Do you fail to update your financials or regularly check your key performance indicators (KPIs)?

No? You’re not alone! This is often the case for many business owners.

However, they do usually check ‘some’ aspects of their numbers or have ‘some’ processes in place.

They often forget to stop and celebrate what’s working, rather than just focusing on what needs to be done or is broken.

For example, that new client you signed up after six months of relationship-building. Or that first month end or management accounts you ran without a single issue.

The successful delivery of a tricky project, on time, and under budget, or achieving a higher profit margin than last quarter.

These aren’t headlines or viral LinkedIn posts.

They’re important wins and they do matter, but they often go past without much fuss or celebration.

Remembering to give then a tiny bit of praise, even in your own mind as a business owner is important, because it shapes how you see your business and how you run it.

We’re taught to chase the ‘next’

There’s an established culture in business that says:

Keep moving forward at all costs. Don’t pause. Don’t look back. Keep climbing. Keep achieving. Bigger. Faster. More. Better.

You finish a project, sign a new retainer or hit your revenue goal and immediately move the goalposts. Onto the next…

And whilst ambition can be a powerful force, and arguably necessary in the competitive capitalistic environment we operate in, it can also trick you into thinking:

• “This isn’t a real win.”
• “It’s not enough yet.”
• “Other businesses are doing more.”
• “I’ll feel proud when I hit my goal.”

But that mindset trains your brain to only register what you’re missing, rather than the progress you’re making.

Over time, this can have the inadvertent effect of wearing down your confidence, motivation, and enjoyment of the business you’re working so hard to build.

You forget how far you’ve come.

You start making decisions from stress, not strategy.

And you stop feeling in control, no matter what the numbers say or how much you and your team are achieving.

That’s why celebrating small wins can change everything.

What do we mean by ‘small wins’?

A small win is any meaningful sign of progress, however modest, towards your business goals.

That might be:

• Sending a proposal, you’ve been putting off
• Receiving unsolicited client praise
• Finding and fixing a process bottleneck
• Outsourcing something for the first time
• Paying yourself a regular salary
• Going a whole week without logging in after 8 pm
• Managing to find time for a short holiday or break

None of these show up on Companies House, but they’re the things that keep your business running and enable you to grow continuously and develop personally.

Recognising small wins regularly gives you a more realistic, motivating, and sustainable view of success.

And the businesses that grow best over time? They’re the ones that track all kinds of progress and KPI’s, not just profit.

The science backs it up

Celebrating small wins isn’t just about the ‘warm and fuzzy’, ‘feel good factor’, it’s supported by solid psychology.

Research by former Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile found that the single biggest motivator at work isn’t money, prestige, or even purpose.

It’s making progress on meaningful work.

Even small progress lights up the brain’s reward system, triggering dopamine and reinforcing motivation.

In other words, the more you notice the progress you’re making, the more motivated you become to keep going, and to find new areas to progress in.

This is called the progress principle and it applies just as much to running your business as it does to team dynamics.

When you don’t acknowledge the steps you’ve taken, everything feels like an uphill battle. But when you do, the climb becomes clearer and easier.

Why it matters financially, too

This isn’t just about mindset. Celebrating small wins can also strengthen your finances. Because achieving financial success isn’t a single big leap, it’s a series of small steps that build on each other over time.

Tracking and acknowledging these steps helps you:

• See patterns that are working, and stop those which aren’t
• Build internal confidence and external credibility
• Stick with long-term strategies that take time to show results
• Stay engaged and proactive, even when you don’t feel like it

In real life, let’s say you’re working on increasing profitability.

You make a few small, conscious changes:

• You shift two low-margin clients to new pricing
• You automate part of your invoice workflow
• You cut a software subscription you barely use

Individually, none of these feels game-changing, but if you notice and acknowledge them as small wins, financial and strategic, you’re more likely to keep going, refine your approach, and make better decisions going forwards. That’s momentum. And it compounds.

The hidden ROI of a celebration mindset

Here’s what else tends to shift when you start celebrating small wins regularly:

1. You take more thoughtful risks

Success breeds confidence. Even noticing that you handled a VAT issue faster than last time can remind you, “I can figure this out.” You’re then less likely to stop avoiding the hard stuff next time around.

2. You communicate more clearly

When you track your wins, you understand your value better and can articulate it to clients, teams, and investors more clearly.

3. You lead better

If you’re growing a team, celebrating small wins sets a cultural tone. It shows people their work matters and builds trust, without relying on shallow company perks or pressure from above.

4. You enjoy the journey more

Your business becomes a place of progress, not pressure. It sounds cliché, but it drives innovation and moves your business forwards. Because people who enjoy their work, do better at it.

So how do you do it? (Practically speaking.)

Celebrating small wins isn’t about going OTT with excessive praise or a party every week. This can undermine the achievements themselves.

But it is about building small habits that help you see and store progress.

Here are a few ways to do that:

Weekly finance check-ins

Set 15 minutes to scan your finances, not just for red flags, but for green shoots and opportunities. What looked better this week? Cleaner bookkeeping? Shorter debtor days? Lower expenses?

Silicon Valley startups often have a weekly ‘stand up’ meeting, where everyone gets the opportunity to explore what’s going well, and where the blockers are. It’s a tried and tested team management strategy.

Keep a ‘win log’

Use a Notes app or gratitude journal. Every time something goes right, client feedback, an operational win, or solid decision, note it down. Refer to it for an instant energy boost on a tough day.

Create a simple dashboard

Beyond revenue, track other signs of financial health: margin, cost efficiency, payment speed, cash buffer. Watch for incremental progress in these areas. It counts.

Talk about it

Whether with a co-founder, team, or advisor, reflect on what’s working well. This isn’t ego or time wasting. It’s creating clarity and acknowledging others and team progress.

Shout out to your team

Small wins aren’t always solo. Recognising others strengthens your culture, builds morale, and gets everyone rowing in the same direction.

Sharing is caring as they say! Many companies will have a #appreciation channel for their team to share small wins and praise colleagues who’ve worked particularly hard towards goals.

How we use this at RedBrick

At RedBrick, we see this play out across all our client relationships.

Some founders feel like their finances are “a mess” because they don’t understand them, or don’t feel they’re moving in the right direction. Yet when we zoom in together, we help them see:

• Their debtor days are actually very good
• Where they can streamline their monthly payroll and management account processes
• Their profit margin has improved
• How they can create a ‘tax buffer’ over time to prevent future surprises and lumpy cashflow

They hadn’t seen any of that, but once they did, they were able to change their mindset. They made calmer decisions, delegated better, and finally felt like the business was moving forward and not “a mess”.

That’s what we want for every founder we work with.

Not just better numbers but a better, and more collaborative experience of running your business.

You don’t have to wait for the ‘big win’ to feel proud

You can feel it today by looking for what’s already working, even in small ways.

Your business isn’t only built on invoices, systems, and deliverables. It’s built on the moments you decide to keep going, even when it’s hard.

It’s built on the tiny shifts that pay off six months later, with every step you take, that ‘future-you’ will be glad you took.

So yes, keep striving, keep your ambition. But don’t skip the celebration.

Progress doesn’t always shout, but sometimes, it just needs to be seen.

Need a financial partner who celebrates your progress with you?

At RedBrick, we don’t just help clients meet deadlines or stay compliant, we help you see what’s working, so you can grow with confidence.

We help you identify and acknowledge those small wins, and how far you’ve come.

Whether you need better visibility, a sounding board for decision-making, or simply someone to keep your financial ship steady, we’re here for you and your journey. Let’s talk about creating more small wins for your business. Email: hello@redbrickaccounting.com