Business Opportunities- Set Some Rules Early

If you have taken advantage of your business opportunities, and now own a home based business, chances are you already know that you are really pulling "double duty". You most likely work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner. Let us not forget all the phone calls from friends and family expecting you to run errands or just "go out" for an afternoon of fun.

 

One of the toughest parts of running a home based business is separating your work from your family and social life. Here are six proven ways to keep your home life running efficiently while keeping your home based business on track.

 

1. First, make a time-table and stick to it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls in the daytime or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that you are expendable not dependable and people will take for granted that you will "always be there" for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours.

 

2. Your friends may consider "working from home" an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just that. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and you will find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted.

 

3. Just because you have to set up a time-table, does not mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. Among the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether you are an early bird or a night owl, you will find that you will get much more done when you are attuned to your body's own natural rhythms.

 

Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive and you will find that things get done easier, faster and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has.

 

 

4. If getting after-hours business calls or work day personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate phone line for your business opportunities, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your home based business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line.

 

5. If at all possible, try to separate your "home office" from the rest of your home. If you do not have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that you are working and should not be bothered.

 

6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because you're working from home does not make you any less of a professional.

 

Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right. A cell phone, fax machine or even a budget computer can help turn your home office into a true workspace.

 

If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are you will find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your home based business, but also projects the message that you mean business when it comes to your business opportunities.

 

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