Ten years ago, I embarked on my entrepreneurial voyage equipped with enthusiasm like other entrepreneurs previously of me. I remember it vividly as if it happened yesterday. Although I felt enthusiastic and convinced it was the best career move for me, I was oblivious of what it would actually require to succeed. When I reflect back to the beginning of my entrepreneurial voyage, I recall how I slept most of its first year. It was not until my second year, that I understood if I wanted this new career move to definitely work, I had to make changes.
Watch the video and join in the conversation, “Turn Your Home-Based Business Into a Financial Opportunity. Learn the five strategies which helped me thrive and march forward on my entrepreneurial journey.
Shift Your Mindset
I had to learn how to become productive by eliminating distractions. For many of you who have also experienced an organizational culture in which you worked prior to your entrepreneurial aspirations, you know that chatting during working hours, taking extensive breaks and sleeping are not a part of the workday. The same needs to be applied to your gig. In other words, I had to learn to treat my opportunity like a real business, not as a passing of time to earn a few dollars infrequently. As a part of this realization, I addressed my new work needs via tough conversations with family and friends as to why I would not chit chat on the phone during “working hours”. Working from home meant that I was unavailable to do household chores such as laundry and cooking during the workday. My workspace had changed but not the discipline and the commitment about it.
Dress for Success
Having my own entrepreneurial home opportunity provided me the freedom to do things in a different way than if I was going into a 9 to 5 organizational daily shift. I enjoyed the freedom to work in a comfortable environment versus the fast pace of the sales floor. But the one thing that became a game-changer for me was dressing to go to work. This allowed me to transition my mindset to work mode. Once I am dressed for success, it’s game on! There are studies that support what I found out to work for me. There exists a direct correlation between how we feel about ourselves and how we show up in the world. Dressing up positively impacts the way you feel about yourself and therefore how you communicate with others throughout the workday.
Utilize Online Marketing
Early on, I predicted the lack of a massive budget for my marketing and PR and quickly understood I had to discover a way to showcase my business externally to attract my perfect clients. Social media became the answer. Ten years ago, it was very difficult for me as an entrepreneur to compete with larger organizations, but social media leveled the playing field. Investing in online properties such as my website facilitated the improvement of my brand and the attraction of the right clients.
Develop Daily Habits and Routines
Success is determined by the sum of your daily habits. Establishing the right habits and routines will lead to your success. I have found that having a detailed morning and evening routine allowed me to get excited about my day, focus on what really matters, as well as giving me the time necessary to unplug and unwind. Therefore, taking time to build your daily morning and evening routine is of the utmost importance when building a successful business.
Make the Best Use of Time
In relationship to developing daily habits and routines as mentioned above, I also had to learn to use time wisely. Initially, this was an enormous challenge for me since I don’t enjoy being “managed” or the feeling of “managing others”. As I continued to grow my business, it became imperative that I began building a team. In order to keep myself and the team focused on productive tasks, I implemented a time-tracking system that reports activities and monitors production. This tool allowed me to identify areas where we could improve efficiency. Time is priceless, so let’s be mindful of how to best use it, daily.
