No matter what industry your home-based business is in, chances are that your week is structured in a very similar way to other home-based business owners. As such, it should be relatively easy to plan out your week. You just follow what other successful entrepreneurs have done before you.If you have struggled with time-management this article contains a template that you may want to implement within your own business. It shows you a template about how others who have been successful before you structure their own businesses.Monday is marketing day- The truly successful home-based business entrepreneurs make sure that they put aside time for marketing, public relations and networking. They block out time in their diary to promote their business and look for customers and alliance partners. This puts these business owners at a competitive advantage allowing them to grow their business.Tuesday and Wednesday are product development days- Your business cannot be stagnant. You cannot continuously offer only one product or service. You need to make sure that you are consistently working to further develop your product or service so that you can stay ahead of the pack. Business is competitive. Chances are that others will develop similar products and services to what you offer today so you need to continuously work on maintaining your edge- your differences over your competitors.Thursday and Friday are customer service says- Customer service is vitally important. Unfortunately sometimes you are going to have customers that have issues and you need to make sure that you help them deal with their problems. If you don’t help them adequately the Internet gives aggrieved customers a large mouthpiece where they can express their displeasure. This can do irreparable damage to your business.Saturday morning is the day to manage the books- You need to make sure that you spend an hour or so on a Saturday morning looking after the books (although this can be done at any stage over the weekend.) You need to check your profit and loss and make sure that your cash flow is definitely in the positive.Saturday afternoon and Sunday are days of rest and relaxation- You need to make sure that you leave aside time for family and friends. That way you will be a happier and healthier person.I have outlined a potential timetable for you above. I must mention that you need to make sure that you do not work too many hours on the days that you are working and you need to make sure that you fit in exercise on at least 5 days per week.
Creating Digital Products For Your Home Based Business
I must admit, it was very exciting creating my first digital product for my home based business. To me it felt so awesome seeing my name up in lights, beaming out to an audience of fans as if I was a Broadway Star or celebrity. I told you it’s very exciting!
Having your name on something that you created from a tiny thought in your mind, worked and reworked putting hours of time in the process to me is an incredible feeling. An amazing transformation takes place inside your being when you recognize the power that you have within. Your creation will be online for as long as you want to share it with others in your home based business. Your product will contribute to our history impacting the lives of all who seek your wisdom, fascinating.
Here are some tips to start creating your digital product today!
1. Decide on a Topic:
You’ll need to select the topic to build your product around. Do research to determine if your topic will provide value in the home based business market place or is in demand.
A great way to identify this is to search on Amazon and check the topics others are interested in or creating products for already. Another great place to identify the topic you want to tap into is in forums. If there is a niche you target in your home business, consider signing up for a forum that is related and tap into the conversations. Identify problems and find solutions to assist.
2.Get Inspired:
What resonates or interests you? What are you personally passionate about? Do you like expressing yourself better through the medium of video in your home based business? You can create a webinar course. If writing is more for you, write an e-book. Choose your creative weapon that will crush fear and inspire others to greatness. When you start with a topic that interests you the creative juices can flow effortlessly.
3. Choose a Format:
Know what format of delivery you will use for your digital product. You may need additional resources depending on the product you decided to create, plan ahead of time. You may need to budget for it in your home business or allow time for creation. If for example you are creating an e-book, you will need a cover design. If you are outsourcing the job to someone, there will be a cost and time constraint involved.
4. Be Authentic:
Provide value with confidence. If you need to gather more experience or training on the topic you are considering, start putting your daily action plan into motion until you feel comfortable. You are beginning the journey for branding, You Inc.. When you share your true authentic self with others in your home based business only great things can happen.
My first digital product I created was an e-book, a home business power tool. I found this to be a fun project despite my learning curve. The experience for me was very rewarding. It captures my passion for helping others achieve success in their home based business.
Small Business Still Running Out to Retail Stores
Small Businesses in Canada are continuously running out to their local retail office store to purchase their computer supplies and accessories for their business. This practice is great for those businesses that need an ink cartridge or some DVD’s to backup their data, however, it is not the best practice for them to run out to purchase their next notebook computer or computer system.
Today’s small businesses are often purchasing the wrong computer system for their business. Many times when meeting with small businesses during my travels and inspecting their existing infrastructure, we are still finding many Windows XP Home or Media Centre computers that they have purchased for their business at the local retail office supply store. The sales people at these locations may lack the business technology training to properly understand what a small business needs and how business affects technology investments. The small business world is definitely different from the home or SOHO marketplace.
The business decision maker is often upset when the IT professional has to pass along the bad news that their existing systems need to be upgraded or the operating system replaced when they hit that critical point in their business that the need for a server in their business is identified. Computer Professionals that focus on small business often struggle with this daily, the need to inform the business owner that their existing systems will not be able operate effectively in a Windows domain with a home based operating system adds additional stress to their daily job.
The original reason why they went to purchase their latest computer at the retail store was perhaps the immediate gratification of getting a computer system that they can use today or out of urgency that they need something immediately. Small Business today, needs to start planning their technology investments wisely instead of spontaneously purchasing or impulse buying. This is where the Microsoft Small Business Specialist can assist them to ensure that they are investing in the right computer systems to allow their business to thrive with the right technology solution.
Where can small business turn? Business owners must find a trusted technology provider to assist them before they run out to the local office supply store. Microsoft has a great website for business owners to find that trusted resource at http://www.microsoft.ca/smallbusiness. An experienced small business specialist understands what a small business requires and will recommend the correct solution, even if they do not have a server today, a small business specialist has the skills to plan for the future. The Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Vista Business Editions are what a small business needs to ensure that are ready for grow, so when the day comes that they need to invest in their first server, they can purchase the server and it can easily fit into their existing investments.
What prevents the home or media versions from working in business? These versions of Windows were developed with scaled down functionality to work in the home market or to work with your entertainment systems, sure they will run all the software that you purchase for your business, however, they lack critical business functionality like logging into a Windows domain network, file synchronization and they lack the additional security features found in the Professional and other business editions of Windows XP and Vista.
The Small Business Specialist community needs to continue its effort in educating today’s small business marketplace to ensure that they are investing in the right technology solutions for their business needs. Small Business consultants can leverage the Business Assessment Toolkit to paint the picture for the small business on their exact needs and ensure that they are investing their dollars wisely in technology.