Maintaining a profitable home business is a big challenge. The idea of earning an income from the comforts of your own home is an attractive one. However many overlook the necessary discipline needed to run a profit generating home business. The comfort and familiar settings of home make this type of business attractive but also presents obstacles. If you want to achieve success while working from home you’ll need to establish certain parameters. A distinction between leisure time activities and work related responsibilities will need to be identified. Here are 5 tips you’ll need to apply in order for your home based business to achieve success:Tip #1 – Establish Work HoursWhen working from home you’ll immediately want to establish the time you’ll need to devote to your business and then adhere to this schedule. As easy as this may seem initially you’ll need to aware of the temptation of getting a late start and then finishing early. Remember that nothing gets done unless YOU do it. When you start to cheat on your work hours here you are really just cheating yourself by reducing your income due to a loss in productivity. Time wasting activities you’ll want to ‘actively’ avoid during work hours are: a) Friends visitingb) Personal phone callsc) Neighborsd) Personal errandse) Family disturbances unless they’re emergenciesTip #2 – Clearly Define Your Work SpaceDepending upon the type of work you’re doing you’ll need to set up an office or shop completely dedicated to your work. It would be best to isolate or partition the area from the normal living areas of the home. This will better enable you to maintain a ‘working frame of mind’ while also minimizing any instances of disruptions or disturbances.A dedicated work space will also help you stay better organized.Tip #3 – Avoid Any Type of Home EntertainmentLike most homes I’m sure yours is equipped with TV’s, stereos, and other such entertainment devices. Well when you’re working battle the temptation to take periodic breaks to view the tube or listening to some ‘relaxing’ music. These will just siphon your time away from work either increasing your workload later or perhaps keeping you from finishing a task at all.Tip #4 – No SurfingMany home based businesses entail the use of a computer. High technology like this enables a home business to be more efficient and productive. On the downside however with the ability to surf the internet right there at your fingertips lays the potential for lost time and productivity. Unless the need arises to do some work related research your computer should only be used to increase and not decrease your productiveness during your normal working hours. Tip #5 – Your Email Can WaitAgain like we’ve mentioned about surfing (above) your only need to access this during work hours should be limited to work related issues. In fact it is recommended you establish a separate work related email address and develop the habit of checking your email just twice a day to better manage your time. As you can see managing a profitable home business does require discipline on your part. The temptation of the surrounding comforts of home are the main attraction of any home based business. Although we need to recognize these attractions can easily turn into non-productive distractions if we are not careful. With the proper restraint however there is no reason the riches and rewards of a successful home based business can’t be yours!
Posts Tagged ‘home’
Tips to Insure a Profitable Home Business
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010How to Furnish Your Rental Home in Singapore
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010There are a lot of choices to buy furniture in Singapore. Apart from the usual modern furniture, you can buy ready-made or custom-made rattan and oriental furniture. If you decide to buy Oriental furniture, be aware that their size and design may not be suitable once you are repatriated. A nice antique Chinese bed is not only difficult to transport but may look awkward in your living room at home in London, as nothing else will fit in! Besides, this furniture is made for use in a different climate and may shrink, expand and crack. Also, before shipping back your furniture you should have it fumigated!
Antiques and Reproductions
Before you start, you need to decide if you want to decorate your home, take back some memories or seriously collect specific items as an investment into the future. The term antique is used for a variety of items offered and you need to inform yourself first about the host and home countries’ regulations and custom requirements such as import and export restrictions on religious artifacts (e.g. Buddha statues).
Custom-Made Furniture
To avoid confusion and disappointment, provide a sample or a photograph and specify your requirements in writing:
Oriental Furniture
There are many different types depending on the country of origin, style or material used. Furniture made in India or Indonesia is often produced in small villages and come with a native touch rather than being in an immaculate condition, which is very exotic. Chinese furniture come in rosewood, camphor, lacquer, coromandel, teak, Elmwood and many other woods and may be antique, a reproduction or modern. Custom-made furniture should be seasoned or kiln-dried to avoid shrinking in a dry environment. To allow the wood to expand furniture should be produced with tongue-and groove- floating panels.
Teak Furniture
The Latin name for Teak is Tectona grandis, which is offered all over Southeast Asia. Teak is an extremely dense, coarse-grained hardwood, which is well known for its durability and resistance to water, the woodworm and many chemical agents. Today, there are teakwood plantations catering to the furniture industry.
When purchasing Teak furniture:
Oriental Carpets
Beds and Mattresses
Sizes of beds and mattresses are different form those in Europe, Australia and the US, that may imply difficulties buying suitable bed sheets when in Asia or back home. Some shops offer imported brand name beds in standard lengths but oversized beds are difficult to find. Southeast Asian beds are usually shorter and sometimes narrower. Sometimes mattresses in US sizes can be ordered for an additional charge. Never buy bed sheets or linen unless you have measured your bed before.
Electrical Appliances/Computers/Accessories
How to Start a DIY Home Improvement Project: Tips
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010Do it yourself projects are efficient ways to minimize cost, and to a certain degree, tap into your creative side. Home improvement is just one area in the wide and complex world of Do- it- Yourself.
In a way, home improvement should be done by the homeowners themselves, because the property is theirs, and if something succeeds or fails, the homeowners take full accountability for what happens. How does one begin a do it yourself project? The following is a step by step guide in determining your general path for future DIY projects.
1. Examine your house- a house that has stood against the elements of nature for at least three years probably has suffered some form of damage. When was the last time that you stopped to inspect whether your house is still safe to live in, or if there is something that you can still do to improve it?
A thorough evaluation of your house and all its parts would definitely give you great ideas for your future DIY project. With you some paper and a pen, list down everything that you think must be repaired, replaced, improved or taken down completely. Be critical of how furniture and electrical wires are placed in your house.
After making your list, start sifting through them. What is it that interests you at the moment? Do you wish to make a new gate made purely of wood, and coated with varnish? Do you think that old door needs sprucing up? Whatever you might choose to do, remember that you have to take into consideration time and budget constraints.
2. Plan first, and plan well- do not commit the mistake of not being able to plan before you try your hand in DIY home improvement. Any project, executed without a clear plan in mind is bound to either fail or finish unsuccessfully.
How does one begin a work plan for a DIY project? First identify what needs to be done. Make a list of the things that have to be done prior to the DIY project. Then proceed to make a list of the things that you need to do. This includes even the smallest of implements in the DIY project, like nails and paint.
After determining the materials needed for the DIY project, begin to compute how much all this would cost. A good and reliable computation should not be based on estimates alone. If you can, make the computation when you’re at the hardware store.
If something seems to be too expensive, then try to find an alternative brand, or if it’s not possible to do this, try to find an alternative, material to replace that which you cannot acquire due to cost, a good example will be thinner gauge plywood for sidings and non load bearing structures.
3. Timeframe- never forget to make a timeframe for a particular DIY project. Failure to do so might mean the project might take too long to finish, or in some instances, it might not be completed at all. A timeframe would tell you what to do and what to complete in a day.