Work from Home: 3 Tips for Creating a Business Not a Job

January 6th, 2017 Tags: business opportunity, Dexter Montgomery, home- based business, Pamela Montgomery
Posted in Getting Started On Line, Leaving Your 9-5 Job

Work from Home

Work from Home: 3 Tips for Creating a Business Not a Job

Are you ready to work from home? Are you ready to leave your 9-5 job? Many people dream of working for themselves, being their own boss, and having the freedom to take on clients and projects they love. This dream continues even in the face of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the self-employment rate has trended downward over the past two decades. According to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1994, “the self-employment rate was 12.1 percent; by 2015, the rate had declined to 10.1 percent. From 1994 to 2015, the unincorporated self-employment rate fell from 8.7 percent to 6.4 percent.”

What you may not realize, though, is that there is a huge difference between building a business and being self-employed.

Business owners scale their income. Self-employed people trade dollars for hours. I know several dentists, doctors, lawyers, and technicians who are self-employed. Don't you? If the lawyer is sick and out the office, the work does not get done.

Business owners leverage the skills and talents of others. They have staff who work for them. The staff can be employees or contractors.

Self-employed people rely on their own skills. If you are the only person in your “business,” then you are self-employed.

Are you discouraged yet? Don't be. Every business owner started out self-employed. Just do not stay there. When you work from home, these three tips will help you build a sustainable business instead of another job.

1. Do Not Try to Do it All Yourself

Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourself–especially in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than money–it is the path to burnout and stress.

Instead separate your tasks into those that you love and are especially suited for (for example, marketing) and those that you dislike or not great at. Then make a solid plan to get those tasks that you dislike or are not great at doing off of your plate. If you think that you cannot afford to outsource it all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate doing, even if it is just a few hours each month.

For more information on building a business team, listen to our podcast and read our blog post: Building a Great Business Team.

2. Do Not Allow Yourself to Work All the Time

The trouble with working at home is that you live at work. That means that there is no clear line between your work day and home life. Initially, I found myself caught in a never-ending cycle of work. But I quickly learned that was not a recipe for success.

Since there is always work to do, it is easy to find yourself working every available moment–often to the detriment of your family relationships. You can avoid this situation by:

• Setting and maintaining clear work hours
• Having an office with a door you can close when you are done
• Scheduling time for family and other activities
• Taking time for yourself

It is so important to find time everyday to reflect and focus on what is truly important. As stated by Kevin Kruse, author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About, Secret #1 is “Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource.” Use some of that time for yourself. That is not being selfish. To find out more about taking time for yourself, read our blog post, Finding Time for Yourself:  “Me” Time

3. Take Time to Relax, Refresh, and Renew Yourself!

Do not create a business that requires you to be “in the office” every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, but you should plan for the day when you can be “off the grid” for extended periods of time.

• Have trusted contractors who can handle things when you are away
• Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and auto-webinar systems
• Create repeatable systems so that you are not always re-inventing the wheel

While you may not be able to hit the road with no internet access for weeks at a time, at the very least you should be able to reduce your workload to a daily check-in.

 Sound impossible? It is not. with some forethought and planning, you can create a team, and systems they need, to successfully run your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked. To find out more about the importance of creating systems and delegating to others read your blog post, Delegate to Your Business Dream Team to Multiply Your Success.

Conclusion/Call to Action

Make sure that when you leave your 9-5 job to work from home, that you have not created another job for yourself. By following these three tips you will be on your way to leveraging the efforts of others to create a business that you can scale and enjoy.

1. Do not try to do everything yourself
2. Do not allow yourself to work all the time
3. Take time to relax, refresh, and renew!

We would love the opportunity to work with you to help you create the business and lifestyle of your dreams. Are you ready to leave your 9-5 job? Are you ready to work from home? If so, give us 6 weeks to show you how to build and grow your online business. Check out The Strategic Pathway to Success Program™

Also published on Medium.