Simple Works: Home Business Tips That Will Save Time and Money

Raising seven kids has taught me well in life and business. My husband and I each brought three kids to the table (his three boys, my three girls) and we shared an extra child we couldn't love more. To get along as full siblings is nearly unheard of, but as step siblings? Nearly impossible. Yet, they got along well. Very well.

People complimented them often and would ask us the secret; it was always the same:

Be consistent, accountable, and follow through.

Like raising good children, you could not choose a better formula for business success, in fact, it's so easy, people overlook it. And wonder why they fail.

Working from home is a blessing, but also a curse. You may find yourself putting off something until "later" and later forgets to show up. The next thing you know, you're searching for your receipts to show the bank that there was supposed to be a charge reversal or your phone service is disconnected but not because you have no money--because you forgot to pay the bill you can't find.

Being thorough and consistent can save on late fees, lost accounts, looking immature as a business, and a huge amount of stress. 

No matter what kind of home business you run or how much your business earns, these tips can change your life as you know it and keep in mind, I've cut it to the bare bones. Seriously, just do this if you are not already doing it.

Put your paperwork away in the same place. Every time. 


Use file folders, even if you keep it in a cardboard box. You may end up with more folders than you really need, but as you are consistent in using them and putting them away, your mind will automatically be on the lookout for the best way to do this for you and your needs.

Your filing system is too elaborate if paper is piling up; don't work hard and loathe doing it, simplify. Some small businesses have only two files: IN and OUT. Whatever works BEST for your business and for the least amount of effort is exactly what you need.

Keep LIKE things together. Bills with bills. Receipts either stapled to bills or with other receipts divided only if you have so many it's necessary. Pens with pens all in the same place every single time. Get it?

Do not fight yourself. If you work better on the computer, scan your bills and keep in folders on your computer. Find an app for your phone that works with you. If you are a paper hoarder as I am, then stop trying to force making everything online. Go with what will make you get things done.

When you tell someone you will call... call. Follow through.

Work hard to make your day-to-day "normal" things--like filing and return phone calls--take five minutes or less. 

If you have someone else working with you, learn to delegate and only work on the more difficult things that must have your attention.

This is enough to get you going. Do you know why? Because simple works.

Simple Works: Home Business Tips That Will Save Time and Money

Raising seven kids has taught me well in life and business. My husband and I each brought three kids to the table (his three boys, my three girls) and we shared an extra child we couldn't love more. To get along as full siblings is nearly unheard of, but as step siblings? Nearly impossible. Yet, they got along well. Very well.

People complimented them often and would ask us the secret; it was always the same:

Be consistent, accountable, and follow through.

Like raising good children, you could not choose a better formula for business success, in fact, it's so easy, people overlook it. And wonder why they fail.

Working from home is a blessing, but also a curse. You may find yourself putting off something until "later" and later forgets to show up. The next thing you know, you're searching for your receipts to show the bank that there was supposed to be a charge reversal or your phone service is disconnected but not because you have no money--because you forgot to pay the bill you can't find.

Being thorough and consistent can save on late fees, lost accounts, looking immature as a business, and a huge amount of stress. 

No matter what kind of home business you run or how much your business earns, these tips can change your life as you know it and keep in mind, I've cut it to the bare bones. Seriously, just do this if you are not already doing it.

Put your paperwork away in the same place. Every time. 


Use file folders, even if you keep it in a cardboard box. You may end up with more folders than you really need, but as you are consistent in using them and putting them away, your mind will automatically be on the lookout for the best way to do this for you and your needs.

Your filing system is too elaborate if paper is piling up; don't work hard and loathe doing it, simplify. Some small businesses have only two files: IN and OUT. Whatever works BEST for your business and for the least amount of effort is exactly what you need.

Keep LIKE things together. Bills with bills. Receipts either stapled to bills or with other receipts divided only if you have so many it's necessary. Pens with pens all in the same place every single time. Get it?

Do not fight yourself. If you work better on the computer, scan your bills and keep in folders on your computer. Find an app for your phone that works with you. If you are a paper hoarder as I am, then stop trying to force making everything online. Go with what will make you get things done.

When you tell someone you will call... call. Follow through.

Work hard to make your day-to-day "normal" things--like filing and return phone calls--take five minutes or less. 

If you have someone else working with you, learn to delegate and only work on the more difficult things that must have your attention.

This is enough to get you going. Do you know why? Because simple works.

Keeping Up On YOUR Business Education

Nothing can help you and your business more than keeping educated about your product, service, programs you use, etc.

Freelance writer? Take a refresher course on grammar and writing style; as you know, even grammar changes from time to time and you should be current and updated to the social standards (think additional and new meanings to these words, for instance: sick, read, shade, and that "can't" is now acceptable).

Are you in the health and fitness field? Take an updated course on nutrition-what we thought we knew about fat and fake sugar, for instance, is nowhere near what we know now, or try out a few of the latest exercise classes.

