Whether from your dining table, a converted garage and everything in between, it’s important to set certain boundaries when you are running a business from home. One of the biggest time thieves – apart from the Internet, is the telephone. Not only does it steal precious time (usually at the most inopportune moment), it can also raise havoc on your busy schedule.

As home-based business entrepreneurs, we are very much aware how easily the phone can disrupt our day. Then again, the telephone is probably the most important of all office supplies we have. Learning to manage telephone interruptions is definitely a skill needing to be worked upon.

When you consider the fact that most calls coming into your home during office hours will in fact be business related, you need to figure out how you are going to handle them. Unless a client is in a panic because of a problem only you can resolve, most other calls can be returned during regularly scheduled phone...

Whenever I start working with business owners I ask ‘how much money do you want to make?’ and inevitably the reply is not a dollar amount.

I hear replies like - I just want enough to pay the bills, I want to offer really good services to people – the money is not important or my favorite – I’ll let the accountant take care of that.

The other set of responses I hear are a bunch of excuses as to why making more must be a lot more work or why they can't make more because they're "just getting started" or I hear a long, detailed story explaining what they're planning to do etc. etc.

It is only after a lot of encouragement that the business owners actually state a figure.

Why do we do this? Why is it so hard to put a monetary goal into your business? I think for many people we have been brainwashed into the idea that it’s not ‘nice’ to talk about money. Or that making lots of money is somehow not spiritual or just plain bad!

These are...

Christmas can be a very stressful time for many of us, but there are plenty of things you can do each day to reduce the stress in all areas of your life. Review this checklist daily as a reminder to de-stress.

A good way to incorporate these strategies into your lifestyle is to add one technique each week. This will give you a chance to practice it enough to start using it automatically before you add another strategy.

As you add these techniques one by one, you’ll find that your stress levels will decrease and your positive energy will rise, allowing you to more fully enjoy your life!

Daily Strategies to Reduce Stress or Redirect its Energy

1.         Start your day stress-free.

                 - Throw out your alarm clock.

                 - Give thanks.

...

It is not always easy to work efficiently and effectively when you run your own business. There are external pressures that can de-rail you from your purpose.

Whether you own your own business or are employed, many tasks require significant thought, but internal and external distractions can make it difficult to concentrate.

These are some methods to use in the workplace to help you think better.

Strategies From Within

1.      Clarify your purpose. Remind yourself about why your work matters so you'll feel more motivated. Maybe you want to help a customer have a better day or ensure your company reaches a financial target.

2.      Tap into your unconscious. Put aside difficult dilemmas and do some routine paperwork. Something methodical that keeps the conscious mind occupied. The answers may come to you naturally.

3.      Suspend worrying. Resolve to tackle one issue at a time. Focus on your...

Stress is a natural response. In fact, it’s a necessary response. A little stress helps us to avoid dangerous situations and act when necessary. However, stress can become a problem when used irrationally.

 Prolonged daily stress has been proven to affect overall health negatively and may lead to many illnesses. Short bursts of stress on the other hand are less damaging, but may also be taxing on the body when done regularly.

To avoid stress at work, home or in general try one of our quick stress reduction techniques:

#1 – Take a deep breath. Breathing helps to regulate your stress levels. Proper breathing technique can slow down your heart beat as well as reduce your cortisol levels – these can rise dangerously when you are feeling very stressed.

The old adage of "take a deep breath and count to ten" couldn’t be more spot on. Doing this gives your body time to slow down and think before getting too out of control. It is the difference...

The word failure is often used to describe a situation in which your desired goals were not realized at a specific point in time. There are many reasons that could have played a part in your goal not being realized and absolutely none of them have to do with your value as a person.

Let’s break down some of the ideas behind unhealthy views of failure and see how taking a more positive approach can help you realize success:

·         If you are trying out for the high school basketball team and you don't make the cut, this doesn’t make you a failure. It simply means that under these specific circumstances, the coach didn’t believe that you possessed the necessary skills to play on this particular team at this point in time.

·         What much of the pain stems from when not reaching a desired goal is your attachment to outcomes. If you define your own value...

What is the number one mantra for a business to thrive in any environment?

There is a lot of competition out there vying for your customers business. What makes you stand out? Why should this person spend their money with you?

When answering that question many business owners get tied up with the uniqueness of their product or their highly competitive price. What many overlook is the customer experience of buying.

What happens when a customer enters your store and the sales assistant ignores them? Or they research a product or service online, and can’t find what they’re looking for? They get frustrated and annoyed and you miss out on valuable custom.

So, what is the vital ingredient that gets customers through the door and coming back for more? It’s the customers overall buying experience.

Adopt the mantra  ‘Make it Easy for Every Customer.’

Make the buying process easy for your customer.

Make choosing the right product easy and effortless....

I am always looking for ways to improve profit in business so when someone asked me if what I was doing was actually producing income, I stopped in my tracks.

The truth is, I had been spending a great deal of time researching a certain project, believing it would be worthwhile, where in fact I could have been using my time to greater effect elsewhere. I was so enthusiastic about the potential of this project, I failed to manage my time in a suitable manner.

Persistence is an important trait in a business owner but there comes a time where you are throwing good money after bad. For me, this research time ended up being unproductive time because after due consideration, I shelved the project. If time equals money, I wasted a lot of both.

Do you have a product that is not hitting the mark or a business process that, in the long run, is ineffective? It is often the case that we continue to work with the products or processes we have without paying attention to their actual...

There are many factors that make up your consumer insights. The more information that you can gather, the more you’ll be able to target your market. These insights will help you answer who your audience is, who your customer is, what they need, and more.

There are many ways to gather consumer insights. You can collect information from numerous parts of your business. Social media, your website, and email marketing all come to mind regarding where to gather the information using native analytics software. You can also use Google Analytics to get even more insights. Once you have the software installed, consider the following.

* Customer Type – You probably have more than one type of customer that fits in with your ideal audience persona. It will help you to find out who they are using analytics with your social media, website visitors and more. This will help you create better-targeted marketing materials.

* Observe Real Time Behavior – You can...

Being a good decision maker can help you in business and life. It’s been said that highly confident people make decisions clearly and stick to them rather than changing their minds or being indecisive.

And even if decision making doesn’t come naturally to you, it is a skill which can be built on. Here are a few tips to help you:

#1 – Start small. Even making small everyday decisions will help you accomplish the bigger goal. Small decisions such as what food to eat at a restaurant are not to be underestimated. A good way to start is the next time you’re eating out, look at the menu and decide what you’d like to eat. Then put the menu down and don’t change your mind. Don’t ask your companions what they’re having and base your decision on that - make the decision on your own and then stick to it.

Small steps like this can be empowering and help you to tackle the bigger decisions to come in the future.

#2...