Ok as you’re thinking about how to get some momentum next year for your home business, here are some thoughts as you prepare for the new year.
Be honest with yourself. Are you one of those people that believe that you just don’t have the time to get your home business up and running? You’re not alone. Many people I talk to claim they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. They wind up defeating themselves and their business looses momentum and suffers.
Full time jobs, family obligations, maintaining health and too many other distractions are the main reasons for not building momentum for their business. You can wind up feeling that your life is spent catering to every one else’s obligations.
However, I have some good news! You can find and maximize time to build momentum for your home business. All you need is to find time and commit to use that time for your home business only. Try the following strategies to make your home based business flourish.
Document Your Daily Routine
The first thing you will need to do find a quiet place and write down your schedule. Document the start and end time on events like getting ready for work, driving your kids to school, your commute to your day job, gym time and any other weekly commitments you have. Don’t forget to include weekends and family time (this is most important).
After completing this exercise you should have a good visual of what your work week looks like. You should see openings in your week. Make your goal easy: try to find two hours you can commit to spend on your business. You should be able to re-prioritize some time.
When can you work? Will you work? That’s the question.
Stay with the Schedule You Created and Re-Evaluate
The next thing you need to do is stick with your schedule. This can be tough because you are creating a new habit. Once you get the hang of your new routine, you should always re-evaluate your schedule. You may be able to find more time to spend on your home business.
Sticking with your schedule means you need to discipline yourself to work. This means that you have to find a way after work, after little league games, after dinner and after putting the kids to bed.
Like with most things in life, your idealized view of your schedule will be decimated by reality. Think “Ready, Fire, Aim”. Get a rough idea of what you can do, try it, adjust, and try again.
Don’t Forget Your Family.
Spending time with my family is always a top priority for me. I have young children so I try to focus on the business when my kids are in bed. I find that using the evening hours is best for me to spend on my home business. It seems to be the most quite part of the day.
If you have to use your family time to spend on your business, make sure you communicate with your family so they have an expectation of what you are doing. However, I would recommend that you set a time limit so you can spend that time you want with your family. This will provide balance for you.
As children grow older and more responsible putting them to work in your business will help them and you. After all, you want them to learn how to run a business one day?
Embrace Distractions
As we all know life also throws us off schedule. Try your best to embrace that fact instead of fighting it. If your child stays up late, focus on helping your child quiet down and go to sleep. Try not to focus on what you could be doing. Don’t worry. The work will still be there when you are ready.
If you have to stay late at your day job, then choose to work late. Usually, you’ll find that it is better just to focus on one thing at a time. You’ll be more efficient and effective. Having a clear and guilt free mind while working on your business is most productive.
To handle new ideas that can distract you while you are working, keep an MP3 Recorder handy so if an idea comes up you can record it or write down the idea in a notebook. You can always prioritize those thoughts at a later time. You will also find that you are using less energy dealing with distractions instead of fighting them.
“Wherever you are, be there” is a good rule. Focus on what you’re doing at the time so that when you can devote time to your home business it will be purposeful.
Find People You Can Work With
From time to time, you’ll have people offer you work or people who just swap good ideas with you. You’ll be independent, but in some ways you’ll be “comrades in arms”. So make friends, learn from friends, and don’t try to be a “loner” in your home business. The more you can network and learn (as long as you actually DO your work) the more you can earn long term.
So there is good news when it comes to finding time to work on your own business. Don’t despair and don’t get frustrated. Just remember that you have total control of your time and you alone can change your habits to build your businesses momentum.
Vin on December 17th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Well said Chuck. I particularly agree with the part about family. I left a high paying job to start a home business. Did that for quite a few reasons, but the most important one was to spend more time with the family. I wanted to see my kids grow up.
Too much of a good thing isn’t good either, and there are distractions. So you need to stay focused and set a good balance between your business and personal life.
In the end, it is certainly worth it.