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“Automating Your Business So You Can Go on Vacation”

3/31/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

As a home business owner it's important to make plans to take periodic vacations. That means a real vacation to turn off all the computers, disconnect from social media, and spend time with your family. Everyone needs a vacation. The problem is, home based business owners tend not to take very many vacations and when they do, they usually lose money. But, you can set up your business to avoid a drop off in income, and still be able to turn everything off.

Build a Reliable Team

As a small home based business owner it's imperative that at some point you build up a team. You want to eventually become the manager of your business so that you can leave for short periods of time and business goes on as usual whether you're there or not. Offer good training, a good rate of pay, and responsibility to your contractors and they'll come through for you when you're gone.

Use Automation Wisely

There are a lot of ways to automate a lot of your business. Whatever you can automate without making your business appear to be human-less, do so. If it doesn't affect directly a client, automate it. For instance, you can automate most of your bookkeeping duties and your computer backups. Think hard about automating any aspect of customer service, though. This would be better for a team to handle.

Bring in a Partner

If you cannot yet afford to outsource and build an entire team, find a business owner who is in the same boat as you - someone who does the same type of work you do. Make a deal with each other to take over work for the other while on vacation. Put it in your client contracts that your proxy will work in your place during vacations, illness, or death. Then, if anyone asks what your emergency plan is, you can point to your proxy.

 

Schedule and Be Transparent

One of the best ways to control the inflow and outflow of work is to create a schedule for submission of work, as well as deadlines that make sense. If you do last-minute requests it can be difficult to ever take a vacation, but if your clients can see right on a calendar your open times and dates and your busy times and dates, it will make it easier for them to make their own schedules with knowledge of your availability.

Build Up Your Passive Income

Passive income is money you will make from past work such as affiliate income from product recommendations, blogging, and other activities. If you build up your passive income, and pre-schedule blog posts to happen while you're on vacation, you'll find that your income will not suffer while you're gone.

As a small business owner you can easily take a vacation and keep working with a laptop, too. You literally can work from anyplace with an internet connection so you're not tied down, regardless if you have someone who can take over or not. But, why not build up your business to the point that you can go on a real vacation and completely disconnect a couple weeks a year? You can do it with these tips.

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“How To Grow Your Business with a Live Event”

3/29/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

The main point of events that are designed to grow your business is to get more email list subscribers. Just like giving away a free eBook, eReport, or white paper can increase your list, so can live events. But often, live events attract a lot more people a lot faster than promoting a free PDF file.

The reason is that live events are thought of as a lot more personal in nature, giving the audience a chance to interact with the movers and shakers within your niche, to hobnob with the experts, and to get personal attention. Somehow live events are just a lot more effective and personal than a PDF report.

1. Hosting Teleseminars and Webinars - You can literally reach hundreds of people at one time with a live teleseminar or webinar, all while you’re sitting in your home or even a hotel room at the beach. You can host them free, or for a fee; it’s up to you and depends on your goals. To expand your reach, highly consider free.

2. Join with Others – Joint venture partnerships for events work very well because the more experts on the panel who will present, the less work it is for you. And you can all take advantage of the power of marketing through each other’s lists.

3. Give It Away Free – This is mentioned above, but important enough to bring up again. Hosting a free event will get more registrants than hosting a paid event, which means more people on your email list. Your email list is the best place to market to them over time but since it usually takes time to convert people, this is a great start.

4. Collect Registrants’ Information – For every event, require at least an email address with a double opt-in form so that you can send them other information about your products and services. Most people will be fine with at least providing a first name and email, but don’t make them jump through too many hoops. You can always collect more information later.

5. Demonstrate Your Products or Services – Use a live event to demonstrate how your products and/or services solve problems for your audience. If you can show them by using case studies, and actual demonstrations of how your system/product/service works, you’ll get more believers who are willing to spend money.