Maybe you are a home daycare provider, you can easily brush up on child nutrition, new activities introduced by other providers and parents, you could learn about safety in your home, and always, always, brush up on your first aid skills (even THOSE change throughout time).

Businesswise, regardless of your area of expertise, take a local college course in marketing, find a MeetUp of like minds, join Toastmasters, talk to a tax consultant yearly.

There is so much you can do to stay current and on task. Take five minutes out of your time today and list those things that interest you and will move your business ahead.

Working From Home - When Home is Anything but Stable

The beauty -- and possibly the destruction for many well-meaning home-based businesses -- is being home. Yet, one thing we've never discussed, nor had reason to discuss here, is when home is not defined in the traditional way.

Most people, especially those running a business from home, have a (meaning ONE) place they call home. A few may have two, including a main home base; a couple of business owners may be lucky enough to have two places they equally call home. But what about those people who do not have a certain place, are unsure of where they live, or are moving around a lot due to different circumstances (think finances, domestic violence, being a secret and unreported CIA spy, having seven kids and having to live between them, etc.)?

By a show of "hands," how many have a unique one-home-business-does-not-fit-all (please do share your circumstance in the comments or a private email, we'd love to touch base and write an article based on unique business successes and struggles)?

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For me, personally, the past six-seven years went nothing like it should have. Where I should have felt support and stability, I felt everything but. I've had to not only rearrange my home and life many times, but I've had to reorganize my businesses, even when they were getting to be back on top after being MIA for several years due to another unusual home-business situation (okay, the common denominator is me, but that's beside the point of this article; let's not go there).

I've ended up having several homes, some very temporary (a month and a half at the shortest) and for the third time in my life, I've lost nearly everything, including a lot of my work, which could have been the cause of me being unable to continue working and writing from home (not including the self-paralysis from the personal and emotional aspects of it all) or giving up.

Except that's not me and I suspect that's not you, either. What do we do? How do you run a business from home if you don't have a home or if your home is temporary or completely unstable?

Running a Stable Small Business from an Unstable Home

Let's make this easy and assume you already have been running your business, whether it's MLM, freelance, merchandising, or even babysitting (legally) from your home.

Two of the most important things to keeping and running your business properly: files and calendars. Don't worry, there's a lot more, but these are two things you MUST have and you must bring back and forth to wherever you conduct business. These are things you cannot lose.

If you're like me, you love paper. Tough. You cannot afford paper files that you must lug around or that can be lost if you're unable to get your belongings from one of your home bases. I've lost them all. And I am still suffering-but wouldn't be had I used electronic files (scanning) and calendars in addition to the paper I refused to give up.

There is enough personal paper you'll have to keep (legal documents, SS information, etc.).

Convert Paper Files to Electronic Files (in Five Minutes a Day)

That's right. CONVERT. See all that paper you've collected? If not, perhaps you've hidden it in closets or boxes, but I know you know what I'm talking about.

The first thing you need to do to make your home situation easier for you and your business is to convert all your paper files into electronic files (scanning); the second thing to do is to make back-ups of these files.

Might we suggest Google Drive? It's free, it's right there, and you can get to your files on your phone in an instant if you are caught without your computer.

1. You can store up to 15 GB of content shared between Google Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos for free. If you use Google Apps at work or school, you have at least 30 GB of storage. If you're approaching your limit or if you've run out of storage, you can buy storage or free up storage space. Manage your free Google Drive space.

If you have hundreds of thousands of papers, take it easy, you can still manage this, using five minutes a day. Scan, upload, repeat. Sure, it'll take a while, but at least you can access what you need when you want. 

Please! Do yourself a favor-rather than scanning and uploading as fast as possible, thousands in a day, do it right the first time. Scan, label, and sort your files now. Do it as you hold it in your hand. This way you can cross reference, find in an instant, and you'll be less stressed when you can access exactly what you need exactly when you need it.

Upload those papers and throw them away after you've made your backup, on a separate hard drive, disk, or flash drive. 

If your electronically converted papers are needed occasionally, put in safe bins and store where you can. I've lost even these backups twice in my lifetime, and you learn to deal, as you would if your business had been destroyed in a fire, but it's far from ideal). The most important papers, put in an organized accordion file. Why this type of file? Because we are talking about nearly mobile paperwork and it's far easier to carry and pack a light file than a file box; furthermore, you tend to only include what's really important in this file due to space limitations. Trust me. 

As for the fifty or so papers you absolutely have to keep-use a single sleeve heavy duty plastic see-through file. Heavy duty to ensure it's protected, plastic to keep relatively water-proof, and see-through so there is no confusing the importance.

Calendaring Your Business and Life

There's no confusing the importance of a well-maintained calendar, whether you combine business with personal or not. But if you have one on your wall and your wall is suddenly not there, for whatever reason, you may not be able to take it with you. 

One idea is to have a paper calendar that you carry with you everywhere. A good idea technically, however, if you have to suddenly move and move everything, it's suddenly one more thing you have to carry. Think about it.

