There are a variety of reasons why people consider becoming a home worker. In some cases, people who are retired need some extra income. In other instances, a stay-at-home mom might need money to supplement the family income. Sometimes, a person decides to launch a home based business in order to achieve a specific financial goal, such as a family vacation or home repairs. Other times, people simply get tired of the grind of commuting, answering to a boss, and working predetermined hours.
There's no doubt that a home based business opportunity can provide extra income for retired people, money for moms, and the extra cash for a family vacation. It can even replace a primary income so that a person can quit his or her day job and make his or her own hours. Unfortunately, though, making the decision to become a home worker is only the first - and the easiest - step. The next step is succeeding in your home based business. Here are five tips to help ensure you succeed in your quest to become a home based worker:
1. Set aside time each day for your home based business. Although there are many home based opportunities that will earn revenue with a minimal amount of work, the more time you put into your business, the greater your financial rewards will be. Designating a certain number of hours per day (or per week) will help keep you on track.
2. Minimize distractions while working. If the kids are running around, your friends are calling, or you keep getting up to do laundry or other household chores, it will be difficult to sustain your home business. Create ground rules to minimize distractions, and have the discipline to stick to them.
3. Have patience. Despite "get rich quick" promises, the typical home based business opportunity will not provide you with immediate income. Have patience at keep at it to reap financial rewards, but make sure you have a revenue "bridge" that will keep you going until your business begins to generate returns.
4. Diversify your revenue streams. The successful home worker generally has several - if not many - revenue streams. This way, if one aspect of the business falters or has a slow period, others can fill in the gap. Take a building block approach: start with one home based business and add another when the first starts generating a steady income.
5. Make bookkeeping a priority. Oftentimes, a home worker will let bookkeeping go by the wayside. Revenues from his or her business will be intermingled with personal finances, or his or her recordkeeping will be less that pristine. The Internal Revenue Service keeps a close eye on home businesses, so it's crucial to keep your business income and expenses separate from your personal income and expenses. It's also important to keep and record all receipts for expenses. If you keep good financial records throughout the year, it will be much easier to do your taxes when April rolls around.
Being a home worker is immensely rewarding in terms of income potential, making your own hours, and doing work that interests you. Success lies in choosing the right home based business opportunity, sticking with your commitment, and keeping good records.
To your Success
Chauncey Penfold
337-856-9461
Showing posts with label Home Based Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Based Business. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
5 Steps To Get Your Priorities Straight At Home And In Business
5 Steps To Get Your Priorities Straight At Home And In Business
Operating a successful home-based business is a time-consuming endeavor. This is doubly true as work-at-home moms in that we are responsible not only for the success of our business, but for our family as well. We must be self-reliant, self-motivated, and discipline ourselves in order to attain success in both areas.
When running a business from home, it is easy to let the phone calls, em ails and paperwork keep you tied down, making you feel that you do not have time to take a break or to spend quality time with your family. Maybe you have noticed that you spend a little more time than you would like in front of your computer or on the phone. Maybe you see your kids acting out, trying to gain your attention. Perhaps you are seeing that this work-at-home dream you envisioned. You started out with such noble intentions, but maybe the excitement of success in your business has caused you to lose sight of the real reason. That you do what you do each day. It happens to so many of us, but do not worry, help is on the way.
Below are five ideas to prioritize your life and business:
1. Be honest - You probably did not start your work-at-home career to climb the corporate ladder of your at-home business. Chances are that you started your business with the best of intentions – to be able to be at home with your children, to contribute financially to your family, or simply to have a little spending money of your own. Spend some time in prayer and ask the Lord to show you the things that you need to change.
Take a moment and honestly ask yourself how you have been handling the time commitment of owning a business:
• Are you spending too much time on the phone, the computer, etc?
• Are your kids spending more time than usual in front of the TV?
• Do you snap at your children because of the stresses of your business?
• Do you worry about your business – to the point that it distracts you when you are with your family?
2. Make a list – Sit down and write out a list of things that you see that you would like to change. This can be a list of things you can do differently to limit the time you spend on your business; or a list of ways you can “de-stress” so that you can deal kindly with your family.
