Essence Lingerie Ltd

Learn from Your Mistakes

It is imperative to look at setbacks and difficult times in your business as golden opportunities to learn from and to help improve your business. Look at challenges as opportunities and not as stumbling blocks. Some of the biggest companies today are successful due to their ability to adapt, change and learn from their mistakes.
H.E.Muller, The Link Building Guy
com

Protect All Your Assets

You will have or use some intellectual property (copyright, trademarks, patents). Ensure that you know, protect and make the most of your intellectual property by confirming all arrangements in writing.

While the employer will own most of the employee’s work, the same does not happen with consultants, subcontractors, or outsourcers. Avoid infringing intellectual property laws.
Maria Anassutzi, Anassutzi & Co Limited legal & Business Strategists

Name Not too high not too low

The best tip I received was to be careful not to get too high when things are going well and not get too low when things are going badly. All businesses have peaks and valleys
Kevin Willett, Friends of Kevin

Create New Possibilities

Staying positive is about staying unstuck! The easiest way to get unstuck is to create change in the area of “stuckness” – it doesn’t have to be the ‘right’ and perfect change – just enough for us to see the situation differently! I like to ask, ‘What other possibilities could I consider here?’ and list at least ten. Our choice can always be for change rather than a challenge! (See link for more insights!)
Lisa Murray, Revive Business Coaching

Freedom to Choose

The one constant in your business is your particular set of values. You can choose to align yourself with companies that share a similar philosophy, allowing you to do your best work. It is harder to stick to your principles in a challenging economy than follow any dollar. But that’s when it is most empowering. That freedom to choose your “why, what, how, and with whom” will keep you going.
Jane Pellicciotto, Allegro Design

2011 Recession Business Survival Plan – Taking Positive Action

As we close 2010, we look back at the lessons learned and look forward to new opportunities. Below are critical points illustrated by among the most successful and intelligent people in their various businesses. Although their phenomenal business track records, few were untouched by the recent crisis. Here are some “lessons” we feel most important to examine for yourself as we tackle 2011 with positive momentum.
Ike Devji, Asset Protection Attorney

Keep the spirits up

When you visit an authentic Chinese health practitioner, the first thing they will do is check if there is still light and spirit in your eyes. If there is, that is the most important indication for the possibility of recovery. The best thing we can do for ourselves in times of difficulty is to keep our spirits up. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself happy and healthy to cope with whatever life throws at you.
Kim Knight, Tao Health

Follow Your Own Convictions

No matter what people say about the economy and how difficult it is, follow your own convictions and push forward with all your drive and intention to make something happen no matter what. Create opportunities and open doors for possibilities even when you think there is none. Don’t become complacent or comfortable. Think outside the box, look into other markets or knock on doors that perhaps you wouldn’t have in the past.
Bonnie Moss, President and Founder of Moss Networks, Inc.

Stay Positive by Staying Engaged

All business owners become discouraged – the operative phrase is “all business owners”. It’s imperative to engage with other business owners through social media networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook and talk about your issues. Get advice, commiserate, and share. By opening up and engaging, you help each other over the humps.
Tobey Deys, Lomotron Corp

How to make your year more positive than ever

As a successful business coach and accountant, I’ve shared these 2 quotes with my clients: * “Birds of a feather hang together” – surround yourself with positive people. Distance yourself from people who’ve nothing better to do than a complaint; * Think positively & banish negative thoughts. Don’t waste energy thinking negatively? The great man Henry Ford once proclaimed, “Whether you believe you can or can’t, either way, you’re right.”
Mark Gwilliam

The Recession Is Part Of The Journey Of Your Business

Adjust your profit expectations according to the condition of the economy. Remember that most businesses do not have the same level of profits they did when the economy was strong. The recession is a part of the journey of your business that can be a helpful lesson. Use this time to reflect upon the mission of your business and the value it brings to the community. The strategies you develop to survive and make daily progress can help your company flourish as the economy improves.
Sherry – The Perfect Pearl Place

Focus on your Strengths

Running your own business is hard work, and the amount of time, energy, and sheer perseverance should not be underestimated. It can also be lonely and isolated, so don’t focus on what happened. Learn yes, but focus on your strengths, take time to pat yourself on the back, recognize your achievements, how far you’ve come, and what you’ve learned, and then build on the positives.
Alison Page – Alison Page Marketing

Fall down 8 times, get up 9

I agreed with William Shakespeare when he said, “It is no good or bad, only thinking makes it so.”
Humans have always had two choices: react negatively or react positively. Both take the same energy and effort, but only one will be far more productive. You just need to make a choice. Believing yourself and backing yourself is infectious. If you do lose, don’t lose the lesson. Learn, apply and move on. You’ll be better at it. And remember: make things happen!
St John Craner, Distinct Marketing

What do you really feel?

Keeping positive in business is work!
You can train yourself to be positive, say daily affirmations, and draw pictures of your success to help maintain your positive attitude.
However, you also need to talk about the difficulties from time to time. Here is a tried and true process for de-briefing your feelings which will help you stay objective and positive.
John Faisandier, Managing Director, TUF: Thriving Under Fire

Celebrate, Connect, and Learn from Setbacks

1). Celebrate even small victories. When times are tough, it’s easy to get down on yourself. But to stay motivated, it’s crucial to recognize forward momentum in all ways. 2). Surround yourself with optimistic, inspiring people. Recharge by connecting with positive-minded colleagues, mentors, and up-and-coming talent. 3). Strive for constant improvement. See setbacks as bumps in the road rather than failures. Learn from them to make better decisions next time.
Karen Fojas Lee, Nomad Chique

When things go wrong, look at it as an opportunity

Look at setbacks as opportunities and focus on ways to improve your business rather than dwell on things not going to plan – some of our biggest successes have come about as a direct result of action taken after a failure. Finding someone like-minded to bounce ideas off and enthusiastic about the business can also be a great way to stay positive in tough times.
Louisa Currie from Belly Beyond

Join A Mastermind

Staying positive can be challenging for anyone. You need support. Find a good mastermind group that you can join. I’m not talking about your standard networking group but a high-end mastermind. They will give you fresh ideas and the support and motivation you need.
Ely Delaney – My Business Marketing Mentor

Keen to read more on remaining positive to get what you need from your business? See this article.