Balancing Work and Family
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NOW is the perfect time to make adjustments to your life. The here and now is a great time for business owners to make changes to their lifestyle.
Assessment
The first step to finding balance in work and family is to assess how you want to live. What feels out of balance? What isn’t working for you? What is working for you? This assessment process may take a bit of time. Don’t rush it. Spend time thinking about all of the tasks and responsibilities you have.
Also consider what tasks and responsibilities are detracting from your quality of life. Finally, consider what tasks or activities you’d like to be able to spend time on. For example, maybe you dislike managing customer service and would like to be able to spend more time volunteering.
Solutions
Once you have an understanding about what didn’t work for you in the past year and what you’d like to change, it’s time to start looking for solutions. How can you shift your focus from one task to another? Here are a few potential solutions.
1. Hire an assistant – You can hire a virtual assistant to manage the tasks you want to eliminate from your list. You can also hire an intern or a part-time assistant to work with you in your office.
2. Outsource – Consider outsourcing the tasks on your list that you wish to get rid of. For example, if you dislike customer service, then outsource that task.
3. Schedule fun – Instead of putting yourself last on your task list, start scheduling your “me time.” Make room for it in your day, week, and month. In fact, it’s a great idea to sit down with your family and a calendar and schedule your vacations for the year. This simple step helps you plan your business around your vacations instead of the other way around. It helps you put your personal life first.
4. Change your schedule – Do you keep a daily schedule? If so, take a look at that schedule and see if it supports a balanced life. For example, if your exercise time is scheduled for eight o’clock at night then that may be a sign that you’re putting yourself last on your list. Move it to first thing in the morning – put yourself first.
5. Prioritize – One of the problems with task lists is that they’re often just lists. Instead of working your way down the random list, prioritize your tasks. What is most important to accomplish? Do that first. Make sure to put yourself at the top of the list too.
Finally, consider creating a plan to review your work and personal life on a more frequent basis. Yes, the the beginning of the year is a perfect time to reflect and make changes. However, you have the freedom to reflect and make changes every single day of your life. Don’t wait a full year to live the life you want to live. Live in the NOW!
In order for your business to grow, you need to expand your customer base. That means finding new clients to buy your products or services. But as an introverted business owner what methods will help you attract the most people?
Most business owners including introverts, don’t want to rest on their laurels. Even if they are making profits, they can always make more. Unless everyone in the world is using their product, then they still have work to do. If this is your philosophy, then keep reading to find out how to hook your next big account.
How to Attract a Client
First, perform some background work. The best presentations begin before you have even put pen to paper. How can you create an effective presentation without knowing who your potential clients are and what they need?
So, find out all that you can about your clients. Any information can be helpful to building a convincing sales pitch. Analyze your customers from all sides to see where you can get a foothold.
Ask questions. What do potential clients want from you? For an online business, set up questionnaires or ask these questions in blog posts and wait for feedback. If you can talk to the potential client before pitching to them, then do so. One, it shows interest in their needs and it also means you are doing your due diligence.
Create a presentation that has your client’s need at heart. It is easy to pitch a product and forget all about the client. But, if you want them to actively listen to you, then you need to integrate them into the equation from the word go.
Here’s an example. If your client is sensitive about pushy marketing, then don’t give them the hard line kind of presentation. Show that your product/service is sensitive as well by demonstrating a soft sales approach. Small things like that can make all the difference to your client.
Command the room when you make a presentation. Arrive early and set up your projector, slideshow or PowerPoint. Now you know that everything works and can just about guarantee that there won’t be any glitches. Also, arrange the furniture so that all eyes focus on you without anyone having to turn or crane their necks.
Choose the optimal time for your presentation. If you have been offered the spot right before lunch or quitting time, reschedule when you can have an early morning slot. The client will be more alert and focused on what you have to say.
Offer practical examples in your presentation. This means tell a story that relates to your product and the ability of said product to meet this client’s needs. A lot of technical jargon won’t convince them to buy. Everyone tries that approach. Make yours stand out.
Are you in need of new clients? Learn how to capture and keep their attention until the deal is closed.
How to Stay Organized as Mom Who Works at Home
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It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed or disorganized when you’re a work at home mom. There are so many tasks, and people, demanding your attention. Often things get pushed to the side or forgotten. Organization is the name of the game for man work at home moms. Here are a few smart organization ideas to help you stay on track, productive, and profitable.
