Balancing Work and Home
Work is addicting...and more so when your computer is your office or shop! And while you spend hour upon hour to network with other netpreneurs and provide online customer services to your clients, you tend to neglect a dozen odd household jobs.
Hours seem to fly by when work online. As for your household duties, with great effort, you just take care of the most basic ones like fixing dinner, driving your kids to school etc.
Cleaning, Organizing, Buying Groceries, paying your bills, going to the post office etc. are postponed till the last hour. So how do your balance your work along with your home?
There are two important steps to do this. First, make yourself realize the fact that you HAVE TO take some time out for your home and there is no excuse in the world to avoid that.
Secondly, start organizing your available time. Here are some quick steps to help you balance your work as well as your home.
1. Divide available hours between your home and your work diligently.
2. Set timers when you are working online.
3. Maintain a 'To Do' list or a diary.
4. Picture yourself going through the troubles of paying your bills later than allowed.
5. Set aside some time for all those jobs which require you to go outside. For e.g. going to the market, post office, bank etc. Try to coincide these with each other. Say, for example, you could take care of these after driving your kids to school.
6. Make up your mind and start some kind of organizing/ decorating/ renovating activity around your house. These are so addicting that once you start, you will enjoy yourself a lot.
7. Similarly, take up your favorite hobby in the afternoon. You will love the change and enjoy getting creative.
8. Plan weekly activities. Take up cleaning once a week. Go for outings once a week. Call upon a friend once a week. This will help you maintain your social life as well.
9. Surf the net for information related to a hobby. This will get you started with that hobby and also give you the much needed break from work.
10. Surf the web with your hubby or children. Show them websites of their interest. That way, you will also get to spend more time with them.
Just like the old saying - 'You Eat to Live, You do not Live to Eat', I'll say
'You Work to Live, You do not Live to Work'. It's no use being successful on the cost of your home and your family.
The 'Dot Com Women' of today are not women who stay online for hours with a guilt feeling on the back of their minds. They are women with a strong desire to succeed in their personal and professional lives. And you are one of them! That's why you chose to read this, isn't it?
Good Luck with your efforts to striking a balance between your work and your home!
About the Author
Lata Tokhi is the Founder and Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women's website and fast-growing online community, and Celebrating Christmas, a resource for celebrating Christmas in style. Visit her websites for lots of homemaking and business ideas, free downloads, free Ezines and message boards for women to network and share.
The 34 Components Necessary When Starting a Business
by Gloria J. Little
When you have the following all taken care of, your business plan will be much easier to write. People struggle unnecessarily with a business plan because they don’t have all of these components covered or has not even considered they.
1. Mission Statement (What is it you want to accomplish?) Yes. all businesses need one.
2. What is your experience in the business you are starting? (Write it down)
3. What is the location of your business? (Is it on the web? (Then say so)
4. What is your product or service? (Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many products)
5. How much will you charge for your products or services? (Check the competition)
6.What is your market? (Who will be purchasing this product or service? Do your homework)
7. How will you advertise or market your product or service? (Do you know the
difference between advertising and marketing?)
8. What supplies will you need and where will you get these supplies from?
9. What have you calculated to be your startup costs?
10. What have you accomplished to date?
11. What is your merchandise policy? (Is there a money back guarantee?)
12. What will space cost? (On the web or in reality)
13. Who are your competitors? (Have you studied them? If not, how can you compete?)
14. Who is your management? (Who is responsible for everything being organized?)
15. Will there be security? (Even on the web it’s necessary)
16. What is your merchandise return policy?
17. What is your plan of action? (What will you do next?)
18. What equipment and office supplies will you need?
19. What are you cash budget forecast?
20. Will you need a loan?
21. Exact use of the monies borrowed.
22. Repayment schedule of monies borrowed. (Make it realistic)
23. Taxes/Licenses if necessary.
24. Investors. (Do you have any?)
25. Statement of financial need. (For the benefit of the investors)
26. What are your references? (List them)
27. Prepaid expenses, what are they?
28. Cash reserve (Emergency money for emergencies only, not a shopping spree)
29. Application for funds. (Where will you get the money from?)
30. Sources of funds.
31. Deposits.
32. Funds statement.
33. Administrative expenses. (Always pay yourself last.)
34. It’s always good to have insurance.
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Article © Dot Com Women. Visit Dot Com Women for articles and tips on every aspect of a woman's life. Beauty, Fashion, Crafts, Decorating, Business, Finance, Parenting, Weddings, Travel, Organizing, Cooking, Entertaining, Message Forums and much more. http://www.dotcomwomen.com
What Women in Business Want
By Lata Tokhi (Founder, DCW)
The number of women doing business is going to amaze you. It is predicted that by the year 2005, 40% of all firms will be woman-owned.
