Running a business home can be a really valuable experience but it can be difficult juggling home life and work life when you are sharing the same space not to mention motivating yourself when the family is around. Here are some top tips on how to run a smooth home business.
- Add structure to your day. If you are working from home for the first time it can be difficult to motivate yourself when there are so many temptations in your way. To avoid those constant snack or TV breaks create a structure to your day similar to the office and stick to it.
- Stay connected. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be out meeting people and building your business. Use appointment scheduling software to help keep on top of your meetings and stay connected and motivated.
- Manage your family time. Don’t let your family and home life overlap. Be clear with your loved ones when you are working and when you are not and don’t let these boundaries slip. If you have children in the house during the day find someone to take care of them so that you can focus on the task at hand, finish earlier and spend some quality time with your family.
- Stay motivated. Set yourself daily or weekly goals and watch them get ticked off the list. Feel the satisfaction of achieving your goals and you will stay motivated throughout the week.
- Reward good behavior. Just because you are working doesn’t mean you can’t take some time out to relax. If you get your tasks done on time why not reward yourself with an extended lunch with your partner or a walk in the park or even a day off if you have really been good. There are some perks to running a home-based business!
- Learn new skills but also when to delegate. Running your own business means you have to learn a lot of new skills. Everything from accounts to marketing – this is a real time to test yourself in business. But you don’t have to be good at everything. If you find yourself struggling to make the books balance and not because the money isn’t there learn how to let go and delegate. There are lots of ways of outsourcing your work so investigate the right option for you.
- Network. Working from home can leave you out of touch with your industry so make use of industry networking events and get yourself out there, being noticed and growing your business. It is also a great opportunity to meet other people who run home businesses and share tips and secrets to make your business run more smoothly
- Consider moving out. And if working from home just isn’t working for you then consider moving your office off the premises. If the distractions are too much or you need to be out of your pajamas more often then investigate local managed office arrangements – it might be the shift in gear you need to make your business a success.
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