Catha For Council Blog

Trashing plays an important role in maintaining a high level appearance in an office building. Indeed, one of the first things a visitor to an office will notice is a full or overflowing trash can. As well as presenting an unsightly appearance, waste material that is allowed to accumulate may become a safety issue.

Full cans can become a fire hazard and overflowing materials are a common cause of accidents, such as falls. Waste baskets can also contain partially eaten sandwiches, half empty soda cans and other materials that can cause infection or foul odors. Prompt removal of waste material and cleaning of the cans will help to eliminate these problems.

For prompt and efficient trash removal, make sure you have the proper equipment: A brute, large sized liners (45 to 60 gallon) for the brute; medium (20 to 30 gallon) and small (10 to 15 gallon) liners for the trash cans you are emptying; and cloth and disinfectant so you can clean any cans that need it.

Before beginning, make sure you know where to start and where to finish. The easiest and most effective path should be chosen. It is generally best to proceed in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction as you work your way around the room. Empty trash cans, pencil sharpeners and pick up obvious waste on the floor as you work your way around the room.

Push the brute as close to the trash can as possible. This will also save time. When bending to pick up the trash can, pick up any litter around it. Then to actually empty the can, turn it over and as far down inside the brute as possible. This will reduce flying dust, ashes or small bits of paper. Hold the can in one hand and to dislodge any stuck papers, tap it on the side or bottom with your hand.

Before returning the can to its place, check to see if there are spots on the can and wipe it down if necessary. If you see or smell food products change the can’s liner. Place an extra liner in the bottom of the trash can, then put the fresh liner in the can and tie a knot in one end of the liner so it fits tightly over the can. Always return the can to its previous location.

Do not over fill the brute. Tie it with a knot when it is two-thirds full. Dispose of the filled liners in the provided dumpsters or set outside the door for later removal. If you must leave filled trash bags inside until they can be taken out to the dumpster, put them on a tarp to protect the flooring.

If you suspect an item has been accidentally tossed into a trash can and not meant for removal, remove the item and leave a note asking if it is indeed trash. Any boxes in rooms or halls should not be removed unless they are marked as trash. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

Remember, there is almost nothing more unsightly than an overflowing trash can. Follow these tips to make your trashing more efficient and to maintain a high appearance standard in your office buildings.

Steve Hanson is co-founding member of The Janitorial Store (TM), an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift!

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One of the best methods for developing planning and organizing skills is learning from your mistakes. If you are constantly making the same mistake, then you are in a world of trouble, since time management is essential for success. When you think of planning, you should carefully weigh out the process since this is what makes the plan go into action. The process of planning details the essential elements required to reach a goal specific.

While no plan is bullet proof, a good plan is possible. We can start by understanding time management and how essential it is to a productive outcome. Time is the element of all tasks, activities, responsibilities, and so on. When we waste time, or we are sloppy with our time, our time management schemes often are destroyed. Unless you know something, I do not know it is time to learn some skills and put those skills to use.

Sloppy time management leads to destruction. When we hear of divorces that are direct results of lack of quality time spent together, it is because the family did not set up a time plan scheme. If the families had invested some of their time, spending it together, the rate of divorces would have dropped a percent.

Likewise, when we hear of a business closing the doors, it is often because a time management scheme was not developed, or developed properly. One of the best solutions for creating a time management scheme is by training your mind to put into practice organizing skills, and learning from your achievements, analyzing ways to improve what you have already achieved. Staying focused on your plans will also help you to move the smaller obstacles from your path rather quickly, and kick the bigger obstacles in the rear when you are finished. Staying focus means you plan and move in motion with the plan, staying on the same path as you move along.

If you loose direction during your course, (if you are focused) you will notice the mistakes immediately and run back to your main course. This is quality steps in managing time. It is always wise to keep it simple while you are moving forward. When a problem area arises, be sure to take care of it immediately. When you remove problems or deal with them as they arise, you are moving the bigger obstacles out of your path to managing your time wisely. Time is essential, and as the days progress, time is moving faster than ever.

