How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals
By Stone Evans
When you are the owner of a home business, you will find hundreds of distractions
that vie for your time, energy and focus.
Common distractions include: children, family, friends, neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail,
household chores, video games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many more.
As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember your purpose
in bringing your profession home. What was your reason for wanting to own a home
business? Was your goal to work from home so that you can share in the lives of your
children? Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical boss? Was your
goal to have the freedom to work when it is convenient for you? Was your goal to
make tons of money working for yourself?
Here's a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your home business:
Tip #1: Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep your reason in the
forefront of your mind. If you forget your reason for starting your own home business, you
will not be working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let circumstance drive your
activities -- and when circumstance is in the driver's seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.
Tip #2: Remember -- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some people go to
work to play, some go to socialize, and others -- most often those who are paid in a
commission or tip environment -- go to work to work and to make money. When
you work for yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your productivity.
Therefore, wouldn't it make sense to stay focused on getting as much done in as short
of a period as possible?
Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and recreation for when your workday has ended.
Tip #3: When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, it is important
to schedule your activities as much as possible. With small children, you must take time
when you must, but you should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific
number of hours to your workday.
With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you will be working between the
hours of x and y. Your children and your friends must understand that certain hours of
your day are devoted to the activities of your business.
Tip #4: Don't permit your friends and extended family to run over you. Many people get
the blind idea that if one works from home then they are not actually working.
Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice about getting a
real job. Others may simply believe that if you are at home, then you are fair game for
chitchat and socialization.
You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and family understands
that when you are working, then you ARE working! If they wish to socialize with you,
then they need to do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home business.
You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and family will seldom
be able to appreciate your dedication to your home business, unless you make the
effort to make sure that they have the same respect for your business that you do.
Tip #5: You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail.
For example, allot one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to handling
your written communications.
Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these communications, you will
soon find yourself on the downward slope of decreased productivity.
Tip #6: When you find yourself spending too much time doing non-productive activities,
then you should seriously consider finding a third-party service provider who will assist
you in those non-profitable business activities.
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