Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











5 Home Office Strategies (Part 3)

Guest post by: Sheryl Nicholson

Article Overview: We've talked about the first two tips for working in a home based business, so let's now focus on tip three. 3. USE TOUCHSTONES AS VISUAL REMINDERS. We all know we need to stay focused, but when your eye begins to wander, it helps if it wanders on a visual touchstone. If you were to come to my office, you'd find I have several lining the top of my walls much like a bordered wallpaper accent. Here's a few examples: a. CAN I DO THIS AFTER 5? Alot of times we get sidetracked doing something that can really be done AFTER normal business hours. Like, upgrading our database of names, sending out bulk mailings, writing letters. We really need to be on the phone or in the face of our potential customers when THEY are in the office from 8-5. b. WHO CAN DO THIS AS GOOD AS I CAN? There's a lot of work I can hire out and should do just that!

Free Download - Support Local Businesses - Drive, Learn, and GROW By Sheryl Nicholson
Name: Email:

5 Home Office Strategies (Part 3)

(Part 3)

We've talked about the first two tips for working in a home based business, so let's now focus on tip three.

3. USE TOUCHSTONES AS VISUAL REMINDERS. We all know we need to stay focused, but when your eye begins to wander, it helps if it wanders on a visual touchstone. If you were to come to my office, you'd find I have several lining the top of my walls much like a bordered wallpaper accent. Here's a few examples:

a. CAN I DO THIS AFTER 5? Alot of times we get sidetracked doing something that can really be done AFTER normal business hours. Like, upgrading our database of names, sending out bulk mailings, writing letters. We really need to be on the phone or in the face of our potential customers when THEY are in the office from 8-5.

b. WHO CAN DO THIS AS GOOD AS I CAN? There's a lot of work I can hire out and should do just that! Typing, house and yardwork, licking envelopes, etc. My EXPERTISE is speaking and writing. I can't hire that out, so I need to be investing my time in THAT!

c. ACTIVITY BREEDS ACTIVITY. I haven't met many people who love that telephone. And yet, without you making the phone ring, the phone won't ring in return. That was a really rude realization when I was gone from the office for 30 days doing the training/speaking in England. When I returned I asked "Any calls? And to my dismay I had enough to count on two hands. I hate to say business is a numbers game, but experience does say this is no Field of Dreams..."Build it and they will come". YOU (or if you've found someone excellent that can do it as well as you can) must stay active and busy. That activity will breed activity.

d. UNDER PROMISE OVER DELIVER This one goes right next to IF YOU ARE UNIQUE YOU WILL HAVE NO COMPETITION. My clients are MORE important to ME than I am to them Why? Because they have so much on their agenda whereas my one goal is the opportunity to earn their business. If I can do something that will "over-please" them, I'm remembered and will get that repeat referral business. Find your unqueness and market it well!

Related Articles
  How To Run An Online Business At Home
  How much Home Office Tax Dedcution can I Take?
  'Check' This Tax and Business Strategy
  Do you Qualify for Home Office Tax Deduction for Small Business Owners and Professionals?
  Work At Home For The Fun Of It!
  Why Now is an Ideal Time to Own a Home-Based Business
  10 Points to Make Home Offices Work
  Home Office Organization and Design Resources
  Taking Back Your Life
  Home-based Business Opportunity: Book-keeping Service
  Working from Home – Top 5 Mistakes People Make
  Finding The Part Time Home Business Of Your Dreams
  Legitimate Home Based Business - -Use These Tips to Organize Your Home Office
  Organizational Tips For Your Home Office
  How to Manage a Virtual Office
  : Secrets to Staying Focused on Your Home Business
  Steps on How to Start a Business from Home
  Home Business Tax Advantages
  Achieving Success When Working From Home
  6 Questions to Ask Yourself before Investing in a Home-Based Franchise Business

Home > Productivity > Sheryl Nicholson > 5 Home Office Strategies Part 3 >
Article Tags: home based business, sheryl nicholson, tips

About the Author: Sheryl Nicholson
RSS for Sheryl's articles - Visit Sheryl's website

CSP Sheryl Nicholson is an International Speaker, Keynoter, Personal Coach, and Author You can view more credentials at http://www.sheryl.com. She's known as The Implementation Coach presenting programs that get results for attendees. Whether is be sales, communication, leadership, goal setting. life balance. or presentation skills - she's proven she knows her stuff as 25 years on the platform. 

Sheryl has shared the stage with President Ford, Joan Rivers, and Zig Ziglar.  She's published everwhere and interviewed by the media monthly.

Click here to visit Sheryl's website
Dashed Line

More from Sheryl Nicholson
Reduce Your Holiday Stress with Gifts of the Heart
You Have the Right to AgeGracefully
Are YOU Living for the Line
6 Tips on What To Do With Cards on Desktops Shelves and in Rubberbands
You Have the Right toAsk for Help


Related Forum Posts
Books for Women Entrepreneurs Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: FREE Toronto Referral Workshop Re: FREE Toronto Referral Workshop - Kevin, I'll try to get a copy of the slides and summarize the 14 Strategies. Stay tuned!
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? 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
Patent information Patent information - I'm also interested in Part 2. Thanks.
Patent Process Patent Process - Interesting to hear your experiences with the patent process - what's Part 2?


Recommended Article for You close

  How To Run An Online Business At Home

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.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



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

2011 Global Brand Trends Letter

Top Ten Feeble Follow-up Attempts to Fathom

••••••>SEO Tip Of The Day: HTML Validation

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.