With technology development, we are now on our way to a faster way of producing results. When we analyze today’s developments we can see that it is important for us to keep up with the times so that failure does not plague our way. Learning then is the key ingredient of sparing your time, and dealing with disaster. When you are learning, and practicing what you learned, your sloppy habits will result in success. Don’t be a slob, manage time wisely!

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“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! Am I stupid?” excitedly requested Christopher, nearly out of breath from the long run into the kitchen. She knew he had been playing with neighborhood children under a mighty pine tree in the side yard.

Saddened by the question and realizing he had just been tormented by the others, she tenderly gave him a hug and lovingly told him, “No, Christopher, you are not stupid.”

“Oh,” replied Christopher, with obvious disappointment in his tone.

Certainly you must be wondering why these loving words of motherhood would be met with such sadness. You see what had really happened was that as the children were teasing him about his autism they were really paying attention to him. He was the center of their focus and for a brief moment he felt like he was accepted by them. He felt special. His value as a human had astronomically increased because he was, as they put it, “stupid”.

As Christopher grew he understood the lesson he learned that summer afternoon better than most people ever do. He understands that he is different, but that it is okay to be different. Now a teenager, Christopher sees himself as an individual that has value. He knows that even though he may be “stupid” in many people’s eyes, he is an individual with special traits and talents that excel above those same traits and talents in “normal” people.

During his work training class at Rochester’s Stoney Creek High School, Christopher has proven these talents. During his assignment at Mr. Pita every take-out bag was exactly the same: neatly bagged pickle, napkin, and utensils in the exact arrangement he was first shown. At Rochester’s Dillman & Upton Lumber each tube of caulk was placed on the shelf with precision - label facing out and in the proper slot for the brand and type. And in his semester at Duke Humphries’ Grill, luncheon diners would see every place setting in perfect match and each salt and pepper shaker filled to precise spot Christopher has been shown.

Despite this unquenchable desire for perfection in the accomplishment of routine tasks, thousands of people just like Christopher have another label placed on them today: “unemployable”. When the economy is strong and unemployment is low, employers find autistic workers to be among their best. However in an economy where every worker must market themselves to beat out dozens or competitors for the few available jobs, the autistics lack the polish and credentials of the more traditionally groomed candidates.

It seems employers quickly forget the advantages of autistic workers when it comes to repetitive tasks. Those with autism possess an uncanny ability to focus on their work and perform the repetitive tasks with tremendous accuracy and reliability. They are also extremely loyal workers, unlikely to jump ship because they can earn a quarter an hour more at another employer.

The Federal Reserve board is reporting “fresh momentum” in all 12 surveyed districts across the nation. This is an early indicator of economic conditions that will change the current employer’s market back to the employee’s market. Along with the change will be a return to the problem of employee retention. Gallup shows nearly 50% of employees feel disconnected from their employer and BostonWorks.com finds that only 43% of employees are satisfied with their current employment situation, down from 50%. According to BostonWorks.com president, Peter North, many employers are misled by the fact that their current retention is low. These three facts point out that the marketplace will soon return to an employee’s market and up to 57% of employees are likely to change jobs.

Given these facts the smart employer will begin to prepare today for this shift. They will do so because even if the shift does not occur the analysis will provide for a stronger, more productive workforce. The even smarter employers will look for ways to combine tedious functions or repetitive work into jobs for autistic Americans. By seeking out these tasks and combining them into special jobs they establish a core group within their organization to do these tedious jobs effectively and joyfully. They will also find a core of loyal employees for many years to come.

Being a leader means making the choice to do what is right for the long-term good of a company or organization. When a company can hire someone unlikely to leave their employment, they have reduced the future hiring and training expenses. A real leader takes this into account. When they do, it helps the handicapped to offset the stigmas associated with their disability.

