One of the biggest issues that many small business owners are likely to face over the course of the year is that it’s difficult to keep going as hard as possible every day for months on end. Motivation and energy wax and wane, and that can hurt a company’s productivity overall. But many small business experts say that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

And when it comes to keeping employees motivated, excited, and (most importantly) productive, that’s often something that comes from the top down, according to a report from Venture Burn. Entrepreneurs may need to be a little more conscious of what they’re projecting to their workers, especially if owners or supervisors been asking a lot of their employees in recent weeks. Many owners may feel they need to work long hours to accomplish their goals, and that can wear on employees who might feel bad leaving before their bosses do.

However, entrepreneurs who take greater efforts to make sure they’re getting as much work as possible done while they’re actually in the office, but then make it a point to go home at a reasonable time, might see a better return on their time investment, the report said. This means avoiding distractions such as social media or texting, for instance. And while that kind of value might be hard to pass along to employees full stop, setting an example could start to go a long way.

Rely on each other
In addition to all that, it might be important to give workers something of a stake in how their fellow employees perform their jobs, the report said. While this doesn’t mean punishing everyone if one person makes a mistake, it can be helpful for owners who want to ensure people are encouraging one another by being more demonstrable with praise and feedback in the workplace. An owner saying, “Good job,” to an employee for a well-done project could encourage others to do the same, and make everyone feel a bit more like a working community.

Working more closely with employees could boost productivity.Working more closely with employees could boost productivity.

Mixing things up
Finally, it can be very easy for small businesses to get stuck in something of a routine as they set quarterly or annual goals, and work feverishly to exceed them, the report said. And while ruts are common for employees, they shouldn’t be for a whole company. As such, it might be incumbent upon owners to make sure they’re doing all they can to inject new routines into old practices whenever possible, so that workers feel like they’re doing something novel and exciting even when the goals they’re trying to achieve are effectively unchanged.

The more owners can do to make sure their companies are productive, the better off they’re going to be in the long-term. Often, that includes having a more complete and solid financial plan that will allow them significant flexibility to grow in the months and years to come.