What is it that drives women into business? A lot of things, probably. But a few commonly known are financial security, additional income, sense of achievement, productive accomplishments etc.
Once into business, Women part ways with their male counterparts. Their ways, their means and even their goals take a different path. They are
hardly interested in the usual clichés of 'Hardcore Business Tactics' like Professional Ethics, Business Etiquettes, Corporate-Wars and the stuff, if
stretched beyond a line.
A Woman in business cannot derive any satisfaction from stealing away business from a fellow business owner. Much less will be her satisfaction in drawing attention to her business by cold advertising or bad-mouthing a competitor.
Why so? Because this is NOT what a women wants from her business! This is not what she believes will help her business! If you are of the opinion that steady sales will put a business woman's mind to rest, you've got it wrong. Nor can a big, one-time deal do that. Some green bucks may bring temporary happiness and comfort, but definitely not what a woman seeks in order to keep her business going great guns.
Then, what is it that a woman wants? If not money, steady sales, exposure to public - WHAT ELSE? Here's the answer to this age-old stumper - Relationships!
It's Relationships, long-lasting business and semi-personal relationships that spell the success of a woman-owned business. It is only when she develops strong business relationships and a satisfactory level of networking, that she is assured of a good footing for her business. She is assured that these relationships will help her when nothing else is working for her business.
If you are a business woman, it is possible that you have still not realized what you exactly want. But, some more time, experience and meditation upon this subject will bring you to the same conclusion - that you are looking for Relationships! Relationships with your clients, fellow business owners and even competitors will be the strength your business will be based upon.
Start building relationships this very moment. Do an 'extra little thing' for your clients, know your competitors, mix-up with fellow business women. Some places to start are
http://www.dotcomwomen.com/forumshttp://www.internetbasedmoms.com/bbhttp://www.mothersworkathome.com/phpbb2
Keep in mind that WOMEN WANT RELATIONSHIPS! Network with other women, make your clients feel special, love your competitors and before you know, your business starts thriving on relationships.
Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Take The Plunge Into Starting A Business
by Gloria J. Little
So you truly believe that you are able to have a business. Why, because others have one? Or because you think you would be good at it. So did I until I failed for the first three times. Then, I got a clue. Business doesn’t just happen!!!
Before you make that move into what may be the worst idea you have ever had in life, take the following test for success. Be honest with you because it is you who will be made or broken in the process.
1. Are you organized or do you have to try to remember where your house keys are on a daily basis?
2. Do you have personal drive or do you have to be persuaded to change the channel on the TV?
3. Are you a leader or do you have trouble getting your pet to go outside?
4. How is your health? Do you get a cold when there is a 1-degree change in the weather?
5. Are you able to maintain for long hours? Or will your place of business close at noon, because you are so tired?
6. Are you mentally UP for the challenge?
7. Are you prepared for the risk involved?
8. Are you prepared to wait several months for your first prophet?
9. What is your reason for wanting to start a business?
10. Is your business your passion?
11. Who are your customers outside of your immediate circle of influence?
12. What are the demographics of your customer base?
13. Do you have the expertise you need in the business you want to start?
14. How are you going to sell what you have at a price that will return an adequate profit for you?
15. Can you obtain the necessary funds you will need to start and keep the business running without getting into a cash flow problem?
16. Do you think and plan ahead?
17. Do you have a business plan?
18. Do you know the difference between marketing, promoting and advertising?
19. Who is advising you?
20. Start writing out your plan.
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Article © Dot Com Women. Visit Dot Com Women for articles and tips on every aspect of a woman's life. Beauty, Fashion, Crafts, Decorating, Business, Finance, Parenting, Weddings, Travel, Organizing, Cooking, Entertaining, Message Forums and much more. http://www.dotcomwomen.com
Essential Factors for Success in BusinessBy Lata Tokhi (Founder, DCW)
Business is not only about money. Money may be the lubricant which makes all parts function with ease, but there are other factors also which spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S for business.
1. Knowledge - Knowledge of what you are doing is essential for every business. Even if your neighbor is making millions manufacturing a certain product, you cannot follow his footsteps if you do not have the knowledge of manufacturing that product.
Even if you pay an expert to get the job done, you need to have some knowledge to be able to supervise your employee's work.
2. Experience - 'Knowledge is a lifeless body; Experience is it's soul.' Without experience, knowledge is useless. Take this example of Swimming. You can read the best books available and gain a lot of knowledge on Swimming and still not be able to swim! The same holds true for business.