6. Teach Your Audience Something – If you have a coaching practice, a great way to attract more clients is to actually teach your audience something, at least a taste of a larger service. For instance, if you’re a web designer, you can teach your audience how easy it is to use WordPress for designing interactive websites. Believe it or not, many people will choose to hire you instead of doing it themselves - even if you teach them how to do it.

7. Preview Higher Priced Events – Let’s say you’re having a live, in-person event in Vegas. A webinar or teleseminar is a great way to give the audience a taste of what they’ll get at the event and meet the people who are going to be speaking at the event.

8. Expand Credibility – Interview experts, current and former clients/customers live on the air to help expand your credibility with your audience. When they meet people that you’ve helped, they’ll be more likely to trust you when it comes time to purchase a product or service from you.

9. Replay Events – What’s really great about live events is that you can record them and then reuse and replay them. That means you work once, and then put that work that you did once to use many times over.

Growing your business with live events is a very effective way to increase your reach, establish credibility and to earn new business, as well as get long-term business from people who are already fans of yours. Thankfully, with easy-to-use technology like Instant Teleseminar and Webinars OnAir, it’s simple to put together a successful event.

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“Habits that Make Networking More Enjoyable”

3/27/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

Networking is something very important to ensure that your business succeeds. You’ve probably heard it said that “it’s who you know, not what you know” that makes you a success. While it’s not really true completely, it is helpful to know people and to make your business known to others. Whether you network with peers, your audience or educators, it’s nice to learn habits that can make the experience more enjoyable.

Learn Communication Skills

Communication takes two people - a person with a message and the person deciphering the message. It’s up to the person who is giving the message to speak in a way that the receiver can understand the message. So, it’s up to you to practice delivering the message you want your audience to hear in the right way.

Plan Ahead

Don’t go into any networking event without a plan, but don’t be so rigid that you’re not natural. It is okay to divert a little from the plan if it’s ultimately giving you a result that you wanted when you set your goals for the event. A plan of action is going to see you through the event in a more successful way than just going in blind.

Choose the Right Opportunities

The networking events that you want to attend should be focused on the needs of your business so that you can reach your goals. Attend events that have a purpose such as connecting you with the right people who can help your business grow. Plus, you want to go into it with the idea that you can also provide value.

Practice Your Elevator Speech

It’s important that you know in advance how you’ll introduce yourself and talk about your business to each person you meet. You don’t want to sound like a broken record, though, so don’t memorize one line - instead understand everything you can about your business and your audience so that you can easily let people you meet know what you do in a way that that person will remember.

Develop an Attraction Hook

Depending on the type of event, you can create an attraction hook that will help people remember you. Some people are known from their brightly colored hair, or funny shirts, or a particular catchphrase. Ensure that your hook is appropriate for your audience; you want to be memorable but not a joke.

Focus on Quality over Quantity

Giving your business card out to everyone at the event should never be your goal. You should know in advance who is going to the event and who you’d like to meet. If you know some people who can introduce you to the people you want to meet, all the better.

Build Relationships

While you do want to sell things, you also want to build relationships with people. The relationships you build through networking events are more important than any amount of money you can make. As you learn to focus on relationship building, the networking events will automatically become more enjoyable because you’ll lift the pressure of performance.

Follow Up Fast

When any event is over, the moment you are back home or in your hotel room, or sign off from the online event, make notes of what happened, who you conversed with, what they said, what you said, and their information if you collected it. Then, within the next 48 hours, email the person a nice letter, and/or if appropriate send them a card in snail mail. The follow-up is almost the more important than the event. It will make you stand out among the others since most people do not remember to follow up.

When you go into a networking event prepared with a plan of action, you’ll automatically enjoy it more because you’ll know what your goals are and how you’ll achieve them. By placing your focus on building relationships and even making friends instead of just what you can get out of it, you’ll truly enjoy networking events more.

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“Three Tips to Manage Your Time When Working from Home”

3/26/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

The hardest thing for any of us to do is to tame time. When you work from home, this task gets even more daunting. Here are three big tips to help you manage your work schedule when home is also the workplace.

