We've all heard the saying "Time is money". Since I started my home based business that saying rings true every day. In order to effectively run my home business, I discovered I had to first learn to manage my time between home and office. Here are a few things I'm doing to take control of my time:
Setting My Priorities. My family, business and volunteer work all are important. But I realized that I sometimes have to make sacrifices in some of those areas to compensate for other areas. I've learned to let go of being particular about my house, I sometimes settle for a not-so-perfect house. I also ask my family to pitch in and help out. I'm trying to teach my son that he needs to pick up after himself. I've learned it's all about choosing and setting my priorities to what works for me, my family and my home business.
Including and Delegating Help from My Family. My family is part of this journey, too! I sat down with my family and let them know what I was doing and why. I let them know how much I love them and that I was going to be busy starting my new business. I let them know what I expected of them and let them know I wanted them to start helping out around the house more. By including them from the start, they have been more understanding and have wanted to help me. I have a sense that they now feel like they are playing an active role in helping my (our) business succeed.
Becoming a Goal Setter. I've set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for my family and my business. I've written them down so that I am accountable for achieving the results I want. By having my goals in writing, I'm able to revisit them and adjust accordingly.
Being Realistic and Flexible. We all have grand visions of the perfect home based business arrangement. I've let that go! I am striving to be more realistic and flexible at all times. There will be interruptions, sick children, and various other unexpected events. By setting my goals and realizing I can make adjustments, I am able to get back on track when I have an unplanned event.
Getting Organized. Organization is a whole topic to itself! I'll just touch on some of the things I'm starting with. Organization takes time! First, I'm keeping one calendar that contains both my business and family events. By recording all my commitments on one calendar, I'm able to keep from having scheduling conflicts. I'm trying to keep my office as tidy as I can. I've been trying to return items to the same place I got them from. I'm establishing a filing system so that I am not rummaging through papers to find what I need.
Time management is essential to a successful home business and a successful family life. By integrating these five tips into my home, I should be able to take back control of my time and move forward to an outstanding home based business!
Yvette Mason
http://www.BeyondTheCandle.com
http://www.BeyondTheCandleOnline.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Eight Tips to Get Your Home Business Ready for a Great New Year
Are you ready to get your home business going in the right direction this New Year? Having a home business can be overwhelming. There is no better time than the beginning of the year to get your business back on track. Here are some tips to help you make this year the best year yet for your home business:
Revisit your "Why's". Your "why" needs to be big enough for you to want to go after it. Refresh your memory on the exact reason why you wanted your own business. Creating a dream board or a dream book using pictures to represent your "why" can be a great way to remind yourself daily why you're doing what you're doing. Revisit your "Why" for selecting the type of business you decided to start. Why did you join the company you chose? Why did you choose to go into a certain type of business? Include these thoughts and ideas on your dream board/book. Place your dream board/book some place where you can see it daily. This will help your "why's" become engrained in you.
Reflect on what you've done so far with your business. What parts of the business have made you feel good? What tasks have you thoroughly enjoyed in your business? Do you enjoy the customer service, retailing, fundraising, developing new methods, coaching others, etc.? Think about the part of your business that really gets you going and focus on excelling on that part of your business. As a business owner, you have to figure out which hat fits and which does not and grow your business in the way that is most beneficial to you.
Create or review your business plan. By creating a business plan, you will know what you need to do to meet your goals. Having your plan and goals on paper enables you to see where you've been and where you're going. If you are not a goal setting person, commit to learning the art of setting goals and working towards them. Review your goals and your business plan monthly. Are you doing what you need to do to meet your objectives and goals? Update your plan as necessary and make any additions and/or deletions based on any changes in your desired goals. Remember the importance of planning - without a plan in place, decision making is very difficult?maybe even impossible. Your business plan is a work in progress. It will be ever changing as your business grows and develops.
Get organized. Okay THIS is the year you are going to get organized. The time savings of organization are incredible! Prioritize your tasks daily and weekly. Set blocks of time to perform specific tasks. Make sure you have your office in order. Have proper supplies and software available to you. Make your home office a place you want to spend time in. If you are unable to find things in your home office, chances are you will become frustrated and not want to spend time there.