Technology Rocks!
With all the smart phone applications and online services, organizing is often as simple as finding a system that feels intuitive and easy to use. Microsoft Outlook is an example of a utility that has worked for busy WAHMs for years. Google calendars may be an easier option and both integrate with iPhone and Android applications.
Create a Hub
Do you have a central workspace? If not, create one. Even if you work from the kitchen table, a small mobile computer station cart or a portable file box will help keep you organized. Keep all of your business related documents in one central location.
Make It a Habit
Whether you clean your desk at the end of each day, once a week, or once a month, schedule time to get it done. Make sure you have a place for everything – and label it. For example, business receipts go into a file folder organized by month. If you don’t have a place for everything, create one. Simple binders and file folders do the trick.
One Big Trip
One of the things that often throws a day are errands and chores. Instead of spreading them out through the day or week, consider devoting a day to managing chores and errands. Segmenting your time helps you focus on getting them done.
Identify the Biggest Obstacle
What’s the single biggest thing that prevents you from staying organized? Is it a lack of space? Is it a missing system that might pull everything together? Identify what’s keeping you from being as organized as you’d like and create a plan to overcome it.
Maximize Space
One of the reasons many work at home moms feel disorganized is that they lack space. Many share their home offices with their spouse and children. And many simply don’t have a home office. There are wonderful, and simple, tools that can help you maximize your space. For example, a receipt scanner can digitally store all of your documents – including your receipts. This means you don’t have to keep file cabinets and boxes lying around. Shelves are also a simple way to get items off of the floor, desk, or table.
Schedule Everything
It may sound obsessive – however, consider scheduling everything from eating to planning your business. When you lay out your day, week, and month in this manner it’s easy to see how much you can accomplish and when you can get it done. Scheduling prevents you from overbooking yourself and it helps you stay on task. Don’t forget to schedule down time too!
Staying organized is often a work in progress. Create systems. Assess how they’re working for you, and modify them as needed. You may find that the simplest solutions are the easiest to use and the most effective.
Is It Possible To Teach Yourself Self Discipline?
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Self discipline starts with the ability to control your behavior. That means motivating yourself to do what you need to do, and stopping yourself from doing things that are bad for you. The “ability to control” is just the start and real discipline is when you have trained your mind in such way that you consistently get the behavior you want.
Tips for Self Discipline
Have you ever stayed up all night talking about something interesting? Then you know what power the mind has over the body. Sleep can be put off when we are motivated by a passionate discussion,and it doesn’t take much willpower to keep doing something when you are enjoying it. That gives us a key to self discipline.
Try to enjoy what you are doing and be energized. Your willpower goes up and down with your energy levels, so play energetic music, move around, laugh, and look for the interesting parts of whatever project you are working on. Once you identify your best energy boosters and motivators, make a list, and train your brain to use them whenever you need discipline.
Make things easier on yourself. If you feel stressed when you think about doing your tax return, for example, don’t think about it! Just lay out the forms where you can work on them later. Later do just one form, and then another. Whatever the task at hand, you can find enough motivation for some small step. Start training your mind to take that step as soon as you think of it, and the next steps become easier.
Self Discipline And Self Awareness
What if the proverbial cake calls to you? Sometimes it’s hard to resist temptation, right? Willpower is a nice idea, but here is a simpler solution: stop standing in front of the cake! It is an easy lesson to understand, so train yourself to apply it habitually. Don’t keep beer in the house if you don’t want to drink it. Don’t go alone to the bar if you want to maintain a faithful marriage. Just stay away from people that lead you to trouble.
Discipline doesn’t mean being immune to temptation. Go ahead and develop the willpower to say no, if you can, but why not also have the wisdom to avoid temptation? Know where your resistance is low, and don’t put yourself in those situations. Does this make more sense than fighting useless battles with yourself?
Fighting feelings is a losing battle. It’s far more effective to learn about yourself. How are you energized and motivated? Where are your strengths and weaknesses? Learn about yourself, and start using what you learn to make the behaviors you want easy. That’s the key to self discipline.
INFP…Surprise, Surprise!
By · CommentsI was looking at another blog and I saw “what’s your bloginality”, needless to say I couldn’t resist.
My Bloginality is INFP!!!
Wow! What a shocker!
So, what’s your “bloginality”?