For more information about hiring workers with disabilities, contact New Horizons or the Jay Shops in Pontiac, or Community Mental Health Services in Auburn Hills.

Rick Weaver is President of Max Impact, a leadership and organization development organization based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or visit their website: www.getmaximpact.com. Rick is also Christopher’s Dad.

Rick Weaver is President of Max Impact, a national leadership and organization development company based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Rick is an accomplished business executive with experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain and project management, team building, and process improvement. He has worked with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results. MaxImpact offers leadership and organizational development services along with employee assessments and background checks. Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or via email, rick@getmaximpact.com. MaxImpact is on the web at http://www.getmaximpact.com.

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Early warning

“Working for yourself” has a pleasant ring to it, doesn’t it?
No more commutes. Forget the alarm clock. Take a break
when you want, not when someone else says you must.
Special program on TV? Go ahead and watch it. It’s your
choice, and you make all the decisions. Join the right program
and the money comes in without work.

That’s the impression you might get if you believe some of the
advertising you see on the Internet and elsewhere.

It’s bogus, and if this is how you think your life will be,
at least in the beginning, stick with your day job.
With this attitude, your living expenses will far outstrip your
income, if there is any income, and you will soon be looking
for a job, if there are any of those available for you.

Sorry to be so rough, but it’s better you examine yourself and
your motivations now rather than later.

Temptations

Being in business for yourself, especially a home-based
business, puts many time-wasting temptations in your path,
and you need a solid dose of self-discipline and organization
to be successful. After all, if running your own business at home
was as easy as the ads would have you believe, no one would
work for an employer.

Here are 10 tips that should help:

• It is important to prioritize what you do. If an activity
does not make money or lead to making money, give it
the lowest priority.
• Make a list of everything you need to do in your day.
You’ve heard this before, but do you do it? Prepare
your list late the day before, so that you can start right in
on your top priority project without distractions.
Prioritize the list. You will be amazed by how much
more you will achieve each day.
• If there are low-priority items left at the end of the day,
either add them to the next day’s list or delete them.
• Have a set hour each day to be at your desk and working
on the first priority on your list. If you’re tired and would
rather stay in bed an extra hour, don’t give in to the
temptation; resolve to go to bed earlier at the end of
the day instead.
• Resolve to let nothing and no one derail your work day
unless there is a dire emergency. Social events and errands
do not count as dire emergencies.
• Studying what you need to know to be successful is not
part of a work day. That is a task for the evening, like
going to night school. It is, however, an important task
and you should not ignore it. Learn all you can, and then
learn some more.
• ‘Thinking’ time is also important. This is when you will
develop fresh ideas and different and perhaps more
efficient ways to do things. But it also is not a
working-hours activity. Learn to think ‘out of the box’.
• The two points above refer to the fact that we need to
guard against work avoidance. Sometimes, when there is
a task to be done, we find excuses to put off what we
don’t enjoy doing. Be conscious of this robber of time.
Time is one of your most precious assets.
Money can be replaced; time cannot.
• If there is a piece of paper on your desk, or an e-mail
in your In Box, deal with it once. Act on it, file it for later
attention, or chuck it. Deal with each piece of
correspondence once only. Have on your desk only
the single task with which you are now dealing.
• Have a single time in the day when you look at
e-mails or other correspondence. Deal with it at that time.
Don’t be distracted from your priorities by e-mails at other
times of the day.

Success with a home-based business depends perhaps more
than any other type of occupation on you having a
success-focused mindset. You need to be tough with
yourself, and able to make conscious decisions to sacrifice
what you might otherwise wish to do so that you can
make a success of your business.

Balance

Having said that, it is also important to have balance in
your life. Make sure you set aside time for family and
friends, and use some discipline not to infringe on that time.
Don’t impose this time; consult your family first. You
are asking them to make sacrifices, too; make sure
they are part of that decision-making process.

Take time also to look after your health. Eat and exercise
regularly. It is hard to succeed in business without
maintaining your health. To be at peak mental and
physical performance, you need physical training.
Business may not be the Olympics, but it is demanding.

