How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals‏

When you are the owner of a home business, you will find 
hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and 
focus.
 
Common distractions include: children, family, friends, 
neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail, household chores, video 
games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many 
more.
 
As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember 
your purpose in bringing your profession home. What was your 
reason for wanting to own a home business? Was your goal to work 
from home so that you can share in the lives of your children? 
Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical 
boss? Was your goal to have the freedom to work when it is 
convenient for you? Was your goal to make tons of money working 
for yourself?
 
Here`s a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your 
home business:
 
TIP #1:
Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep 
your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your 
reason for starting your own home business, you will not be 
working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let 
circumstance drive your activities --- and when circumstance is 
in the driver`s seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.
 
TIP #2:
Remember --- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some 
people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others --- 
most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment 
--- go to work to work and to make money. When you work for 
yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your 
productivity. Therefore, wouldn`t it make sense to stay focused 
on getting as much done in as short of a period as possible?
 
Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and 
recreation for when your workday has ended.
 
TIP #3:
When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, 
it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible. 
With small children, you must take time when you must, but you 
should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific 
number of hours to your workday.
 
With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you 
will be working between the hours of x and y. Your children and 
your friends must understand that certain hours of your day are 
devoted to the activities of your business.
 
TIP #4:
Don`t permit your friends and extended family to run over you. 
Many people get the blind idea that if one works from home then 
they are not actually working.
 
Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice 
about getting a real job. Others may simply believe that if you 
are at home, then you are fair game for chitchat and 
socialization.
 
You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and 
family understands that when you are working, then you ARE 
working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to 
do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home 
business.
 
You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and 
family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your 
home business, unless you make the effort to make sure that they 
have the same respect for your business that you do.
 
TIP #5:
You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to 
regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one 
hour in the afternoon to handling your written communications.
 
Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these 
communications, you will soon find yourself on the downward 
slope of decreased productivity.
 
TIP #6:
When you find yourself spending too much time doing 
non-productive activities, then you should seriously consider 
finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in 
those non-profitable business activities.
 
As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You 
might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and 
setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far 
too much time taking care of your books to take care of your 
advertising in the manner that you should. In this event, it 
might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your 
financial records for you.
 
CONCLUSION:
In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and 
completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make.
 
You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based 
business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of 
your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self 
and your dedication to the success of your business.
 
Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come 
visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and 
your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your 
foot down when necessary.
 
Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on 
your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, 
you must have the discipline necessary to reach them.