Introversion vs. Fear
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Is it fear that’s holding you back from achieving greatness? Or is it your introversion?
There is a distinct difference between introversion and fear, but for some reason over the years two have become synonymous.
Introversion: the act of directing one’s interest inward or to things within the self or the state of being concerned primarily with one’s own thoughts and feelings rather than with the external environment.
Fear: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. (or) concern or anxiety; solicitude
Other than the fact that both words are nouns, I can’t find any similarities. Yet many feel as though they are one and the same.
I coach and mentor virtual assistants to have a thriving business utilizing their personality type to the fullest potential. However I see many who are fearful.
They are afraid to market their business.
They are afraid to take on new challenges.
They are afraid of failing.
They are afraid of success.
Unfortunately many are hiding behind the face of fear and say that it’s because they are introverted that they’re not successful. Can you see now how many perceive the two as one?
In order to have a successful business and/or life, you have to work through the fear. Recognize it. Defeat it. Become fierce. If the fear is deep rooted, it may be necessary to employ the use of certified mental health counselors. Counseling is nothing to be ashamed of. It gives you an opportunity to talk things out, get to the root of your fear, work through it and then squash it like a bug.
Being an introvert rocks. We are a minority in this big world of ours. We are the creatives. We are the thinkers. We are truly what makes the world go round.
Fear is another thing all together. Fear just plain old sucks and it literally sucks the life out of you.
If you want to know how many big name authors, coaches, business pros and others have dealt with fear and have used it to become fierce in life and business, then I would LOVE to suggest How the Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times by Janet Slack, Donald Trump, Jack Canfieldand over 15 others. Janet’s story alone changed how I view my life and business. I bet it will change your perspective too.
So…do you see how fear and introversion are different?
An Introvert Who Loves to Speak
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Earlier this week I hosted a teleclass called “Embrace Your Introversion“. During the call I shared my passion in life…introverts.
After I was finished giving an overview of my passion for introverts, I received several text messages stating that they (the participants) would not have known that I was an introvert because of the way I was speaking. This kind of surprised me…maybe because of the stereotypes. The school of thought is that because we’re introverts, we don’t like people, we’re not public speakers, etc. Truth be told, I love talking to people…on the phone or in the box (internet). I can speak in front of a group if I have a purpose. It’s draining mentally and physically, but I can do it and do it well.
I know several wonderful public speakers including motivational speakers who fall under the category “introvert”. The one thing that usually hold true across the board for introverts is the fact that we take the time to formulate our presentations and our answers in advance. We are very introspective.
If you’re an introvert and want (or need) to speak in public take some time for yourself, prepare, take a break before the event and be sure to leave yourself downtime after the event. You can do it.
Business Networking Tips for the Introvert
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Business networking is not something that the typical introvert looks forward to. It’s a taxing process. Getting around a large group of people takes time and energy that many introverts do not want to give up. However, in order to have a successful business networking is a must. Here are five tips to assist you with networking in person.
1. Be Yourself. It sounds so simplistic doesn’t it?
2. Keep the focus on the person you are talking to. Many times we shy away from talking about ourselves due to fear. However as you become more comfortable in networking situations, you will get more and more comfortable talking about yourself and your business. Until you get to that point, make the person you are talking to the focus of the conversation. When they are the focus, you can take the time to mentally evaluate how you can help them best. Can you best help them by providing a service to them? Or are they best helped by referring them to someone else? Do you know someone who can use the product or service that they offer? If so, be sure to give them the names of the people you have in mind.
3. If you need to excuse yourself, do so. There are times that you may need to compose yourself and walking away is the best solution. Recently at an event I was engaged in conversation with a very intense and loud business woman. She was a great person with great ideas but she literally made me tired with her intensity, so I simply excused myself. I went to the restroom to “powder my nose” so I could regroup. When I went back to the group she was engaged with another group which gave me the opportunity to talk to others.
4. Take time for yourself before the event. If you need quiet time to compose yourself before the event, take it. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
5. Take time for yourself after the event. In my coaching business, one of my client’s says that she likes to treat herself to dinner after the networking event. She requests a small table in the corner and takes out the business cards she received and makes notes. After that is complete she will write out thank you cards to each person from whom she has a business card. This process is her way of relaxing after a taxing networking session.
What do you do before and after networking sessions as part of your self care program?