Network with others in the same type of business. Agree to let yourself be known. Get more comfortable with promoting yourself and your business and let people know who you are and what you do. Check out a variety of online discussion groups and forums. Find ones you like and join up for lively discussions and advice. Find local chapters of offline networking groups in your local community. Networking with others can be a wonderful way to build your business and help others. Stay connected with others in your field of business.
Learn something new everyday. Subscribe to various periodicals and magazines that will keep you abreast of what's happening in your business field. Enroll in training courses and various other training options to help enhance your business and self-development skills. Networking is another way to build your knowledge. There are many gurus out there willing to mentor, guide, support and coach you as your reach your goals.
Market your business wisely. Plan your yearly marketing budget. Remember, marketing doesn't always have to be expensive. Some of the best marketing for your business can be referrals from your current customer base.
Improve your customer service. Your customers are the lifeline of your business. Strive to provide the best customer service that you can. Great customer service leads to more referrals. One of the easiest ways to grow your business is by taking care of your current customers and asking for referrals to more customers just like them. If you are providing excellent customer service, your customers will be more than happy to share their experiences with others.
By incorporating these eight tips into your business, you should be able to get your home business going in the right direction this New Year. Here's to making this the best year yet for your home business!
Yvette Mason
http://www.beyondthecandle.com/
http://www.beyondthecandleonline.com/
Revisit your "Why's". Your "why" needs to be big enough for you to want to go after it. Refresh your memory on the exact reason why you wanted your own business. Creating a dream board or a dream book using pictures to represent your "why" can be a great way to remind yourself daily why you're doing what you're doing. Revisit your "Why" for selecting the type of business you decided to start. Why did you join the company you chose? Why did you choose to go into a certain type of business? Include these thoughts and ideas on your dream board/book. Place your dream board/book some place where you can see it daily. This will help your "why's" become engrained in you.
Reflect on what you've done so far with your business. What parts of the business have made you feel good? What tasks have you thoroughly enjoyed in your business? Do you enjoy the customer service, retailing, fundraising, developing new methods, coaching others, etc.? Think about the part of your business that really gets you going and focus on excelling on that part of your business. As a business owner, you have to figure out which hat fits and which does not and grow your business in the way that is most beneficial to you.
Create or review your business plan. By creating a business plan, you will know what you need to do to meet your goals. Having your plan and goals on paper enables you to see where you've been and where you're going. If you are not a goal setting person, commit to learning the art of setting goals and working towards them. Review your goals and your business plan monthly. Are you doing what you need to do to meet your objectives and goals? Update your plan as necessary and make any additions and/or deletions based on any changes in your desired goals. Remember the importance of planning - without a plan in place, decision making is very difficult?maybe even impossible. Your business plan is a work in progress. It will be ever changing as your business grows and develops.
Get organized. Okay THIS is the year you are going to get organized. The time savings of organization are incredible! Prioritize your tasks daily and weekly. Set blocks of time to perform specific tasks. Make sure you have your office in order. Have proper supplies and software available to you. Make your home office a place you want to spend time in. If you are unable to find things in your home office, chances are you will become frustrated and not want to spend time there.
Network with others in the same type of business. Agree to let yourself be known. Get more comfortable with promoting yourself and your business and let people know who you are and what you do. Check out a variety of online discussion groups and forums. Find ones you like and join up for lively discussions and advice. Find local chapters of offline networking groups in your local community. Networking with others can be a wonderful way to build your business and help others. Stay connected with others in your field of business.
Learn something new everyday. Subscribe to various periodicals and magazines that will keep you abreast of what's happening in your business field. Enroll in training courses and various other training options to help enhance your business and self-development skills. Networking is another way to build your knowledge. There are many gurus out there willing to mentor, guide, support and coach you as your reach your goals.
Market your business wisely. Plan your yearly marketing budget. Remember, marketing doesn't always have to be expensive. Some of the best marketing for your business can be referrals from your current customer base.
Improve your customer service. Your customers are the lifeline of your business. Strive to provide the best customer service that you can. Great customer service leads to more referrals. One of the easiest ways to grow your business is by taking care of your current customers and asking for referrals to more customers just like them. If you are providing excellent customer service, your customers will be more than happy to share their experiences with others.
By incorporating these eight tips into your business, you should be able to get your home business going in the right direction this New Year. Here's to making this the best year yet for your home business!
Yvette Mason
http://www.beyondthecandle.com/
http://www.beyondthecandleonline.com/
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