It’s All Relative

Time passes at the same rate day in and day out but the perception of it is vastly different from event to event. When we are engrossed in an activity, two hours can pass like 20 minutes. On the other hand, a difficult task can take an hour and feel like you spent three on it. Because of the relativity, it can be hard to gauge how much time you are actually spending on an activity.

Clocks work but can be more of a hindrance. Like a watched pot never boils, a watched clock doesn’t seem to tick off the time. It takes compromise to get it all done and with a modicum of success each day. Just finishing your list of important tasks can be a blow for freedom.

Be realistic. When there are small kids at home and a household to run, time won’t flow as smoothly as it might have if you were miles away in an office building. Certain allowances need to be made to achieve the balance you need and business success you seek. This might mean shortening the blocks of time in which you work and lengthening the time spent on other tasks. If it results in more getting done, then it’s all good.

Three Tips for Managing your Time when Working from Home

Remember that all households are different. What works best for your family might be disastrous for another. With that in mind, these tips are valuable but also general to fit into any dynamic.

1. Start with a plan – Spend the last 30 minutes of each work day planning for the next one. If you plan to work six hours a day at your business, decide on the most important tasks that need to be completed and concentrate on those. Understand that there will be interruptions (if there are small kids) so work around them accordingly. When there is a goal in mind, you are better able to track progress.

2. Schedule time wasters – What are we talking about here? Some activities can start out well but turn into sinkholes – checking emails, updating social media pages and handling administrative tasks. Assign time throughout the day for each. Any emails that come in after that will have to wait for the next allotted time slot.

3. Keep set hours – This doesn’t mean that business is open from 9 to 5. If the goal is six hours of work a day, once that is reached, knock off until tomorrow. This isn’t straight time all the time. It might be 20 minutes or an hour early in the morning while everyone is asleep or the odd hour or so around bedtime when the kids are down for the night.

The key to managing time is to understand how it flows in your life.

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“Should You Stick with Your Day Job before Venturing into Working at Home?”

3/22/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

What is the American Dream? Some say home ownership. Others might say business ownership. If it indeed is to own your own business, do you need to keep your day job at the same time?

There is always risk involved with any new venture. Starting a business, even one from home, is no exception. The fear of failure shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dream but do so with caution and sober reason. The last thing you want to do is to create a big financial problem for your family.

What to Consider before Leaving Your Day Job

It’s good to evaluate the risk and potential gain involved in working for yourself from home. This is where the business plan comes in. Every company, small or large, needs one. It is necessary to ask yourself a few questions before you quit to forge ahead with a business.

Here are some questions to ask:

Can you fund your business? – What will it cost to run your enterprise? Home-based businesses have an advantage of low overhead in most cases, but that doesn’t mean free. Using your savings is not a good idea. Using your business plan, seek capital from a financial institution first before dipping into your hard-earned piggy bank.

Can you support yourself? – When you are talking about pursuing a new business full time, the income that sustains your household needs to come from somewhere else. A fledgling business might not provide enough income alone to do the job.

Are there unforeseen costs involved? – You’d be surprised how many people get into business and are shocked by the amount of money they had to spend that they didn’t account for. Unforeseen costs can be a nightmare. Naturally you can’t predict every scenario that might happen. Factor in extra capital for upgraded equipment, contracted services and such. Don’t let a snafu sink your business ship.

Can you handle several roles at once? – In the beginning, you will be chief cook and bottle washer. It will be your responsibility to take orders, advertise, network, answer customer service calls, fill orders and whatever else needs to be done. There is no modesty when you are the boss.

Is your knowledge up to the task? – We all have our strengths and weaknesses. In business, it is the weaknesses that determine how strong your company will be. If you are starting an internet business, but don’t know much about online marketing strategies or SEO, the choice will be to hire someone who does or take the time to learn all about the techniques yourself. A weakness in this area might cripple your business promotions. Make sure that you know all aspects of your business and can perform them yourself if need be.

