Avoiding the "Trapped" Feeling of Working from Home

When you first started your work from home opportunity, it sounded like the greatest thing in the world. For the first few weeks, or even months, it was just that. Then, you started getting the feeling of always being trapped inside the home. You also started to see productivity drop and customers started to go elsewhere. What can you do to stop this spiral?

This is not as uncommon as you might think. Not everyone is cut out to work from home. Even those that are end up going through an adjustment period until they find the perfect mix. We have scoured the Internet looking for the most common problems people face and have found a few tricks to help make sure you stay focused and never feel "trapped" in your home office.

Get Outside

This may sound like crazy advice if you are working from home, but it really will help you become more productive. I have always recommended taking breaks throughout the day to at the very least stretch your legs every now and again. You should do this every couple of hours for about 15 minutes or so if you are working straight through your day. Chat with a neighbor, take the dog for a walk, just get out there and clear your head for a few minutes

When the weather is nice, why not move the office outside and enjoy the weather. Fire up the laptop and sit out on the deck for the day. After all, how many times did you want to do just that when you were stuck in a regular office job? Well, now you are the boss and you can decide where your office is located for the day!

Networking

This is something you must continue to do. Just as you would attend networking events when you worked for that big corporation, you should do the same when working from home. There is surely someone in the local Chamber of Commerce that can use your services or knows someone that can. Press the flesh and hand out business cards to everyone you meet.

Most of your communications is probably through email, so change it up once a week and call some of your clients. If for no other reason than to say hello, it will set you apart from your competition. With texting messaging taking over communications, the art of phone conversing is dying. Your clients will appreciate this personal touch.

Finally, stay active on social media. Let's face it, this is the way a huge percentage of people are communicating this way, which means it is how you need to communicate. Set some time aside each day to monitor your accounts and interact with your followers. Instead of merely posting, comment on their posts to let them know you are interested in them too. If they have forgotten about you, it may be just enough to create new interest and give them a reason to visit your website again.

*Photo Courtesy of Richard Bowen via Creative Commons License

How Can You Improve Your Work from Home Job Performance?

If you have your own work from home business, you probably love it because you are your own boss. However, there is one problem; there is nobody to evaluate your job performance. That being the case, many work from home professionals can get just a bit too comfortable, especially if they have some early success. Here are some tips to help you avoid this problem.

Develop a Routine - having a set routine makes this type of setting work much better. The day can be broken up any way you like, just make sure you stick to the routine. For instance, maybe you work a 9-hour day but prefer not to work all nine hours in a row, which is fine. However, try to set up windows where you are at the computer working. For instance, 6a-9a, 11a-2p, and 4p-7p. 

In fact, breaking up a day like this will probably make your more productive since you are never at "work" for too long. You have more than enough time to recharge before sessions and the sessions are short enough to keep you completely focused while at your desk.

Grade Your Own Performance - since you do not have a boss, it is up to you to grade your own work performance. The key here is to be brutally honest to ensure you are working on areas that need improvement. Put down false scores and the only person you are cheating is yourself, which will eventually show up, or should we say cause money to disappear, from the company bank account.

Ask for Customer Feedback - when you have your own business, your customers are more or less your boss. Be active with them and ask for their feedback about your performance. How is customer service? Are they happy with the product? If you lose a customer, send them a letter telling them how much you appreciated their business and how sorry you are to see them go. Then, inquire as to why they are no longer interested in using you. Some of it may be tough to here, but it will make you and the business better.

Shop the Competition - another great way to find out how you stack up against the competition is to become their customer. Use the same grading sheet you use for yourself and order products and/or services your company offers. Not only will you see what they are doing better, but also what you are doing better than them. This will help you improve weaker areas as well as give you a better idea what aspects of your business can be promoted to draw in more customers.

For instance, perhaps you are selling a product from home. You order from a competitor and notice the packaging of the product is significantly better than what you are offering. However, upon emailing them for some information, you notice it takes days or weeks for them to reply. Have someone else send in an inquiry to see if this is a onetime instance or if it tends to be the norm. If it is the norm, you can duplicate their packing procedures and then tout your customer service.

Notice we never mentioned putting down the other company. This leaves a negative impression, which is something you never want to do. Instead, announce you listened to customer concerns and have improved packaging while maintaining the best customer service in the business. Everything is kept positive while letting customers know you are improving shortcomings while maintaining what you do best.

Learn How to Close a Sale Every Time

We all have dreams of owning a big home or being able to retire when we can still enjoy it. However, life often gets in the way and we end up grinding out our days at a job where we do nothing more than punch a clock. Today, more than ever before, there are numerous opportunities available for work from home positions that can literally create a six-figure income. However, many of these opportunities require some sales savvy, something many of us do not naturally possess.

It takes a bit of a thick skin to try to go it alone into an opportunity where you need to cold call or approach business owners or consumers face to face. Most sales people here "No" far more often than they here "Yes," but they keep coming back for more. Even the best sales people are rejected far more often than they succeed, which is why many people looking for work from home positions immediately reject anything to do with direct sales.

