Beware
of having a website or brochure that is too process driven. Market the results
and benefits of your service or product – not the features and processes.
Coaches especially can fall into this trap. We tell people all about what
coaching is and how it happens. It’s much more effective to actually state what
changes people can expect from working with you.
I decided to ring fence times where I did not see clients or even do a lot of client work. Nowadays, I don't see clients on Mondays or Fridays and I limit any client work I do on these days.
My key days for seeing clients and doing client work are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This means I have two days a week to concentrate on other things. Maybe it's marketing and PR, writing, creating new programmes,reading or learning new skills or maybe just taking some time out to re-charge my batteries.
I'm not exaggerating when I say this decision changed my life. Instead of rushing around at the whim of my clients, I took control of my time and my commitments. My clients benefit too because they know when I'm available for them.
Trust me - this one decision will repay huge dividends in extra time, energy and a feeling of control.
If you want to
have more energy and more confidence it pays to have strong boundaries.
If you say yes to too many requests from
other people you could find yourself feeling harassed and even resentful. Not a
good combination for your confidence levels!
There are several
things you can start to do right away which will have a positive impact in this
area.
You’ll find that
a lot of these suggestions are really about controlling your time in one way or
another. If we feel in control of how we use our time it helps us to feel more
confident that we are in charge of our own lives and businesses.
10 Remember why you went into business for yourself
I
once heard the following joke: "A self employed person is someone who
works 16 hours a day for themselves so they don't have to work eight hours a day
for someone else!" Have you gone self employed only to find
you’re working longer hours and harder than you ever did before? Of course it’s
only to be expected that we immerse ourselves in our businesses in the early
days. And if you’re like me and love what you do it often doesn’t even feel
like work.
However,
it’s a good idea to remind ourselves every so often why we went self employed
in the first place.
Maybe you wanted to spend more time with your family, or find the time to
finish writing your novel. Maybe the idea was to travel more and only work a
four day week. Whatever your motivation, try reconnecting with your main
drivers. If your business has completely taken over your life, what do you want
to do to change that and get a bit more balance back into your life? Realise
that it’s not going to happen unless you make it happen!
The
bottom line: What did you do for fun when you had a j-o-b? Do you still do
these things? Reconnect with your motivation for setting up your own business.
Make sure you take stock every so often to ensure that your business is serving
your needs rather than you being a slave to the business.
And here’s a final bonus tip:
Try creating your very own rituals to signal
the start of your working day and the close of your working day.
It could be something as simple as firing up
the computer in the morning and closing it down at the end of the working day. You may even get in
the car and drive round the block and come back into the house to signal the
change into work mode! I really have heard of some people who did this in the
early days of working from home. You could try wearing certain clothes and
shoes just for work and changing into “non-work” clothes when you close the
office door at the end of the day. Find something that helps you make the
switch and use it as your personal ritual. Closing the office door could be all
it takes.
Good luck with your home based business!
9. Get the right
equipment and training
For many service professionals, all you need
to get started is a desk, chair, telephone and computer. Most of you will
have done some sort of specialised training and many of us will continue to
learn new skills and add new trainings to enhance our expertise. Some
professionals need specialised equipment.
If you’re still in the start up phase of your business, it pays to
prioritise and spread the cost of additional training and equipment.
When
was the last time you invested in growing your business? Have you been on any training courses
lately, or read any books that would give you new ideas for your business? My
own business coach spends a huge proportion of her income on learning with the
best in the business. This really works for her because she is now close
to being a dollar millionaire and that's annually!
Remember, if you keep on learning, you’ll be
at the cutting edge of your profession and be able to claim that all-important
expert status. Brian Tracy, one of the most successful business and sales
experts in the world, recommends reading for at least an hour a day in your
specialist subject. This way he says, you can quickly become an established
expert because most of your competitors will be too busy to set this time
aside.
The bottom line: Don’t struggle on without
the right training and the equipment you need. This really is a false economy.
8. Take time off
This one may seem really obvious, but you may
be surprised if you track your diary to see when you last had a full week off. I’m speaking from personal experience here.
I was shocked one year in June to discover that although I had taken lots of
long weekends and days off, I had not had a single full week so far that year
without clients and appointments! I told you I love my work!
The key here is to take out your diary at the
beginning of the year and carve out your time off in advance. Now I even put a
line through the days that are my precious time off. It’s a clear visual
message to myself that these are my holidays and I’m sticking with them. You
could go one step further and book “proper” holidays. Once you’ve paid the
deposit you’ll want to stick with the plan.
I learned the hard way how important it is to
have clear demarcation between work and home life. When we love what we
do it’s all too easy to get absorbed in it. Even if we’re not doing the actual work, we find ourselves
thinking about ideas for our businesses. Sometimes I am so buzzing with ideas
that I find it hard to get to sleep!
Give your brain a rest by doing something
completely different at evenings and weekends. And keep a notebook
by your bed for these brilliant ideas you wake up with at 4.00 am – otherwise
they could have vanished by morning.
