Tweet

Distractions Can Sink Your Home Business Plans

Written by: Michael Laleye

Article Overview: Learning how to manage distractions is key to your home business success. This will set the personal tone for your business and will lead to a better chance of success. Here are some tips and suggestions.

Distractions Can Sink Your Home Business Plans

Persons working at a home business have a better chance of success if they can learn to close their eyes and ears to anyone and anything in the home that detracts their focus from the task at hand. When you work for someone else, in their place of business, chances are there is not going to be a television you can watch whenever you feel like it, and while there might be a radio available, in is probably playing in the background causing no distraction to your ability to get your work done.

Your work outside the home probably is not constantly interrupted by a spouse or child, unless you have a really tolerant boss and from your desk you most likely cannot see dirty dishes in the sink, or a pile of laundry that needs done and will not notice the grass has grown in the past few days and needs cut again. While working at home does have many advantages, it is also rife with distractions that can take the focus off of the task at end and toss a torpedo into the heart of your work world.

The first few months, not days or weeks, but months of working at home are going to be filled with distractions, especially if you have a spouse that works outside the home. It will take them some time to realize that yes, you are at home all day but you are working and no, you do not have time to run the vacuum cleaner no matter who is expected to arrive for dinner. If you want to do this while taking a break or having lunch, that is OK, but putting your work aside to take care of a household chore can set a dangerous precedent for the future.

Establishing a work schedule is a must for any business owner and even more important when running a home business. Even if you seldom see any customers or clients in your home office, you still have to maintain a semblance of professionalism. The idea of sleeping in and sitting down at your desk at the crack of noon in your favorite pajamas or sweat pants may be inviting, but it does little to improve your self-discipline. Besides, there may be something on television you want to watch that night and nothing will get done in your business.

When you accept work from clients you are making them a promise that it will be done in a timely manner. Some of the most successful home business operators still set their alarm clock, get up, get dressed and go to work at the same time every day. This will set the personal tone for your business and will lead to a better chance of success. If you allow all the little household chores to come between you and your work, the house may be spotless, especially for the next occupants after you get kicked out for not being able to pay the rent or mortgage.

Related Articles
  Your Home Based Business Office: Do You Really Need One?
  Managing Distractions - A Key to Sales Success
  How to Start Working on a Home Based Business
  Find Ways to Avoid Distractions When Working Online From a Home Based Business
  Online Home Business - You Will Face Many Distractions

Article Tags: better chance, business chances, business owner, dangerous precedent, dirty dishes, distraction, distractions, eyes and ears, home business, household chore, laundry, pajamas, place of business, professionalism, self discipline, semblance, sweat pants, torpedo, vacuum cleaner, working at home



Related Forum Posts
New Study - Women prepare better business plans - I found an article in Business Week and I found this quite interesting. [quote:ka7lg35i]Who Prepares Better Business Plans, Men or Women? A new study based on four years of data from men and women in a training program for microenterprises finds that they come out the same in quality scores. "However, women scored significantly better on the presentation of their plan to judges," conclude the study's authors, Ronald G. Cook, Paul Belliveau, and Christine Lentz of Rider University, in a paper presented at a recent meeting of the Small Business Institute. [/quote:ka7lg35i] What do you guys think?
Re: How do you budget your life? - Here is my financial management categories for today: 15% Long Term Savings; 10% Home Expenses; 45% Business and Marketing charges; 10% Friends (Meeting); 20$ Scientific and Law Books. But this will change when it is August or September. Orxan
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

3 Health Insurance Misconceptions

Life is a Balancing Act!

Are You Remarkable Enough?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.