I am here to tell you that anyone, and I mean anyone, can become a successful salesperson with the right tool. In my case, the Dani Johnson Script Book made the difference. For those of you that know my background, you know I was in debt up to my neck and struggling to put food on the table. The opportunity I chose to pursue required me to be able to close sales and this book is what I used, along with Dani Johnson seminars, to learn how to close the deal.

The reason the book is so successful is that it looks at virtually every scenario you may face and has an answer to the consumer's question. This book helps you learn how to get the consumer to trust you and listen to what you have to say instead of hanging up the phone or closing the door. In fact, even no's will end up serving as referrals if you do what the book says to do.

In addition to these very valuable scripts, you will be given additional tools to help control and grow your business. Honestly, this is probably the most valuable instructional manual for ANY work from home business owner. In fact, even if you are in sales and working for someone else, you can benefit from the information in this book. Why settle for being a middling salesman when you can lead your company every month or year? Rack up those bonuses and then use all that extra income to start your very own business!

If you do not believe what you are reading, simply give me a call I can tell you personally how this book turned my life around. Today, I am financially secure, donate to charity, and travel the world all because this book enabled me to be a successful work from home entrepreneur. I would love to see you have that same success and am awaiting your phone call!

You can contact me at:
Stacy O'Quinn
888-348-0180
Email: Stacy@mydfilive.com

What Do You Expect from Your Work from Home Business

With the job market being what it is, many people are still considering beginning their own work from home business. In fact, people that have actually found jobs during the economic downturn took positions for far less than they had hoped and need secondary income to make ends meet. Before diving into the pool, it is important to figure out exactly what you want from your business and prioritize these needs.

In order to start a home business, you will need a financial commitment. This may mean tapping into a retirement account or even approaching a bank for a small business loan. In addition, the new entrepreneur will be responsible for all of their own taxes as well as benefits for any employees hired. The old adage of you need to spend money to make money is never truer than when starting your very own business.

When first starting out, expect to spend a lot of time in your home office. This means the entire family has to be committed to the business or you will fail. If there are constant distractions, the business will end up on the back burner, which will be lit by your funds. Even though you are working from home, you still must have a dedicated schedule in order to make it work.

One common misconception is that a home business allows a person to spend more time with their family. This may have a small element of truth, but the reality is that while you are working, you need to be working. Having said that, there are opportunities available that will allow you to eventually shorten your day and enjoy a bit more family time. However, getting to that point means a lot of hard work initially.

On the flip side, since it is a home based business, you will get to set your own hours. Unlike a 9-5 office position, you can break your day up any way you see fit. For instance, perhaps you make cold calls from 9-12p when the kids are in school. Once they come home and leave for lunch, you can dedicate the next two or three hours to office work. When everyone is home, it is normal home life and then when the kids go to bed, you can do research for the following day. Just be sure that everyone knows your "office hours" and that they cannot be interrupted for phone conversations or household duties (this is what we were referring to earlier).

Home businesses run the gamut from supplementary income to those that are able to create a six-figure income. The opportunity and how much time you are willing to spend on the project will dictate its level of success. And remember, many of these opportunities do not require you to quit your regular job. You can dip your toes into the pool instead of diving headfirst to make sure you like it and then if the money is right, get on your bathing trunks and dive right in!

Learn How To Become an Entrepreneur Today

Some people seem to be predestined to a particular occupation. From a young age, they have an interest in things like medicine, sales, construction, or cooking and they pursue relevant careers. Other people flit from one job to the next in a quest to find something they truly love to do. Finding a career is only half of the journey. Deciding whether to work for someone else or start your own business is the other.

Working for someone else is definitely the easier way to go. The company owner usually pays for the workspace, utilities, and other overhead expenses in addition to at least a portion of the benefits and employment taxes. Workers simply show up on time each day and do their jobs. If the toilet gets clogged or the roof begins leaking, that is not their problem. As long as they perform the tasks assigned and an unexpected economic downturn does not occur, they consider their positions safe.

Recent years have shown us that this level of safety should never be assumed. Companies that were once industry leaders were driven to bankruptcy and many less established businesses were forced to close their doors. Working for someone else relinquishes ultimate control to the business owner. We will never know if workers could have prevented these employers from experiencing some of the problems they did.

Owning a business puts you in control of the operation. Though you take on more risk, you also reap more rewards. Freedom to create the type of business you want in the place you want it is just one of the attractive benefits. Flexibility in scheduling and the ability to grow the operation at a desired level are others. There are thousands of work from home opportunities available in this country. People who have unique ideas can make these reality with the help of a mentor and some financing.

There is nothing like being able to say that you created something from scratch. Though the prospect of owning a business may be scary there are plenty of tools and resources available. Many companies that offer products for business owners are run by entrepreneurs who used the same tools to get their own businesses off the ground. Dani Johnson is just one example of a successful entrepreneur who trains others to follow in her footsteps.

It can be difficult to start a business so using a proven method can be helpful. Experts offer advice about what to do and what to avoid. They even provide steps to follow when establishing a new business. Many people prefer this approach to flying blind because they know the method has worked for others, some of whom may be in the same industry.

If business ownership is an appealing prospect, review the opportunities available or refine an original idea to create a marketable product or service. Life is short so there is no reason to spend years working for someone else in a dead-end job. Instead, take control and seek the advice of experts to create a career that makes you proud.