Being an Apple Girl both personally and in my business world and a lover of all things paper, I must have both a large-sized wall calendar and an iCal account to use across my electronics, but there's also the Google Calendar and plenty of other free electronic calendars with apps available (I won't list any others here, as I've not tried any of them). Learn to use them. There is no end to the usefulness of a calendar you can access from anywhere at anytime. 

My electronic calendar needs to be able to sync effortlessly between my phone and computer and anyone else who needs to have access to it. I also must have constant reminders attached-I use instant notifications and reminder emails. You may have other needs. Research. Experiment. Be willing to try and quit and try another.

Pretend Electronic PAPER Calendar (Works for Me!)

BUT as I mentioned, I love and NEED that paper calendar. I need something that is staring me in the face, not just something that reminds me when it's time for something or that I must open when I need it.

The perfect solution takes less than one minute a day - when you leave for the day, simply snap a picture of your paper wall calendar and refer to it as needed. I find just from looking at it and having written it down with pen and paper the first time, I rarely need to pull out my snapshots, but at least it's available for no-fail added appointments.

Stability in Your Unstable World

These are just two ideas to help ease your burdens when your world sometimes feels as though it's falling apart, but there's no need for your business to fall, too. It's all temporary and it's up to you. 

Whether you move personally and professionally (we ARE talking about small home businesses here) on purpose or at the drop of the proverbial hat with no warning, having your important papers at your fingertips in a manageable file and your calendar of events handy is of utmost importance. Not only will you be able to continue to succeed and support yourself and your business, but you will have peace of mind and that's priceless.

Before the Tired Sinks In

Let's quickly check up on you all:

Did you use your five minutes wisely today? Have you checked and tweek-ed your calendar? Are you up to date on what you need to do and what you can do tomorrow? This sounds a tad tedious, but it's just five minutes or less to deal with your calendar, which in turn will find you a thousand times what you spend on preparing/organizing/understanding for use in any way you most need. 

You gain time when you know where your tickets are, where the theatre is located, by having the address to the gym, having the names of everyone involved at your fingertips, the dates and times for an event... everything you do, need to do, and want to do at your fingertips. 

Think of it as giving three minutes to go over your calendar once at night and three more minutes to reread in the morning to gain a day where there is less confusion, stress, lateness, there is punctuality, meetings are quicker, energies are higher, you start taking an hour of smart dedicated organized work instead of the three hours it took for the same thing when you were not consistently calendaring your work and life.

Alright, I've not been sleeping all week. The doctor gave me a sleeping pill today and it's starting to do it's magic work. Tomorrow, I'll reread this to make sure it will look more like ramblings than like drunken ramblings, LOL. If you see some funnies or have questions and comments, please do leave us feed back in the comment section.

And before I go, I did come here to complete my five minutes of calendaring and to remind you to do the same. This is my third day-only 27 days left for me to continue so my good habit will follow. What day are you on and how's it working for you so far? After our habit is made (30 days to a habit), we'll go farther on how that five minutes can boost your business sales, income, etc.

Have a great Friday!

~Teraisa

Energy Tip: Let the Sunshine In

Energy Addict: 101 Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Ways to Energize Your Life

The most difficult part of running a successful home business, whatever the service or product, is finding energy to work when everything tugs at you and you know you can skip being purposely productive "just for today." Being at home makes it easy, while piled up dishes and a fussy baby makes it excusable. in your mind. For the moment, as we both know you'll regret it later (and let's not get hung up on how that alone creates a vicious circle that's difficult to escape).

Assuming you are more or less on some kind of sleep/work cycle where you wake from sleeping at ANY time while there's sunlight, starting tomorrow, create a lifelong habit of getting up and getting just five minutes of sunshine. Open your blinds, put on your shoes, and walk around outside your home. Take the dog, if you have one. Walk literally around your house, yard, or around the block. 

Studies prove that your body will be in the energy making mode when you wake and have your body go right into that light. You can do it with lights in your home, but nothing beats real sunlight. You will instantly be lifted and it will guide your body to how it should respond the rest of the day.

(While you're at it, when you come back in, grab a piece of fruit and some whole grain cereal to eat. Sunshine, brief exercise, and yummy-yet-full-of-fiber-food = the best day ever.)

It only takes thirty days to make a habit. Start tomorrow and call it Day One, then get to work!

Times of Stress

When you think about it - when is there NOT stress? Somehow, you must go on. I must go on.

For me, this week, the stress is one of those "it's not the first time, it's the last time" kind of things. That's when those five minute spurts work extremely well.

All energy is zapped. All motivation is zapped.  Out the window is everything I'd been planning to do - and it's replaced with things I'm now forced to do.

But my will power is strong. I will NOT let this completely throw me off track. For five minutes, I am going to write here in this blog.  I will take another five minutes and write my page a day.  You all know how I feel that business and exercise goes hand in hand, so I'm also taking a few five minute work-out breaks.  And five minutes to do a quick clean-up.

Lastly, five minutes to write out a list of what I hope to accomplish tomorrow. I'm including the hope of having a no-stress (or let-it-roll-off-my-shoulders) kind of day.

