Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Building a Balanced Calendar for your Home Based Business

Building a balanced calendar for your home based business

 

One of the greatest things about being your own boss is that you get to set your own hours.  One of the biggest drawbacks to being your own boss is that you have to set your own hours.

We hear a lot about work life balance, especially for women.  Having a flexible schedule is what draws a lot of women to having a home based business.  Unfortunately that flexibility can become one of our biggest challenges when we become our own boss.

The 2 most common pitfalls are:
1. Thinking you will fit in your business activities "when you have time"
2. Letting your business overwhelm you and take over your schedule

Fitting in your business when you have time. 

Lets take a look at the first pitfall, thinking you'll work your business when you have time. You have great plans for your business.  You plan to get out and meet people, promote your website or deliver orders when you finish all the things you have to do for your family and around the house.

But there's always just one more thing to do, or you finally finish all the things you have to do at home and really just need to relax...you'll do the stuff for your business tomorrow. Then tomorrow is pretty much like today was and before you know it weeks or even months have gone by and you haven't made any progress in your business.

Be sure you are blocking out time to work on your business. It can be an hour or two a day, a day or two a week or a few days a month.  Figure out how many business hours you will need and get that time on your schedule.  
And if your biggest roadblock to getting time to work on your business is that you don't want to take time away from your family, remember that building your business is going to benefit your family. The time you spend away from them is going to improve all of your lives in the long run.
With a little extra planning you can even incorporate your business activities into your family's activities. Have some brochures in your bag to share with other mom's at the park. Prepare books and samples while watching a movie with the family. Make phone calls or send emails while you're waiting in the school pick up line. It's easy to find those little pockets of time and opportunities to share your business when you plan ahead.

Letting your business overwhelm your life. 

The opposite problem is letting yourself get overwhelmed by your business activities because you feel like to have to meet everyone else's demands on your time. Answering the phone during dinner, delivering orders at random times or working in the evenings during family focused time.

As important as it is to set aside time to work on your business, you also need to respect the time you've set aside for the other important things in your life. It is perfectly acceptable to have set hours when you are available for office hours, or to meet with customers or team members.

You can use your outgoing message on your voicemail to let people know when you'll be returning calls. You can use an auto reply or send a quick reply for texts and emails letting people know when to expect a response. Let your customers know what your available delivery hours are. You train people to know what they can expect from you and when you respect your schedule they will too.

Check out the related articles below for more ideas on ways to take control of your schedule.

Related Topics

Customer Delivery Tips
Tips for Managing Your Schedule
Professional Phone Practices


Chris Arnold
Avon Gold Leader
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