Journaling for Entrepreneurs: 40 Business Savvy Prompts

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Last Updated on February 8, 2023

So, you’re working on your business: maybe you’re just starting out, maybe you haven’t started yet, or maybe you’re a seasoned pro with many years under your belt! No matter where you’re at right now, reflecting on your creative endeavor is immensely important for your success.

Journaling for entrepreneurs is a practice you need to add to your business routine. Like, ASAP.

Just as you might check in with yourself on a personal level, assessing your goals and self-growth, the same should be done for your professional life. Every so often, you should be evaluating the actionable steps you plan to take to further your business and improve your strategies.

But if you’re unsure where to start, these business journal ideas are your guide!

This post is all about journaling for entrepreneurs so you can maximize your business growth simply through the act of reflection. You’ll learn how to re-shape your mindset and crack down on important ideas, all while journaling for success in your business.

Why is Journaling Important for Entrepreneurs?

You’ll find that journaling brings out a lot of innovative and useful business ideas. Journaling is known to drive the creative entrepreneurial process and direct your energy toward self-reflection and reflecting on your business as a whole.

As an entrepreneur myself, I have all these great ideas but sometimes no idea how to go about implementing them! This can feel super overwhelming and can even lead to “analysis paralysis” where you’re so inundated with information that you get stuck and don’t take any action at all.

Journaling, no matter the topic, provides mental clarity. This is probably the biggest benefit to journaling because you can organize and prioritize your thoughts and even arrive at new conclusions and paths to making your dreams a reality.

Benefits of Journaling for Business

Aside from mental clarity, you’ll also find journaling for entrepreneurs to help you with things like…

Tracking your progress against key performance indicators
Stimulates new, fresh, innovative ideas
Decision-making
Prioritizing business tasks
Working through roadblocks in your business
Brainstorming game plans for creating new products, services, etc.

All very productive benefits! Beyond the day-to-day running of your business, journaling can also help you work through internal problems related to your success, too. Having an outlet to express any negative feelings like self doubt or imposter syndrome is a powerful emotional benefit to journaling for entrepreneurs as well.

Business Journal Ideas

So, just what exactly are some of the things you can write in your journal when reflecting on business? Here are some thought-provoking business journal ideas to give you some direction.

Going back to your “why” behind your business. Why did you get started in the first place? Has that vision or intention changed since?
Expectations vs. reality of your business. When you start a new business, your preconceived notions about what a business really entails can be very different from reality. When I started my blogging business, I thought I could write about anything I wanted and people would just come read it. Nope! It requires so much more strategy and evaluation than that.
Who are your customers? And has your target demographic changed over time? I used to target primarily young, college-aged women. Mostly because I had freshly graduated college myself. Now I speak more to women in the 25-35 age range and it just makes more sense for my business.
Your business goals and dreams. Both short-term and long-term. What can you realistically achieve in these time frames, and what would you hope to achieve?
A highlight reel of all your business wins. When times get tough and business comes to a seasonal lull, the worst thing you can do is let that drive your decision-making. Instead, take this time to make a list of all your business wins, both big and small.

Let these ideas get you thinking about all the ins and outs of your business!

Journaling for Success: Getting Into the Business Mindset

First off, what comes to mind when you think of what it means to have a business mindset?

I know I think of someone who exudes confidence. Someone with drive, ambition, and discipline for what they do in order to make their dream happen. It’s someone who recognizes the value they bring to the market and goes about their business with certainty that it will grow and succeed.

Most of all, a business mindset is very akin to a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is the belief that you always have the ability to grow, change, develop new skills, and overcome setbacks. This is opposed to a fixed mindset, where you let self-doubt and insecurity stifle your success and hold you back from reaching your full potential.

This concept can be applied personally for self-growth, but also to your business for business growth.

As you browse through these prompts and ideas on journaling for entrepreneurs, you’ll get the hang of shifting into this business mindset yourself!

Which Entrepreneur Daily Journal is Best for You?

You can keep things as simple as a basic notepad and paper, or feel super put-together with a dedicated business journal. Your journal of choice is a personal decision, so browse through these journals and grab the best fit for you!

1. Erin Condren Journal

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Erin Condren has been a long time favorite brand of mine! Their planners and notebook quality is so on point. My favorite part is having the little special touch of having your name on the front. (You could even use your business name!)

