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Don't become a slave to your Home Business:

Although the expressed reasons for wanting to work from home are many and varied, most home based business owners cite the ability to set their own hours as a major factor in their decision to work at home. However, many people that have work at home businesses often fall into a trap that flies directly in the face of their stated desire for time flexibility.

The strong growth in home based business activity continues and, according to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, fifty-two percent of ALL small businesses are home-based.

Some home based business owners have been known to become "workaholics" because their office is so accessible. Don't become a slave to your business...get out of your home office regularly to renew and revitalize yourself.

Close the door to your office or otherwise remove yourself from your designated "work area" and go into your "home" area to live your personal life. If your business involves the use of the telephone and you find it difficult to ignore a ringing phone in the office, simply turn the ringer off and turn the volume on the answering machine way down. If your business is internet based, just turn off your computer (or at least get away from the monitor and keyboard).

As a work at home business entrepreneur, you certainly aren't required to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just because your business is located in your home. After all, your office or workspace is just an area in your home...its not your home itself!

Working and living under the same roof has a host of advantages, but it can present some challenges (in addition to the workaholic syndrome mentioned, above) and stress factors.

Here are four ways to create a less stressful home business environment:

-Remember why you wanted to become involved with a home-based business (i.e. more time for family, work schedule flexibility, etc.)

-Have discussions with your family members and get their input about the working arrangements and the amount of time they want with you.

-Use good time management techniques. Keep a list of tasks by order of importance. There are many low cost and effective "day planners" or "organizers" readily available today.

-ALWAYS take a little time to "smell the roses".

While not experiencing the negatives common to a corporate office working environment, the home-based business owner may occasionally experience stresses and frustrations that are unique to working at home.

Networking with other home-based and small business owners provides an opportunity to connect with others who may be experiencing the same stresses/frustrations that you are. Sharing stressful and/or frustrating issues with someone else in the same situation can relieve your stress and may bring you good advice from a different point of view.

As a final note, remember to observe Home-Based Business Week each year (it is always the week of October that includes the second Tuesday).

By Kirk Bannerman
Time Saving Tips

The cliché time is money, is the guidepost for most selling professionals. Time is the one item you do not get to reinvent or get back. Once it’s gone it’s gone. The reward for managing your time is the enrichment of not only your professional life, but also your personal life. And, good time management also gets you closer to your goals. You must focus on your highest priorities and consistently place them first. The added benefit of a well-organized work schedule is the creation of time for family, friends and the leisure activities that rejuvenate and refresh you.

With only 24 hours in a day, how can all the calls, the reports and the tasks get completed? Simply put, planning. Planning is the most vital aspect of every professional career. Business professionals particularly should plan the order of their appointments so as not to retrace steps; they should plan when to respond to e-mail. If possible, they should plan where and when to visit clients so not to spend too much time in the car.

Typically, most of us respond to what we believe are urgent matters and forget to pre- plan and be proactive. They become Emergency Medical Technicians for all incoming work. The red light goes on and salespeople immediately scurry to get that item completed immediately.

Proactive planning makes the day less daunting and helps you get more accomplished in less time. If you respond to all that comes in, you will never accomplish any of the important items. Here are successful tips:

1. Grouping appointments either in the morning or in the afternoon. Sporadically making appointments during the day leaves little room for other things.

2. Replying to telephone calls and emails four to five times per day rather than right away. Stop being reactive and create proactive activities to make the day less intimidating.

3. Prioritizing your tasks using letters, numbers and color-coding. Creating visuals and lists immediately connects you with what must be done first. We will address this later in this article.

My program Pump Up Your Productivity™ contains a 12- step formula for assistance with prioritization and planning. Created here is the list of the top five.

1. Use a planner – Electronics and technology creates a vast array of tools and gadgets to enable efficiency in our day. The issue is that many people do not use them or cannot utilize them during certain times, i.e. driving an automobile or while shopping. With over 25 years in business and several electronic tools at my disposal (Outlook and an iPhone), I still use a paper planner. It is always at my disposal and never needs to be rebooted because it crashed.

2. Work backward – Begin your days with what needs to be accomplished on completion of the day. Begin the day with the end in mind. Visualize what you need to do before the sun runs out.

3. Minimize distractions – Forestall the interruptions. Refrain from enabling others to distract your day. Stick to your plan and get more done. Create a healthy selfishness and learn to use the word NO!

4. Create routines – Regularity creates habit. Structure the day around specific events or even specific clients and neighbors. It is not customary to build a day reflecting a maze.

5. Do not dwell on unpleasant situations – We all castigate ourselves. When things go awry we create self doubt and intensify the experience. This throws us off from our tasks and responsibilities. Learn to compartmentalize and move forward.

There are numerous things you can do to simplify your life and your practice. A best practice is prioritization. Many professionals operate haphazardly, rushing from one issue to another without a plan. Prioritizing your daily events enables you to maximize your time, minimize the issues and end the day happily.

I propose one of two options for you dependent on your personal taste. The first emulates time-honored pundits. Prioritization is about placing first things first. And the first step is to obtain a planner or use some electronic device that enables you to record important To Do items and appointments. Recent surveys illustrate that over 45% of individuals miss appointments or fail to accomplish imperative issues because they fail to record them.

Once your begin to record your day, one of the most essential elements is to record your lists of To Do’s. There are two steps to this process. In a margin or on the events portion of the planner list your items using an alphabetic code. Simply write down or keypunch all the things you need to do within the next week. Then begin to code the items using an alphabetical symbol. To exemplify use an “A” for items that need to be complete in the next 12 to 24 hours; use a “B” for items that need to be complete in the next 24 to 48 hours and finally use a “C” for items that need to be complete in the next 48 to 72 hours or personal items.

