5th November 2011 was a very special date for me.

It was the 10 year anniversary of my first day of going Self Employed.

10 years ago I escaped the corporate rat race and embarked on a quest to design life, work, success and freedom on my own terms.

There have been many lessons that I have learnt along the way. Here are just a few of them:

Top 10 Lessons from 10 years being Self Employed

1. It is vital to create your own definition of success based on your core values to live and work on your own terms.

2. The path to business success & the ideal life isn’t linear. Accepting this is essential.

3. Not everyone works from the same level of integrity, standards and ethics. Be careful who you let into your space.

4. You can’t be firing on all cylinders 100% of the time. Be kind to yourself if you lose your mojo sometimes. Beating yourself up serves no purpose.

5. Mindset dictates your results in all areas of your life. Being committed to learning how to improve it is a no brainer.

6. When the brown stuff hits the fan, there is always an opportunity lurking in there somewhere.

7. Being a Lone Ranger is a recipe for disaster. It is important to build a support team of like minded people who share the same values.

8. Working with GOOD QUALITY mentors & coaches speeds up progress and results.

9. Having a clear vision of where you want your business AND life to go is key to guide your actions and avoid wasting time on stuff that doesn’t move you forward.

10. Relationships are the life blood of the Self Employed and a fulfilling life.

I am not going to give you a load of BS about how the last 10 years have been a breeze. Because it hasn’t. There have been ups and downs, challenges to overcome and some whopping mistakes!

But through all of that, it has all been totally worth it because:

The freedom of living and working on your own terms, by your own definition of success, is priceless.

As I finish reflecting on the lessons of the last 10 years and look towards what I intend to create in my business and life moving forward, I invite you to join me in making a commitment to yourself to grab the unlimited potential being Self Employed offers.

Make a commitment to design your ideal life and business and start taking steps to turn it into reality.

You up for it?

This is the time of year for fun, family, good times, peace, goodwill, chilling out, relaxing.

But is it really?

This seasonal stereotyping is far from the reality for many parents running a business from home. For many, the opposite is often true.

Parents can feel overwhelmed with the prospect of juggling their home business with over excited kids off school running riot. It can feel really challenging.

It begs the question, is it really possible to have a stress free Christmas with the family if you run a business from home?

I believe it is.

The key is intentionally and proactively designing how you want it to be.

But there are two key problems standing in the way. They are:

1. The Quest for Perfection
2. Unrealistic expectations

If you can get these two issues nailed you can survive this time of year with your sanity intact and avoid a lot of stress.

3 tips to bust the perils of perfectionism and unrealistic expectations at Christmas

1. Focus on what is most important

Have you noticed how easy we all get sucked into things that aren’t that important at this time of year?

Things like the roast spuds looking the exact same golden brown colour as Jamie Olivers. Laying on a feast worthy of the Ritz. Convincing ourselves we need to be in the home office doing stuff that can quite clearly wait until after the hols.

Let’s get a grip people.

Do you really think once your kids are grown up they will be saying things like “Christmas was so special because you made the spuds look like Jamie Olivers” or “gosh, I’m glad you sat in the home office doing reports that could have waited”” No. Of course they won’t.

Keep focussed and spend time on what is most important. Drop the quest for perfection and apply the “good enough” rule to everything. Read more on that in The Beauty of Imperfect Action

Ask yourself, by the time the holidays are over what do you want to be able to say about your family time, the Christmas holidays and your home business?

Work out an action plan and put boundaries in place to make this happen.

2. Review your business action plan and make sure it is realistic

It is easy to get sucked in to doing work in our home business during holiday times that could wait just because something pops in to our head and the office is right there.

But ask yourself this, if your office was 5 miles down the road, how acceptable and reasonable would it be to say “must just write that report” and abandon the family to nip out to the office during Christmas family time. It wouldn’t be acceptable or reasonable at all. So why do it just because your office is at home?

Set realistic expectations. Get clear on what must be done and what can wait? Put in place an action plan that protects your family time and stick to it. Read Time Management – the REAL reason you don’t have enough time to help you with this.

3. Keep it simple

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication – Leonardo DaVinci ……….Enough said!

What tips or suggestions do you have for managing the dynamic between home business and family life at Chistmas?

Related posts:

• The Beauty of Imperfect Action
• Time Management – the REAL reason you don’t have enough time

Productivity isn’t rocket science.

