Is the dynamic between your work life and school holidays exactly as you would like it to be? (and I mean your absolute ideal)

Do you believe it is possible to work only when you want to during school holidays without your business suffering?

These are important questions to consider if you want to create your ideal lifestyle.

Managing Your Business and School Holidays

In the previous post 7 Tips to Manage your Home Business during School Holidays we looked at things you can do to manage the dynamic between your home business and family life during school holidays.

Those things will help you manage your current situation. But, if your current situation isn’t your ideal, you need to know the answers to the questions above to get on a path to something better.

How do you go about getting your work life, school holidays and family life to be ideal?

Here are some suggestions to get you started on designing future school summer holidays to be ideal:

1. Believe it is possible to create your ideal. If you don’t then you are not going to be in the mindset that will allow you to create what you really want.
2. Stop thinking balance. Start thinking design. Many parents are so focussed on balancing everything that it stops them from designing things how they really want them to be. For more information on this read The Curse of Work Life Balance and Why work-life balance is misleading.
3. Work out what ideal means to you – forget any perceived limitations and write down, in the present tense what you, your kids, your work life and lifestyle is like during school holidays when it is ideal. Start taking action to turn this into reality.
4. Include family life & lifestyle in your business planning – many people review and make business plans and decisions in isolation from the rest of their life. Big mistake. Look for creative ways to re-design how your business operates and earns revenue around your family life. Do this at least monthly.
5. Keep focussed on the end game – design your actions plans, schedule and what you spend your time on around your big picture.

The main point I am making here is this:

If you are not happy with the dymanic between your business, family life and school holidays, then start designing it so that you are.

It is 100% possible. And the rewards, well, they are priceless.

But it is essential to remember this – don’t wait. Start working on how you want the dynamic between your business and school holidays to be for future summers NOW. Get busy designing, then put action plans in place to make it so.

What challenges do you face during school holidays? Do you have any suggestions to add to this list?

In the next post we will look at one of the main obstacles that keep people from creating their ideal lifestyle.

How to design Work Life around School Holidays is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

So, here we are again – school summer holidays time.

How are you feeling about it?

- Are you are delighted at the opportunity to spend quality time with your little cherubs?

- Are you feeling guilty because you feel you have to spend all summer keeping the business going so  you don’t have much time for the kids?

- Are you not enjoying the time with your kids because you are worrying the business is being neglected?

- Are you feeling so frazzled about the whole thing that you aren’t enjoying work or family life?

Regardless of which of these categories you fall into, there are always ways to improve the dynamic between your home business, family life and your lifestyle.

7 Tips to Manage your Home Biz During School Holidays

1. Set clear, strong boundaries between work and family life and implement them.
2. Don’t mix work and family time – this doesn’t work for anyone. Keep them separate.
3. Create a schedule of what you are doing when – this will help with point 2.
4. Prioritise hard - look for stuff that can wait until September. Read Time Management – the REAL reason you don’t have enough time for ideas to help with this one.
5. Avoid Lone Ranger Syndrome – look for where you can enlist some help e.g. family, friends. To find out more read Is Lone Ranger Syndrome Killing Your Business?
6. Delegate – what can you delegate out? Doing everything yourself won’t lead to success whether it is school holiday or not. Don’t use “I can’t afford help” as an excuse. Get creative. For example, students looking for a few hours work experience could be an option, there are people you can hire on an hourly basis etc. What other creative ideas can you come up with?
7. Form a support group with other parents who run their business from home – set up a rota for play dates to give each other work time without distractions.

The point is this:

Your kids grow up very fast. Once each year is gone, it is gone for good. I speak to many parents of grown up kids who say “I wish I had spent more time with them when they were younger”. Haven’t heard one yet say “I wish I had spent more time at work while the kids were younger”.

So, I invite you to get creative and look for what things you can put in place to enjoy your home biz and the school holidays with your kids without feeling stressed, guilty and frazzled.

In the next post we will look at how you can design your business to operate around school holidays and family life moving forward. In the meantime, what tips would you add to the list above? Please share your thoughts to help other parents.

7 Tips to Manage your Home Business during School Holidays is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Many people go to networking events with the wrong intention in mind.

A lot of people still think the aim of going to networking events is to sell themselves and their products and services. Big mistake.

Here’s why:

How do you feel when, at a networking event, you feel pinned to the wall by some doughnut you have never met who is hellbent on getting you to buy their stuff? Horrible isn’t it? Personally I would never buy off these people. Nor would I recommend them to my clients or my personal network.

