One of my clients runs his own successful accounting practice from home. With pre-school children and trying to grow his business, he and his wife used to get very frustrated with the fact that they could never remove themselves from the workplace.
They felt their business totally overwhelmed them and caused many challenges which affected their personal relationship. We were able to identify exactly where their time was being spent and found that there were simple solutions to free up their time and run their business much more effectively and profitably.
1. ESTABLISH A ROUTINE
You should structure your day so that it is both purposeful and productive. Decide on a starting and finishing time for your day; allow for breaks so that you work smarter, not harder. Doing this will also allow you to better differentiate between work and home, and will encourage you to be more professional.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS, OUTSOURCE YOUR WEAKNESSES
You should be spending the maximum amount of time working on the parts of your business that you are best at. If your billable time is worth $200 an hour, then make sure you spend most of your time on the activities that will produce that for you.
If you don't want to employ an administrative assistant, invest in a virtual assistant who works off-site (see www.vadirectory.net). Avoid filling up your day with non-productive activities. Invest your time and money into the right areas of your business; don't just keep yourself busy.
3. ORGANISE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Have the right tools and systems to work with - an appropriate chair, desk, computer, filing system. This will make you look, feel and act more professionally. In addition, if a client comes round to your house, your professionalism will inspire confidence in you.
4. DECLUTTER THE CLUTTER
A messy working environment which forces you to be continuously spending valuable time searching for things, whether files and emails on the computer or documents in filing cabinets and cupboards, cumulatively wastes hours a day. Clutter is distracting and causes stress, and it is the primary enemy of productivity.
5. LEARN TO SAY 'NO'
Inform your family and friends of your working hours and that because you're working from home doesn't mean you're 'available'. If you were in a corporate office, you would not allow your friends to drop by. Enforce these same rules at your office at home.
6. NETWORK TO EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR MIND
Join local networking groups to meet other like-minded business people. Share knowledge and discover new ways of doing things. Check out your local council and chamber of commerce. Enquire about active small business networks. Join your own trade association and share ideas. An organised business referral group like BNI can also be of enormous benefit to the home based business owner.
And without leaving home you can become part of The Productivity Coaching Club to stimulate your brain and keep you up-to-date in how to run your business more effectively and improve your lifestyle.
7. TAKE TIME OUT FOR YOU
It can be easy to lose yourself in your work. Take time to 'smell the roses' and to make human contact. Organise to have coffee or lunch with a friend or colleague once a week. Go for a walk every day. Have a weekly or fortnightly massage. Visit the gym more often.
THE FINAL WORD
These ideas are simple... and guess what? It's generally the simple ideas when acted upon consistently that will make a dramatic impact overall in your business and your life.
The rewards of having a home based business far outweigh any of the challenges you experience.
If you're serious about growing your business from home make sure you check out my 12 week e-course "How to Successfully Grow Your Business From Home".
You'll feel happier and more fulfilled. You'll also discover extra time in the day that you never had before... and let's face it, wouldn't you rather spend more time with your family or have more time off to do what you want?
How to Avoid The Fatal Mistakes That Home Based Business Owners Make - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Pirihi's Website.
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