Now review your list again and be realistic. Not everything in the list needs to be complete within 24 hours. Theoretically, you should have no more than three to four items in each of the respective alpha categories. Here are some additional points to ponder for prioritization:

1. Get up early. The clichй of early to bed early to rise is true: you get more done when lethargy is not prevalent in your life.

2. Direct others to maintain your order. You are the master of your fate and the more you delegate and control situations the easier the day becomes.

3. Invest in things that assist you. Purchase planners, cell phones, directories, computer equipment, etc. Being frugal saves money but does not win you time.

4. Be selfish. Learn to say “No”. Be respectful and learn to say no when possible. Affirming all that comes into your day only throws you out of focus.

Creating change alters the comfort zone. However, when you begin to make changes you begin to see the timesavings you desire. You also eliminate stress. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see."."

By Drew Stevens, PhD,
the Sales Strategist
Real Money Advantages

One of the greatest and most rewarding endeavors you may adopt is working from home
. Not only do you get to set your own schedule, you are blessed with spending time with your loved ones and/or your loved activities. I can't tell you how to put a dollar amount on it. But it's probably like this: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

We are talking about time. Time is the most important factor when you compare working from home versus working a regular 9-5 job. If you hate the day-to-day grind of working a normal job and you never worked from home you are missing out on one of life's treasures. It is so limitless only you know what you would do with it. I personally enjoy 3 mile walks with my wife and dog Rixy (the fastest Whippet around). Oh, to be perfectly honest I love golfing with my friend at his country club. The best time to go from 11am to 3pm, if you add the commute times it really takes the WHOLE day. But you what? Time doesn't matter because I make my own schedule. I work from home.

However, time is a non-money advantage. Let's look at some of the real money advantages to determine if working from home is for you. Always weigh your options before making any decision regarding your finances. We will look at some of the required actions needed to work from home in my next article.

Some Real Money Advantages: per year

1. NO MORE COMMUTE! You SAVE the GAS money: depending on the vehicle this is probably between $$-$$$ per month. $$-$$$$

2. You SAVE the Wear and Tear on your vehicle. Many people don't take this factor seriously but it is serious and costly if you're not factoring it in. Most cars cost at least .25 cents per mile (runs .50 cents to $1 per mile Mercedes AMG). These can surface in repairs or depreciation (i.e.: $25,000 2002 new car price minus current value 2005 $17,000 = $8,000 depreciation). If you add the repairs and upkeep during those years for a vehicle in good working order (average $1000 per year includes, brake pads, regular oil changes, unexpected expenses etc). That's $11,000 loss for three years. $$$-$$$$$

3. Ever get a TRAFFIC Ticket because of your commute to and from work? $$-$$$

4. Does your current employer penalize you for being late? $$-$$$

5. Auto accidents. Not all of us get into one. But those that do lose money on deductibles, and higher rates. $$$-$$$$

6. Insurance companies usually charge more money for longer commutes. $-$$$

7. Cost of inflation. Historically between 4-10%. This means everything costs you more, but rarely do job hourly and salary keep up. You see this every time you go to the grocery store, or buy your next car, or car wash etc. Suddenly it feels like you have less money. Trust your instinct or listen to an economist, you do have less money by stores, services etc raising their prices simple translation: inflation. If you own a property this will help but beware. If you don't own a property, inflation could really hurt. $-$$$$$

8. No need for lunch money. $$$-$$$$

9. No need for new wardrobe or keeping wardrobe clean. $$-$$$$

Some Non-Money Advantages: (just a few)

1. No more boss! You make your own decisions, rules, and disciplinary actions. Not someone else. This is really great if your current boss has those notorious suppressive anti-social characteristics and it all seems directed at you.

2. More time to work on your own earning power. Most employees are helping their employer make money. But at the end of the week do you even have time to send a resume or go on an interview for better opportunities? Or read up on other systems to make money? You'll see how difficult it is to focus and read and experiment etc. There are more complicated ones. Who has time for that?

3. No day-to-day grind. You may love the grind but it is a true relief when you don't HAVE to. You'll make up your own grind working from home. Based on your likes, dislikes and strengths.

4. Time to work out. Time for 3 mile walks. TIME to study money making systems. Time for networking. Time for higher education.

5. Efficiency. You won't spend time cleaning up other peoples mess-ups at work. This really hurts you. It diminishes your self esteem to know that during your normal work day you spend time fixing the problems other people create. This doesn't even help you and seldom does anyone acknowledge it. It may be the ethical thing to do to help the company. But when your own work suffers. When you have to stay longer than scheduled. It intrudes your own personal integrity to your family and yourself.

When you work from home you actually get more efficient. Search for my next article Work from Home: 6 Required Actions for further information.

6. Independent Thinking. When you are an employee you are affected by a herd mentality. You may not realize how other people you encounter everyday give you wrong data. This then gets filed in your brain and you start operating on it.

The list can go on and on. Number 6 is my favorite. I'm going on my eighth year working from home. As I get good information, good education and apply solid principles I see great results.

I'm running an experiment on the newest information marketing website turnkey system. The system advertised the typical promises: "help you make money from home
with very little money, time and offers plenty of solutions that can cover most of your knowledge deficiencies." A current example to show anyone who is interested about home based turnkey systems: view an experiment system. See the bank statements to view how profitable or not so profitable.

By J. Kenneth Ezra