Did I mention that I sent in a book proposal?  It took less than five minutes to print it, address the envelope, and stick it in the mail. Who'd have guessed?

Page A Day: 3/365

3/365

Good day to all Page A Day writers! Thank you for staying with us, we are pleased and pray you are as well.

If the Page A Day turns out to be too much for you, try five minutes a day. You will be surprised how much five minutes a day adds up. If it still adds slowly for you, perhaps you will feel how I feel: "At last! I feel like I’m worth something once again. I've been writing daily and I have never felt better."

Avoid the Truth

There are "experts" who believe that in your writing you must please everyone. We don't. If you are too liberal, you will become stuck in a rut and, sooner or later, your work/writing will take second place and being politically correct will take first and is bound to get you into trouble at some point either way.

If you must, put a disclaimer in the front of your book, stating "for ease of flow in reading…" Fear of being a sexist pig is the number one avoidance, according to too many books and writers (thank you Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style).

Pick a pronoun and stick with it. That works and pleases real readers in the long run. If it works for you, it should work for them.

Final Word

If you are writing a page a day for a book, please do reply. Let us know: which day you started, if you have found it to be fairly easy, if you have hope this will work for you, and any tips and ideas you can share with others.

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Page A Day: 2/265

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FreeWriting is the action of writing, without premeditation, freely, as thoughts flow from your mind to your paper (or computer screen). A great way to bypass "writers' block" is via FreeWriting. If you stay on target with your book, all the better.

Set a timer for five minutes. Write ANYTHING until the timer goes off. Do this every day for thirty days until you have formed a new habit. Continue five-minute freeWriting during your entire year of a Page A Day (PAD) and watch the ideas and pages add up faster than a scientific calculator.

Final Word

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ~Aristotle

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Focus

How do you focus on work, while at home?  How do you concentrate when your children are present?  Are you able to feel comfortable working while your spouse is watching TV? 


These questions, and more, should have been well researched and studied before you started your business-even more than the actual business itself, after all, if you cannot commit focused time, your business will not thrive even if it was named Disneyland.


At first glance, babies appear to be the most difficult distraction, however, this is false.  Sure, they'll make sure you know they need you and, yes, you won't be able to move forward until you deal with the precious child's needs and wants, yet babies and their schedules (and lack of moving about and talking), work for you.  In fact, even if your babies are anything like every single one of mine [were], it's a simply a matter of not blocking set hours of time, but allowing yourself to work 30 minutes, take 15 minutes off; work 30, take off 15; work 30, take off 15. Smaller increments, but extremely productive (so much so, that I've adopted the "five minute plan") moments.  It's amazing how much you can accomplish when you commit to those 30 minutes.


Obviously, you'll substitute your increment times according to Baby and your schedule.  


Toddlers are not as easy to deal with, and they tend to be the most difficult.  They often can understand you a thousand times better than you understand them.   That's the cause of your needing to supervise nearly every single moment.  Thank God for naps!  


Though toddlers are extremely mobile and even more curious, you can make this work.  Choose the things you can nearly count on to occupy five to ten minutes without standing over Toddler, like playing blocks (cars, ball, etc.) to do the things you most have to concentrate and get them done in small sessions (or wait a couple of years to start your home business). Use a high chair, a coloring book, and Crayolas once a day for fifteen minutes of business concentration.  If your toddler can sit quietly for a cartoon, know that "their brains won't turn to mush" if they watch a limited amount each day you need to work.  This can be a bigger break, generally a half an hour to two hours, and you can even sit beside Little Guy.


Never leave your baby or toddler alone in the bathtub and I do NOT advise you working whatsoever during bath time (I know, this is a no-brainer, but statistics of children drowning in a tub while the parent is home is staggering).


If you absolutely cannot share the concentration, hire a young sitter to play with Toddler for a few hours (or use an older sibling or the other spouse). 


School age kids, unless homeschooled, and your business work magically. It's a natural home business progression that your work hours equal their school hours.


Teens don't want to need you and will continue to do so as much as possible.  However, I find that my needing to focus on work brings about their neediness almost without fail.  I set everything down and look into their eyes while they talk and secretly be thinking, "Hurry up! I love you, but I have work to do and you didn't give me the time of day while I was washing dished, folding clothes, or watching Jerry Springer!"  This brings about some paralyzing guilt on my part once they leave my side, until I remember I'm working from home in part for them.


You can cure this one by doing two things:  work while they're at school or socializing, and deep clean the house daily (the second idea's a joke, of course, get it?).


Your spouse. For me, it's my hubby.  I don't know what to say about this because my husband doesn't even care if he talks to me, as long as I am near him.  I try focusing at the table near his Call of Duty TV, but I can't. He's cussing at his online buddies and it's distracting.  And back to kids for a moment, this is also the time when Dad can totally deal with all their needs--but their inclination is to come to me and ask me something.  Hubby says, "Hey!  Mom's working, whatever you need, come to me."  And I inject my theory that they already interrupted me so that just makes it a longer interruption.  Sigh.