In fact, there are some very straight forward things you can implement that have a significant impact on productivity and results. Here are:

10 Tips to Improve Productivity

1. Start with the end in mind

I first learnt this many years ago when reading “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people” by Stephen Covey. If you don’t know where you are heading, how can you choose what actions to take?

Always start each year, month, week and day knowing what you want to have achieved by the end of it (Note: this applies to your family life and lifestyle as well as your business).

2. Apply the “first things first” rule

Do the highest priority things first. That way, if you run out of time later in the day it will never be the most important stuff that gets dropped.

3. Set a “school” timetable

Remember those old school timetables with days and allocated time slots for lessons? Well, set one up every week. (Note: as with point 1, include family stuff as well as business stuff). It will keep you focussed and on track. It will also help you protect what is most important and stop you from over scheduling.

Remember to apply point 2 – put the most important things in your schedule first.

4. Stop multitasking

Multitasking reduces productivity and increases stress levels. Focus on one task at a time until it is done. Do this in line with point 2 and 3. (Read 3 Myths of Multi Tasking for more on this subject)

5. Reduce how often you check email/social media

Constantly interrupting tasks to check emails and social media reduces productivity. Set times during the day for checking email/social media. Use a timer. When the timer goes off, shut email and social media down to avoid temptation.

6. Take regular breaks

People who take regular breaks throughout the day actually do better quality, productive work. Schedule regular breaks as part of your daily routine.

7. Learn to say “no” more

Many people often find it difficult to say no to things, even if it impacts on their own priorities. It’s OK to say “no”. It will stop you taking on less important stuff at the cost of your priorities.

8. Get an accountability buddy

Being accountable to someone else for achieving something by a set time is a great way to keep you focussed and productive. Find someone to buddy up with. Set tasks you are both going to do by a set day/time. Agree a check in time by phone. Amazing how well this works. Try it.

9. Break tasks down into bite size chunks

For each task you have, break it down into bite size chunks. This helps keep you focussed, motivated and helps maintain concentration levels. Then apply point 10.

10. Time bind each activity

Set a time limit on each task. This will keep you focussed and reduce the risk of overrunning.

What are your top tips for improving productivity? Please share yours in the comments below.

Related posts:

• Are you a Prisoner in your Home Business?
• 5 Reasons You Should Treat Your Home Business Like Your Kids

In the post The Truth About Loneliness When Running a Business From Home we established that loneliness for parents running a business from home is actually a choice. And we explored some suggestions for eradicating loneliness as a sole trader.

One of the keys to eradicating loneliness and creating the success you want is having a good quality support team. Yet many people just don’t do it.

Why?

Because they think it is going to cost them a shed load of money. They often think the only way to do it is to hire people. Then the “I can’t afford it” mentality kicks in. So no action is taken.

But here is the thing I want to ask you:

What if you could get the support you needed for FREE?

Well you can. You’ve just got to think creatively. There is no secret to it and anyone can do it.

The key to free support is relationship building.

Let’s be clear here, I am not talking about targeting someone you think could help you, pretending to be friendly with them just to get what you want out of it. That sucks. You will end up Billy-no-mates if you take that approach.

I am talking about genuinely taking an interest with other people. Connecting with other people. Going to places and events that attract like minded people.

Obviously to do that you have got to get out of your home office. Stop being a hermit. Make connecting with people and relationship building a priority.

Once you have build solid relationships the possibilities are endless.

You can set up brainstorming sessions, bounce new ideas around, share challenges, set goals and action plans using each other as accountability partners. The list could go on.

For those of you thinking I don’t have time for all of this, you don’t always have to meet face to face. I have some support buddies that aren’t even in the same country as me. We phone or skype.

The other trick is to keep your support sessions time bounded. This will also help with keeping focussed.

The point I am making is this:

Successful people don’t achieve it on their own. They surround themselves with a support team of some sort.

So stop being a lone ranger. Get out there. Build genuine relationships.

Fostering genuine relationships costs nothing, makes a huge difference and is a lot of fun.

By the way, you should always challenge your “I can’t afford it” mentality. Hiring good quality specialists in the skill sets you don’t have is a great way to develop your business. You need to view it in your annual budget setting (which everyone already does right?) as an investment in the business development and look for the return on investment you need to achieve. But that is a whole other topic which we will cover another time.

