AMVA - Amanda Moore Virtual Assistant

By: Lisa Burkhardt

As an owner of a home-based business, you will have to learn to stay focused on your goals/reasons why you originally chose this direction. It is so easy to become distracted when you are working from home; since there are always a hundred other things that need your attention. Think about all those days when you were at your j.o.b. and you would think if I were home I could be getting so much done. Training yourself to stay focused on your home-based business can prove to be a challenge.

The most common distraction many of us face on a daily basis are; children/family, friends stopping by to visit, laundry/house cleaning, interruption from the phone, mail/email, television (your soap operas can wait) and many more.

As a home-based business owner, always remember what your goals/reasons were for bringing your work home. Was your goal to own a home-based business so you could avoid day care raising your children? Was your goal to become debt free? Was your goal to work at your own convenience and having the freedom that comes along with it? Was your goal to make money for yourself instead of that demanding boss?

Here are a few tips to help you stay focused when starting out with your home-based business:

1: Always keep reminding yourself of the reason why you started your home-based business! If you forget about your why you will loose focus and you will be returning to your j.o.b. very quickly. It is far too easy to get distracted from initial reasons why you wanted to be home and when this happens then end results are sure to prove negative.

2: Act as if you are punching a time card; keep your day as if you were reporting to a regular j.o.b. Some go to work for the social aspect or to get out of the house; while others go to work to make money. Usually those earning a commission have a stronger work ethic and stay focus attitude even when they are working for someone else. They are not usually the type that report to work to socialize. When working for yourself, your salary is directed by productivity. No productivity - no positive results = no income. Focus, focus, focus this is the only way to see positive results and usually these results can be met working a shorter day.

3: Scheduling around the families activities is very important and is usually a juggling act. However it is workable; as long as you dedicate a minimum number of hours each day. It’s a good idea to block out this time on a calender so everyone involved knows this is when you will be working. With small children this could be done during nap time or in the evening after the children are in bed. When the children are older, it becomes much easier to tell them that you will be working between certain hours. Your family and friends must realize that there are certain hours of every day that you focus on your home-based business so unless it is an emergency you are not to be interrupted.

4: The biggest challenge you will run into is from your friends and family who misunderstand what working from home really means. Many misinterpret it or forget that you actually have to do work to see the end results. Therefore you might be constantly targeted to babysit or have constant visitors for that cup of coffee, early morning chat session. Family can be your toughest critique always trying to offer you advice on finding a j.o.b.

You must stand your ground on this one. Don’t try to argue the point that you do have a real j.o.b just make them understand that during specific hours you are to be treated as if you are at that j.o.b. even though you are at home. Remind others how important this is to you and if they wish to have that cup of coffee to call first so you can work it around your work schedule. It is up to you to make sure everyone close to you understands how important your work is to you; this is the only way you will get their respect.

5: To keep yourself productive, especially if your time is limited; dedicate a certain time of the day to answering emails. The best time for this would be first thing in the morning and just before leaving the home office for the day. Give yourself about two hours a day to complete this task. Answering email can consume your business and cause a negative result in your productivity.

6: Don’t get side tracked by the meaningless daily activities. For example, if you find yourself focusing on the book work instead of the important tasks that are needed to keep you business running like advertising or returning phone calls then it may be time to out source. Maybe find yourself an assistant to take care of the book work so you can keep your focus on the needed daily tasks.

At the end of the day your results are completely dependent upon you and the decisions you make everyday in running your home-based business. Remember your goals/reasons for starting your home-based business and always keep these reasons as your focus. The only way to see success is by staying dedicated and true to your home-based business; without it your business will not survive.

Stay focused on your goals/reasons with strong work ethics along the discipline necessary to reach your success and dreams. It will be a reality as long as you stay true to those goals!

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Author Resource: By Lisa Burkhardt Editor of http://www.work-home-today.com; great resource for work at home ideas and opportunities.

Article From Niche Article Directory

by Tia Peterson

This article is written particularly with virtual assistants in mind.

Anyone reading this article has probably heard of or read the book Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P. Frankel. The book highlights some common mistakes women naturally make that may prevent them from breaking through that highly controversial notion of the “glass ceiling.” The book is very good, actually, and if you haven’t read it, you should, particularly if you have been or plan to ever be part of “corporate” America.

But I have another angle on this that I’ve been thinking about recently. What about the home office? Is there a difference when it comes to women’s natural tendencies (to bring cookies and other goodies and leave them at our desk, to bring in our kid’s fund raisers, to put others first, etc) in the home-based business realm, vs corporate America?

I’d love to see some responses and comments to this. Women in home-based businesses tend to be in industries we expect them to be in - virtual assistants (like myself), home/personal products, shopping, etc. Some of the very successful are in more mixed pools - graphic design, coaching/consulting, etc. A lot of men in home-based businesses are found in major money-making MLM businesses, finance (like home-based accounting and tax services), real estate investing, technology and media. Of course, all of this commentary is without research into this - this is just my observation.

Case in point: I’ve never been a “brick-and-mortar” administrative assistant professionally (a few times during college temporarily). I have a BA in technical writing and until recently worked in IT as a tech writer, then product manager, and then lead business analyst. But when I decided to work from home, I chose virtual assistance. Why? I don’t really know. I just enjoy it a lot. That’s all I can offer for an explanation.

Women seem to thrive in “helping” businesses like virtual assistance. Does that make us servants? Most definitely not! But if you ever find yourself feeling that way a bit, don’t fret, I’m sure we all do at some point. I recently came into negotiations with a potential client that didn’t go very well. The essence of the conflict was a philosophical one. The potential client (a man) worked from home and probably enjoyed a lifestyle that anyone would - lots of income, low overhead and free time. But he didn’t anticipate that I would be in the same position as he is. When it came to negotiations in terms of my rate and my work schedule, he expected me to work 24/7 for peanuts. That’s ridiculous. Needless to say it didn’t work out between us.

Anyway, the issue I’m really getting at is that it’s obviously possible for women to be very successful in home-based business (many, many women do - just look at Ali Brown and her prodigies), but it isn’t by giving stuff away, acting like a servant, lowering our rates or devaluing our services. It’s by sticking to your guns. Set a price and a schedule that you want and that reflects your desired lifestyle (see my blog about Lifestyle Entrepreneurs) and then don’t waver. Men rarely do that (in business or in life) but as women we’re so good at rationalizing our changes that we talk ourselves into things like “I’ll lower my rate for just this one client” or “It really shouldn’t take 2 hours to do this task so I’ll only charge him for 1 1/2 hours.” Resist the temptation to do this!

Whether or not you believe in “you reap what you sow”, law of attraction, karma, “you get what you ask for” or something similar, the truth is that you will get out of life exactly what you expect to get. So set your expectations high! If you want lots of money and a 2 hour workday, expect that. You will then find yourself researching businesses that allow this sort of lifestyle and the next thing you know it will be yours.

So be nice, but be real. Don’t bend down for clients, reach up for them.

To our success!

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Tia Peterson is an entrepreneur, author behind Entrepreneurship Junkie and owner of All-American Admin She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Technical Writing with a minor in Public Relations and Advertising. She currently lives in Erie, PA with her son.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tia_Peterson