Murphy's Law, right?


Anyway, my working is a no-go while Hubby's home. I work while he works or I work in the wee early morning hours.  You may have a completely different situation (and we did set up a home office where I can close the door, but sometimes, me working by his side is all the free time I have to spend with him) and will learn to know it, work with it, and love it.


Maybe you can't sit and focus for hours at a time, but with a bit of creative maneuvering, you can run a business and run it well.

Mentally Physical, Five Minutes at a Time

"Mom," he asked, in exasperation more than curiosity, "how do you keep running so well?"

His mother jogged in place. "You have to make all your physical challenges into mental challenges.  You put your lungs inside your mind, and think your way around the path. The same way that you have to make your mental challenges into physical challenges. When you're doing your homework--when you do your homework--just imagine that you're riding your bike, and you just have to push your way through."

~The King in the Window, by Adam Gopnik

The past two weeks have been physically horrendous. My lungs have felt as if they're on fire and an elephant is stepping on my chest, yet it's the medicine I use that keeps me awake even longer than usual.  If I nap, it generally takes two to three hours to fall asleep for one hour, and that's if no one comes in after a while.

When I get up, I feel nothing but guilt. Here's the thing, each day I rise, loving the day, wanting and needing to do so much, having a focused list. When I physically get out of bed, I am wheezing and hurting and exhausted (as I'm lucky to get four hours of interrupted sleep at one time) and everything is thrown back on the burner.

It's a vicious cycle, you know?  Such wasted time.

Luckily, I'm a reader, this keeps my mind structurally busy.  Writers must always read, otherwise, how can they know what readers want?  I rarely read fiction, but the past three years, I've been reading whatever my kids are reading. I love having the commonness and dialog.  

Ironically, the chose some great books, without knowing they've actually met the writers at a publishers' function or a writing conference I've been in, making us have a few more things to talk about.

After the Twilight series, Venice got into Glass and all the Ellen Hopkins' books.  She and I had a laugh when I told her she may have met her through our "Darcy," of the former Northern Nevada Family Magazine (don't ask!).  Oh, how I miss those days, before I was sick.

But that's the way it goes.  I read from The King in the Window about the lungs and making it mental, and though I know it's not in my mind, I love it.  And likewise, I love making the mental into a physical challenge.

You know how I said I was unable to concentrate clearly, unless I was reading? No?  Who cares, it's still true. Anyway, by putting what I need to do mentally, more or less, into a physical challenge, I see the beauty.  Combine this with my five minutes throughout the day, and even the worst days can be more productive.

My primary focus with true crime at the moment, is for sure Lue Vang and Sue Russell's Missing Mondays, which I was working on before Lue went missing. Lue, as you might remember, is a 17 year old from Carson City, Nevada, who has been missing since April 29, 2011.  There's a chance he's headed toward Seattle, but this is not a sure thing.  Wherever you are, keep your eyes open and spread the word.

To work on these cases (and the True Crime Fanatic website), I merely have to take five minutes at a time and instead of thinking of it as researching, asking questions, etc., I'll think of it as five minutes until I can rest again. Five minutes of staying busy, on task.

As for all the other work, well, my lungs are in pain and talking is not really such an option, so if it can't be done via text and email, it's just not happening.

Bonus on Bonus Income

I'm using my five minutes of time wisely - write here, research a few questions, then an hour on the website. I'm finally understanding CSS much better than ever (or maybe it's Dreamweaver I have had trouble with?) and the brand new website is not depressing me any longer; it's exciting and I can't wait each day to get started... and I can't wait until I've got the original 50 pages back up and running and HELPING those in need. Check out True Crime Fanatic when you have time.

You know, I think I better hurry, we were just alerted there's another bonus for us ChaCha users and I love bonuses on top of bonuses.

Considering ChaCha is freelance and not a major source of income, I do consider it a "bonus."  What I love most of all?  My bonus income gets a boost from ChaCha because they're constantly adding bonuses for researching and/or answering a certain number of questions, which only makes my per hour money go up, up, up, something I love, love love!

If you want to earn a few more pennies a month researching and/or answering intriguingly crazy questions, consider joining my ChaCha team by clicking the link, filling out the application and going through the Expediter or Generalist/Specialist training (yes, they TRAIN you and it's excellent!).  Be sure to give them my email to make sure we're on the same team, and then write me and let me know so I can congratulate you and help out with anything.  Teraisa @ gmail.com the ChaCha team I want YOU to be on.

Five Minutes Again

Always, I have five minutes of time at some point to do something with work.  Home businesses not only do not run themselves, but they take what seems like much more time than a big business outside your home, and why not?  You're the one running your business, your family, and your "me" time.  Of COURSE it'll take more time.

Maybe you don't have more time. Maybe your senior middle son is going to his first and only prom and there are tuxedos to pick up, hair spray to be found, pictures to take?  Perhaps you're taking time out to grill the driver, to find out exactly where the prom is being held, and laying down the rules.

