When you first started your business from home, did you have visions of working in your pajamas, being on a business call while sitting on your deck, or throwing in a load of laundry or doing some other household task while you took a coffee break? You may have discovered very quickly that without certain parameters around your business and your home life that you're not as productive as you thought you'd be with having control over your time. And you wouldn't be alone. Many of my clients struggle with creating a definitive line between work and home when they work out of a home office, especially at the beginning. Based on my own experience and that of my clients who also work from a home office, the following 3 tips will help you be more productive and more profitable when working from home. 1. Create Your Work Space The first and most important thing to do is to create a space that is used ONLY for your work. It may be a separate room with a door (ideally), or a walk-in closet, or a corner of your dining room table. But wherever it is that you do your work, make sure that when you are in it, you don't do anything but your work. If you find you have distractions (such as a TV that it's the room), keep it off, remove it or choose another location. Once you've chosen your space, create an environment that truly speaks to you. Do you need plants, sunlight, or soft music to be at your best? Then add them. Does a vision board of where you want your business to take you motivate and inspire you? Then make one and hang it where you can see it every day. 2. Keep a Work Schedule When I start working with a new client, one of the first things we look at is how they structure their day. Not surprisingly, those who are struggling with not having enough clients have little to no work structure. In order to use your time efficiently (time = money), create a work schedule and stick to it. For example, I tell my clients that they need to allot at least two hours a day (four is better) to marketing, so they schedule a two-hour block of time each day when that is all they focus on. Other clients only handle their email for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. And others work from 10am to 2pm each day, regardless of the tasks involved. The difference is that they do NOTHING that is unrelated to their work during their planned work time. 3. Get help If you want to really improve your productivity and your profitability, then hire some help. Either contract with a virtual assistant, an in-person administrative assistant, or a combination of the two to take over anything that doesn't have to do with creating your content or working with your one-on-one clients. All the details that you can do yourself can also be done just as well by someone else, freeing up time for you to focus on your genuis work, which is what ultimately increases your bottom line. Outsource your other business-related tasks that uses someone else's expertise, like website or blog design, bookkeeping, or physical product creation. Your success is defined by how you treat your business. If you take it seriously, by alloting particular space, time and staff to it, you will reap the benefits of having a seriously successful business. Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com |