There is nothing wrong with working a business part time in the beginning. Once you gain clients and get a feel for how the operations work, then consider if your success is enough that a day job is not necessary. It’s a realistic way to protect yourself. 

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“Maximizing Your Productivity While Working at Home”

3/19/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

The difference between a productive work system and an unproductive one is enormous. Someone with high productivity can easily get more done in one or two hours than many people can in a full day of work. When you work a standard desk job, productivity often isn't tracked. When you work for yourself, however, the only thing that matters is results. In this environment, productivity makes a big difference.

Defining Productivity:  Productivity can be defined as getting as much done in as little time as possible. Being productive also means doing everything that needs to be done with as little stress as possible.  So how do you increase your productivity?

Create Uninterrupted Periods of Work:  It's impossible to be truly productive when you're constantly being interrupted. If you're always checking Facebook, emails, taking phone calls and so on, you're simply not going to be able to get much done.

Work in batches of uninterrupted time.  You might work in 50-minute segments, 25-minute segments or whatever amount of segments you find work for you. Block out time during which you don't take calls and aren't interrupted at all.

Manage Your Inbox:  Your inbox is one of the keys to your productivity. Yet most people pay next to no attention to their inbox management. Your inbox can be digital (your email) as well as physical. Any place where you receive communications or tasks that you're responsible for can be considered an inbox.

Most people's inbox management looks something like this. First, they see something land in their inbox. They then either do something with it or not. If not, they try to remember to do something about it later. Their inbox pretty soon piles up until they have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of emails sitting there.

This is no way to run an inbox or a business. Instead, successful people work from a "zero inbox" system. The inbox is a set of tasks that needs to be completed. Every time a task is complete, it's moved out of the inbox. The email or message is either deleted, filed away or responded to. Nothing stays in the inbox. At the end of each day, the inbox goes back down to zero.

This eliminates dropped balls. It also completely eliminates the stress you experience regarding always feeling like there's something you're supposed to be doing.

Scheduling Your Time:  You'll find that there are certain times of days when you're more productive than others. Some people find they do their best work before 7am, while others are late-night owls who only get started at 11 pm. Figure out which schedule works best for you.

If you get in the habit of working in blocks of productive time, get your inbox down to zero daily and schedule the bulk of your work during your peak productivity times, you'll get a lot more done in a lot less time. You'll feel less stressed to boot.

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“How To Learn New Skills and Stay Sharp”

3/17/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

As a home business owner, it's essential that you regularly learn new skills to stay ahead of the curve. There is no set "continuing education" curriculum and no co-workers to teach you new skills. When you run your own business, if you don't make a conscious effort to learn new skills and stay sharp, you'll likely fall behind.

Today's markets and technologies evolve very quickly. If you aren't constantly sharpening the axe, your knowledge and skills will quickly grow dull. So how do you stay sharp and continually learn?

Read at Least One Book a Month:  Get in the habit of reading one book a month. This is all it takes to stay sharp and keep learning long after college. This is actually a lot easier than it sounds.

First, digital devices allow you to carry books no matter where you go. For under $100, you can purchase a Kindle that allows you to carry literally thousands of books in your pocket.

If you don't want to buy another digital device, you can also try just loading digital books onto your smartphone.

Finally, don't forget audiobooks. Audiobooks allow you to "read" books anywhere with zero effort. Just hit play when you're sitting on the bus or walking to the gym and let the information flow into your mind.

Pick a Specific Topic and Learn about It:  Look around your industry. What's changing? What do you need to know about that you find yourself uninformed on? Figure out where the holes in your knowledge are, then actively seek out resources to fill that gap.

For example, let's say you work in the advertising field. You find yourself a little befuddled about mobile advertising. How does it work? How can you help your clients break into this new field?

Look up every book that's been written on the subject. Purchase the physical, the digital or the audio version(s) of the book and educate yourself on the subject.