What about those good times on the beach, working
just a few hours a day with your laptop? If that is
your goal, it is quite achievable. This is a lifestyle enjoyed
by countless thousands of successful people.
But it comes after they are successful. To get to
that point, you must work smart and creatively.
And you must use all the self-discipline you can muster.

Are you up to the task? If so, you will let nothing stop you.

Matthew Eigbe has over 25 years experience in consumer marketing
and now focuses on network marketing using the internet.
He is webmaster at http://www.mattlinks.ws, a site that explains
how you can gain Financial Freedom by inviting people to have
their own domain name

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1945
Vannevar Bush writes As We May Think for the July issue of The Atlantic Monthly suggesting a system of automated information access in which all materials are “associatively indexed”.

1960

Project Xanadu is initiated by Ted Nelson with the purpose of creating a “docuverse” in which all written documents are interconnected and cross-referenced.

1965
Nelson, who is part genius and part mad scientist, coins the terms hypertext and hypermedia.

1980

Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), writes Enquire-Within-Upon-Everything (ENQUIRE), a program allowing the hyper linking of files stored on multiple computers in a network.

1989
Berners-Lee proposed a global hypertext project that would connect an infinite number of digital documents around the world.

1990

Berners-Lee develops the first browser, a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) hypertext reader.
The World Wide Web as Berners-Lee decided to call it, is launched at CERN headquarters on a NeXT computer, but is only accessible to those who have access to the CERN system.

1991

The World Wide Web hits the Internet and the first web files appear at alt.hypertext, comp.sys.next, comp.txt.sgml, and comp.mail.multi-media.
Java is brewed at Sun Microsystems. Though this programming language was originally developed for the purpose of creating embedded applications, in 1994 Sun shifted Java to the Web where it revolutionized the way Web sites are designed.

1992

The phrase Surfing the Internet is coined by Jean Amour Polly.
PointCast Inc begins to offer its news and information service to corporate networks. The service used push technology to transmit specific information to end-users. Then in 1996 push technology will become a key driver in Internet development.

1993

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NASA) releases Mosaic, the first graphical Web Browser. Mosaic was written by Marc Andreessen, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign undergraduate, who as legend has it, sustained himself on Skittles and Mountain Dew while writing it.
The New York Times and The Economist begin to announce the appearance of the World Wide Web.
Traffic on the Web grows by 341,634%.

1994

Andreessen partners with Jim Clark, founder and former chair of the board at Silicon Graphics, to create Netscape Communications Corp.
The Netscape Navigator 1.0 browser is released the same year.
First International World Wide Web Conference is held in Geneva, Switzerland at CERN.
Pizza Hut initiates an online ordering system.
Jerry Yang and David Filo, doctoral candidates at Stanford University, create a guide to Internet Sites and by 1998, this guide Yahoo! is the most visited site on the Web.
Mark Pesce and Tony Parisi create Labyrinthe, a 3-D Web interface and within the year, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) programming language supporting graphical animation of virtual spaces is created.

1995
America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, and other online companies begin to offer access to the Web.
Netscape goes public, serving up the 3rd largest initial public stock offering ever and launching a technology boom that has yet to end.
Microsoft, downplaying the importance of the WWW, decides to create its own online service, the Microsoft Network (MSN). However, the service fails to live up to expectations and at year’s end Bill Gates holds a summit to disclose Microsoft’s future plans for the Web.

1996
Microsoft releases Microsoft Internet Explorer and the “browser wars” begin.
The Communications Decency Act becomes law in an attempt to limit the distribution of obscene and pornographic materials on the Web.

