Your Home-Based Business 5 Keys for Survival
by Peter Vajda
Published on this site: October 15th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
With the recent downturn in the economy, boomers taking early
retirement, the plethora of "business opportunities”, or folks being
fed up working for "corporate America," the entrepreneurial spirit, the urge to "work
from home” is alive and well. For most home-based workers,
the advantages generally outweigh the disadvantages - no commute,
having more quality time with one’s family, being in control of one’s life and time, no boss to deal
with - among others.This is the good news.
The not-so-good news is that many of these entrepreneurs
and work-at-home stalwarts won’t make it. In fact, according
to Labor Department statistics, more than 50% of home-based
businesses fail within three years of start-up.
So, to help insure you'll have a better than equal chance
of surviving beyond three years and have staying power, consider
following these five keys approaches and perspectives as you
go to work, at home.
- Remember, it’s a business, not a hobby
The IRS has strict financial criteria defining the difference
between a "business” and a "hobby.”
You can search for these on the Internet or contact your
local IRS office. For example, if you're not showing a profit for "X" number of years, you're working
a "hobby", not a "business."
However, over and above the IRS financial criteria, what
will affect the success is the seriousness of purpose with
which you approach operating your business. Going to work
at home with a "business attitude" rather than a "hobbyist's interest" will largely
determine whether you succeed or fail.
Another attitudinal factor is whether you are "moving
toward" your business. If your energy and approach
are one of "moving toward" something you truly
desire with your
mind, heart and soul, you'll have a better than average
chance of survival. On the other hand, if you are determined
to work at home because you are "moving away"
from what you "don't want", (e.g., no more deadlines,
no more bosses, no more pressure, no more "nine-to-five",
no more "people issues", etc) then there's a good
chance of failure. Why? Focusing on what you truly want,
your heart's desire, and your purpose brings with it an
energy of motivation, drive, enthusiasm, self-discipline,
determination,resilience, courage, strength, stick-to-it-ive-ness,
and consistency, especially in the face of challenge. A
"moving away" energy is not sustainable, does
not have staying power, and will not give you the energy,
will or resiliency you'll need when the going gets tough.
A "moving away" energy does not result in true
joy and enthusiasm in the long term. So, it's critical that
you be consciously conscious of the deeper motivations for
your desire to work at home.
In addition, if you approach your home-based business with
a cavalier attitude (e.g., "by-the-way, I’ll work
when I want to”), you most probably are doomed to failure.
In fact, if you’re not coming from a mature, serious,
genuine and honest "going to work” perspective,
at home, you'll most likely be wasting precious time and
energy you might better devote to volunteering in your local
community.
Running a viable business from home, rather than working
on a very expensive hobby, demands the same degree of time,
effort, seriousness of purpose, dedication, discipline,
motivation and focus, perhaps more, than does the common
job in the corporate arena. One manifestation of your seriousness
of purpose is dressing for work every day and "going
to work" for normal business hours every day.
So, two questions to reflect on as you consider a home-based
business are: "Am I working in a business or am I engaged
in a hobby?" and "How do I know?" Your response
will have a telling effect on the success of your efforts.
- Remember, it’s about self-management, not time
management
A seriousness-of-purpose attitude is reflected in the way
you organize and schedule your life. Truth be told, there is no such thing
as "time management.” Successful people are focused
on "self-management." In other words, successful
know their true values and their do-ings and be-ings reflect strict adherence to their values. Successful
people "invest' their time and energy; they don't spend
their time and energy wastefully. Their work is values-based.
Successful people lead healthy, balanced and harmonious
lives. Successful people focus on a healthy integration
of mind, body, emotions and values as they lead their lives
and conduct their business. They know that excess or deficiency
in one area will affect the other areas of their lives and
knock one off balance. Successful people bring their "whole”
person to work every day. Successful home-based business
people don't say: "By the way, I think I'll do some
work today" interrupted by television, Internet surfing,
sleeping, daydreaming, etc.
- Remember, it’s more important to work "in”
your business” than "on” your business
Successful home-based business folks consciously know the
difference between "activity” and "action.”
Action means investing time and energy on purpose driven
goals and objectives that point directly to the purpose,
vision and mission of your business. Examples of action
are prospecting for new clients and customers, making follow-up contacts, creating and disseminating
marketing materials, networking, being visible, inputting
sales data, updating accounts and the like. There is usually
a return on this energy and time investment. That is, this
time spent working "in” your business is known
as "green time.”
Activity, on the other hand, means spending (not investing)
time and energy doing "busy work.” Examples of
activities are hanging out on the Internet in non-business-related
efforts; reading non-essential papers and magazines, moving
stacks of papers, socializing on the phone, reading and
writing non-business related emails, watching television,
shuffling paper clips and "re-organizing” your
office over and over. There is no return on "activity”
and it serves only to waste your precious time and energy. Activity
has no goal and is not purpose driven. Activity is not "green
time” and has no effect on the bottom line of your
business. "Hobbyists” spend more of their time
engaged in "activity.”
- Remember, time is money
Successful home-based business folks are experts at planning,
organizing,prioritizing and executing. They work a well-planned and
well-organized yearly, monthly, weekly and daily schedule.
They plan their week in advance, plan each day in the morning
and review each day at night and make whatever changes are
necessary. They track their day and time on an hour-by-hour
basis.
Through regular and consistent daily and weekly time tracking,
they know where they are spending time and investing time.
They know how much of their time is devoted to "green"
activities and how much isn't and honestly, sincerely and
self-responsibly make whatever changes are necessary.
- Remember, business education is a journey, not a destination
Successful home-based workers continually update their knowledge
and skills (e.g., computer skills, knowledge and skills
related to marketing, managing, accounting, promotion, etc.).
They read and research trade journals, magazines and professional publications
and non-fiction publications regularly. They are engaged
in recognized on-line professional groups and meet regularly
in learning settings with like-minded individuals in their
communities. Lack of commitment to continuous learning leads
to a slow death for home-based business folks.
Conclusion
Working at home and being an entrepreneur can be an exciting,
adventurous, and rewarding experience. It can also be a disaster. Whether you
eventually "run a business" or "play at a hobby" is your choice.
The eventual success of your business, short- and long-term,
will depend on the discipline, planning, organization, structure, self-management
and seriousness of purpose with which you "go to work, at home."
Though you're not commuting, I hope you enjoy the ride.
Peter G. Vajda, Ph.D, is co-founder of SpiritHeart,
an Atlanta, GA firm specializing in coaching, counseling and facilitating. Peter's
expertise focuses on personal, business and relationship coaching. He is a professional
speaker and published author. For more information about his
services, email Peter at [email protected].
SpiritHeart Integrated Coaching & Practices for Essential Well-BE-ing Values-Based Coaching, Counseling
and Training Mind-Body-Emotion-Spirit Integration Atlanta, GA, USA; 770-804-9125;
mailto:[email protected]
"What makes you think work and meditation are two different things?" — Buddha at Work
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