On the other hand, there are some lovely people who have great products but are paralysed by fear of coming across as “salesy”. As a result they act like wallflowers, skirting the room and not fully engaging or connecting with anyone.

And don’t get me start on speed networking. I’ll put it politely and say it isn’t for me! (if I wasn’t putting it politely I would say I would rather stick pins in my eyes than partake in this version of pimping yourself to as many people as you can in as little time as possible).

So let’s get one networking myth busted shall we?

Effective networking isn’t about selling your stuff or yourself

A huge sigh of relief for all of the wallflowers terrified of appearing “salesy” eh?

So, if effective networking isn’t about selling yourself and your stuff, what is it about?

Effective networking is about relationship building. Genuine relationship building.

Having said that, watch out for the networking groomers. These are the people who pretend to be building a relationship with you but really are only interested in getting something they want out of you. They are transparent. Avoid like the plague.

Always remember – People buy People

On that basis, who you are being is vastly more important than what your do. A powerful question to ask yourself is – How do I come across at networking events?

Effective networking habits

So, the thing to focus on is developing habits that build genuine relationships. Here are a few essentials:

• Listen more than you talk
• Engage
• Add value (with no strings attach)
• Be true to who you are
• Focus on others

What would you add to this list?

Networking – Busting the Myth is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Board meetings are most commonly associated with large organisations. Yet all businesses, regardless of their size should be carrying out board meetings. In fact, if you are a sole trader or run your business from home it is essential.

Why Sole Traders must hold board meetings

To create a really successful business, all business functions need to be running effectively. I am talking sales, marketing, finance, IT/technology, admin and so on. If one is under performing, it can screw up the rest of your business results.

It is essential as a sole trader to hold board meetings on a regular basis so that you are fully in control of how each business function is impacting your business results. It is important to your success that every business function is operating effectively. You can’t just pick the areas you enjoy or already have a strong skill set in – you have got to do them all.

Purpose of Board Meetings for Sole Traders

It is important to be clear on what the purpose of having board meetings is. It should provide you with sufficient information about each area of the business to allow you to make effective decisions on future action plans that will deliver your goals. It is also to allow you to spot any potential problems and take action to avoid them becoming a reality. A board meeting should include two key elements:

1. Performance review and action planning.

2. Review business strategy and direction

Each board meeting should include:

• review the performance of key, specific business function – target v actual for previous period
• set targets for each business function for the next set period of time
• review the direction and strategy of each business function to ensure your business is operating effectively, coherently and will deliver the business results you want.

The point is this:

As a sole trader you have got to wear all of the hats a board of directors in a larger company would wear. You can’t be an expert in every function so get help. Hire a coach, consultant or mentor that specialises in the board functions you don’t have experience in and learn what you should be doing. Research what you should be measuring for each board role and implement. The internet can provide a lot of useful information on this.

Underestimating the importance of creating a Board of Directors as a sole trader can hold back business success. If you don’t do this I highly recommend you start.

What are your opinions and experiences on this subject?

Related posts:

1. Is your Business on Track?

2.Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware!

3. How would a crisis impact your business success?

Why Board Meetings are Essential for Sole Traders is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

People running their business from home can sometimes become self imposed prisoners, rarely venturing outside their home office feeling that if they are at work they must be in their office.

Working in total isolation like this is not good for you or your business. And here’s the point – it is totally unnecessary. Running a business from home doesn’t mean being a prisoner in it or that you have to do all your work from it – being home based gives you freedom to chose which should be grasped with both hands and made the most of.

There are many personal and business benefits to working from different locations outside your home. Here are just a few:

• Reduces feelings of isolation, stagnation and boredom.
• Can increase your personal effectiveness and time management as you aren’t distracted by the internet, day time TV or the dirty dishes in the sink.
• Boosts creativity which helps effective decision making and improves quality of work.

So, if you have become a self imposed prisoner in your home office here are some tips to break the habit:

• Make a list of all business activities that are not dependant on being in your home office
• Pick a location suitable for that activity. For example, for business reviews, strategy and planning meetings I go to a hotel lounge that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean because it inspires me. A quiet coffee shop is a great alternative venue for writing blog posts. You get the idea.
• Schedule in your diary times and dates to do those activities. Space them at regular intervals to break up your week/month.
• When the weather is good, work outdoors. To me that is one of the real luxuries of running a business from home.

I encourage you to make the absolute most of the freedom that running a business from home can offer. Right, I’m off to the beach to do some business planning!

Have you become a home business prisoner? Do you already do some of your business activities outside you home office? If so, how do you feel it benefits you and your business? Please share your thoughts and any tips, ideas and/or experiences you have on this subject below.

