I have been operating my business from home for over eight years, which I love. The best thing about operating my business is freedom—I am the boss! I get to work and shop from home and get to spend time with my husband and our kids every day. I can be there for their activities, and I will ensure they reach their intended destination.
But there are also some challenges along the way, like dealing with stress or keeping everything organized. To help others who are looking into starting their own business or thinking about working for themselves, here are some tips on how I keep everything going smoothly while still getting things done:
I love having a business, but it takes work.
Running a business takes work. There are extended hours and hard work, but it’s worth it for the freedom to work on your schedule, decide how you do things and what projects you take on, be creative, and have a career you love. You get to help people!
I’ve been running my own business since 1997 when I started making websites as a hobby while working full-time at my first job out of college. Since then, I’ve built several companies, including one of the largest video production companies in the country, with over 1 billion views per month across all platforms (YouTube, Facebook & Instagram).
I work primarily from home and with my husband.
I have a dedicated office space, but I like to keep it neat. My desk has been known to look like this:
And then there are all the papers on the kitchen table or even the floor if they need to be filed after some time. That’s a messy way of doing things, but it works for me! And my husband helps me organize stuff every week or so by putting everything into piles (sometimes more significant than him).
I have a dedicated office space that I like to keep neat.
I keep my office space organized and neat. I like keeping a place to go where I can be productive, but it’s also essential to balance work time and personal time.
I have one central filing system that I use for all my files: one folder for each client or project with subfolders inside based on the type of document (contracts, invoices), and then within those subfolders are individual files with papers related to each job/client (for example “Contracts” would include all contracts signed by both parties).
For papers that don’t need filing yet but could create clutter if left out on your desk or kitchen table (e.g., receipts), put them in an accordion file folder until you can find time to deal with them properly later!
The best reason for running my own business is freedom.
Owning your own business can be enjoyable. You can be your boss, work on your schedule, and select your team. Flexibility and independence are the most rewarding aspects.
Freedom from having someone else tell me what I should do: As an employee at another company, certain things must be done for them not only to keep their customers pleased but also to stay profitable enough so that everyone who works there can keep their jobs too; however those same rules don’t necessarily apply here since there aren’t any external pressures.
For example, those coming from shareholders are looking for growth every quarter, which means I have complete control over what happens next with our company – both good times & bad ones! You have the freedom to determine your work schedule. You get the choice of how many hours you want to work daily or weekly and prioritize your other responsibilities and activities accordingly. It’s up to you to balance your work and personal life as you see fit.
The hard part of running my home business is dealing with stress, which can affect my family and myself.
The hard part of running my business is dealing with stress, which can affect my family and myself.
Stress is a big issue for most people in business, and it can cause problems in your relationship with friends and family. Stress can also make you sick or even make you wish to give up on the whole thing! Here are some great suggestions that have helped me deal with stress:
I use an app called Wunderlist to manage everything to keep everything organized.
To keep everything organized, I use an app called Wunderlist to manage everything from grocery lists to client invoices to personal tasks that need to be done around the house.
Wunderlist is a free app available for iOS and Android devices and on your computer! You can add groceries, errands, and tasks to different “lists” within the app. Hence, it’s easy to see what needs doing next without having them all clumped together in one long list that’s hard to scroll through or find what you’re looking for quickly (and may need to remember what was on there). The best part regarding using this tool is that once items are added to one of our lists, we don’t have any excuse not to finish them off because they’ll always be right there waiting patiently until they get done!
While running your business may seem daunting initially, it can be pretty freeing!
While running your business may seem daunting initially, it can be pretty freeing! You’re in charge of your schedule, and you get to decide and focus on what you want to work on. When I started my business, I worked full-time as a school counselor and had two small children at home. Even though we lived in an apartment with no dedicated office space (and still don’t), I found ways to make things happen.
I primarily work from home with my husband, who works from home sometimes but only sometimes (he’s an engineer). This means that while he’s around during the day most days of the week, our house is often filled with people coming and going: clients stopping by during their lunch break; friends stopping by after work; neighbors popping over; family members visiting us for dinner or just stopping by unexpectedly because they know we’re usually around!
We also have two dogs, so there are usually toys strewn about our house, too–but hey, those are part of life too! If someone needs something from me while I’m busy working away in another part of the house than where they might expect me (such as upstairs), guess what? They can ask me directly 🙂
Conclusion
If you are searching and researching to start your own business, take the plunge! You’ll learn much about yourself and what it takes to run a successful enterprise. It can be challenging sometimes, but so many online resources can help guide you.