Plus, you have all your other kids, your spouse, maybe some in-laws (not me), lunch, dinner, and it's Easter tomorrow, and... and... and...

By this time, I WANT to work my business! I need a break from real life.  Don't get me wrong, I can handle putting work away and swimming in the ocean, but everyday life, dealing with it, and knowing it all starts over again tomorrow with new stuff replacing what you just did is, well, it's life.

Take a break from life, just a moment, maybe you can think of it as time to yourself, even if it's not for yourself, give yourself those precious five minutes we're always talking about.

Seriously! Find a quiet space, make a phone call.  Make that cold call you've been dreading: one minute to practice, a minute to call and introduce yourself, a minute to sell yourself and your product/business, and a minute to LISTEN, and lastly, a moment to congratulate yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone (regardless of success).

I'm using five minutes to share this thought, answer an email, and check out my recent article query.

The minutes flew by, I'm off to real life again, but I have a fresh attitude, which is great, because it's Prom picture-taking time!

Getting Technical

Get It In Writing! was the first website I ever created; it was made from scratch. I jumped into HTML long before Google was invented.  It probably helped that I had taken computer programming years before and kept up on computer literacy over the years, but only in that I knew it was going to involve math somehow and appear complicated.

I remember the first few months with smiles, I had asked everyone I knew who owned a computer and had the Internet to click as much as possible on the link so I could watch my counter move.

It worked, though. Before you knew it, I merged with Writing Corner and ran them both through It Is Written, Ink, our corporation.  We enjoyed being celebrated in the covers of Writer's Digest Magazine and being asked to talk at writer's conferences. Our paper newsletter for unpublished and newly published writers was still free and being distributed in four countries. All good things come to an end; a couple of years later, my family lost our home and all the contents - including the business and computers - due to toxic mold.

It's been a decade now and I've gotten our lives back on track best I can.  The last thing I could afford to replace, a bed for myself, was bought last year and I couldn't be happier.  With the bed.

The website, now True Crime Fanatic, is bugging me.  Where I used to be able to crank out an entire 20 page website in  a weekend, it's taken me over a year to figure out how to make the front page look decent (forget about keeping it current, sheesh!).

I can plan the website (and I do) on paper, but I cannot get it to look that way on the computer.  Not even close.  That's how I used to do it and it worked beautifully. I could picture it, write it down, recreate it.

To make things easier (really?), last year, after purchasing the bed, I researched, then spent a huge chunk of money on Adobe's Dreamweaver, figuring what could be easier than a website program with what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) action?

Thank God for tutorials online, Dummies Books, and nothing else, because it's been a year and I barely get it!  I understand CSS and what it's for, and it SEEMS like I get it... until I try to move forward.

Here I am, for the upteenth million time, trying to redesign something I can live with and will function up to its needs.

I'm reading everything, again and again, and it's nearly Greek to me.  And then I saw it.  I saw one thing and I'm hoping it will lead to other little things I overlooked. This thing is so silly and obvious, I'm not sure how I missed it.

Typeface and font size do NOT refer to the same things. WHAT?  In word processing, the tool I use far more than any other, you don't care about either because you simply change it to what you want and you can immediately see it. They can call it anything (a rose by any other name...) and you could still do it.

CSS is not like word processing.  In theory, it's EXCELLENT, but when you're as ignorant as I am, you wonder what the heck they were thinking changing all this technology on us.

Check it out, I can barely get past what the words look like.  If I go to change one letter, they all change!  If i want to center an image or a title but not the rest of the story, no way. I mean, there's a way, but not the way you used to do it.

I'm not going into that (for great information, go to the Site Wizard and pick up the Dreamweaver for Dummies I mentioned earlier), because as I mentioned, you will never learn how to build a website by me. But I will say that such a little thing, typeface and font size being explained so I understand CSS is an amazing thing.

Size does matter!  Well, when you are speaking of font size vs. typeface.  Okay, I'm rambling and not making sense. The whole point is this is one small tiny thing, but is enough to get in my way for a year. I read and reread, created and recreated (from scratch all the time, oh boy), and just this one little thing has slipped me up.

I'm laughing now, having gone from doing all hand coding and making it all work great to a beautifully set-up program and getting lost.  It's funny. Mostly.  Unless. You consider how much I was unable to help absolutely no one during this time (and if your website is a business and you were me, you can imagine this in dollar amounts) and I was so frustrated I was seriously depressed.  A year.

It never occurred to me that I might be misusing a term and it's worming it's way into everything I do (or am not doing), keeping me stuck in a rut...

Little things do count and often, in big ways.  Maybe you don't file (right away, correct?). Perhaps you let your bank account go unchecked.  These things are small enough, you assume you can "get to it" when the "feeling" comes over you.

I hate to get technical, but don't you have five minutes? Isn't that little thing little, because if it is, then that's all the more reason to take care of it right away.

In my defense, I couldn't do what I didn't know, but on the other hand, I never considered such a little thing being a downfall; I never looked.

Look, be aware, and stay on top of the little things.