Related post:

5 habits that help improve work from home effectiveness

Are you a Prisoner in your Home Business? is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Providing good quality products/services that people want and need is important to business success. However, many sole traders and people running a business from home overlook that this isn’t the decided factor in people’s buying decision. The deciding factor that is often overlooked is this:

YOU

This is important because:

PEOPLE BUY PEOPLE!

People are more likely to buy from people they know, like and trust. You can have a great quality product/service but, unless your potential customers buy into you, you’ve got a problem.

Think about this for a minute. How many other sources can people get your type of product or service from? The answer is loads! So, as a sole trader, whether someone will buy off you will depend on how they feel about YOU. That is why it is essential to allow time in your business activities to develop yourself.

How does your potential customer experience you?

Do you ever consider how you come across, what sort of energy you give off or what impact you have on people? If not, it is time to start. Don’t underestimate the importance of these points to your bottom line.

3 tips for upgrading how you impact on other people:

1. Create a real kick ass self care programme. Your mental, physical and emotional fitness has a dramatic impact on the energy you give off. The energy you give off will influence how people feel about you. How they feel about you will influence if they are going to buy off you. It’s a total no brainer. If you don’t have a self care programme, don’t wait – get started now.

2. Build genuine relationships. We have probably all experienced networking events when we felt pinned to the wall by people whose only interest was selling their stuff. Not attractive huh? I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t buy off these people in a million years and would certainly never recommend them to my network. Don’t be that person. Be interested in people. Listen. Help them without strings.

3. Self development. I know a lot of people don’t like the phrase “self development” as it conjures up all sorts of images off woo-woo stuff for them. But like it or not, people who continually develop themselves are more likely to be successful in all areas of their life. What areas do you need to upgrade yourself in?

So the next time you are putting time into upgrading your products and services, don’t forget to also review how you can upgrade yourself. Your results depend on it.

What do you think?

Why your product/service isn’t what people are buying. is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Do you buy, or are you thinking of buying online products? If so, why?

It is an important question to ask because many people are buying online products that aren’t necessarily right for them or that they are unlikely to implement.

Not all online products are creating equally!

Now, before we go on let me state that I am not anti online products. In fact, it is something I plan to offer myself later this year (shameless plug!). However, as with all these things, there are high quality ones out there and some real crap too. So it is very important to know the reasons you are buying and what to be aware of.

3 Tips when buying online products

1. Buy with your business head on – people generally buy products from an emotional level. Look at adverts on the TV. They are designed to evoke emotions because that is how people buy. If you are thinking of buying an online product, use your business head to make the decision. Ask yourself:

• Why am I buying this?
• What results do I need to achieve for it to be a good investment?
• How will I implement this? (This is absolutely key).
• Where is the hard evidence that this product does what it says on the tin?
• Is this product offered by a high quality, high reputation business/person?

2. See through the Sales pitch – sales pitches are most often directed at emotions because people buy at an emotional level. Watch out for phrases such as “the secrets you must know”. By the way, there are no “secrets”. Everything you could possible need to know about being a successful business owner is already out there. Your job is to work out the best source/person to learn this from.

3. Beware the “I’ve done it this way and made a gazillion dollars and you should do it this way too” brigade – there are many ways to achieve business success and make money. Don’t be a sheep just following what someone else has done. Just because they did it that way doesn’t mean it is right for you, your business or brand to do it that way.

In summary, always make sure you use your business head to evaluate if on online product is right for you. Watch out for your emotions driving your decision making.

Do you have any tips and experiences to share on this subject?

Related post:

Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware!

Buying Online Products? Buyer Beware! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

I was a Social Media Virgin until recently. My first experience of Social Media didn’t blow me away. In fact, I must be totally honest and say I did wonder what all the fuss was about at first. For me, there was a lot of fumbling around, not sure if I was doing the right thing. Quite frankly, I wasn’t getting any satisfaction out of it at all!

The Social Media Pub – Pimps, Pushers and Shouters

I only started to experiment with the whole scene last summer. I know, I know – I am a late starter. At first, it felt like walking into a full pub and everyone shouting at me before we had even been introduced. It felt like the pub was full of:

• Shouters – doing all the talking and no interest in what anyone else had to say.
• Pushers – trying to get me to buy their “stuff” over and over
• Pimps – telling me they could help me lose my Social Media virginity and make money at it!

Oh dear God, I felt like running a mile!