Grow Your General Knowledge:  What if there isn't something specific you want to know about? Then upgrade your general knowledge instead.

How was Google built and how do their search engines work behind the scenes? What do all Fortune 500 CEOs have in common? What are the seven habits of highly effective people? What makes companies go from "Good to Great?" What is the "Tipping Point?" Why do some people succeed in social media while others don't?

These are just some of the things you could learn by brushing up on your general business knowledge. If you have down time and want to learn something non-specific, read or listen to a book that can broaden your horizons. It might be about business in general, it might be about personal growth or it might about something completely off the radar.

Keep learning. Grow and never become stagnant. Read at least one book a month, if not more. Keep up this habit and pretty soon your knowledge will give you an edge over your competitors.     

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“How To Keep Your Business Going When Life Gets In The Way”

3/15/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

No matter how well you plan your business, at some point life will get in the way. Perhaps your car breaks down. Or perhaps your child gets hurt and needs to be taken to hospital. Or maybe your sister is having a baby. Whatever the case, the simple fact is that life often doesn't always turn out the way we expect it to.

What can you do? How do you keep your business going when life gets in the way?

Take a Deep Breath:  Start by taking a deep breath and giving yourself a little space to relax. Yes, it's important to keep the wheels turning - but it's also important to give yourself a little space. Don't beat yourself up over having to give your life priority.

Cut Down All But the Essential:  Look through your task list for the upcoming days and weeks. What can you cut out? What projects aren't essential?  Cut down your workload to just the bare bones. Cut out any business expanding efforts. Do just enough to maintain your client base and keep your business running - no more.

Outsource as Much as Possible: Outsource as many tasks as you can to someone you trust.  Business owners, especially home business owners, are often hesitant to outsource. If you have to pay someone $25 an hour to keep things running in your absence, that can seriously cut into your profits.

In normal circumstances, that's certainly true. In an emergency situation, however, paying someone a respectable hourly rate to keep your business going is a wise investment.

Make sure you have your Policy and Procedure Manual updated then find someone who understands your business model and all the tools your business needs to keep running, and ask them to run your company for you for the days or weeks you need to take off.

Work When You Can Fit It In:  Don't just drop your company entirely. Instead, do as much work as you can when you can fit it in.

For example, if you took your child to hospital, bring your laptop with you. When you've got an hour or two in the waiting room, do a bit of work. If your car broke down, again, use the waiting time productively.

An emergency will almost never take up your entire 16 waking hours. Use the time you have left over to take care of the most important aspects of your business.

These tips will help you put your business on a bare-bones life support system. Your business certainly won't grow, but it also won't shrink. Dealing with emergencies is toughest when you don't have a contingency plan. Once you know who you can turn to and how to respond to emergencies, these situations become a lot less stressful.

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“How To Create a Professional Image while Flying Solo”

3/5/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

Many home business owners and solo entrepreneurs face a credibility challenge. When potential clients come to their website and see that it's "just them," they often end up leaving. People often prefer working with a large company rather than a solo entrepreneur, because they see large companies as more credible and more likely to deliver.

Fortunately, you don't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars in staff to make it seem like you're a large credible company. These tactics below can help you seem like you're a big company, even if you're flying solo.

Professional Call Answering Service:  You can pay as little as $30 a month for a professional call answering service. The way it works is quite simple.

The number you list on your website actually goes to your call answering service. When someone calls that number, they hear a professional secretary answer the phone. For example, if you're a graphics designer, your "secretary" might answer:  "Thank you for calling Global Graphics, how may I direct your call?"

No matter what they say, the call gets routed to you. This creates the impression that you have a giant office and a large staff, when in reality you're working out of your home paying $30 a month to have someone answer your phones.  It makes a big impact.

 Multiple Email Contacts:  Don't have one email address be the catch-all address for everything in your site. Instead, use a different email for different things.

