Everything to do with your shak.
Information Overload Syndrome (IOS) is actually something that is real. You can become paralyzed by having too much information to process. This can happen in business or in your personal life. This is a funny look at how the availability of information and too much connectivity can actually be a problem.
Happy Friday!
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One of the most important (and sometimes hardest) principles to follow is that of sticking to a budget when your home business is doing well. When you are making plenty of extra money it seems as though budgeting is not really necessary. And you begin spending more as your income grows. The problem with that, though, is that when you work from home, things can change quickly. The recent recession has shown us the importance of being prepared for the lean times.
In times when your home business is doing well, continue to save and stick with a budget. Setting aside that money for later can help you down the road. When you work from home income drops off, unexpected expenses arise, or a recession erodes your earning power, having stuck with your budget during the good times will pay off. Look around at the way things are right now for many people, and use that as your reminder that budgeting and saving never go out of style.
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Over at Man Vs. Debt, I read a great account from a guest poster (John Frainee at Plain Cents) about starting a home business. He points out that the Internet has made it possible to start a home business fairly easily. And I have to say I agree. Without the Internet, I would probably be working 9-5 in some office somewhere, instead of working from home and spending more time with my son.
In addition to providing helpful insights into how working from home can be accomplished, Frainee offers some very important lessons. Here are the 3 lessons he says are essential if you want a successful home business:
1. Do not try to sell a product you do not understand.
2. Keep a schedule.
3. Do not expect an immediate profit.
All of these are bits of advice I can agree with. It is improtant to sell what you know, so that you can do a competent and professional job. A schedule can improve productivity. It’s nice that a home business schedule has a certain amount of flexibility, but overall it’s a good idea to stick to the same general schedule. And, finally, it is important for your morale that you have reasonable expectations as to earnings and profits. It can take some time for things to pick up. I spent two years building my portfolio before I started getting solid writing gigs that I felt were truly worth the time and effort.
If you can persist, chances are that your home business will thrive. But you have to be willing to work hard and put in solid effort.
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Today is the observation of Memorial Day. It is a time for remembering, and a time for gratitude. I will be taking this time to visit graves of family members and talking to my son about sacrifice and the respect we should have for those who give themselves to help protect us.
What are you doing for Memorial Day?
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I really enjoyed this video of turning a one dollar bill into a star. Fun money trick.
Happy Friday!
Yesterday, I wrote about how I am getting a nanny to help me with my son over the summer. I will be able to get a childcare tax credit for hiring my cousin, and I will be able to get my work done. As is often the case when people find out that I use childcare (I did before my son started school), they wonder why I need it when I work from home.
Getting more done when you have child care help
The advantages of having a home business when it comes to your children, in my opinion, are mostly centered around the idea of flexibility and being here. It means that I can take some time to play a game, and that I spend more time with my son than I would if I were gone for normal business hours. And it means that I can schedule my home business hours around going in to the school to help, and that I’m here if something (like an illness) comes up. But it doesn’t mean I don’t need help.
Having someone watch my son for a few hours a week allows me the time to get my work done more efficiently. I figure that if my cousin can nanny the boy for 4-5 hours in the morning (I plan to have her take care of him from 8 am to noon or 1 pm), I can get all my work from home stuff done and be ready to spend quality time with my son all afternoon. I get uninterrupted work — making me more productive — and he still gets the attention he needs. Plus, if anything goes wrong, I’m still right here.
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Summer is approaching and that cheap child care known as “school” is about to come to an end for three months. As a result, I need someone else to watch my son for part of each day while I get my work done. Sure, I could do it all early in the morning or in the evening after he goes to bed. But my husband will still be working this summer, and he would rather I spend time with him in the evenings.
I think we’ve solved the problem by recruiting my cousin to serve as nanny. My son likes her, she’s just finished her freshman year in college (so she can drive) and she insists for doing it for a little less than market rate. She’ll have another job that she can do in the evening. It seems ideal.
At any rate, I’m talking with my accountant to see how we would work a possible tax deduction.
Choosing a nanny to watch your kids while you work from home
I’m lucky in that I have a relative I can call upon. However, if you are choosing a nanny for your children, you need to pick carefully. Interviews with potential nannies are very important. Have the nanny come over for 30 to 90 minutes. He or she should meet the kids, and talk to you. Things to keep in mind when choosing a nanny should include:
* Values and methods that largely alighn with yours.
* References and background.
* How well the nanny interacts with your children.
* How well you and the nanny interact.
Start out on a trial basis originally, making it clear that you want to give it a couple of weeks to make sure it works out.
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Sometimes I get caught in this trap: I spend time doing “stuff”, but after a while I realize that I haven’t actually accomplished much of anything. Sparkplugging’s WAHM 2.0 made this point of confusing being busy with being productive:
Too many people are mistaking busyness for productivity and as a result, they aren’t seeing results even though they feel like they are working hard. While some busy activities are important (IE filing), they shouldn’t pre-empt more important activities that actually make money.
I think a good point is made here. Sometimes we get caught up in doing things that take up time, but don’t really accomplish anything in terms of growing income from a home business. So, how do we figure out what will be productive and what just makes us busy? WAHM 2.0 offers this helpful guide to prioritizing your home business activities:
1. Figure out what is making money, and do those things first. Do your marketing techniques work? Focus more on the marketing techniques that translate into income. If you make a product, fulfill your orders before you doing anything else for the day.
2. Stay connected. After you get the money-making home business activities out of the way for the day, you can then focus on the connections that bring you contacts. Save the social media and email for after your direct money-making activities are accomplished. Then focus on the indirect money-makers associated with networking.
3. Clean up your home office. Organization is important. But it’s more important to make sure you are bringing in some money. WAHM 2.0 suggests that you hire someone to do the filing, forms, etc. if you have the means for it.
Time really is money. Look at how you spend your time, and determine whether you are really accomplishing anything, or if you are just keeping busy.
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Today is Earth Day, and I thought that maybe we could look at making a greener home office. There are a number of gadgets that can help you create a home office that is a little bit greener. Here are some suggestions from Beststuff.com:
1. Seven day timer: Customize your home’s lighting, having it turned off during times of the day that you are using more natural lighting to work from home by.
2. Power strips: Plug in to a surge protecting power switch — then power down at the end of the day. Turning off the power strip can limit “phantom” leaks that waste energy and cost you money.
3. Power meters: You can gauge the efficiency of your electricity use with a power meter. Then look for ways to improve your efficiency.
Other things you can do to make your home business workspace more environmentally friendly include not printing emails out unless absolutely necessary, moving to online statements and billing to save the use of paper (and stamps!), and trying to find more energy efficient office equipment.
Can you think of other ways to save energy in your home office?
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Last week, I felt stressed and overwhelmed with all of my freelance writing assignments. I’m feeling much better this week, and it was in this frame of mind that I read a post on Sparkplugging today about favorite things about working from home. And I thought that maybe it would be a good time to revisit why I love working from home:
1. The schedule. For the most part, I set my own hours. And when I need a break, I take one. Sometimes things get crowded and desperate, but, for the most part, I can decide when I want to work.
2. Being at home with my son. When my son wants to play a game with me, it’s no problem. When he has an issue, I’m always here for him. He’ll need me less next year, when he starts first grade, but it’s good to know that I’ll be here and available for my son.
3. My work is mobile. I can work from anywhere. If I want to work from the couch, I work on the couch. If I want to go outside, I do that. If I want a change of scene, I can pack up and go to the cafe.
What do you like about working from home?