The business world is hardly ever without its challenges. Smooth sailing only lasts so long and before you know it, sunny days are gone and the storm has arrived. Don't lose hope! Here are 5 ways you can weather the storm together as a team and come out stronger on the other side.

1. Educate Your Team
Take advantage of the dozens of educational websites that offer free e-courses to help you and your team brush up on your skills. You can find classes on everything from "How To Develop Breakthrough Products and Services" (ocw.mit.edu) to "Diesel Engine Basics" (alison.com). Sometimes learning a new skill can inspire you to find solutions to problems that are weighing you down.

2. Motivate Your Team
We have found one of the best ways to get that motivation back when the stormy weather washes it away is to watch motivational talks on YouTube. Channels such as TED, Goggins Video, and Lion of Judah are just a few of the  dozens of YouTube channels that offer motivational videos for just about every situation. Gather your team, pass out the snacks, and get ready to get pumped up!

3. Challenge Your Team 
Sometimes the best way to weather a storm is by rising to meet the challenge. Set goals for your team to meet, individually and together, then reward them for meeting those goals. We run a family business so it's easy to reward meeting goals: if we finish the work on time, we take the kids out for pizza and bowling! Other times, we celebrate conquering a tough challenge by sitting quietly on our front porch, watching the sunset, and enjoying a hot cup of tea. However you want to celebrate, meeting those challenges can be very motivating and helps keep people engaged in the fight.

4. Nurture Your Team
I don't know about you but when someone treats me to an iced coffee, it really lifts my spirits.  Sometimes you have to treat your team to something that is designed to relax or energize them, like lunch out or a big bowl of candy in the break room. We all like to be given treats and when times are tough, sometimes those treats are amazing at keeping people going.

5. Laugh With Your Team
One of our favorite things to do is share memes with each other. Laughing is one of the best medicines for a tough time and when you can laugh it lets everyone relax and refocus on the problem at hand. What inside jokes do you share as team? Can you recall a time in the past when you thought a situation was a disaster but turned out to be pretty funny? Sometimes all you have to do is lighten up in order to bravely face the turmoil ahead.

You can do this! Weathering the storm together means that when the clouds eventually recede and the sunny weather returns, your team will be stronger and wiser and ready for the next storm.

Welcome to our new weekly blog, Bridge Builder. 
We'll be sending out articles, pictures, quotes, and anything else to help you stay motivated and inspired so that you can focus on creating a company you can be proud of. It takes a team to build a successful business. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your team.