1997 - 1999

Netscape releases the Communicator Suite of Internet products with Communicator including a Web Browser, E-Mail application, newsgroup reader, web page editor, and a conferencing application.
Microsoft counters with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 which includes the Active Desktop, making the Web an integrated part of the Windows operating system.
The Department of Justice takes Microsoft to court over Internet Explorer, claiming Microsoft had violated the terms of a 1994 consent decree by integrating Internet Explorer into the Windows 95 operating system.
Portals become the range on the Web with Yahoo!, Netscape, and Excite offering the most popular.
Netscape announces its Navigator and Communicator products are available as free downloads on the Internet.
Microsoft counters with free downloads of it’s browser programs.
The Web is more popular than ever with 82% of respondents to a poll by the Georgia Tech Research Corp claiming the Web is an indispensable technology.
December 1999 the Department of Justice announces its decision regarding Microsoft’s Operating System and Browser integration.

2000
January 2000 Bill Gates announces his resignation as CEO and CFO of Microsoft and his return to software development.

Anand Nadar - Web Designer and SEO Expert.
http://www.kreationstudio.com

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The Internet is not only a source of informationit’s a mother lode of freebies. There are so many things you can find and download at absolutely no cost (and considering how easy it is to click and search, at absolutely no effort as well).Free sites are some of the most popular on the web today. Here are just a few things available:

* Free fonts. Why spend hundreds of dollars on font software, when you can get them for free? Some sites carry over a thousand fonts, all of them available at no cost. Other sites require payment for fonts, but offer free fonts which are rotated regularly so you always have something new to download at every visit.

* Free software. Called freeware, these programs can be downloaded and used requiring nothing more than a little patience and free space on your drive. These include applications you can use for work (or when you’re pretending to work), or recreational software like games.

* Free recipes. You’ll never buy a cookbook again when you find the recipes on the Internet: hundreds of thousands, to suit every taste, mood, budget, or dietary requirement. Many of these sites have sign-up programs so you can get recipes delivered to your inbox; others let you print the recipes in various formats, for easy pasting on to your index cards.

* Free music. No, you don’t have to break any copyright laws. Many websites offer free music, which are uploaded by new artists who want to market their music, Other classics have simply entered public domain. Looking for a little Bach to start your day, or a swinging rendition of Jingle Bell Rock? Find it all on the Web.

* Free graphics. Need something to jazz up your website, a poster, a school project? Find it all on the web. Aside from the nifty fact that it’s free, you can easily access what you need by typing in the key words or clicking on to the categories.

* Free cards. Forgot your mother’s birthday? Log on to an online card site and download a free card (you can also find a “sorry” card in case you remembered it two weeks later!). Many are customizable, letting you choose the font, the background color, and the kind of music you want it to play when it’s clicked on.

* Free e-books. The Internet’s got plenty of reading materialthe web pages alone would take a lifetime to read. But you can also download e-books that you can read on your computer screen or on your Palm Pilot.

* Free ringtones. Personalize your phone with your favorite music, downloaded from the numerous sites that offer ringtones. Some of them even have entire packages that include screen savers and background.

* Free coupons. Print them out and bring them to the grocery! Some of those coupons can be exchanged for free product samples, or at the very least, discounts or bonuses (such as 25% off on the next purchase).

* Free classes. Sign up for a writing course, a photography class, or Photoshop seminarall for free. Best of all you can actually take those skills and use it to earn money or improve your own career.

Resources.eu.com is an online resource centre covering many topics including free sites.

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The one basic you need to succeed in an online business is simply the decision… to… do…. it.

Not to “try”….not to “see how it goes”….

Almost anyone can be successful online….yet the vast majority of those who start an online business….or an affiliate reselling program….or a multi-level marketing company…..fail.

They fail for two reasons…because they never get started….or because they quit.

Many of us are afraid to admit that we want to succeed in an online business. Comments often heard are:

• “I’m just giving it a try…and we’ll see”

• “I don’t know much about computers, so I’ll see how it goes.”

• “I’ve read through it but don’t understand it all…so…..”

These people are giving themselves excuses for failure! It’s not a conscious choice. If you don’t expect to succeed, later you can say “I didn’t think that would work”….or…. “I didn’t think I could do that”… you won’t be rich — but you will be right!

