Bu Virtual Office Services - The Blog

This article comes to you courtesy of Ali Brown. Ali is an established and respected online entrepreneur who publishes the award-winning "Highlights on Marketing Success" weekly ezine. Her ezine is hugely popular and has over 36,000+ subscribers. It's always packed with practical information to benefit entrepreneurs. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, go grab your free tips at AlexandriaBrown.com...



Ah, working at home... Visions of leisurely days, conference calls in comfy sweatpants, increased productivity with fewer interruptions. But the distinctions between work life and home life soon blur. You really should throw some laundry in the wash before you write that proposal. You have an hour before a meeting: Should you balance your books or clean the kitchen? And remember to call that client back right after you empty the cat box.

Welcome to the real world of working at home: unforeseen distractions, a lack of structured time, and sometimes a perceived loss of identity. But don't give up the dream just yet! By putting into place a few simple ideas, you can reap more of the rewards of working at home. Based on my experiences and those of my associates, here are 10 simple ways to help you stay on track.

1. Separate Your Space.

Keep a separate, distinct work area in your home. (This is especially difficult if you're living and working in a shoebox studio, like I was when I started my business in New York City!) If you don't have a separate room, at least define an area, and know that when you're in it, you're in "work mode."

2. Structure Your Time.

As your business and personal time mesh, it's more important than ever to structure your day. For example, if you regularly take a walk or go to the gym, try to do it every day at the same time. Value that personal appointment with yourself - even when you're very busy. It will actually help you keep your business on track! I like to get up early and work until noon, then I take a few hours off to enjoy lunch, do some reading, and take my daily jog on the beach. Then I'm back at my desk at 4:00 until who knows when!

3. Outsource All You Can.

When I began my business, I made the mistake of acting as my own courier service. I soon learned how much time I was wasting by frequently visiting clients just to pick things up and drop them off. Whenever you start thinking, "Well I can just do that myself," STOP. Streamline your business, making everything as automatic as possible. Use outside services to stay focused on your *real work*. Get accounts with an overnight delivery service, messenger service, virtual assistant (VA), bookkeeper, etc. Save your energy for your brilliant ideas! : )

4. Use Technology to Your Advantage.

In-person meetings are very valuable when appropriate, but schedule them sparingly. Try to do most of your business via phone, fax, and e-mail using the best equipment you can afford. For most home-based entrepreneurs, when you're out of the office, you're NOT making money. So it's important that you can communicate flawlessly from where you are. And PLEASE do us all a favor and get separate lines/services for your phone, fax, and Internet! No one likes getting a busy signal.

(BONUS TIP: If your phone company offers voicemail, get it. Not only will your outgoing message sound more professional, but if you're on an important call and don't want to be disturbed, other callers can still leave you a message.)

5. Group Your Errands.

Try to group your meetings and errands together to minimize your out-of-office time. Make a list in the morning of all the outside tasks you need done for the day, and attempt to complete them in one fell swoop. Even better, do what I do and designate just one day a week as your "blitz" day for errands and meetings. Plus, then you only need to get dressed up one day a week! : )

6. Stay Focused.

Make your workspace off-limits to other roommates or family members when you're working. For you animal lovers, this may go for pets as well. (My cat Francine gets *very* jealous when I'm not giving her complete attention!) Keep all personal paperwork such as bills, magazines, and to-do lists out of sight, so they won't distract you from your projects.

7. Beware of Yappers.

Many of your friends and family will be immediately delighted when they learn that you're working at home. They picture you lounging on the couch, eating potato chips, and waiting for their calls. When they call you simply to chat, politely remind them that you're working, and ask them if you can call them back after your day is over. It may take them a while, but they'll eventually get the idea.

8. Work With Your Moods.

Keep track of your moods and productivity compared with the time of day. For example, if you find you're more alert in the morning, use this time to make important calls and do your creative work. Take advantage of your natural cycles. If you feel better after an afternoon nap, go for it! (I'm a BIG proponent of the catnap. In fact, I may start a support group.)

9. Suit Yourself.

To bring out your best work, make your environment perfect for YOU. How do you work best? With plenty of breaks, or with no interruptions? In silence, or with some light music in the background? On a cushy couch and coffee table, or at a business desk in an ergonomic chair? (My friends thought I was nuts when I spent $750 on my Herman Miller Aeron chair, but they quickly understood why once they sat in it! And my spine thanks me every day.)

