(Originally published as part of Klein's Week 3 of 90-Day Game Plan)
1. Set-up your Work Schedule
This is an important key decision if you really want to run and grow your digital business. Maximize your time by allocating specific activities at a given time.
We all have the same 24 hours a day but the winners are those who understood how to increase their production at their own given time - may it be 2 hours or 8 hours a day.
The most common challenge of the people doing this part-time is that they do it when it is convenient to do it. If you want to make a living out of your digital business, you need to make it part of your time not "part-time".
- Make a decision as to how many hours are you willing to commit on a daily and weekly basis.
- As you decide for your working hours, work with full attention.
- Discuss and explain to the people in your house that you are running a home-based business and this home-based business requires you to be focused on your allocated timings.
Why not having a fixed working hour is not helpful for your business?
Too much flexibilities can lead us to entertain too many distractions. When we lose the discipline to work when it is work time, we lose our focus on what is needed to be done to produce expected results.
Your family is important, your friends are important but if you expect something from your business for the important people in your life - you all need to learn to respect your time.
Situation:
When I first quit my job, everyone in my family and my circle expected me to be free and available. Creating expectations that I can be a care taker for a friend or relative in the hospital, I can attend almost all celebrations and entertaining too many “last minutes.”
But what I've realized? I was becoming out of track, my time was overspent on activities that are not giving me my desired outcome.
And if I keep on allowing the distractions to control me I could end up losing my business which could lead to losing my opportunity to spend more time with the important things and people in my life.
Activity question: Do you have a regular activity or working hour for your business?
If you want a guaranteed result, have a fixed schedule. If you do it randomly, your result could also be random.
If you want to master swimming, with the water is the best place to do that.
As a home-based entrepreneur, you need to have a working space. The sofa near the TV is a not so helpful workspace. Workspace is your "art" space, this is where ideas can flourish, excitement is expressed and goals are generated. That when you sit down in your working space, you sit down with seriousness and less distractions because you are programming your brain to be on your "WORK MODE."
- Are you more productive on quiet or noisy room?
- Are you more productive inside your room or in the coffeeshop?
Work where you can contain your energy and focus and convert them into production.
3. Identify Your Key Business Activities
Let me begin with these questions;
What activities are you most needed in running your business? Why are you paid with the income you are earning? And if you want to grow how much you are paid now, what specific business activities are required to achieve that?
Your answer should be part of your key business activities. This activities are the activities that you will do at your working hours in your working space.
Focus on what pays you more!
I am a sales person, I know how to cook healthy food, I can do my own laundry, I can wash the dish, I can write blogs BUT WAIT - Where am I really paid? I am paid selling my products - then I made it my only priority.
Focus on what pays you more!
I am a sales person, I know how to cook healthy food, I can do my own laundry, I can wash the dish, I can write blogs BUT WAIT - Where am I really paid? I am paid selling my products - then I made it my only priority.
For example, if you are a sales leader in your team aside from building and adding new customers to your business, monitoring and coaching people must also be part of your business activities.
If you are still building your business - sales, marketing, networking with new contacts, personal development and other related activities is part of your key activities.
Be careful in choosing your activities. It has to be balanced. You need to be able to identify if your activities are more on income generating activities or non-income generating activities. Both activities are important but allocate its importance properly.
Income generating activities bring you income like selling, presenting to clients, finding new customer and etc. Personal development, taking photos and campaign materials, attending events and etc. are examples of non-income generating activities. They are non-revenue making activities yet they are important in growing your business.
Remember that it is not only about how much time you give but what you do during those working hours.
4. Set Short Term & Long Term Goal
Entrepreneurship is a lonely world. Yes it is exciting but it can be confusing and overwhelming.
You must have a weekly, quarterly and even yearly goal.
What are you accomplishing on a weekly basis to yearly basis?
You are in the business - so ask measurable questions;
- how much is your target weekly revenue?
- how much are you trying to achieve yearly?
- where else do you want to expand?
- when do you plan to achieve what?
The clearer the goals, the higher the chance to get them.
5. List Down Your Give Up List
I simply love blogging but it was on my give up list when I was starting.
"In order for me to increase my results, I must be willing to give up the things that may consume my time and focus." This is a personal mindset and you need to have one.
Watching the news must be on your give up list too. Because as home-based entrepreneur, you need tons of motivation. Seeing the news is simply not that helpful. If you want to keep your energy high, don't give the opposite energy the chance.
6. Automate and Outsource
Digitalization is automation. Our access to the digital resources is now allowing us to create faster, easier or even massive business transactions simultaneously.
A pre-recorded video can now be replayed 24/7 in any location to explain about your products or services, eliminating the need to be physically present to your prospects.
An ads manager in Social Media can now allow you to reach a highly targeted audience at a fraction of its original expense.
Your smartphone is now your travel agency, your bank, your secretary and many more.
We cannot really completely remove our distinct human interactions, but find your own leverage.
- What areas in your business can be automated?
- What specific task can be outsourced and help you grow your business?
- Are there any other tasks that can be delegated to others?
There is only one you, one working human being. But you can reuse your effort, your contents, your trainings, your tools for multiple clients or business activities.
If you do not yet have the expertise outsource or seek help from a mentor, a business partner or from other service provider.
Automate what you are good at, outsource where you are not.
A pre-recorded video can now be replayed 24/7 in any location to explain about your products or services, eliminating the need to be physically present to your prospects.
An ads manager in Social Media can now allow you to reach a highly targeted audience at a fraction of its original expense.
Your smartphone is now your travel agency, your bank, your secretary and many more.
We cannot really completely remove our distinct human interactions, but find your own leverage.
- What areas in your business can be automated?
- What specific task can be outsourced and help you grow your business?
- Are there any other tasks that can be delegated to others?
There is only one you, one working human being. But you can reuse your effort, your contents, your trainings, your tools for multiple clients or business activities.
If you do not yet have the expertise outsource or seek help from a mentor, a business partner or from other service provider.
Automate what you are good at, outsource where you are not.
7. Join a Mastermind Group
Human beings are social beings! As you try to run and grow your digital business, the best way to grow it best is interact with another human being of the same passion and purpose as yours.
Another challenge of the modern day home-based entrepreneurs is not only keeping their focus but keeping their sanity and entire well-being.
Being involved with a mastermind group will help you upgrade yourself, elevate your emotion and keep you moving. Move with your team!
Go out and meet people. Until you shaped the discipline to be a responsible boss of your own business, go out and meet people to influence you positively and also to market your products.
Note:
These top 7 steps to running your digital business from home is dedicated to the modern day entrepreneurs, the millennials, the housewives and other digital movers. These steps are based on my actual personal experience in running my network marketing business. I also have my e-commerce business and passion in coaching about marketing, story telling and business building. Feel free to message me here should you desire to work with me.
Another challenge of the modern day home-based entrepreneurs is not only keeping their focus but keeping their sanity and entire well-being.
Being involved with a mastermind group will help you upgrade yourself, elevate your emotion and keep you moving. Move with your team!
Go out and meet people. Until you shaped the discipline to be a responsible boss of your own business, go out and meet people to influence you positively and also to market your products.
Note:
These top 7 steps to running your digital business from home is dedicated to the modern day entrepreneurs, the millennials, the housewives and other digital movers. These steps are based on my actual personal experience in running my network marketing business. I also have my e-commerce business and passion in coaching about marketing, story telling and business building. Feel free to message me here should you desire to work with me.