If you don’t believe in yourself and your abilities….who is going to do it?

Give yourself a chance to succeed. Choose to give the online effort everything you’ve got for a realistic amount of time. You don’t have to tell others you expect to succeed….but you need to believe that you are capable of success.

Define your actions in concrete terms:

• I will place X number of ads 4 days a week.

• I will advertise in XXXX ezines.

• I will write one good finished article per week.

• I will spend 8 hours each week adding links.

Your reaction to adversity is a key to success online. No one is buying your product? Check your sales letter. Does it appeal to the buyer in your target market? How can you make it better?

You have sign-ups in the Multi-Level Marketing company you are working with….but no one upgrades or makes a purchase. Are you following up with the specific information they need … or just telling them about yourself?

Last month your personal business website had 2000 visitors….and no sales. If you had an opt-in newsletter or free ezine your visitors could sign up for, you would at least have added good names to your mailing list each month.

If you have a newsletter, send quality information to your list, not just sales talk….when you do present an e-book or software for those on your mailing list to purchase, tell them HOW it benefits them.

And always…..always….give more than you promised. Add bonus information….or bonus items….offer personal mentoring.

You CAN make money working online and there are many ways to do it. Some methods require substantial investment from you of money and time….but therer are excellent opportunities that require only a minimal financial investment and a few hours a week consistently to see real results.

You do not have to be internet or computer savvy….all the training and information you need is available (much of it free) online.

Make a decision to start and build an online business….and don’t look back or second guess yourself. Test methods, text, headlines, advertising to find what brings the best results for your business.

Automate as much of the tasks as you can. Save the “personal touch” for actual purchasers or productive affiliates in your downlines. Keep adding to your e-mail opt-in list and keep in touch with updates bi-weekly or monthly.

Always deliver more than you promise. If you sell an e-book, give a free guide as well (or two). If you offer a training program, include an e-book or a membership in another training course.

Work consistently and efficiently for some hours each week and watch your business grow… your income will grow as well.

About The Author

Kay King operates a successful online business from her home on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. For more information and articles written especially for those new to internet marketing, please visit her website at http://earn-extra-income-at-home.com.

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Have you ever been shopping and the salesperson ignored you? How did it make you feel to receive such poor customer service? Most people would say that they would never return to the store. Poor customer service can cost you more than clients, but it can cost you money in your home based business. Yet there are ways to provide good customer service in your home based business that work to keep customers happy and coming back for more.

First, find your niche. Good customer service begins with offering your customers something that they cannot get anywhere else. Find that one customer service area that separates you from the rest and use it to provide great customer service in your home based business.

Another way to provide impeccable customer service is to not waste time on tasks that can be done via computer or in another automated way. Use templates for correspondence or an automated money management program to save time, thus moving your energies over to providing great customer service to your clientele. Also, don’t waste time doing small tasks that are unproductive. Streamlining your filing method or having junk mail automatically filtered will again allow you to have more ability to provide better customer service in your home based business.

Focusing your advertising on those that need your services allows you to provide great customer service in your home based business. If your advertising method is not working to support your consumers, then provide better customer service in your home based business by changing the way you market your products.

Being prompt in responding to consumer needs and following up are absolutely key to providing great customer service in your home based business. Clients like to know you care about their needs, and they do not like to wait for an answer or an order. Follow up is also important, as great customer service in your home based business begins by not making the client feel ignored.

One area that is highly debated in the area of providing excellent customer service in your home based business is the refund policy. Some of the most successful businesses do all that they can to provide excellent customer service, and they will offer refunds or exchanges with no questions asked. Be willing to work with your consumers to provide great customer service in your home based business.

Read the rest of the article here: Customer Service in Your Home Based Business.

Download the Free Quick Start Workbook (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He has also created dozens of articles such as MLM Leads and Make Money Online.

I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way.

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Many home-based business owners go into business with the dream of creating more financial and personal freedom for themselves.