For example, on your contact page you can put:

For media inquiries, contact: jim@examplegraphics.com

For sales, contact: customer@examplegraphics.com

For reprints, contact: jennifer@examplegraphics.com

For all other inquiries, contact: info@examplegraphics.com

This creates the sense that you have a large team. Again, you can man all these email accounts yourself.

Website Design and Marketing Materials:  There's a very specific way to design websites and marketing materials to give off a "big brand" feel.

Your designs should make good use of white space. Colors should complement one another. The logo should be clearly and prominently displayed. It should look clean, simple and authoritative.  Avoid designing your own website at all costs, especially if you're going for a big brand look.

The Story of James Caan:  James Caan is the founder of Humana, currently #79 on the Fortune 500 list. Though today he's a millionaire many times over, the beginnings of his story are much more humble.

He started by renting out a broom closet in an office. He named his company Alexander Mann to sound like it was founded by someone big and successful. There was nobody named Alexander Mann.

He created multiple names for himself and almost a virtual "office." As a one man team, he created the impression that he had a huge workforce with which to service clients.

Many of today's success stories started out like this. It's okay to be small, but in many industries it's important to look big. Use these techniques to help you create that brand image to help you move beyond the founding stages.

 
Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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“Designing an Optimal Home Office”

3/4/2015

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Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach

Take it from someone who knows this all too well, your home office makes a big difference on your overall productivity and work happiness. Having a great home office makes it easier to concentrate and will help you get more done in less time. Here are some of the many things you should keep in mind while you're designing your home office.

The Space Itself:  Your home office should be separated from the rest of your house and especially the rest of your bedroom. If you don't have a separate office space set aside, at least use curtains or other material to partition off the space.

When you step into your home office, it should feel like you're stepping into a workspace. It should not be an extension of your bedroom.

Designing Your Flow:  Place all the tools you'll need within arm's length. In other words, your phone, your keyboard, your printer tray and your notepad should all be in reaching distance if those are tools you use regularly.

Measure Your Space:  Before you buy any equipment, make sure you take a tape measure and measure everything out. The last thing you want is to buy office equipment only to discover that it doesn't fit.

Make Sure Your Cabinets Have Room to Open:  This is one of the more common home office design mistakes people make. They remember to measure the cabinet's space, but forget to measure enough space for the cabinet to open out. You don't want your cabinet to hit anything else when it opens - including you or your chair.

Add Real Plants:  Working in a home office all day can be quite stuffy. Research has shown that nature and real plants can help people concentrate and boost mood.  Add a real plant or two in your workspace to help lift your spirits.

Invest in a Quality Chair:  Sitting in a low quality chair can result in back pain, aching shoulders and other kinds of body pains. If you're going to spend money on anything in your office, spend it on your chair. Get a quality chair that supports your spine and allows you to work for extended periods of time without undue pressure.

Lighting Is Important:  You don't want to work in dim lighting. Having good lighting helps reduce strain on your eyes, promotes better mood and helps improve productivity.

The light in your office needs to appear diffused, so it can't just come from one source. Ideally you'll have three or four different lights that all contribute to an overall sense of having a well-lit room.

These are some of the many things that go into designing the optimal office. Your office space has a big impact on your overall workflow. The time you put into improving its design will pay off many times over.

 

Have a question or comment about this blog?  Please post below.  As a way of thanking my audience for participating I am doing a monthly give-a-way for all those who read my blog posts, sign up for my FREE Report or those who participate in any of my seminars.  One lucky winner will be picked on the last Friday of each month and announced here on my blog.

Remember all it takes is a plan and specific daily action steps to move you to your goals!

Here’s to your success!

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    About the Author:  Doreen Dilger  is a Certified Manifest Method Coach, Certified Life Coach,  Author and Founder of Women Empowering Women Now.

    ​Tagline: Master Motivato
    r, Excuse Eliminator & Goal-get-her.   


    I guide women to put themselves first, step into their power so they can create an abundant and soul-inspired life.

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