Providing the small office, home office, and solopreneur business owner
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you can use to create Your Business and Your Life, Your Way!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Working from Home: Does It Work?

For years I have had a home office. During the times I am not directly meeting with clients I am honing my QuickBooks and coaching skills, learning about new business and marketing trends to share with my clients, writing articles, polishing up my website, and all the general administrative tasks associated with having a small business. Some days working from home can be a challenge due a lack of motivation and too many distractions. I am sure I am not the only one who has struggled with this. So, does working from home really work?

Many people succeed in working from home, while others fail miserably. Why is that? One of the biggest reasons for failure is lack of motivation due to the environment. When we are home we tend to be conscious of home related tasks versus when we are at the office we focus on work related tasks.

Following are four basic steps that will ensure you are productive and efficient when working from home.

Establish Workspace

One of the most important parts of your home office is the specific place where you actually perform work-related tasks. Whether you are using a spare bedroom or any part of the house as your home office, there must be enough space to organize work materials. This is also where you should be spending your working hours at home. For example, if you establish your office in a spare room, do your work there, do not try to complete work in the kitchen. Having an established work space at home will ensure two things: it will prevent any form of distractions while you are working at home, and you will gain more organization with all of your work needs. Regardless of your working style, most people find having an established work space lends greatly to productivity.

Have the Right Office Furniture and Equipment

You need to determine the nature of your home business and your work style to determine which furniture and equipment you need. Consider how you like to work when buying a desk, if you like to spread papers out you may like an L-shaped desk. If you work space is in a corner of a bedroom, an armoire may work best. Make sure you have good equipment such as a computer, printer and proper communication systems. Nothing is more frustrating and time consuming than equipment that does not function properly. The right furniture and the equipment will increase your efficiency.



Set Your Boundaries

Self-employed individuals who work from home become their own boss. Therefore, it is easy to assume a relaxed approach towards work and neglect your tasks. It is important to come up with ways to avoid distractions, whether it be playing around with your kids for awhile, chatting with a friend through email, or getting caught up with housework. If you are working in a room with a door, simply closing the door may be a good signal to other members of the household that you are not to be disturbed. Another way of avoiding distractions is to turn off your personal phone during your work hours, just as if you were in an office. Limiting time checking email and social media sites will also increase your productivity and efficiency. Of course, you should give yourself a short break every so often, allowing an allotted amount of time, then returning to work.


Create Work Organization and Routine

People who work from home tend to neglect the needs of organizing their home office and schedule due to lack of motivation. The best way to achieve organization is to treat your home office as you would any regular office. Then, practice basic organizational skills when it comes to filing your important documents or arranging your schedule. Being organized refers not only to the cluttered mess on your desk, but also to how you organize your schedule to ensure all your priorities are met. One of the benefits of working from home is that you may be able to organize your work schedule to fit your family needs or your biological clock (maybe you are a night owl who comes alive after midnight!)


Make it Work

Does working from home work? Once you establish your workspace, have the right furniture and equipment, set your boundaries, and create your routine then working from home should work for you! If it doesn't then of course, you could always go back to working in an office. However, if you are like me, just the thought of that motivates me to make it work!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Is the fear of criticism sabotaging your success?

The fact is most of us do not like to be criticized. Many of us tend to take it as a negative experience. Criticism can make us feel angry, sad, frightened, resentful, defensive, depressed, and/or discouraged.

In the popular book, Think and Grow Rich, author Napolean Hill says a fear of criticism shows up as self-consciousness, lack of poise, an inferiority complex, extravagance (overspending), a lack of initiative, and a lack of ambition. Hill further says a fear of criticism destroys initiative and discourages creativity. Whew! No wonder the fear of criticism sabotages success.

Anyone who has been innovative, creative, or adventurous has faced criticism. An untold number of people have abandoned their dreams simply due to the fear of criticism. It is inevitable, we will all face criticism from time to time, especially if we are venturing outside the norm and moving toward our dreams. Criticism can be either constructive or destructive and often times it is our own interpretation labels it as one or the other.

While watching an interview of the famous opera singer, Renee Fleming, on a recent episode of CBS Sunday morning, I was impressed when she described her reaction to the criticism she continually endured from her instructors while attending The Julliard School. She loved it! She knew it would make her better and stronger. What an awesome perspective! Rather than view the criticism as a negative experience she viewed it as a positive, inspiring experience. That is the perspective of success!

Consider how the fear of criticism is manifesting in your life. Do you cower when criticized or does it empower you? Do you feel resentment or inspiration?

If you struggle with the fear of criticism it is silently sabotaging your success.
To begin overcoming the fear:

1. Recognize that some criticism, whether negative or constructive can actually help you.
2. Understand that others can not always see your vision.
3. Work with a coach if you are stuck in your fear of criticism.

Realize it may take a while to become comfortable with criticism but eventually you may come to view it as inspiration, then criticism will no longer inhibit your success it will inspire your success.

Monday, August 02, 2010

What Clients/Customers Really Want

Recently I worked with a client who wants to grow his business. Like most solo-preneurs he feels his biggest challenge is to find employees who will represent him well and will provide the quality of workmanship he provides.

During the discussion as he got to the core of the issue he said he finds what clients/customers really want is TRUST. They want to trust that they have made the best buying decision and that they will receive a quality job, product or service.

How can we convey TRUST to our clients/customers? How can we train our employees to convey that same trust?

There is one simple answer to both questions.

Operate at the highest level of honesty and integrity in ALL that you do. If you operate on this level your clients will see it and so will your employees.

Proper employee training and systems are necessary to the growth of your business, but TRUST is vital, for both your clients/customers and your employees.