Also, find some places you can do work when you need a change of scenery. How about the library, the park, or your neighborhood coffee shop? When I need to do serious reading, thinking, or editing, I take my work outside to the beach. The sea air, sunshine, and soothing waves help me think much more clearly.

10. Break for People.

Feeling sluggish, lonely, or moody? Arrange for at least one social break during the week. (I aim for two or three.) Schedule breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even just coffee with a client, vendor, or friend. Join a business networking group, or sign-up for social activities such as dance class or recreational sports league. Don't go into hermit mode - it can be self-destructive!

© 1999-2009 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

The year has come and gone and here we are in a new year.

What are the top New Year’s resolutions each year? Eliminate debt, lose weight and develop healthy habits. You’ve probably heard your friends, coworkers and favorite radio hosts uttering those exact promises of change in the past few days.

The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that just as fast as these vague words are uttered, it’s just as fast that the resolution vows are broken. Yes, 75% of New Year’s resolutions are broken in the first three months of the year.

A *goal* on the other hand is the desired end result of the change you want to make and it’s specific. Goal setting is a powerful process where you take the time to meditate on your ideal future and think carefully about what steps you need to take to turn your thoughts in to reality.

How can you effectively set goals this year?

Brainstorm. Take some time in a comfortable, quiet place where you can be alone and uninterrupted. Think about where truly want to be by the end of next year. Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? What are your short term goals? What are your long term goals? What precisely do you want to accomplish? Examine the motives for your goals. What’s your big picture?

Make a written list immediately. Once you understand where you want to be, you can establish what goals are realistic and can break them in to small, obtainable pieces.

Create a “to do list.” Get specific on how you’ll attain your goals. What support or education do you need? What will you do daily, weekly or monthly to achieve each goal? Put in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure your achievements at each step of the way. Someone who states a resolution that they want to exercise more generally doesn’t incorporate it in to a "to do" list. The resolution sounds something like “I’m going to try to exercise more.” But if you’re serious about obtaining your goal, you’ll be more inclined to write “I will work out at 6am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 1 hour. I will do 20 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of weight training. I have made arrangements with my best friend to support me on each of these mornings.” Which person do you think has a greater chance of showing up at the gym? When putting action items around your goals, be specific but reasonable - don’t expect to get everything done in January.

Monitor your success. Check in with yourself frequently. By looking at your goals once a week or once a month to see what progress you’re making, you’ll be able to adjust your list accordingly. I’m a member of a supportive group of businesswomen and we hold each other accountable for each others’ progress. We each fill out a form before we attend our meeting each week so that we can personally think about what we’ve accomplished, where we want to go and areas we need to work on. Some of the questions include: What did I plan to accomplish in the past week? What did I actually accomplish in the past week? What do I plan to accomplish in the next week? What do I need help with? We then have a roundtable session with an atmosphere of accountability and support.

Below are some resources that I’ve found helpful:

Franklin Covey Time Management Classes. I highly recommend investing in a time management class. I attended one a few years ago and it helped me to gain more focus around what my goals were and there was a marked increase in my productivity. A primary question that was asked during the class was “what are you doing each and every day that will positively impact your life in 5 years? 10 years?” Definitely something to think about!

Take Time for Your Life (Cheryl Richardson). This was required reading during my VA training at AssistU and I’m so glad it was. This book really makes you ponder about your emotional clutter, current relationships and the changes that you can make to improve your support system.

Wildly Wealthy. I did a free 90-minute teleseminar, along with several hundred other people, with the founder, Sandy Forster. She uses powerful visualization techniques for effective goal setting. One of the things that I particularly liked was when she asked us to close our eyes and imagine ourselves one year in the future and to create a journal as if we are living there. Our goals went from statements like “I want to get more clients”, “I went to renovate the back deck” and “I want to lose weight” to statements like “I had a great day at work working with two of my favorite clients. I have an abundance of work right now and it’s a great feeling. I’m sitting on the wonderful back deck that I just had renovated. It has lots of seating and I especially like the red silk pillows that accent the tone of the wood. I love the hammock I had installed and especially love the fact that I’m 30Ib lighter so I can get in and out of it easier…”

Where do you see yourself a year from now?