Tag Archives: work from home

Balancing Work and Life

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Photoxpress 31180691 1024x792 Balancing Work and Life

Balancing Work and Life

For many business owners, one of the biggest challenges is separating their work from their family and social life. The following are six proven strategies to keep your home life running smoothly while keeping your business on track.

1. First, create a work schedule and stick with it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls during the day or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that you’re expendable–not dependable–and people will take for granted that you’ll always be there for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours, and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours.

2. Your friends may consider working from home an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just for business. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and you’ll find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted.

3. Just because you have to set up a work schedule doesn’t mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you’ll find that you’ll get much more done when you’re attuned to your body’s own natural rhythms. Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive, and you’ll find that things get done easier, faster, and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has.

4. If getting after-hours business calls or workday personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate business phone line, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line.

5. If at all possible, try to separate your home office from the rest of your home. If you don’t have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that you’re working and shouldn’t be bothered.

6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because you’re working from home doesn’t make you any less of a professional. Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right. A cell phone, fax machine, or even a budget computer can help turn your home office into a true workspace.

If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are you’ll find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your business, but also projects the message that you mean business literally!

How To Do Outsourcing

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Let’s face it. We can’t be good at everything, and we only have 24 hours in a day. The one-man-does-it-all mentality wouldn’t work for a home-based business. How can we get help when we need it?

The answer is outsourcing.

You can hire experienced professionals, and let them use their creative talents while you focus on other tasks. Another benefit is that the workers you hire may be more up-to-date on the latest information and technology in their specific fields and can be assets to your clients, as well, offering improved quality service.

But finding workers and figuring out where to meet or when to bring them can pose some difficult juggling, personal, and security issues. How should we outsource?

Deciding What to Outsource

Focus on outsourcing some of the major tasks of your workload. First, check your To-Do lists and office area. What CAN you outsource? Which work seems to pile up the most?

For example, maybe you can’t seem to find time to update your website each month. Maybe your newsletter is STILL not getting out regularly. Or perhaps your direct mail campaign is not quite as direct as it should be; i.e. it is sitting directly in the same pile it was three months ago.

Then, write out a one-page project description for these major tasks. Focus on WHAT exactly you抎 want done, WHEN, and HOW the end-product should turn in to you.

Selecting Service Providers

Then look for the right professionals for your work. For example, with the sample tasks above, find people who can help with websites, newsletter creation, and sending out direct mail campaigns. Call round and surf the Internet and ask other home based business operators which companies they recommend. Check forum posts; inquire for advice and suggestions. Shop around for comparisons. A good place to start is websites such as Elance.com and Guru.com.

Then set up trial periods and test a couple. Remember, no one is perfect. See who you can communicate with pretty easily and who’s flexible to work as a team player. Check out the quality (and quantity) of their work. Then choose a candidate. Remember, this decision is not carved on stone. And you can always hire the other person as a back-up or a second helper down the road. So be kind to all who test, make decisions, and keep your business moving forward.

Outsourcing is a great way to help small businesses grow larger while still working at home. So reach out, and give it a try!

Home Business Ideas

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Find the Right Business for You

If you think that starting your own business is the answer to your problems; whether it’s money, child care, illness, or a desire for more free time, then you MUST choose wisely.

Too many individuals eagerly leave their paying jobs in order to pursue their own business only to return to the unemployment arena looking for work and carrying a massive debt from their ventures.

How can you find the answer to your quest for self-employment without failing? The solution lies in the 3 Ds:

  • Desire
  • Discretion
  • Discipline

Desire

If you think that running your own business is merely a matter of using your brains, then you are sure to be disappointed. Successful entrepreneurs have a common thread whether they run a country gas station or a Fortune 500 company – DESIRE. If you don’t have the drive and determination to work for yourself – if you can’t give up the security of a regular pay cheque – you will have great difficulty working for yourself.

Discretion

Expect to fail. There are many opportunities available. Some are good, some are frauds, and several are absolutely perfect – for YOU. Each individual’s strengths and talents will impact which business model will suit them best. If you are very shy or hate to talk to people, then it would be wise to stay away from businesses that require a lot of face-to-face selling. If the product is not something you would personally use, it is not something you will want to promote, and that will show in your efforts.

Take stock of your abilities and interests, and try several businesses that are related. Not all will suit you, but trying things will ultimately improve your business skills overall. If you do fall for what turns out to be a fraud, consider it education and move on – you will not likely make the same mistake again.

Consider talking to business owners who do what you want to do or to people who may use your product or service. Research the business, and read the fine print!

Discipline

You don’t have a boss or a time clock, but if you expect to make a living, then you will have to discipline yourself. Have a schedule that you follow every day. Plan your time wisely. Although many procrastinators actually do well working for themselves, it is still vitally important to know what needs to be done and to have the discipline to follow through. A few bad jobs or unhappy customers can have a lasting impact on your business.

Many have found great happiness and success working for themselves. Enjoy the search and find YOUR perfect business!