Author name: Dave Espino

Throughout my home based business career, I have developed certain habits and disciplines which have helped me succeed.

While the thought of being able to work from home and have freedom to be your own boss sounds exciting to most, being a home based entrepreneur can be a big challenge if you are not prepared.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, at first.

But if you follow and adhere to the “Revolutions” in this article, I think you will go a long way towards Home Based business success!

 

Revolution #1

“I will do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.”

This is the successful entrepreneur’s creed.

This is how people make large amounts of money in their internet business. They simply do the most productive thing possible in their business at all times. By prioritizing their time in this way, they do the money-maximizing things (the things that make them money) while leaving the many tasks that do not make them money.

For example, in your eBay business, a list of the most productive things possible is populated by really only a few things:

1. Finding great deals on merchandise and negotiating even better deals by buying in bulk
2. Listing items for sale on a continuous basis so as to keep the cash flowing in
3. Providing excellent customer service so as to keep our customers happy and coming back to us for more business

If you focus your energies on Revolution #1, you will undoubtedly make more money!

 

Revolution #2

“I will use lists to make sure that the right things get done every day, every week, every month, and all year!”

The importance of lists is often downplayed and people lose out as a result of this.

Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men of the 19^th century paid someone thousands of dollars for a simple idea, the idea of creating a list every night of the things that had to be done the next day and then prioritizing the list.

The reason he paid so much money for this idea is that it actually proved to increase productivity in his factories by a huge percentage and the fee that he paid for the idea was actually a tiny fraction of the increased revenue and results achieved by using this idea!

Lists are valuable in your eBay business but even more valuable in your daily life, as a way of balancing your work life with your personal or family life.

For example, I use a smartphone that keeps me organized.

It allows me to input events, dates and appointments into my calendar and set an alarm for these things. (It also syncs with my Google calendar, which is very helpful when I’m on the computer!)

It keeps me focused on the things I need to do on any given day and alerts me to the coming events that I will be working on.

I would highly recommend that you use a smartphone or an organizer to create your daily lists on and then follow them!

You will be amazed at your productivity – especially if you end up developing a variety of businesses or interests, like I have!

Revolution #3

“I will spend more quality time with my family and friends.”

In the end, the reason we want to make more money or succeed in our eBay business is often tied to family and friends.

This is where the real “juice” of life is, not necessarily in making money.

However, we often miss this fact in our quest to generate large sums of money and the “means to the end” (money) ends up becoming the end goal.

This is unfortunate, but often we get so wrapped up in making money that we lose the reason we are trying to make all this money!

The Cat Stevens song “Cats In The Cradle” comes to mind.

In this classic ‘70s song, a son sees his father as someone who is somewhat distant because (it is implied) he is always focused on working and bringing home the money.

In the end, when the son is grown up and the father is retired and now wants to spend time with him, the son has turned out just like his father and now has no time for his dad.

It is a sad but illustrative view of the concept we are talking about here, where making the money becomes the goal rather than using the money to be closer to our loved ones, which should be the true goal.

Taking this Revolution in its rightful light, I often plan events and trips with my family – as a group, as well as with each individual child – that serve each of my kids in a way that they feel special.

I have three kids and I am beginning to realize the temporary nature of their time at home with my wife and I and how, in a few short years, they will be on their way to college and living on their own.

Whenever I think of this, I realize that I need to make every moment count and I cannot hold back on showing my love for them as well as giving them the time that they so richly deserve.

This serves many purposes, not the least of which is that it develops in them a healthy self-concept (knowing that their Dad loves them) as well as giving them a good dose of Dad’s philosophy of life so that they end up successful in whatever career or business they end up choosing in life!

It’s not the easiest thing to get up and play with your kids when you are tired from a day at work and juggling all the other responsibilities of life, but let me tell you, it can be the most rewarding thing in the world – and, you often get some amazing insights into your kids that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise!

Also, it is easy (especially for men) to pay more attention to the kids than we do to our spouse, but nurturing your relationship with your spouse is key to maintaining a healthy marriage as well as maintaining happiness in its own right!

I’ve been fortunate to be married for 23 years and my wife and I maintain a pretty consistent schedule of “date nights” or just time alone where we get a sitter and go out to dinner or a movie and just spend time together in a situation where it’s just “us”.

It is amazing how easily you can forget what brought you together in the beginning unless you proactively work on making these date nights happen and purposely set time aside for just the two of you. This will make a difference, believe me!

 

“Revolution #4”

“I will continue to expand my mind and develop my business skills through self-education.”

I believe in the power of self-education and self-development because I am a product of it and have seen the results in my own life.

I started out as a very shy and introverted kid. I was quiet and reserved and did not want to talk to anyone!

Through working on myself and working on myself some more, I developed into a person I am proud of.

I can now speak to a group of people (of any size) without the slightest bit of fear or nervousness.

I speak to strangers with no hesitancy.

I can deal with Presidents of companies and top business leaders on an eye-to-eye level.

I credit these abilities to a constant and rigorous regimen of personal development through CDs, books, videos and seminars and the application of these things I learned!

One of the more important things that this personal development has accomplished is that it has allowed me to expand my thinking.

I believe that, if you want to achieve success, you’ve got to work on expanding your thinking and your vision for your life.

“Small thinking leads to small success, but big thinking leads to big success.”

By expanding your thinking, you will be able to see bigger things in store for you than you did before.

You will be able to believe bigger things are possible for you than you currently believe.

You will then be able to take bigger actions than you have ever taken before because you usually do not take bigger actions until you believe in those actions and believe that those actions will lead to success!

Think about it. If you want to do something really big in your life, but you don’t really believe that you can – are you going to even try? Probably not!

So, one of your big goals this year is to expand your thinking.

You do this by exposing yourself to people who already think big – the leaders, entrepreneurs, achievers who are already successful. Today, just about every thought leader is on Facebook and you can “friend them”! So make it a point to do just that. You will be exposed to their “thinking” and their philosophy of life and this will help you connect to bigger and better things.

If you cannot meet these people in person, then the next best thing is to get their books, biographies, tapes, CDs and videos and learn from them!

Learn by their example – learn how to harness the power of thinking big.

You will be so glad you did!

Revolution #5

“I will give of my time, money and talents to people less fortunate than me.”

This one may sound a little odd at first, but if you read “The Richest Man In Babylon”, you will see how it makes complete sense.

In order to give, you must first step outside of yourself and see needs from someone else’s point of view.

I believe that this “stepping outside of yourself” is a powerful exercise that will actually help you in business.

Too often, as entrepreneurs we are focused on “me, my success, my progress”.

The simple act of giving allows you to add dimension to your money-making activities and gives you an even deeper reason for what you do.

It adds depth to your character and a sense of purpose and pride when you can say (to yourself) that you contributed to making the world a better place as a direct result of your business efforts.

There is a certain powerful feeling in knowing that your day to day efforts are going to yield results far beyond the number of years that you have on this Earth.

Giving does that for you.

It gives you a sense of immortality with regard to your actions and your contributions on this planet and it gives you a sense of peace that you have helped people who could not help themselves.

I believe that, as an entrepreneur, our duty is to give to those less fortunate, through charities, church, direct gifts and through giving of our time.

Here’s the bottom line: If you have been blessed with the ability to make money, then I believe that you have a responsibility to help those who aren’t able to be so blessed.

Take Bill Gates as an example…

The richest man in the world has given a $29 Billion endowment through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – an awesome gift that is being used to benefit world health and to find cures for some of the Earth’s biggest diseases.

This is actually a larger amount than the World Health Organization has available!

Andrew Carnegie, the richest man of the past millennium said: “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced” as a way of explaining his actions of switching from accumulating wealth to distributing his wealth.

Let me tell you – if the principle is good enough for two of the richest men in the world, then it’s good enough for me!

While you might be tempted to think, “Well of course they give a lot of money away, they can afford to!”

I would have to call you on that and say, “WRONG”

In my studies of successful people I can point to hundreds of examples of people who gave even when they “couldn’t afford to” and as they grew in wealth and stature, this developed habit of giving simply grew along with their wealth.

It is a success law that does not fail.

 

My hope for you in the coming years is that you will take these success principles to heart and put them where you will see them.

By doing so, and actively reading them as well as acting on them, you will be doing your part in making these Revolutions come true!

When running a home based business, there are key principles we need to keep in mind.

Running a home based business is a challenge in itself in that it takes a special sort of self-discipline to stay engaged and focused on your business goals.

There are distractions everywhere when you work from home and staying free of these can make all the difference in the world.

Here are some Home Based Business tips that have worked wonders for me:

Begin With The End In Mind

All successful people do this – they begin with the end in mind. They see success and their desired end result before they ever begin their project.

In fact, you could almost draw a parallel with how much this skill relates to personal success.

Those who have the ability to begin with the end in mind can “see” their success ahead of time and can continue to strive toward that “picture”; the end result that they see so clearly.

Of course, it is entirely possible that you could lose that picture through lack of focus or lack of desire for that outcome but that is entirely up to you and your own ability to hold on to that vision of success.

Think about it, in your job, who are the highest paid people at the top of the corporate ladder?

I would suggest that many of them are not necessarily the most talented when it comes to the nuts and bolts of manufacturing, computer systems or the day to day operations of the company, but many of the top corporate executives and entrepreneurs ARE able to think and plan and visualize the successful execution of a larger goal. In fact, some of the best corporate leaders could definitely be called “visionaries”.

A great example of a visionary is Walt Disney. I remember reading a great story about Mr. Disney… (paraphrased)

Mr. Disney passed away during the construction of Tomorrowland.

The story goes that at the Grand Opening of Tomorrowland, Mrs. Disney was asked, “Isn’t it too bad that Walt can’t be here to see this?”

To which Mrs. Disney assured, “He has seen it.”

See, Walt Disney had seen it – way before construction even began on that project. He had a clear, concise picture in his mind of what he wanted to accomplish and then set the wheels in motion to create his vision.

What do you want to accomplish this year?

Do you have a clear, concise mental picture of what you want?

Is it laser-tuned specific or is it vague and general?

Have you taken time to write out all of your game plan for this year and the years to come?

If you start next month (or even next week) you may be too late!

Do it today.

Game Planning For Success

The word “Goals” and the practice of writing goals down is almost a cliché nowadays.

As you know, I am a student of success in business and have attended hundreds of seminars, read thousands of books and listened to days of tapes on success. I know the power of goal setting and the effect that it has had on my success.

However, I believe there is something even more powerful than goal setting and I call it “Game planning”.

If you have any experience in sports, then you have a clear idea of what I’m talking about.

It has more to do with the actual strategy and logistics of what you want to accomplish than the actual end result itself.

In sports we call these “plays” or, put more simply, the steps you must execute in order to reach the goal line or to win the game.

Game planning involves goal setting but takes it to the next level. This next level is one of actually creating a plan to accomplish the end result (goal) and a timeline in which to accomplish each step. It is literally a step-by-step plan of accomplishment!

This is the way the mind responds best to a goal – it must have a plan to get to its goal and then – everything moves a LOT more smoothly!

Take some time TODAY. (no procrastinating – Just do it!)

Set your eBay business game plan and develop strategies to accomplish your end result.

By having A PLAN in place, (notice I didn’t say a “PERFECT PLAN” – it doesn’t have to be perfect) you will more easily move forward and you know what? Moving forward is the very first step to success. It is the ability to get yourself off of square one that is probably the most important step – once you do that, you have forward momentum and it is much easier to keep that momentum going than it is to stop! – So go ahead – get on it!

Include Your Family And Friends In Your Game Plans For This Year

You need to know something.

All your efforts at building a success in business will be utterly worthless if you don’t have family and friends to share it with.

I believe that, if you spend all of your time building success, at the end of the day, you won’t have loved ones to share your excitement and wealth with. It will be a hollow victory.

The real joy in life is in healthy, fulfilling, well-balanced relationships – relationships with God, Family, Friends and Business Associates.

My last (but certainly not least) recommendation for success this year is that you work hard to build or enrich these important relationships in your life.

I realize that some of your friends or family may not understand or even support your business goals – and that’s o.k..

You still need to be able to Game Plan time with God, time with your family, time with your friends and yes, even time with your employees or people you work with! By doing this, you will be extracting the “juice” out of life.

You will enjoy your life a lot more and you will have richness to your life that few other people do. It will add dimension to your monetary success and will make your life much fuller.

Just stop and think about financially successful people who isolated themselves: Elvis Presley, Howard Hughes, Marylyn Monroe, etc. These people were rich and famous but, because they isolated themselves from other people, (or their friends and family) they ended up becoming some of the saddest tragedies of history.

Be sure you make time this year to be with friends and family – at the end of the line, our relationships will far out value our business net worth.