What’s Inside:

Choose between five distinct layouts:

Classic lined with college ruled lines
Productivity with college ruled lines, plus a functional task list
5mm Dot Grid with an open layout
Priorities and Notes layout
Graph paper

2. Moleskine Classic Notebook

GRAB IT HERE

You can’t go wrong with a trusty Moleskine notebook. These come in so many colors, so choose whatever suits you or your business! This is another plain, lined journal, so it’s perfect for using your journal prompts from this post.

What’s Inside:

Durable cover & elastic closure
192 pages for all of your daily writing needs
Thick, ivory paper pages perfectly textured for any pen
High quality and built to last

3. Five Minute Journal

GET IT HERE

The Five Minute Journal is SUCH a staple for both personal and professional development alike. The great thing about it is that it’s a guided journal with super-short prompts meant to be done in just 5 minutes a day, like the name says. Perfect for the busy entrepreneur like you!

What’s Inside:

Weekly challenges
Morning gratitude
Daily highlights
Inspirational quotes
Daily affirmation
Self-reflection

4. Hatch: The Notebook for Makers & Entrepreneurs

SHOP SMALL ON ETSY

Designed specifically with entrepreneurs in mind, the Hatch notebook is a 3-step system to brainstorm, keep track of your ideas, evaluate their merits, decide which ones to pursue, and then plan and execute, turning dreams into reality. Perfect for really working through all your business goals and ideas!

What’s Inside:

CONCEIVE – Space to generate and organize ideas into a nice little table of contents
INCUBATE – Evaluate your ideas for feasibility and personal excitement
HATCH – Develop an idea into a fully formed concept, plan action steps, and execute.

If you want to get even more organized, I have a whole list of the best planners for entrepreneurs also worth taking a look at!

Journaling for Entrepreneurs

If you’re ready to think like a true entrepreneur and reflect on your personal & professional goals, you’re in the right place! Allow these prompts on journaling for entrepreneurs to guide your creative process and get you amped.

40 Inspiring Journal Prompts for Entrepreneurs

What was your “why?” when you first started? Has that “why?” evolved?
In the last year, what is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about your business?
Is there any part of your business you could use more knowledge on? (The legal side, technical side, marketing side)
What ideas or projects are you most excited about?
What are the pros of being a business owner instead of an employee?
What are the cons of being a business owner instead of an employee?
What is your most recent milestone?
What gets you most fired up to work on your business each day?
What setbacks have you encountered so far and how did you overcome them?
How do you react when business is slow or you hit a seasonal lull?
How are you making time for self care as a busy entrepreneur? What self care activities do you do?

In what ways do you think your business will grow this year?
What type of business planner or time management system do you use? Is it working well?
Who is someone in your industry/field/niche that inspires you?
What was your latest “aha” moment or big realization?
What is a little “win” you experienced today?
What is a limiting belief that’s impacting your business success?
In what ways do you have fun with your business?
What has your business taught you about yourself and your character traits?
List your top 5 business goals for the year.
Discuss how you’ll go about achieving each of these 5 business goals.

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Tired of setting goals but never seeming to follow through? Unsure how to set goals that work in the first place?

My Printable Goal Planner alleviates all of that by helping you set, plan, AND actually achieve the right goals for your life and business! Jam-packed with 25 pages to brainstorm, plan, and demolish your goals + get your habits in check!

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If you had unlimited time, what would you get finished?
What would you do if you had no fear or self-doubt?
What is one thing you can do to improve your conversions?
What is one way you can better connect with your audience/customers?
What are you avoiding right now in your business?
Which area or task could you improve your time management on?
What was your biggest challenge last month?
What do you think will be your biggest challenge this or next month?
Which quarter do you experience the slowest business in?
Is there anything you can do to improve business in that quarter?
What has been your biggest mindset block lately?
What positive affirmations do you say to yourself to feel empowered in your business?

What is one mistake you made early on in your business? Does it still affect you today?
What is something you’ve been meaning to do but keep putting off? Why?
How can you ensure you prioritize your work-life balance?
When was the last time you did something outside your comfort zone?
What is the most helpful piece of business advice or feedback you’ve received?
How did things look this time last year?
Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Final Thoughts on Journaling for Entrepreneurs

Checking in with yourself and your business through journaling is a great way to identify your challenges, goals, and accomplishments. Make sure to take the time to pause and reflect periodically throughout the year to see where your business is at and where you want to take it.

I hope these tips and prompts on journaling for entrepreneurs gave you some enlightenment about your professional life!

Keep on doing what you’re doing!