How Big Do You Want To Be?

Posted by Melinda on July 2, 2009 · 3 Comments

how-big How big do you want your business to grow? This is a really important question that most work at home moms never ask themselves. It’s usually one of the first questions I ask new clients as it affects all our discussions from there on.

Recently I was working with a client and she was stuck on one particular issue that was integral to running the business. No matter what we discussed, there wasn’t a solution that worked for her, until finally I asked “Is this problem worth giving up the business for and running it as a hobby?” and she instantly said “Yes”. She didn’t want a business and the associated stresses – she wanted a hobby that she could keep small, easily manageable and be able to pick up and put down as she chose.

However when she had first thought up the idea she had automatically defaulted to thinking of it as a business idea and working towards that. As soon as she realised that she really only wanted it as a hobby, and that having it as a hobby was ok, I could hear the burden being lifted. The relief was evident in her voice and manner immediately.

Having a hobby-business is fine. There is nothing wrong with having a hobby which pays for itself. If that’s what you truly want and intend. You don’t have to have a ‘real’ business, you don’t need to make huge profits. If you want a business that brings in only enough for your family to have a weeks holiday every year that’s great. If you want a business that can support your whole family in luxury, that’s great too. You’re the owner, the choice is yours.

Many work at home mum businesses begin as a hobby and progress to being a business. If that’s you, then at some point you need to stop and look at what you’re doing and decide if this is what you truly want. Do you want this growth? Do you want the stresses – and joys – associated with running your own business? If you do, then go for it! If not, you need to look at how to turn it around and stay small, or look at other options such as selling it as a business, or licensing.

How big you plan to grow your hobby or business is something that needs to be considered very early on. It’s all too easy to be caught up in the whirlwind of day to day activities and never think about whether this is what you intended in the first place. One of the major sources of stress in a home business is the feeling that it’s out of control and taking over your life, and that you have no choice but to continue to try and cope with it as best you can. I know, I’ve been there and it’s sure not fun. But! You do have the choice, you just have to consciously think about what you want and intend first.

Think about it. Is your business the way you intended? Is it what you want? How big do you really want your business go grow? (Hint – the very first answer that comes to mind is usually the correct one!)

Note: check your countries tax laws with regard to the difference between a hobby and a business: In Australia (paraphrased by me and very simplified), if you intend to make a profit then you are considered a business whether you make a profit or not. If you sell items at cost in order to simply buy more materials then it can be considered a hobby – however you still have to keep the paperwork to prove that you’re not making a profit. Don’t be caught on the wrong side of the tax laws through ignorance.

How big do you want your business to grow? This is a really important question that most work at home moms never ask themselves. It’s usually one of the first questions I ask new clients as it affects all our discussions from there on.

Recently I was working with a client and she seemed stuck on one particular issue that was integral to running a business. No matter what we discussed, there wasn’t a solution that worked for her, until finally I asked “Is this problem worth giving up the business for and running it as a hobby?” and she instantly said “Yes”. She didn’t want a business and the associated stresses – she wanted a hobby that she could keep small, easily manageable and be able to pick up and put down as she chose.

Filed under Planning · Tagged with business plan, organization, Useful Tools, WAHM, Work At Home Mom

Making Your To-Do List a Habit

Posted by Melinda on June 29, 2009 · 4 Comments

to-do_list_2 Last week we talked about your To-do list, Coffee and Rocks – fitting in the truly important items so they get done before the less significant items.

Getting things done is a habit, and so is prioritising what is the most important thing to work on first. When our to-do list is too long, it unintentionally becomes a habit not to finish the list, and then not to finish all the way through something on the list that we’ve started.

There’s also the small matter of what do we work on first. This one is actually fairly easily answered: What’s most important? What will have the biggest effect? or, What will bring in money the fastest? Answer these three questions and you should have a good idea of what you need to be working on first.

Firstly you need to realistically work out how much time you have available that day. Then grab a blank sheet of paper, and look at your long, overwhelming to-do list. Ask yourself those three questions until you have enough tasks to fill the time available – preferably with a bit of time left over because projects have an inherent tendency to expand and take more time than we thought.

Then simply start working on the first priority on your list and cross it off when it’s totally completed. Take a short break and then move onto the next item on your list. If you’ve estimated your time and tasks realistically, you should have enough time to complete everything on your list.

When everything on your list is fully done, look at your list and allow yourself to feel pride that you completed everything you set out to do. This is important. You’re building a habit of getting tasks completed and you need to acknowledge yourself for achieving that.

This is the time that someone generally asks “What about everything else on the list, that’s important too!” Yes, I agree that it’s important. Ask yourself this “If you hadn’t set priorities before working, would you have done everything on your list anyway?” The answer is invariably no, because we never actually complete our list – because it’s too long, doesn’t take into account the time available or what is most important.

By prioritising what is most important, you’re choosing to work on those tasks simply because they are the most important. When our to-do list is pages long we feel overwhelmed and tend to start work on the most fun items, the easiest items or the fastest items. These are not necessarily the most important or the one’s that will bring in money the fastest.

Getting back to the habit. If you follow this process each day – or the night before ready for the next day – then you are setting yourself up to succeed. Every day that you complete your list and allow yourself to feel that pride in achievement you reinforce the habit, you make it stronger and you increase the chances that you’ll do the same the next day and the next day and the next.

Habits generally take about twenty eight days to become ingrained, and that’s when you’re reinforcing them seven days a week. Since I don’t recommend working every day, you need to set up some kind of daily reminder to write your day’s priority to-do list. I use the calendar on my Outlook to throw up a reminder first thing in the morning. Whatever works for you is good. A post-it note on your bathroom mirror is fine as long as you see it!

Are you working on what’s most important for you right now?