We all know how much we love our businesses and what a joy
it is to be able to finally say, I own my own business and
then to actually start making money doing it. It's the
best! However, sometimes it's just hard to do. We've all
been there -- The biggest project of your business finally
comes your way, and that's when the entire family comes
down with the flu, including you. You land your dream
client, one that you've been after for months, if not
years, and then your inlaws call and say they are making a
surprise visit, they will be there tomorrow. Or how many
times has this happened- you finish a project with the
client eagerly waiting and in trying to send them the file,
your internet decides to go down.
So what's a successful entrepreneur to do? I think one of
the most important things to do is just realize, sometimes
it's going to be hard. And that's okay. Often I believe
we feel that because we finally own our own business, and
we work so hard for it, that we must be positive and happy
ALL the time. We don't. Hopefully the majority of the
time you will be, however, when things come up, it's AOK to
say, wow, this is tough and find support. Have an online
or offline buddy that you can go to and talk. Someone who
will say, hey it's going to be better; someone who knows
you and knows just the right thing to say to make it better.
It's also important to plan ahead. No, you can't tell when
the kids will get sick. However, you can plan and have a
back-up subcontractor so you can go straight to plan B.
The time to plan for this is before it happens, way before
you need it.
Here are a few tips I hope you find beneficial:
1) Find someone now who can help you with your business.
Send them work now so they become familiar with your needs.
Let them know that you will be using them on a sporadic
basis. You'll probably find that once you see how much
help they provide you use them a lot more than you thought,
but at least you know you have the support you need.
2) Computers - Hands up - who backed up their system last
week? Ouch!! Think about this, how would you feel if you
went to turn on the computer and it was blank, dead, gone.
That can and will happen. You need to back-up regularly
and you need to check those back-ups. One thing I recently
discovered is I backed up regularly to another computer.
However, I didn't know how to retrieve the documents I
backed up.
3) Internet down - Do you have a friend in the neighborhood
who also has a computer that you can use. How about the
local library. Most of the time you can wait it out,
however, for many of us if we do legal or medical
transcription, it's crucial to be able to get it there. I
once had an attorney preparing for the trial of the century
(at least he thought so). The case rested on me (at least
that's what he told me), and right when it was time to send
him all the pleadings, our phone went dead. (For all of
you wondering, we did pay the bill, it was a technical
problem). I immediately rushed over to my neighbors and
was able to send the documents. My client was none the
wiser.
4) Summertime - MOMS, tell the truth, it's hard. In the
summer with the kids home from school it's harder to run a
home-based business. They are bored. You are busy. And
just because the school bell rang its last toll, the work
still comes in. Here too you need to plan ahead. Two
words, Summer Camp! If you can't do summer camp, then
definitely get creative. Stock up on crafts at the Dollar
Store. Get Paint by Number Books and things that will take
time, and be fun. We have some fun ones at our site at
www.virtualwordpublishing.com.
Also, allow your children
to get creative. Get 3 ring notebooks and allow them to
write their own book adventures or design their own
magazines. Scissors, a few old magazines, paste and a
little imagination will go a long ways.
5) In laws - It's gonna happen. If you want to get busy in
your business, have company come in town. Guaranteed,
that's the time that you will be your busiest. I've been
in business for 23 years now, and it seems that every time
company comes into town, I get hit with a major rush. And
it doesn't get easier with the more years in business. But
one thing I do is plan ahead. Because I live in Florida
and get lots of company, I can't take time off every time.
However, what I can do is rotate and take time off with
different clients. That way I'm not working for all my
clients during that time. Also, if you don't have a
separate office, do something, anything to get a computer
in a room so you can close the doors and work. When they
see you there, to many it feels you are available. When
you work a 9-5, no one considers you home until 5:30.
However, when you happen to be in the same house, it's
often easy for them to think you can socialize.
These tips should help you survive and thrive in your
business even when times are tough.
----------------------------------------------------
Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including
Virtual Assistant - The Series, Become a Highly Successful,
Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook. She specializes
in publicity and marketing and is president of Virtual Word
Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com . Stop by
for free booklets and reports on business startups.
Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.
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