Usually, quite the opposite result is produced.

When running your own business, you often work harder and for longer hours than you would for an employer.

Your perception of being a business owner and the reality of it are miles apart. This is why so many entrepreneurs end up feeling out of balance and out of control.

If you are experiencing these same feelings, you are not alone, especially if you are in the early years of building your business.

A gap exists between your original expectations and the reality of running a home-based business.

It is important to acknowledge your false perceptions and recognize the reality of being your own boss.

It is also important to understand that running your own business is one of the most rewarding experiences in life, and as long as you are aware of the realities and remain committed to create the success you seek, you will make it happen.

In order to create breakthroughs for yourself and your business, you need to understand and embrace 8 powerful strategies.

1. Determine Your Values

This cannot be stressed enough. The success of your business will directly relate to honoring your core values.

A great tool to determine your values can be found at www.wheretheheartis-lifecoaching.com/valuesgame.htm

2. Create A Vision

What is it you want to achieve in the next six months to a year? Where do you want to be in 5-10 years in your business and personal life?

Write down the vision you have for your company and your personal life (5-10 items each). With this done you will be able to set realistic goals and focus your efforts where they are needed.

Beside each item listed, write down what realizing this vision will feel and look like. Every successful entrepreneur will tell you she wrote down her vision and how this practice has contributed to her success.

3. Set Goals

Take a few hours this week to identify and write down three or four key goals necessary to move your business forward.

Include personal goals as well! (These include relationship, physical, emotional, spiritual, family, nutritional, etc.)

Picture yourself at the end of this year. It’s New Year’s Eve and you are looking back on your achievements.

What would you like to have accomplished by then? How will you feel looking back at your amazing accomplishments?

4. Maintain Quality of Life

This is critical to the success of your business. If you are burned out, stressed, exhausted, unhappy and imbalanced, your business will suffer.

Play your favorite sport every week, get out with friends, play with your children, attend school functions and dinner engagements, get adequate sleep, eat healthy meals and take your partner on a date.

If your work and personal life are not in balance, you will do yourself, your family, and your business a great disservice.

When you are in balance, you have more energy, you can think more clearly and you can maintain a sharper focus.

When you function in a balanced state, you can accomplish more quality work in 3 hours than you can in 12 hours in an imbalanced state. You will make better decisions and fewer mistakes.

Take mini-vacations. Every time you do, you will come back fresher, sharper and capable of creating amazing breakthroughs in your business.

The little things that set you off before will go unnoticed when you’re refreshed.

5. Leverage

If you lack a particular skill, have someone else take on the task for you. You don’t have to be and do everything.

Some skills are essential in running a successful business. Others can be outsourced.

The greatest entrepreneurs of our time know where they are weak and use other people’s strengths and abilities to create desired outcomes.

By leveraging your time, you can free yourself up to focus on what you do best.

I considered learning how to create and manage my own web site then realized my time could be better spent focusing on my overall vision and mission.

I could have spent days learning a software program and designing a site, but that would have taken me miles away from my vision.

I would have been working in my business and not on my business.

Keep this in mind for yourself. You are the visionary of your business. You need to remain focused on the big picture. If you have time consuming tasks that can be better handled by others, hand over the reigns.

Know that you are rewarded for the results you create, not for how many hours you had to sweat and toil to create them.

6. Mastermind Groups and Support Systems

You cannot do it alone and you do not know it all.

Growth and prosperity are accelerated when you have a strong support system in place.

By having a mastermind group and support system in place, you will have a continual source of information, a direct link to hundreds of resources, encouragement, and a means of accountability.

These partners will help you remain focused and on track with your business while being good to yourself.

7. Maintain Strong Client Relationships

It requires 16 times more effort to acquire a new client than it does to keep an existing one.

Treat your clients like gold. Nurture your relationships with them and go the extra mile to make them feel valued and appreciated. Imagine every client as a million dollar client and treat him as such.

