Understand that your home business is valid, real work, so treat your business the same way you would if you went out each morning to an office or elsewhere to work. Setting Your Work Hours Understand that your home business is valid, real work, so treat your business the same way you would if you went out each morning to an office or elsewhere to work. If you sought employment elsewhere, you would be full-time, part-time or casual and be allocated and expected to work a committed number of hours per week, usually no less than 10.
Do the same in your business, allocate yourself hours and decide how you will spend them.
For example, depending on your business, you could commit six hours of your week to face-to-face meeting people, sales and making new leads. If you’re in direct selling that could be three by two hour presentations. That’s six hours out of your 10. The other four hours would be committed to follow-up work, emails, organizational tasks and forward planning for your business. NULL
Choose your hours working from home that are the least interrupted.
For example, if you have children, it would be when they are at kindergarten/pre-school, day care, school or asleep. Remember, if you don’t make the time for your business, you risk earning insufficient income and may then have to work for someone else, losing a majority of flexibility. A big tip for setting hours of work is to sit down with your immediate family, particularly your partner, to work out what hours you will work and when. Setting up a plan for work hours helps you meet each other’s needs and your business will prosper from all their support and encouragement.
It’s also good to review your plan with your family regularly, change accordingly and keep them up to date with your business.
Inform others you are working If you were returning to work in an office or elsewhere, your friends, family, school and community would not expect you to continue all that you have been doing to date and work as well. It would be a given that everyone would need to make adjustments. This is the same; you are working – full stop! Inform your family and friends of your decision to work from home and explain what you’re doing and how important it is to you. Advise them of the hours that you will be working. For example, you inform your friends that you now work on Mondays and Wednesdays solidly whilst your child is at kindergarten or day care. Let your family and friends also know you will make time for them on a particular day of the week or when you meet socially on the weekends. It’s exactly the same as if you were to work in an office or elsewhere, except you can be flexible for special occasions or for when you are really needed elsewhere. When you do spend time with your family, friends and community, ensure you give them your full focus. As your attention to your personal life increases, not only are you all happier, your performance in your business usually goes up also. These extracts are from the free report ‘Top Ten Time Management Tips for Business Women’ available at www.LindaMcMahon.com.au
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Over the past eight years working successfully in direct sales and network marketing, Linda realised that working for yourself was the only way she could see to earn an income and have the flexibility needed for your family. However, she also discovered that working from home came with some interesting challenges.
Two years ago Linda decided she wanted to help other women tackle those challenges and set out on a mission to interview and learn from some of the top women that already had a successful business and juggled a family as well.
Topics highlighted in the interviews include home support, gratitude, how to build your business in tough times, bookings, sales and recruiting.
Linda then had something tangible to pass onto other women so put the interviews into electronic books, which are available from her website www.LindaMcMahon.com.au.
Her business is all about assisting other women so they can run their own business and have time for themselves and their families.
Current E-Books: - Top Ten Big Time Management Tips For Business Women, Women in Organics and Networking and Women in Direct Selling.
- Getting Real About Your Home Business by Linda McMahon - July 1, 2010
