Being Productive With Your Home Based Business

If you are thinking of going into business and working at home, there are a few things that you need in order to be successful. Being able to stay focused and motivated is going to help you stay on track while increasing your productivity. This is what keeps you on the right track. If you don’t work, you don’t make money which is why so many people fail at home-based businesses. Here are a few tips and things to keep in mind before you start your own business to help you stay productive and successful.


Procrastination

We all do this from time to time. We know what we have to do, but we sometimes put it off until a later time. The only downfall to this is that it can cause you to never get it done or it gets done when it’s too late. If you are working for yourself, you need to prevent procrastination by implementing some good habits to help you stay on track. Make a schedule and stick to it so it becomes routine.

Keep a Positive Outlook

Having a positive outlook and mind on things is going to help you become successful, or it can break you down. Make sure you have a positive outlook on everything and try to find new ways to get through tough times. Keep your thoughts positive and this will help you stay on track while eliminating road blocks that can potentially bring you down. You can listen to motivational podcasts or audio to help you stay positive and on the path to success.

Stay Flexible

When you work for yourself, flexibility is important. Your days can change from one day to the next especially if you have children at home. There may be days where they need more attention than others but you should try to set a schedule that allows you to have time to be with them as well as getting your work done. Consider working for a few hours in the morning and taking a break and getting back to it. Change up your schedule from day to day to keep things interesting and not so monotonous or boring.

Make Lists

For some people it helps to make a to-do list. This allows you to see what needs to be done that day and as you complete each task, cross it off. This can help you see that you’re having a productive day. There are now online sites that have list templates you can use. This is a sensible move especially if you spend a few hours on the computer at a time. For the most part, you can find them for free.

Being successful in any home business takes a lot of self-discipline and motivation. Staying productive can be hard if you are not seeing results, but with the right attitude and motivation you will see your business take off allowing you to be a successful business owner.

 

If I may add to this list, which I think has gotten off to a great start, here are a few more tips:

Set for yourself a definite aim

When you start or are running your business, make sure that you have a definite and clearly defined goal. have a major goal for the business itself, and even set some smaller goals for each day, week, month, quarter etc to attain that major aim.

Create a plan

Once you have your goal, sit and think very hard about a plan to achieve it. Write down a definite and clearly defined set of actions. in your plan, list what you will do every day, week month, etc and also list those things you are willing to give up, or will not do.

Take action

Do something every day to work your plan, attain your goals and run your business. By this I mean something above and beyond the daily operations.

Get your marketing done early

Remember that no matter what business you're in, your really in the business of marketing that company. So start your day by doing those marketing tasks that you need to do to grow and thrive. Marketing fills the piggy bank. And often, we're the most creative and energized in the morning. so you might start by doing your blogging, article writing, SEO, etc etc early on.

I think this is a great topic and hopefully will become popular. Small business and work from home entrepreneurs are the backbone of our economy.

 

Any home-based business is possible only if you have a financial cushion to lean on. If you keep living on rice and beans (or maybe even nothing at all some days) while developing your home-based biz, I'd say go find a job first, so that you could cover some of your basic expenses.

Don't live in a dream land of some viral success. Most people who are successful today worked a full time job and did what they liked to do in their spare time. Once they got successful in what they liked to do, they were able to quit their full-time jobs.

 

Making to do list is the key ! You must know what you are doing. Have a game plan and implement accordingly. and you'll be succeeded !

 

Making a to-do list has helped me out tremendously! I use the "Keep" app on my Android phone to type in my to-do list and monitor what I need to do throughout the day. I put the Keep widget on my home screen so I never forget what I have to do. Also, I will write down to-do list and use "Tasks" in Microsoft Outlook. Basically, everywhere I go I see a to-do list to make sure I don't forget something. Sounds like overkill, but it works for me.

Procrastination is your worst enemy and its best to avoid it at all costs! I have gone through many bad phases where I had something going on in my life and I just didn't want to work or I couldn't focus on my work. It hurt my finances and put me in an even worse situation! It takes a good deal of discipline to avoid procrastinating, but what works for me is simply staying motivated. I think of what will happen if I don't get this task done, and how good I will feel once it is done.

 

Yes, I definitely agree with you on this! In some cases, the home-based business will take so much time that one will either fail at it and continue their day job, or they will quit the day job and make it happen. There's always a risk, but its wise to at least have some money saved for emergencies if things don't go well.

 

Here are some ideas to help:
No Kidding Around: If you have young children still at home, you’ll need to devise a solution for childcare, at least during core business hours. Hire a babysitter or nanny, start a child-care co-op with other home-based business owners, or send the kids to an outside day-care provider. The good news is, childcare gets easier as kids get older and more self-sufficient, and an office separate from the hub of family activities can help you stay focused.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Sometimes when neighbors find out you work from home, they expect you do them favors, such as letting the cable guy or a contractor into their homes. Be firm and let them know that you are running a business and are not available to handle their domestic duties.

Set the Clock: Working from home allows you to set your own hours, but it could also lead to a scattered schedule where you don’t get anything done. If you budget a specific amount of time to complete each task, you’ll find it easier to stay productive and focused. Working long hours is a common problem home-based entrepreneurs face, so make sure you take breaks and try to have an actual end to your work day.

Allow Yourself Downtime: Office life is full of built-in breaks like going on a Starbucks run, chatting with coworkers or walking to meetings, which you don't enjoy when you work from home. It’s important to schedule some time to surf the Web for fun, check in on Facebook or take a coffee break. If you make time for yourself, it will be easier to stay focused during your highly productive time.

Change the Scenery: Get out of the house for at least a short time every day, whether to meet a friend or colleague for lunch, exercise or even run to the office supply store. It will give your brain (and body) a change of pace. Stressed about too much work to do? Get out to meet a client in person instead of by video conference. Customers always appreciate a face-to-face encounter, and you’ll feel good just getting a change of scenery.

 

Home based business is something peculiar and not all can taste success in it. This field requires a cognitive study of the business domain in which you are interested. A thorough market research has to be done before you start your home based business. Your strategy to succeed should be based on the target audience. We have 2 kinds of business here - Online and offline(traditional) business. If you are going to target your business based upon today's internet trend, then you will face some problems in the near future. Internet trends generally do not last more than 2 years. Gone were the days of Orkut and Facebook is the king of social media. Who knows and we might get some other application in the future which will surpass the popularity of FB. So get it right when it comes to your business domain and strategy. Starting a home based business is not that simple as most people think.

 

these are all great additions to this article! thanks everyone!

 

The ideas are pretty cool and awesome. If I may add, we must keep ourselves motivated everyday. We must be motivated daily. Some things that motivate me to keep going are my family, ambitions and goals. I would like to quote Zig Ziglar "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bating - that's why we recommend it daily." Hope this helps. Thanks!

 

This is a great post. One of the points you made about creating list -- has helped me a lot in being more productive throughout my day.

I believe another great way to become productive online if you are overwhelmed, is...

1. Find one niche to market too
2. Find one possible two traffic methods only and drive all that traffic to a squeeze page
3. Promote one product

Once you start to generate income from doing the three task I just mentioned -- you can then start to branch out and drive different traffic methods, promote other products, and get involved with other markets.

 

Rememer also to always focus on tasks that will bring in more money. It's very easy to get caught up in busywork that doesn't really produce income for you.

Ron