The bottom line: If we take quality time off every so often,
then we’ll come back to our businesses refreshed and with the energy for new
ideas.
7. Control your phone
calls and e-mails
One easy way to avoid unwanted telephone interruptions
is to install a separate office line, leaving the home phone on answer phone. Of
course, make sure those who need to, know how to contact you in an emergency.
If you have small children, train them not to
answer Mummy’s office phone, or they may tell that brand new prospective
client that Mummy can’t come to the phone right now as she’s in the loo!
I know it’s hard to do, but if you’re working
to a deadline you may choose to put the office phone on answer machine some of
the time.
It can be a scary thought as you may worry you’ll miss an important call, but
sometimes circumstances may dictate this. Just make sure you return calls
within a reasonable time. And why not turn off the ringer on the office phone
at the end of the day?
When I call someone I always ask if this is a
good time.
Unfortunately most people don’t ask this question at the beginning of a call.
However, you can take the call, get the gist and then agree a time when you
will call them back. Even if we do pick up the phone we don’t have to get
embroiled in a long call if it’s not convenient.
Also, caller display can be a great boon. At least some of
the time you’ll have advance warning of who’s calling and can decide whether to
pick up or not.
Choose whether you will use a mobile or a
landline as your main method of taking calls. Because I am mainly home based, I
use a landline for my business and am very sparing with who I give my mobile
number to. A friend of mine who’s a Personal Fitness trainer does the opposite
as she’s out and about most of the time. Having one main phone really can
reduce stress!
E-mail is probably the top distraction for
home based business owners who spend a lot of time in front of their computers. In
an ideal world, I’d recommend checking e-mail three, or at most, four times a
day. Apparently, each time we are interrupted in a major project it can take as
long as 20 minutes to get back to the level of concentration and involvement we
had when we were interrupted.
Filter your e-mail for spam and create separate
folders for each “stream” of e-mail. Turn off the “ping” that says there is new
e-mail and set your e-mail preferences so that you only get e-mail on demand.
These two actions alone could save you hundreds of interruptions every year.
Be very selective about any e-zines you
subscribe to
and consider having a maximum number like a top 10. I used to subscribe to far
too many and then worried I might be missing out on something as they piled up
unread. Cutting right back has felt really liberating.
The bottom line: Remember, we are in control
of dealing with incoming phone calls and the e-mails that are allowed into our
in boxes. Use voice mail and the delete button on your computer!
6. Get fresh air and
exercise
It can be very tempting to keep right on
working and put off escaping from the desk till another day. This is one of my
own really challenging areas. I love what I do so much that sometimes it’s hard
to drag myself away!
Even on the days you haven’t designated some
exercise,
at least fling all the windows open to liven you up. A brisk walk after
breakfast or at lunchtime can give you a real energy boost and increase your
productivity for the rest of the day. Walking can also almost be a form of
moving meditation. It’s amazing how creative we can be when we give ourselves a
mental break. In fact – carry a notebook with you when you’re out so you can
capture any great ideas as they strike.
You may love to go to the gym, or swim, or go
dancing or play tennis. Just pick something and do it every week. Put it in your
diary rather than wait for the mood to strike.
The bottom line: If we’re self employed we are
our businesses and if we’re not well and unable to work, we don’t get paid.
How’s that for an incentive to get off our butts!
Tip number 5 in a series of 10
Of
course all work and no play can be draining. Working alone in your home office
every day can give you “cabin fever.” Book yourself onto some networking
events. Consider forming a “Master Mind” group with a few other business
owners. Treat yourself to a weekly or monthly lunch with friends. Arrange to
phone a friend at a mutually convenient time.
You
could even arrange to meet your old colleagues from your previous job. Their
tales of office politics will remind you how lucky you are to have your own
business!
The bottom line: To avoid feelings of
isolation, don’t forget to meet and mingle every so often. Networking isn’t
just some business chore – it can be a brilliant social occasion too.
Tip number 4 in a series of 10
4. Get
Support
Firstly, and most importantly, you will
hopefully have the support of your spouse and family for your business venture. It’s great if you
can involve the family with aspects of your business too. At the very least,
keep them updated on your progress. Also, think about tasks that might be
suitable for different family members.
Consider outsourcing tasks that you dislike
or are not very good at. For instance, why spend hours struggling with your
accounts when an expert can do them in a fraction of the time? If you think you
can’t afford this, think again. If you get stressed and feel miserable and
don’t do a great job, isn’t it worth it to get peace of mind and free up time
to work with your real expertise? And there’s the added advantage that your
Accountant can find ways to save you money on your taxes!
Virtual Assistants are an increasingly
popular resource for home based businesses. VAs do everything a Personal
Assistant or secretary would do, but you only need to pay them for the hours
they actually work, which is a huge saving on having to employ a member of
staff even part time. You don’t have to pay for National Insurance, sick pay or
holiday pay.
The 9-5
coach I mentioned in an earlier posting also does all her shopping on-line and has someone to
run her errands.
The bottom line: No-one said being self
employed meant having to do everything yourself!
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