It Never Ends

Things happen. Good, bad, indifferent, things happen.  We are still stranded at the airport and it's been OVER a week now.  There are ways to bypass this, but after staying at the nearby hotel, feeding the kids, sending hubby home from another city to avoid being AWOL... we are broke.  I'm not kidding. Day by day, we spend less and less on food. I haven't felt this down financially in quite a few years (thanks to my husband, he's a GREAT provider, but this turned out to be an $8000 month).

With the depression-let's call it what it is when you feel like you have NO CONTROL-I have no desire to do anything. This is why people with severe mental disorders (sadness and depression type) probably don't get help; it's like the lower and sadder I am, the less inclined I am to do anything about it. I have no energy. No will of my own (well, it seems that way), and believe it or not, I have most of the tools and things I need to work from anywhere. 

You heard me write. I mean, you heard right. I have the screenplay. It needs work. I have tapes from The U-Haul Murders, I have Ricky Lenn Dyer's case... I have my mind. What's wrong with me?

I know, I'm talking to myself, so I continue... I think it's my self-confidence.  Self, what do you think?

I think you're right! I think the fact you had a few leads with At Home America but knew 1) you probably couldn't personally do the party because you live thousands of miles away on an island, and 2) even if you could do the party, you are stuck in the airport and each hour you don't know if you can contact them much less help them in anyway, and all that made it even more depressing. Out of all my work, AHA is the easiest, really, it's all set up.

YES! That's right.  What do you (Teraisa) have to do?  Five minutes. That's it. Five minutes on each.  Can you do that?  I think you can. No, I KNOW you can.  I'm off to watch five minutes of video, write for five minutes, answer five minutes of email, and I'm going to review my work for five minutes.