What will you start doing to build and strengthen your support team? What tips do you have on getting the support you need without it costing a fortune?

When you hear people listing out the pros and cons of running a business from home, one of the cons that often comes up is loneliness.

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the point of view that loneliness automatically goes with the territory of running a business from home. Here’s why:

There are some people excruciatingly lonely in their home business. There are other people that loneliness is never an issue for. Now I know some folk will argue that it depends on what you are like as a person. And to some extent that is true.

But here is the truth about loneliness when running a business from home:

It’s a choice.

It’s a result of mindset driving behaviour, choices and actions.

Let me explain:

The start point of being lonely running your business from home is acceptance. Acceptance that it is the norm or “just the way it is” (boy, I hate that phrase).

Acceptance is the killer of creativity

The minute you accept loneliness as inevitable it stops you looking for alternatives or creative solutions. It keeps you stuck where you are.

(Note: there are times acceptance of a situation is a healthy and constructive thing – this isn’t one of them!).

So, if loneliness is a result of mindset driving choices and behaviour patterns, it begs the question “what can we do to eradicate it?”:

5 Tips for Eradicating Loneliness from your Home Business

Stop Accepting it – what you accept you keep. So make the decision that loneliness will no longer be a part of life in your home business.

Schedule your week wisely – don’t block activities that require you to be on your own for days on end all together. Mix your week up. Give it variety in bite size chunks. Not only will it help you eradicate loneliness, it renews your energy, improves focus and gives you a boost.

Abandon your home office – now, those of you who know me well might be surprised by this comment as I am such a big advocate for running a home business and the freedom it can bring. What I mean is stop taking the phrase “home business” so literally. Look at what activities aren’t necessary to do at home and do them elsewhere. For example, a coffee shop or a hotel lounge.

Buddy up – make an arrangement with other home workers to work at the same location. Schedule regular breaks and just chat. Make sure the breaks are time bounded otherwise it just becomes a day long coffee break and no work gets done!!!

Build a support team – having people to bounce ideas around with, share challenges and get another perspective is a great way to kick loneliness into touch. Build this into your weekly schedule. (I will be talking more on this subject in the next blog post)

What is you take on this subject? Do you think loneliness is an inevitable result of running a business from home?

In order to have a successful home business that integrates into family life and lifestyle without taking over, it is important to put in place things to make that happen.

Many of the skills to do that are the same ones our kids require from us as parents.

So, if you want your home business to achieve it’s full potential here are some reasons to treat it like your kids.

5 reasons you should treat your Home Business like your kids

1. Discipline

Kids need discipline. Without it they can’t learn the boundaries which will set them up for life and can end up out of control.

The same is true of your business. If you don’t put discipline in place, very quickly it will start to take over and destroy your family life and lifestyle.

What disciplines do you need to put in place to stop your business getting out of control?

2. Focus on Development

We all want our kids to develop into happy, healthy well rounded people. So we focus on things that support that.

Similarly, unless you make time to focus on business development, the business will not grow and flourish into it’s full potential.

It is important to make time and space regularly to focus on what needs to happen for your business to develop on the right path.

3. Routine

Some sort of routine helps kids and family life operate smoothly. Your business is no different.

Without some sort of routine your business is running you. Not a good recipe for success.

What framework could you introduce that would help things run smoother and ensure the important stuff doesn’t fall through the cracks.

4. Nurture

Now, in case you are thinking I have lost the plot and am going to say we need to tell our businesses we love them, cuddle them and show them affection, let me be clear – I am not talking about that sort of nurturing!

I am talking about nurturing your business to move it in the direction of your vision. Things like setting goals and reviewing them regularly. Things like taking care of yourself so that you have the energy to run the business effectively – after all, as a sole trader you ARE the business.

What areas of your business need nurturing?

5. Have fun and enjoy it

It is the enjoyment, fun and special moments that make the challenging bits of being a parent totally worthwhile.

Many people overlook the need to have fun and enjoy their business. Yet you are more likely to be successful doing something you love, enjoy and have fun with.

Build in some fun activities to your business. It will boost your energy levels and refresh you.

What other aspects of being a parent do you think would serve you well in your home business?

Related posts:

• Are you a Prisoner in your Home Business?
• Is Lone Ranger Syndrome Killing Your Business?
• 5 habits that help improve work from home effectiveness

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?

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.

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 you 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?

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?