3. Log your time – Buy a notebook or create a spreadsheet that you can use to log the time you spend on your business each day. Make a column for each day across the top and a row of half an hour increments down the side. Every time you sit down at your desk, write IN the box that corresponds to the time and day. Every time you leave your desk (or complete a task), fill the appropriate box with the word OUT.
At the end of the week, total up the hours each day that you have spent on business tasks. Are you surprised or is it about where you thought you could be? This can be a real eye-opener and show you in black and white if your priorities have gotten off track. Take special note for how much time you spend on e-mail and things that are not accountable
that you plan ahead and schedule your time. Prioritize things and have the work that will require the most effort and concentration scheduled for your peak time. Try and not get sidetracked and stay on task focusing on what you need to do. You could be amazed how much more work you can get done by simply changing how you work e-mails. If you only answer them at set hours, you save yourself from being online all day and not accomplishing much.
4. Take a break – If you get to the end of the week and your time log has you in shock, it is time to take a break. If you normally work during the weekend, make it a point to take this weekend off. Shut down your email, turn off the ringer on your phone and shut the door to your office. You will be surprised at how refreshing this will be.
Use this time off to re-evaluate how you need to be spending your time. Try to plan out when you can work on your business without losing out on time with your children. If your children are in school, make it a point to stop working when they get home. If your children are still small, maybe you can limit work hours to nap time or, if possible, have a grandparent watch them once or twice a week to allow you a bit more work time.
5. Plan an activity – Now that you are ready to make a change in your routine, why not plan an activity once a week? This can be an outing with your child or just something simple like setting aside time to make cookies together.
If possible, find another work-at-home mom and hold one another accountable to keep to your new schedules. Make a weekly play date where your children can spend time together – you can talk business if necessary or decide to make it a “no business talk allowed” discussion time.
The years that you have at home with your children are a gift as is your business. The time necessary for each will be different for every family and situation. Take the time to find what works for you and set your schedule accordingly. Make it a point to evaluate your priorities every few months to make sure that your time in spent properly. The rewards will be well worth it, when your family not only is proud of your accomplishments in your business, but also more importantly your accomplishments as their mom.
Work at home is a great challenge
Chauncey Penfold
337-856-9461
.
Operating a successful home-based business is a time-consuming endeavor. This is doubly true as work-at-home moms in that we are responsible not only for the success of our business, but for our family as well. We must be self-reliant, self-motivated, and discipline ourselves in order to attain success in both areas.
When running a business from home, it is easy to let the phone calls, em ails and paperwork keep you tied down, making you feel that you do not have time to take a break or to spend quality time with your family. Maybe you have noticed that you spend a little more time than you would like in front of your computer or on the phone. Maybe you see your kids acting out, trying to gain your attention. Perhaps you are seeing that this work-at-home dream you envisioned. You started out with such noble intentions, but maybe the excitement of success in your business has caused you to lose sight of the real reason. That you do what you do each day. It happens to so many of us, but do not worry, help is on the way.
Below are five ideas to prioritize your life and business:
1. Be honest - You probably did not start your work-at-home career to climb the corporate ladder of your at-home business. Chances are that you started your business with the best of intentions – to be able to be at home with your children, to contribute financially to your family, or simply to have a little spending money of your own. Spend some time in prayer and ask the Lord to show you the things that you need to change.
Take a moment and honestly ask yourself how you have been handling the time commitment of owning a business:
• Are you spending too much time on the phone, the computer, etc?
• Are your kids spending more time than usual in front of the TV?
• Do you snap at your children because of the stresses of your business?
• Do you worry about your business – to the point that it distracts you when you are with your family?
2. Make a list – Sit down and write out a list of things that you see that you would like to change. This can be a list of things you can do differently to limit the time you spend on your business; or a list of ways you can “de-stress” so that you can deal kindly with your family.
3. Log your time – Buy a notebook or create a spreadsheet that you can use to log the time you spend on your business each day. Make a column for each day across the top and a row of half an hour increments down the side. Every time you sit down at your desk, write IN the box that corresponds to the time and day. Every time you leave your desk (or complete a task), fill the appropriate box with the word OUT.
At the end of the week, total up the hours each day that you have spent on business tasks. Are you surprised or is it about where you thought you could be? This can be a real eye-opener and show you in black and white if your priorities have gotten off track. Take special note for how much time you spend on e-mail and things that are not accountable
that you plan ahead and schedule your time. Prioritize things and have the work that will require the most effort and concentration scheduled for your peak time. Try and not get sidetracked and stay on task focusing on what you need to do. You could be amazed how much more work you can get done by simply changing how you work e-mails. If you only answer them at set hours, you save yourself from being online all day and not accomplishing much.
4. Take a break – If you get to the end of the week and your time log has you in shock, it is time to take a break. If you normally work during the weekend, make it a point to take this weekend off. Shut down your email, turn off the ringer on your phone and shut the door to your office. You will be surprised at how refreshing this will be.
Use this time off to re-evaluate how you need to be spending your time. Try to plan out when you can work on your business without losing out on time with your children. If your children are in school, make it a point to stop working when they get home. If your children are still small, maybe you can limit work hours to nap time or, if possible, have a grandparent watch them once or twice a week to allow you a bit more work time.
5. Plan an activity – Now that you are ready to make a change in your routine, why not plan an activity once a week? This can be an outing with your child or just something simple like setting aside time to make cookies together.
If possible, find another work-at-home mom and hold one another accountable to keep to your new schedules. Make a weekly play date where your children can spend time together – you can talk business if necessary or decide to make it a “no business talk allowed” discussion time.
The years that you have at home with your children are a gift as is your business. The time necessary for each will be different for every family and situation. Take the time to find what works for you and set your schedule accordingly. Make it a point to evaluate your priorities every few months to make sure that your time in spent properly. The rewards will be well worth it, when your family not only is proud of your accomplishments in your business, but also more importantly your accomplishments as their mom.
Work at home is a great challenge
Chauncey Penfold
337-856-9461
.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
5 Key Elements of a Successful Home Based Business
5 Key Elements of a Successful Home Based Business
Who wouldn't want to work from home? You can make your own hours, forget ever having to commute, and never have to answer to a boss. Plus, as a home based business owner, you have the potential to earn exponentially more than you ever will by punching a time clock.
Yet, there are so many home based business opportunities available that it's often difficult to choose the one that is a good fit for you and that has the income potential that you need. To help you make your choice, here are five key elements to look for in a home based business.
1. Go with Network Marketing
While it's true that not everyone succeeds at network marketing, the principles behind it are sound. After all, network marketing is essentially using and selling products through word of mouth. This approach allows you to reach out to an ever-growing number of people and reap the financial rewards of building your own downlink. Because network marketing cuts out the middleman, your earning potential increases. In the process, you create the potential for residual income while enjoying low overhead and the opportunity to work when and where you want. Furthermore, when you take advantage of Internet-based network marketing, you are not bound by geographic boundaries; your customers and downline can reach global proportions.
2. Choose a Company that Offers Multiple Products
Every day, you use dozens of products. Some home based business opportunities focus on one product, while others focus on many. When you do the math, it's easy to see why it's preferable to choose a company that allows you to become a member and have access to a wide variety of products, as well as to sell those products.
3. Find Cutting Edge Products to Use and Sell
Few people need more candles, kitchenware, or knick-knacks. What they really need and want are information and mobile technology products, such as DSL, VOIP, and broadband. Baby boomers in particular are looking for values in discount shopping, travel, and professional services such as legal services and health services. Companies and entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for cutting edge business software, conference calling, SEO services, marketing products, and video production services.
4. Look for a Solid Compensation Plan
Compensation plans vary from company to company, so be sure to find one that gives you the greatest earning potential. A single paid matrix is an excellent approach, as is a 3 x 9 monthly matrix commission.
5. Gain Access to Business Building Tools
One of the premises of network marketing is that you don't need to reinvent the wheel; the infrastructure for a successful business model already exists. When reviewing home based business opportunities, especially those that are Internet based, find one that allows you to grow your business through duplication, so that you can immediately get up and running. The company you work with should also have a support system that includes mechanisms to capture leads, create ads, and develop solid marketing strategies. Moreover, there should be a sense of community, camaraderie, and mutual support.
Launching your own home based business can not only lead you to a debt free life, but can also enable you to travel the path of true financial freedom.
To your success
Chauncey Penfold
337-856-9461
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