The BIGG Successs Show
There's Trouble On The Homefront
Bigg advice for a new homepreneur. Listen to the show & read the summary here.
Welcome to the Big Success Show. Today, there's trouble on the home front. The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. Today, we're going to talk about another challenge from one of the members of our Big Success community. Yeah, Robin emailed us with her situation. She recently started her first home-based business, and she's never worked from home full-time before. Her challenge is she keeps getting distracted. Yeah, that's a common one. It is. Well, she has young children. Even tougher. The phones ringing all the time. Her friends and family calling, the neighbor pops in frequently. When she does sit down to work, she often sees something that reminds her of a personal project she needs to get done. So the bottom line is she's having trouble treating her home office like a real office and wants some big advice. Well, first of all, congratulations Robin on your startup. Yeah, you go, girl. And secondly, well, welcome to home-based businesses, right? That's right. Well, more and more people are working from home or at least trying to. And so, Robin, you're in a situation that's familiar to a lot of people. You know, there's a lot of advantages to working at home. You don't have that commute, no office politics. It's the ultimate and flex time. You know, you get to work when you want to, and if you're in business, it keeps your overhead low. Plus, you can work in your robe if you want to. Some of the disadvantages, though, you're it from the janitor to the CEO, and that can be overwhelming, particularly if you're used to having some support staff. But the biggest disadvantage is what you're saying, Robin, getting distracted easily, and especially when you have small children. That definitely makes it tougher. Robin, your email describes just about every distraction we face. It seems like you're getting hit with it. So today, we want to help you alleviate some of those distractions so you can get to work. First thing to do is to make sure you designate a workspace just for your business. In this case, the kitchen table just won't do. You've got to create a space that looks and feels like an office. Because having that dedicated space puts you in the right frame of mind, and another benefit is it's easier to communicate to others that when you're in the workspace, you're at work. That's right. So put some thought into the design of this space, because you're going to be spending a lot of time there. You can't just put a card table up in the guest room. You really want to put some design into it so that you can be productive when you're working. Second, establish a schedule. Just like a job, you're going to have predetermined times when you work and when you don't. And we understand that you're trying to keep costs low. It's tempting not to do what we're about to suggest. But think about this. Just because you work at home doesn't mean you don't work. Maybe you should think about taking the kids to daycare, just like you would if you worked in an office. Well, you know, George, the maybe part of the reason why she is working at home is because she wants to spend more time with her kids. You know, a lot of women do that. So what you might be able to do, Robin, is dedicate a couple of hours during the day for making phone calls and then really hunker down when the kids go to bed because obviously you're going to have to make business calls during the business day. I don't know many businesses that are open at three in the morning. Yeah, figure out what works for you, Robin, and then go with it. The nice thing is, your schedule doesn't have to be nine to five. Isn't that wonderful? That is nice. You can custom design it. That's the thing. Just stick to it once you've established it. And Robin, that means all those personal distractions don't get done when you're at work. That's just about self-discipline, which can be hard to do. Coming up one more way to keep those distractions away. Today, we're offering some big advice to Robin, who's a homepreneur and she's having problems with some distractions that keep preventing her from getting her work done and building her business. We have one more piece of advice for you, Robin, and that is make sure you communicate the boundaries. Right. Now you've established those boundaries by creating that separate work area for yourself, and you've set a schedule when you can take personal calls and when you can't. Now you have to communicate that. Yeah, and with the adults in your life, it's easier or should be easier, I guess we should say. Sometimes it's not. You know, let them know that you value your time with them, but it's also important that you build your business. You may even want to set up regular times for coffee or lunch. Yeah, because sometimes it's, especially when you're working in the home, it's good to get out. Absolutely. The key thing is to just let them know that there are times when you won't be available, just like if you worked in an office. Now with kids, this is a little trickier, depending on their age, because if they're really young, obviously, they don't understand that you are working and that you need some time. But here's an idea. You plan some playtime with them early in the day, and then let them know that mommy has to work, and if they're good, you'll do something with them later. So they get a reward for giving you some work time. It's just a matter trying to train them to understand those boundaries. Yeah, and kind of alluded to this earlier, it's even hard to train some adults. Yes. And with them, what you need to do is when they call, just let it go through the voicemail, check to make sure it's not an emergency. And also, just because there's a knock on the door doesn't mean you have to answer it. Well, unless its publisher's clearing house at the door with a big check. Yeah, that one you should answer. Well, Robin, thank you very much for emailing us with your big challenge. We wish you big success. And if you work at home and have some advice for Robin, share it on our blog today at bigsuccess.com. That's also where you'll find a written summary of today's show. And before we go, let's get our big quote for the day. Our quote today comes from Paul J. Meyer who said, "Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort." Working at home works best when you plan your work and work your plan. Next time, we're going to talk about how to get attention for your message amidst all the clutter. And until then, here's to your big success. The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com. [BLANK_AUDIO]