How to Stay Focused
How to
Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
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.
As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You might
believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and setting up
your advertising, but you find yourself spending far too much time
taking care of your books to take care of your advertising in the
manner that you should. In this event, it might make more sense to
hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial records for you.
CONCLUSION:
In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and
completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make.
You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based
business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of your
mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self and your
dedication to the success of your business.
Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come visit
upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and your
business, they will better appreciate you for putting your foot down
when necessary.
Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on your
goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, you must
have the discipline necessary to reach them.
