Small-business owners are going to have to deal with people who don't agree with how they run their enterprises. But instead of letting those people sway their thinking, entrepreneurs can use the criticism as motivation. Not only does turning negative comments into a positive help a small business succeed, it can also inspire a group of staff members to work hard and get the enterprise moving in the right direction. Below are a few pointers from an Entrepreneur magazine blog post on how to turn criticism into a source of motivation for a business.

Don't waste time listening to critics
Professionals who are brave enough to start a business put their blood, sweat and tears into their firms. According to the blog post, they are the ones who know what it takes to make their businesses successful. By the same token, they have to realize there are always going to be critics and people telling them their businesses won't survive. Ignoring these critics and following their gut instincts will enable small-business owners to continue on the right path with their enterprises, while allowing the dissenters to say whatever they want.

Use criticism as a fuel to improve upon a business
In some instances, criticism will be valid, and small-business owners will need to take some of the dissenters' claims into consideration. For example, if firm owners are using outdated practices to take care of their accounting and bookkeeping, and critics believe innovations are needed for more productivity, small-business owners may want to consider using business planning software. Sometimes responding to critics can be a means to improve upon a company, which can lead to making the business better as a whole.

"The most tenacious people come back with a new idea or a slightly different idea," Thomas Plante, a Silicon Valley psychologist and professor at Santa Clara University, told the magazine. "If you know who you are, you're centered, so you're more likely to listen to criticism. You can take criticism and compliments thoughtfully, sometimes with a grain of salt."

Listen to trusted advisors
While some criticism will come from people who want to bring a business down, other comments will be shared with a small-business owner by someone he or she looks up to or trusts. They will often be the people who have the best interests of the company in mind and are only providing criticism to help the small-business owner reach the levels of success that they dream about. These people can often have the best advice because they are an outside influence without a stake in the company.

"Consult with people who don’t always agree with you," Plante told the magazine. "You want to get advice from neutral parties."

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