And that is how you change your attitude: five minutes at a time.


~~~~~~I'm done. I'm finished feeling sorry for myself. Again, I realize I'm the only one listening, but I'm so appreciative I'm not giving up on myself after all, it's not the first time my mind went on vacation and it won't be the last.

Bust Out of Your unCOMFORTable Zone

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. You are uncomfortable and tend to stay where you feel safe and secure. The first step to break out of the mold and step into your comfort zone, is to know what’s going on with you. Why are you uncomfortable? Many of us start businesses without the full knowledge of all that’s involved, regardless of the planning. We don’t know, until we get uncomfortable, that we’ll have any problems.

After talking to successful professionals and extensive research, the biggest problem appears to be making phone calls or asking for an audience (interviews, consultations, etc.). Therefore, we must figure out why. If we believe in ourselves and our products, why is calling on someone to check us out or asking for a sale so uncomfortable?

Business is about selling. Period. If you are a writer, you are selling. If you are a home party consultant, you are a seller. If you are a victims’ advocate, you are a seller.

What you sell is important. If you can’t tell someone how you can help them or how your product can solve their problem, you’ll be of no use and you’ll lose the sale.

But aren’t we jumping the gun? Isn’t YOUR problem that you aren’t even ASKING (calling, meeting)? That’s my problem. I don’t want to mistake me staying within my comfort zone for you, but if it’s not you, why are you here? The least you can do is leave a comment and give us some wonderful suggestions that make us want to jump up and change our evil -sell-less- ways! Come on, do it. Or read on.

First off, what are you selling? If you don’t know, you can’t offer it, can you?

Since I can only vouch for me, let’s go with my businesses as examples. In as few words as possible (get a paper and do this at home with your own work, will ya?), I’m writing what I’m selling. Complete sentences are no-no’s; unnecessary.

Writer — Information, entertainment

Victim’s Advocate — Hope, help, publicity

Do I believe this? All of it? Yes. That is a relief. Now, I already know if I call on someone and they are not as excited as I am, or not at all, it’s NOT me or my products.

But it can be how I present them.

Writing: Know what you are writing about, write the best you can, and presenting it according to present industry standards and revising as necessary. I can tell you my problem. I’m afraid to fail, so I do not sell. That’s my big problem. I have to figure out how to get around this, but you (and I) get the gist.

Solution: Because you cannot write first and then sell, for most writing, I’ll query at least one market once a day and follow up. As for writing, I’ll continue the five minute process and work five minutes or more every single day on writing.

Solution: We recently purchased a new computer with the operating system that will work with our previous website program and will recreate a website WHILE learning more coding, especially understanding CSS-which we’ll learn by reading books and watching training videos. A great alternative is to hire someone, but we produce zero income; my writing income supports True Crime Fanatic.

Victim’s advocate: Be available. They have to know how to find me without even knowing I exist. This is where writing comes in and publicizing. I am great at marketing, because I love it, however, the past few years, I am frustrated about not being able to market in the way that WORKS and in the way I always have since 1997, via True Crime Fanatic. It’s that we changed our operating system and our website program; all the XML/HTML/CSS knowledge I possess is just not enough. Without this website, there is not a lot I can do for anyone, it’s imperative I get it back up and running properly and updated in a timely manner.

Decide what you do and what you are selling. Then, make yourself an easy doable list. Figure out what’s holding you back and work on it. Take a leap of faith in yourself, step out, and just do it.

From today forward, come back to this list when you’re a bit behind and feel the old pain of being uncomfortable sneaking up on you. IYou can make a change and break out of your comfort zone, easily. Remember why you’re in business in the first place, why you chose the businesses you did: because you believe in yourself and your products.

Random Organization Tips

Organization is about knowing where everything you need is at the moment you need it.  What are the five most important tools you use in your business? Can you, without showing physically nor while you are physically seeing everything, explain to a ten year old where to find each of those items?  If not,  reconsider your organization practices. 

 ~Keep a garbage can near the place you most open mail; throw unsolicited mail away immediately.

~If you set up any type of filing system and you find yourself buried in an unorganized paper mess, cut your losses and try a different method.  For instance, someone drowning in un-filed papers might simply relabel their file folders by months rather than by product, bills, receipts, etc.

~Consider using a file wallet for receipts until you know which file system works best for you.

~If you don't feel like doing something now, decide if you'll want to do it later. If not, either do it now and forget about it, or rethink what you're doing.

~Before you put off today what you can do tomorrow, figure out if late fees are involved if something comes up and you can't get to it.

~Don't put that there!  Not taking a moment to put things all the way away will add up to hours searching for that one thing you really need but can't find.

~It's worth your time and effort to set up a space, no matter how small, to designate for your work.  When you need something, it will always be there. 

~Invest in SPAM software if you do not use a big company email (such as Google's gmail), as SPAM is a time thief.

~Use a timer when "checking your email" or browsing the web "for work."  Give yourself five minutes to do what you need to do, then move on.  

~Use your Rolodex for all it's worth - store your passwords with the name and other important information for easy access; when you meet a potential client, use the front of your Rolodex card for name and contact information, use the back for notes that will mentally remind you who the person is and how you can be of help to each other

~Do you currently use gmail?  Google's gmail comes with a calendar that emails reminders when you want and sync's with most smart phones.  Better yet, if you are a Mac user, iCal will keep your days completely organized with a little help from you.

~Look at your calendar at the end of the evening (an hour before bed is great) and add to it if necessary; check out your calendar first thing in the morning - you will save valuable time by incorporating these two small things into your daily life (EXCELLENT for work and personal life)

~Clean up your desk top at the end of the day, this way you won't be tempted to avoid it the next day.

~Need more room?  Use a tall bookcase, a baker's rack, or even stacked crates to give you extra space (if you like the baker's rack in the picture, ask ME how to earn it free by hosting an online At Home America party). 

~Do you use your bedroom for your office space?  Without going into the ramifications of the office on your sleep, utilize all the space you can - use underbed boxes to store things you need, but do not use often.

~Use dry erase boards and/or cork boards near your workspace to keep important papers and information in constant view and easy access.  When you walk by, or sit down to work, you'll automatically be able to see what's urgent and deal with it.

~Unless you are expecting a specific text, resist the urge to "glance" at each text that comes in while working, if you have a hard time ignoring it and refuse to turn the phone off, schedule one minute each half hour to check your phone.

~Never be afraid to answer those who ask for favors "because you don't "really" work," or because you are home "all day long," with a strong and hardy "NO, thank you; I'm busy."

Successful Home Business Tips

Regardless your business, there are many ways to successfully market your business, yourself, or both.  We've all created and used signatures in our emails and electronic groups by now (now is a great time to change it up a bit), but there is more you can do. 

Writers!  Tithe your writing once in a while. Write for a magazine, newspaper, or website FREE.  It gets your name, bio, and website out there and gives you experience and writing clips.

Home party specialists can offer a product, wrapped nicely with a catalog and information card, to local charities raising money.  For instance, if your local high school is hosting a quarter auction, give away a gift you'd like to win.  You'll have advertising in the program, during the auction, and again by word of mouth from the winner (a bonus is those collecting the prizes and putting the event on will ALSO be checking you out and are potential future buyers and/or hostesses).

As a victims' rights advocate, I speak at local schools (free of charge) and offer information. Rarely is there not at least one person who contacts me outside of the event for themselves or another or to offer assistance.

I've tried to give examples of things that have worked for me personally in the past, but that's not close to the end of the list. I've taught classes, performed public speaking, sent out monthly and weekly newspapers to specific audiences, advertised on and offline, donated services to different events and charities, as a new At Home America homestyle specialist, I'm constantly looking for ways to share the opportunity without being aggressive.

For those of you who have physical products to share, get yourself a booth at the local craft fairs, or other such crowd gatherers.  The people are there specifically to see your stuff!  You can not only earn sales, but you can plant seeds for home parties.  Throw in a cool drawing, a great prize in return for giving you information (name, email, number, address, do they want to host a party, are they interested in earning full time money working part time, etc.).

Opportunities are endless.  They're all around you. I encourage you to take five minutes and list as many ideas for marketing your business as you can, no matter how crazy or silly. Don't stop for anything, just write.  Then come back here and share the best of the best!

  

 

How to get organized in your direct sales business