When I learnt HTML, it seemed the easiest thing to design websites because I had all the knowledge required. But my ego got a nice brush-off when I designed my first website. After that, it was a race for gaining experience with every website that I designed. And believe me, no book has ever taught me what my own experiences have taught!
3. Team Selection - Together Each Achieves Most! A good team makes all the difference. Each one in your team should be an expert in his work. DO NOT hire a person who does not know his job well, simply because he is cheaper. Do not compromise on the quality of your work.
Small business owners may find it difficult to hire a specialized personnel. The least you can do is to make sure the person has some knowledge of what you expect him to do.
4. Attitude towards Wealth Creation - Wealth Creation and Profit Making are the objectives of doing any business activity. Nevertheless, they should not be given more attention than your business activity itself.
Get this clear. If you do your job sincerely, you will make profit. On the contrary, if you focus only on wealth creation and profit making, your work will suffer, you might look for shortcuts and 'get-rich-quick' schemes and you will neither make profits, nor create wealth.
Work hard. Put your soul into what you do. Just take good care of your work and your work will take care of your profits and wealth.
ADVERTISING ON WEB- DO's AND DONT's
Advertising your business in the correct manner is a sure shot key to success. Advertising helps you to reach out to a larger number of people from other websites. You definitely cannot expect these many people to come to you on their own.
But Advertising is very, very COSTLY! And if you don't watch out, you may actually be going broke after paying your advertising bills, if your ads do not generate revenue. So, you should make sure you get value for your money.
With my own experiences in this field, I have drawn up some questions for Webmasters who are new to the field of Website Marketing. Take a good look at them EVERY TIME you make your advertising plan.
* Where are you placing the ad? Are you selecting the right kind of medium? It won't pay to place ads on websites when you have a business of an essentially local nature. A newsletter or an ezine catering to the needs of locals of your area will be a better choice. And better still, do not advertise on Websites and Newsletters just because everybody else is doing it. Ask yourself strictly- Do I really need to advertise online? Perhaps you will get better results by sponsoring a local event or a press release.
* What kind of ad are you placing? A Banner, a button, text? A banner ad may be the best when it is to be placed on the top of middle of a page. But, when your ad is going to be placed on a page which has too many other banner ads, a simple text ad will bring you more attention.
Even attractively designed buttons on the side-menus generate a lot of clicks.
* Who is going to read it? Is this the TARGET AUDIENCE you wish to reach out to? It is very important to obtain the demographics of people visiting a certain website or reading a newsletter or ezine. By Demographics, I mean classification of visitors/subscribers according to their age, sex, occupation, interests, hobbies etc. That way, you can be sure that the people who will see your ad will buy your products/services. For e.g., for someone who is selling an e-book on Candle-Making, the best place to advertise will be Websites related to crafts & hobbies, WAHM's, online gift-shops etc. And the last thing you should ever do is place your ad for 'a dollar a week' at a website which has no records of its visitors to offer. I am sure you can spend that dollar on something better.
* What does your ad say? Is your message to the point? A stylish banner saying 'BOB's Place' can never persuade ME, at least, to click on it. On the other hand, if it says 'BOB's Place- The ultimate choice for Free Webmaster Tools', I'll definitely find myself clicking on it to see what he has to offer. In short, viewers do not have all the time in the world to surf the net by clicking on whatever they see. And those who do, are mostly those looking for Free Stuff, who will NEVER spend a penny. You don't want to attract them, do you? It would help if you add a plain description of what your website is about, or a special holiday offer, or what's different about your product etc. In any case, please DO MENTION your product or service.
* Is your ad compelling enough? Would it make YOU click on it? Does the content make you curious enough to care to click on it to find out more? The best way to do this is to research. How do I do that, you ask? Well, it's very easy actually. For at least a week, whenever YOU click on an ad, save the text or the graphic to your hard disk. At the end of the week, go through them and try to find out WHAT made you click them. Was it the way they created a suspense, was it the Prices or was it unbelievable Offer they made? Then, gather together, what you liked best and try to mould it to suit your product/service. Don't lift words off somebody else's ad. Just pick up the idea behind it and get creative and form the outline of your own ad.
A few other things to keep in mind are to use Well-Made graphics ONLY. There is nothing worse than a badly done banner that affects your goodwill and it will be worthwhile to spend money on a good banner that you can use forever. Another thing is to ALWAYS compare prices of various websites or ezines keeping in mind what THEY offer you. Keep in mind the traffic, demography and click-through rate before you decide who's offering the best deal. More often than you think, you will realize that a website who is charging $10 more than the other is probably giving you TWICE the number of viewers for your ad! So, play smart and get the best value for your money.