Business owners and entrepreneurs are a special bunch of motivated people. It takes a lot of guts to start a business and a lot of fortitude to keep it running and growing successfully. However, for some reason, the same group of people also seem to forget to take time out to celebrate. I’m not talking about the big wins like a job promotion or your first 5 figure sale. I’m talking about celebrating the little things too. Right now life is hard. Between the COVID-19 Pandemic, lockdowns, varying political views and life in general, people are dealing with a lot. Celebrating success is that much more important when you combine all the factors.
Why you need to be celebrating success more often
Some people don’t see the point in celebrating small milestones or achievements. Some owners believe that celebrating small achievements is a distraction from the larger goal and can be pointless. I’m not going to go into talking about Dopamine and other happy brain chemicals since I’m no scientist. However, I believe celebrating small successes and wins does more good than harm and here are a few reasons why.
- Celebrating success boosts morale
This one is super simple. Celebrating makes everyone happy. It gives everyone a reason to take a break, forget about the stresses of work, and focus on something positive, even if only for a little while. - Celebrating success is a great tool for positive reinforcement.
If you want someone to repeat something they did well one of the best ways to do it is by celebrating their previous achievement. - Celebrating milestones makes bigger goals more achievable
One of the problems with setting goals is that many people think they need to make goals huge. Why is it a problem? Because people tend to make their goals so big that they seem overwhelming and end up somewhat giving up on achieving them. Breaking large goals into more manageable chunks you can celebrate makes them seem less daunting.
If you want more tips on setting smart goals check out our recent blog post ‘Forget Resolutions. Let’s Talk Goals!‘
What to celebrate
Here are some ideas of events and milestones you can celebrate in your service-based business
- First client booked
- Website launched
- Hiring your first employee
- Hiring a new employee
- Business anniversaries (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. )
- Opening a new location
- 100th client
- First successful Webinar
How to celebrate
If you have a team treat them to a party or reward them with some sort of special treats. Try a local bakery. If most of your team is remote consider having some sort of online celebration like a games night. There are lots of online gifting companies or local promotional companies that can put your logo on gifts, electronics or apparel. Maybe a nice company hoodie, jacket or wireless Bluetooth speaker. Get creative with it.
Don’t have a team? Celebrate with a loved one or close friend.
Reflect and adjust Plans for the Future
Acknowledging and celebrating success and achievements give you a perfect opportunity to improve your business and its processes.
What did it take to achieve this particular success?
What can you do to make it easier to repeat?
What can you do to not lose momentum?
Overall, businesses that want to grow need to know how to celebrate success and learn from the experience just as much as they need to learn from failures. So I have to ask, do you think you are celebrating enough?
