November 10, 2007
November 10, 2007
Managing Your Home Business Time
Category: General Tips
Managing your home business time is crucial if you plan on being very successful. It is very easy to get caught up in trying to get everything done right now. As an entrepreneur, I constantly have ideas running through my head. Some of them I act upon, and some I don’t. But which ones should you pursue? It really depends on what your overall goal of your home business is.
It is best not to act upon anything right away. Get a book and keep it by your desk. I have a black book I jot down all of my ideas. This way I get the full concept into the book while it is fresh. After that, I can get back to whatever I was working on. If you are like me, then most of your ideas will come while you are working. So, keeping track of these is imperative to your business.
You never know when you will have some dead time in your business. It is then that you can look back at the book and see if there is anything you can get started on. But the point is to not do everything at once. Especially if you are starting out. You may be thinking that more time = more money, but this is not always the case. Why would Ileave a 40hr/week job making $60,000/year to work 16 hours a day from home making $1,000-$2,000 a month? The numbers just don’t add up. This is why time management is so important. There should be a balance in life and work.
You should not pursue your home business until you have at least equaled your prior income. And, if you can achieve this in a standard 8 hour day, no more. I know this from experience. I quit my job as an Engineer, and worked on my home business for 1.5 years before I decided enough was enough. I was working too long of hours for too little of pay. I learned a great deal during this time, but I eventually went back to work. I am back as an Industrial Engineer, and now manage my home business much better. I am actually making more money from my home business (about 2 hours a day) than 2 years ago when I was putting in 16 hours a day. Also, my stress is greatly reduced, as I am not counting on my business to pay the bills. You just need to make that decision sometimes.
Managing your home business time is the one factor you need to get figured out before you start doing this full time. I hope to be back in the full time home business arena within the next 2 years. I will be much more experienced and a better manager of my time this time around.