If you had a million dollars in your hand, you wouldn’t throw it away would you? You would protect it and treat it with care.

If your client feels valued and appreciated, he will go out of his way to share his gratitude with others.

Strong relationships will grow your business. People will seek you out. Focus on the relationships you build and the profits will follow.

8. Never Stop Learning

If you decide one day that you have achieved absolute wisdom and there is no more room for improvement, your business will start to wither.

Human beings evolve. Entrepreneurs evolve. There is no absolute perfection. Make continuing education mandatory.

Fill yourself with information about selling, marketing, your industry, your competition, your client demographics and psychographics, copywriting, economic trends, new product development, etc.

By using these strategies you will create breakthroughs for yourself and your business.

Take some time in the next couple of days to find a quiet place for yourself to sit and write down your vision and goals.

Put these strategies into place.

Revisit your notes every week and see how you are doing. What results have you experienced so far? Where do you need to make adjustments? Have you implemented all of the strategies?

Some home-based business owners are so excited about the possibilities that lie ahead they jump right in to building a business without creating any structure or implementing any strategies.

Many small and home-based business owners fail due to inconsistency, lack of focus, poor structure, ineffective strategies, and eventual burnout.

Invest the time and energy necessary to ensure your success.

Discipline yourself, create structure, implement the above strategies, and you will be amazed by the results you create.

Laurie Hayes is a Life Strategy/Small Business Coach and founder of Where the Heart Is Life Coaching.

Laurie works with home-based business owners who face the distinct challenges presented when working from home. She is the author of numerous articles and a bi-weekly newsletter, “The Heart of Living.”

To subscribe to her free newsletter and learn more about coaching, visit http://www.wheretheheartis-lifecoaching.com

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Starting a new business is scary, exhilarating, challenging and
at times downright confusing. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by
the huge number of tasks in front of you. When you get in that
state, step back and think, “What can I do today that will get
my message in front of my customers?” If you’re thinking about
this all the time, the other details will fall into place.

The first thing you need to do is decide on the goals for your
business. What do you personally want to get out of it? How many
hours do you want to work? How many employees do you want to
have? How much money do you want to make? The idea here is to
get as clear a vision as possible of what your business will
look like when it is established so you’ll know what needs to be
done to get there. For a very clear step-by-step method to do
this, I highly recommend a program called E-Myth.

Next, do the math. So many peopleincluding mehave learned the
hard way that the business they created is not capable of
meeting the goals they set for themselves. To help avoid this
problem, do some market research to determine how much you’ll be
able to charge for your product or service and what volume
you’ll be able to sell. Think about how many hours you’ll be
able to work in a day and get a rough idea of the maximum amount
you could make. Once you have rough estimates for those figures,
you can decide if the money you could make or the time you need
to put in will be worth the effort. You’d be surprised at how
many people spend years working in a business that is just not
capable of becoming what they hoped it would, even if everything
went perfectly.

Many new entrepreneurs think success is all about developing a
great product or service, but actually it’s all about selling
it. Before you spend tons of time and money developing your
product, make a prototype or develop a clear and concise
description of what it will be, and do some market research.
Figure out who your prospective customers will be, and go talk
to them! Ask questions. Find out what they’ll pay. Consider
their feedback and modify your design accordingly. Look at other
companies that are selling similar products or services. Find
out what they charge, how they market and what their competitive
advantage is. Go into their stores and watch their customers.
Find out what they are doing and why, and how customers respond.
Once you think you have a clear understanding of what the market
wants, then move ahead with your product or develop your
service.

You’ll also need to decide what kind of company structure will
best fit your plans (S Corp., LLC, sole proprietorship and so
on).

If possible, work out of your home for awhile or rent the
minimum space and equipment necessary to run your business. It’s
important to keep your overhead as low as possible, at least
until things start to take off. Resist the temptation to rent a
nice office and fill it with furniture and equipment. I used to
think that was impressive, but I came to realize it was just
expensive.

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