Getting past the Social Media Pimps, Pushers and Shouters

Despite all of this I persevered and I am glad I did. Having got past the “noise” at the entrance to the Social Media pub I made it to the bar. At the bar are the serious Social Media drinkers! Getting on with their business quietly but really know their stuff. They are interested in engaging in conversation, sharing information and useful resources. They are building community and genuine relationships. My kind of people!

You are probably wondering why I am sharing this with you. Well here is why:

I am amazed by how many Home Based and Small Business Owners I meet who are not yet into Social Media (I know, a bit rich coming from someone who only just lost their own Social Media Virginity!). Many are missing out on something that would really benefit them professionally and personally because they can’t see past the pimps, pushers and shouters at the entrance to the Social Media pub.

If this is you, then I encourage you to lose your Social Media virginity as soon as possible. Social Media is a great tool for Home Based and Small Business Owners on many levels. Get stuck in! I’ll meet you at the bar.

What are your experiences of Social Media? Please share your views in the comments below.

Confessions of a Social Media Virgin! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Are you running a business from home, trying to do everything yourself?

Do you just think of it as one of the aspects that goes with the territory of being a sole trader and the only consequence is feeling a bit isolated, lonely and unsupported from time to time?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions then it’s time for a re-think. You need to find a way to cure your Lone Ranger Syndrome quick, because it is a lot more serious than just leading to isolation and having to do everything yourself.

Lone Ranger Syndrome Can Kill your Business

Just in case you are thinking I am being just a touch alarmist, let me explain:

Look at people running successful small businesses. One of the common factors is that they don’t do it all alone. Now I am not talking about having staff on payroll here. I am talking:

• hiring help for areas of the business that aren’t their area of expertise, knowledge or skill set
• outsourcing stuff that bores the pants off them so they can concentrate on what they love and are good at.
• surrounding themselves with a support team to brainstorm ideas, strategise and so on.

The point is this:

Successful Business Owners don’t do everything on their own

So, if you are suffering from Lone Ranger Syndrome and doing nothing about it you are risking it killing the business success you want.

How to Kill Lone Ranger Syndrome Before It Kills Your Business

It’s simple – get help. If you can factor hiring help into your financial strategy, do it. Can’t afford to hire the help you need? That is no excuse for doing nothing. If you genuinely can’t afford it:

• seek out other home based business owners – share information, support each other
• meet up at regular intervals with the purpose of helping each other develop your businesses
• build a support team around you by building genuine relationships

Whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Lone Ranger Syndrome is a Choice. There are ALWAYS ways to get the help you need whether you can pay for it or not. Think creatively. Think outside the box.

Whatever you do, NEVER underestimate the damage that Lone Ranger Syndrome can and will do to your chances of Business Success.

Do you have any tips of dealing with Lone Ranger Syndrome on a budget?

Is Lone Ranger Syndrome Killing Your Business? is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Hiring an expert can be a great way to achieve results in your business and life. Especially for areas you lack experience of or that aren’t your strength. The problem is that whilst there are high quality operators out there, there are also many wolves in sheep’s clothing. The message is simple when hiring an expert – Buyer Beware!

A Personal Story

Over the last 10 years, on and off, I have hired a few experts. I have a strict criteria for hiring experts. As a result, I have worked with really good quality people and achieved great results by working with them – until last year!

Last year, for the first time ever and for reasons that still elude me, I broke my own hiring experts rules. As a result, I got my fingers badly burnt. I was so annoyed with myself afterwards and felt so stupid for making such a huge mistake, especially as the warning signs were all there from the start. I learnt a hard but valuable lesson on what can happen if you don’t follow your own rules.

Warnings!

• Some people will portray themselves as experts in a field even when they are not.
• Don’t confuse having a high profile with being a high quality expert. Having a high profile doesn’t always mean they are good at what they do. Sometimes it is just means they are good at self promotion.
• Not everyone operates on the same level of standards, ethics and integrity.

Tips when hiring experts

• Do NOT pay up front in full without a watertight agreement in place that covers getting your money back if you are not happy with the quality of their service. If your expert doesn’t offer an agreement or contract at the start that includes this point, walk away.
• Are they REALLY an expert in their field? Really dig behind the public image and sales pitch. Where is the hard evidence?
• Be clear and specific on what you want to achieve before hiring. Check they have the credentials, skills and experience to deliver this.
• If you have made a mistake get out and get out fast before any more damage can be done to your business.

Remember the onus is on YOU to have a strict hiring criteria and stick to it.

What are you experiences of hiring experts? Feel free to share them and any tips or advice you might have on this subject in the comments below.

Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom