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5 Tips For Home Based Business Success[/caption]
When you start your own home based business, you may be excited at the thought of waking up when you want, having freedom to work in your pajamas and generally enjoying the freedom of being a home based business owner.
And, while all of those are definitely benefits of working from home, there are a few drawbacks, as well – mostly centered around being able to discipline yourself to “get the work done”.
As someone who has worked from home for most of the last 30 years, I’d like to share a few tips.
1. Create a schedule – and stick to it!
Your daily habits are what will determine your success in your home business.
And I know from experience that, if you don’t intentionally create a schedule, you’ll probably default to “just doing whatever”. And let me tell you, that does not work!
So, the very first thing you need to do is develop a clear working schedule that works for you.
What are your “working hours” and when will you take breaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
When will you make time for exercise or just getting out?
Are you intentionally setting up your schedule to take advantage of the “non-rush hours” for running errands? (One of the best benefits of working from home – you can run errands during the daytime hours while everyone else is at their 9-5 job!)
2. Stay off TV, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Video Games and any other Time-Sucks!
Oh, this is a critical one. I had to learn this one the hard way, many, many years ago, when I first started working from home…
You see, it’s difficult to stay off of these time wasters, because deep down inside, you want to spend time on things that give you instant gratification – and building a home based business usually does not give you instant gratification.
So we move towards the path of least resistance and usually, that means seeing what our friends are doing on Facebook, or checking out new “pins” on Pinterest, or seeing what this celebrity said or did, or playing a video game, etc.
These all give us some sense of instant gratification or entertainment, but they do not pay our bills!
They do not build our business and they do not get us moving forward!
Be sure to tackle this challenge, head on and defeat the time wasters – these can kill your business and kill your bank account!
Set aside time each day to check Facebook or to spend time on one of these time wasters, but be sure to set it as a reward for getting some work done, not as something you check throughout the day.
If you do this, you’ll be fine!
3. Create a daily, prioritized task list
When you start the day with a list of tasks that you must get done that day, you are hitting the ground running, from “minute one” and you are mentally ready to take on the day.
Too many people leave their day to chance or just go from one task to the next, based on necessity.
But when you plan out your days, (preferably the night before) you will be far ahead of your peers.
Start by writing everything you need to get done and then begin giving each item a score (A, B, C or 1, 2, 3) to help you prioritize the tasks.
When you do this, you will then work from the most important task to the next important task, and so on, until all the days tasks are done!
You won’t believe how much more efficient you will be when you write a list. You don’t even have to necessarily read the list – sometimes just the writing of the list is all you need!
4. Outsource wisely
In my business, I have a web designer who helps me build out websites (my own and my clients’ websites) and he is a great help.
In other aspects of my business, I outsource a variety of tasks to people who can do them better, faster or cheaper than my time is worth.
There are a variety of outsourcing websites, such as elance.com, Freelancer.com and odesk.com as well as other micro job sites.
These can be extremely helpful in getting things done that are outside of your realm of skill sets or that are just easier and cheaper to hire someone else to do.
When you outsource wisely, you are taking your “highest and best use” skills and maximizing them while paying someone else to do the rest.
This is a win / win for you and allows you to focus on what you do best.
5. Keep things in perspective
Mornings are a great time to enjoy some quiet, reflective time before you jump into your day.
In the mornings, I read the bible, journal and spend some time in prayer and it is a great way to start the day centered and strong.
Other great options you may decide on: meditating, listening to soft music or listening to audios with great teachings. Whatever you decide, mornings are a great time to start off in a centered, solid position and work from there.
If you just jump into your day without this, the tendency is to wind up feeling stressed, frazzled or at best, not at your optimum.
Hey, you have a home based business, right? Why not make the best of it by starting every morning off right?
So there you have it, my 5 tips to home based business success. Take these tips and run with them, and let me know how they’ve helped you!
I’ve always enjoyed teaching new eBay / ecommerce principles and recently got started creating courses on a new learning website called Udemy.