Tag: home business

Freedom with a Home Business

As we celebrate the country’s freedom and independence on the 4th of July, I’m struck by how those concepts can also apply to a home business.

So here are a few examples of the freedom and independence I have found in having a home business:

No more Boss: Just as the colonies wanted to escape from the rule of a king, a home business owner escapes from a boss. No one is standing over your shoulder, throwing a last minute “priority” assignment on your desk or asking you to work late 3 nights in a row. You have the freedom to set your schedule: how many days to work, and how long your work-day will be. You choose your “overtime” – an extra hour or two late at night when the kids are in bed, the house is quiet and you can concentrate exclusively on your work.

No more Rules: Whether it was the monarchy in the 1700s making random demands and outrageous taxes or a company today demanding a strict dress code and a “freeze” on raises…in a home business your freedom allows you to make the rules.  Is your dress code pajamas for 1/2 the day? Great – if you are working on the phone or computer what does it matter? Need extra funds one month for a special event? No problem! As the boss, you decide when to put in more hours and make more money.

No more Sacrificing Family for work: A king could call you away from your family on a moment’s notice and if you disobeyed, the punishment could be severe.  A boss can change a work schedule at his/her discretion and suddenly, your request for a day off to chaperon your child’s field trip is not good for the “company”.  One of the freedoms my husband and I treasure the most with our home business is the ability it gives us to go on every class field trip with our 3 kids. Sometimes my husband was the only dad chaperoning – which meant that he was assigned the more rambunctious boys in the class – but he loved it! Whether it’s class field trips, school concerts, show-and-tell days or just having lunch with your kids once in awhile, the freedom to work your business around your family is one of the best things about a home business!

No more Living by someone else’s Priorities: The monarchy decided what battles to fight based on their ultimate priorities, and today a boss decides your job duties based on his (or the company’s) goals. In your home business, you have the freedom to make your own goals. Even more important, you have the choice to change those goals or realign your priorities if something in your business (or life) has changed. And there’s no boss to let down (or king to disobey) – it’s just you; with your home business you have the freedom to re-write your goals every day if that’s what works!

So as I reflect on our freedom today and what our forefathers wrote: that all men in this country should be entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, in my home business:

“Life” means putting my family first, working a business around the most important people and things in my life

“Liberty” is the freedom I have to set my own goals and the freedom I have to build a business based on the principles that are important to me

“Pursuit of Happiness” translates to finding purpose and pursuing my dreams as I’m helping others in ways not possible before I had my own business.

I treasure the freedom I have in this country  – and in my home business –  to decide the right path to success and happiness for me.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence

Happy Independence Day!!

Business Tips: Are You Training for a Marathon or a Jog around the Block?

Build Your Business Like a Marathon Not a Jog

 

When I talk to people about starting a new business (or putting new systems in place to grow an existing one), I notice just how many of us have so little patience when we begin something new. We want instant results, but we really should be thinking of our business as a long-distance race.

Instead of just concentrating on what happened this minute, this hour, this day…we need to change our focus to long-term success and do the steps necessary to get there.

I like this quote by Greek poet Hesiod – “If you add a little to a little, and then do it again, soon that little shall be much.”

Or  look at building a business in terms of training for a long race, not a short jog: If you were training for a marathon, what would it take to get to the finish line?

Weeks, months or years of training? Wouldn’t you start out running a shorter distance and then consistently build on that foundation to have the stamina it takes to complete the marathon?

When we think of starting a business or a new system in our business, though, how many of us expect success and rewards (the money) to immediately start rolling in with little or no real effort or training?

If it was possible to become a millionaire overnight with the push of a button (or the launch of a website) wouldn’t that secret formula have been “leaked” by now?  And if there is one that I’m not aware of yet, please let me know!! 😉

In reality, like most other major commitments (running a marathon, earning a degree, losing weight) building a business takes:

  • A Solid Foundation: work with determined focus on those things that will create a strong business that is sustainable over the long-term; whether that’s products, people, resources or all of the above.
  • Consistent Effort: do what it takes every day to produce results and get you closer to the long-term goals you’ve put in place.
  • Flexibility and Stamina: when things around you change or the unexpected happens, make adjustments and move on; each new experience (or mistake) makes you stronger in the long run.

So the next time things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like in your business, stop and ask yourself “am I training for a marathon or just a jog around the block?”

If you build your business as if you were training for a marathon, then those bad days or bumps in the road to success will only prove to be small inconveniences in the longer race towards the finish line. And at the end of the race, you’ll claim the best prize: a strong, thriving business.

Image courtesy of and derived from Pixabay