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Mike Michalowicz's Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog often asks readers about their insights on various subjects, not unlike this site. Then all this entrepreneurial wisdom is compiled into a blog post. Anyways there recently was post about "How To Survive The Entrepreneur’s Dark Days": You are not alone. Every entrepreneur has dark days. I mean days of ...

I find it best to surround myself with other entrepreneurs who are still excited about their ventures. Talk to them about their stuff. Enthusiasm is infectious. Plus whatever they're doing might inspire you with a new idea that gets you refocused. Tell them how you're feeling and get a pep talk. We have all experienced the funk! Which means we can play ...

I'll answer with a quote that's commonly misattributed to Goethe, but it's powerful and accurate regardless of who said it: Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment ...

Coming from UX corner, I may have some interesting links for you towards price and decision making. Its actually more targeting marketing, like how to sell stuff, but nevertheless giving you some research insights (and links to docs) of how price tags affect decision. Pricing Experiments Impact of Number Formats Power of Comparision Anchoring, Ordering, ...

"If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." Antoine de Saint-Exupery I've found the best "motivation" is to treat your employees like the smart adults they are. They become demotivated when they are treated like worker bees. ...

It's a snake-oil. Of course you need to set goals and think hard about how to achieve them. But seriously, that's not news to anyone, is it? Read this more well put criticism about the book. If you need a good self help book, I recommend How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie, Winning by Jack Welch or anything by Peter Drucker, ...

The best way to get out of a down is to get a good review from a user/customer. That's like a shot of nitro into your engine. One thing you understand after a few years of entrepreneurship is that you simply can't work 100% of your time. When you're down, take a break from the business for a couple of days, meet people socially, play video games, watch ...

It's success is simple: it caters to the egoist in everyone. Anyone who thinks that you can wish your problems away through "positive thinking" is engaging in self-delusion and laziness. It helps you delude yourself with the idea that you don't actually have to do anything, just think it. If it didn't work, well, you didn't think hard enough obviously, ...

Best advice: Do something you love. Otherwise, there's a bunch of strategies and practices out there. If you google for this stuff you'll find quite a lot and there are plenty of books too. I couldn't possibly cover this whole area fully but I can give an overview of some of the stuff I've encountered. In The Now Habit, author Dr. Neil Fiore talks about a ...

I've been in business for 11+ years and have definitely suffered from burn-out from time to time. Savor your rituals. For me this starts with a freshly brewed cappuccino each day. It is a moment of bliss that I savor and that helps me focus for the next 2-3 hours. Be realistic and acknowledge that you are burnt out. Don't allow yourself to go off on a new ...

Being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle. Downtime really does not exist. You may get in a funk because of a particular nasty day but that's just part of the lifestyle. As a lifestyle, you have to mix the working, the playing and the family all together. Getting that balance right takes time and effort. It comes down to the individual and what they want out of ...

There are many ways to reward an employee without having to give them cash in terms of a bonus or a raise. The tricky part about giving a reward is that you immediately set a precedent for everyone else, so whatever you do, make sure it is repeatable and widely applicable so that no one feels left out. Somethings I like to do for rewards include: Public ...

Two reasons: One believes they are good enough to make it on their own (they count on their business, managerial, and technical skills to yield them a better income/satisfaction level than a 'regular' company. Some people aren't very good at being told what to do. A lot of startups are run by very headstrong people.

I think what you want to do is start with this article and then use the laws and papers it references to do further research. it does mention the Benford's Law, Price Points and other methods of pricing your products to psychologically entice the consumers.

Ever heard about E-Myth? From Onstartups: Years ago Michael Gerber coined the the term E-Myth, referring to the entrepreneurial myth of people going into business to do what they love, only to realize that 80% of the business has nothing to do with their passion--but instead with building and running a company. This often results in ...

Good answers above but at the absolute most basic, pat people on the back and tell them when they've done a good job. It's amazing how often this doesn't happen. And it's amazing how good it makes people feel. But make it genuine, not phony, not for something that wasn't really all that good.

Ah, the balance of instrinsic and extrinsic motivation. IMO, this is one of the challenges, and part of the package, to becoming a good leader. If you have some extra time to read a worthwhile book I would recommend, "The Leadership Challenge", written by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. It's an easy read and offers relevant information. Shawn

The dangers of offering monetary rewards cannot be overstated, although there may be (occasional) times when this is appropriate. It's a fine balance... Setting precedent for expectations of rewarding other employees is certainly a problem - you run the risk that others will misjudge the worth of their own contributions, and then be resentful that they were ...

Well, sometimes when I think it is painful to do something, I motivate myself by thinking the alternative is more painful, for example . To succeed is painful, but not to is more painful . To startup a company is painful, but work for someone else forever is more painful . Talk to that accounting dude on the phone is painful, but the consequence of not to ...

When the funk sets in it's a great opportunity to get excited again. It means you are ready for change. Think about what new service or product you could add that would be exciting and pursue it like it's your first day on the job. If you are still excited about your offerings but the depression is all about cash then you need to look at your current ...

For me the following keeps me motivated keep in mind that I have not launched yet so my motivation is to get to the launch date. 1) Do something you love (Huge it keeps you going when you have doubt, burn out) 2) Get a client involved even if they don't pay for it. (It provides feedback but it also gives you the psychological kick that somebody else sees ...

When experiencing "downtimes" I stop thinking on my startup and go play with my kids, maybe go for a walk with them, bicycle, to the movies or something like that. They are my medicine, and when I see them smile and laugh... man, that recharges my batteries every time =). Now, if you don't have kids, I suggest you try to surround with people that cares ...