POP – How to Make Your Business Stand Out in a Crowded Market

By Barbara Bartlein

There’s an old saying, “be anything but boring.” Boring means not memorable, which translates into NO repeat business. Customers and colleagues must see your business as the premier resource in your field. Your business needs to be notable from competitors by product, brand, and customer service. If you are one of many, you will always be competing with others for business.

In a fascinating new book, “POP-Stand Out In Any Crowd,” author and award winning speaker, Sam Horn, shows you new ways to brainstorm, communicate ideas, and connect with customers, clients, and colleagues. It’s packed with concrete ideas to break away from the pack and stand out in your field. A great tool for entrepreneurs, business people, and authors, it delivers fresh ideas, new inspiration, and techniques that work.

Horn describes the W9 Form: nine key questions to clarify your purpose; The Eureka Moment: why people love to discover the Next New Thing; and the Jerry Maguire Test: five secrets to crafting a message that gets people at hello. She shows you how to coin original phrases so you are the expert and sole “go-to” resource in your field. Some other ideas from Horn:

• Think POP – Purposeful, Original, and Pithy messages. People today are BB – they’re busy and bored. They have a hundred things competing for their attention and they have seen and heard it all – or at least, they think they have. Your message has to resonate in the first few seconds with people or they will tune you out. POP messages pleasantly surprise people and capture their favorable attention in 15 seconds or less.
  
  
• The best way to corner a niche is to create a niche. And the best way to create a niche is to coin a word that belongs to you and you alone. That’s what Horn did with her book, Tongue Fu! (The verbal form of Kung Fu!) When you produce a trade-markable term, you don’t just have a clever title or phrase, you have the potential for a business empire.
  
  
• Identify what stops you in your tracks. Keep your antennae up for what grabs your attention. If it stops you in your tracks, it will be noticed by others, which sets you apart from the pack. Example? A book on punctuation became an international bestseller last year because author Lynn Truss didn’t give it a yawn-inducing name. She titled it after the punch line of a joke – Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.
  
  
• Don’t repeat cliché’s, re-arrange cliché’s. Trotting out tired expressions (such as, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”) sends the message that we don’t have anything new to add to the discussion. They elicit a “so what?” response and many people will roll their eyes and tune out. Rearrange cliché’s to give them a fresh look. For example, a dog walking service called their business, DogOn Fitness: “We’re more than just a walk around the block!”
  
  
• Aflac your business so they see what you’re saying. The Aflac insurance company had a difficult task, how to make people remember their name when it is basically just a string of letters. More importantly, why would people want to give their money to a firm when they don’t even know what the name means? Some brilliant marketing folks came up with the idea to equate Aflac with a duck. Now, because of their TV commercials and print ads featuring a duck quacking “Aflac,” the public associates that abstract business name with an adorable animal. Another insurance company did the same thing with similar success. What do you think of when you see the letters GEICO?
  
  
• Put your slogan in a beat that is easy to repeat. Craft your slogan or tagline to a distinctive rhythm that makes it stick in people’s brains, or even better, becomes a part of the popular culture. Remember the fast food commercials with the lady saying, “Where’s the beef?” It had a distinctive cadence that became very popular. Most people still remember that phrase. Think of a more recent example with Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” This trademark slogan has made its way into the popular culture. Do people remember your tagline?
  

For more ideas to make your business POP, check out www.SamHorn.com. Remember, if you are not the lead dog, all the scenery looks the same.

Barbara Bartlein, CSP is The People Pro and president of Great Lakes Consulting Group which helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953 or by email at barb@thepeoplepro.com. Visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Selling Vacant Homes

By Catherine Brown

Most people find it difficult to visualize the potential of a home – or make an emotional connection – when a property is vacant. That’s why builders showcase their new homes by having interior designers and decorators create an enticing model home. Unfortunately, this has given the inaccurate perception that decorating is the same as staging.

For a successful sale, buyers need to identify with the space and aspire to the lifestyle presented. The trick is to identify the demographic of buyers the property should appeal to, and then sell them the lifestyle they desire by using furniture and decorative accessories.

People don’t buy houses, they buy homes. Many properties on the market today are vacant – either due to a home owner’s death or because of job relocations. An Accredited Staging Professional, who can rent furniture and decorative accessories to sellers from their own inventory and/or rental sources, are filling a valuable niche in today’s real estate market.

Successful staging enhances a home’s selling features and merchandises the rooms for their intended use. An Accredited Staging Professional creates the appearance of a model suite in a resale property, turning a vacant space into a warm, inviting home.

Due to the popularity of HGTV shows, consumers are far more familiar with and interested in interior design trends. And the average Canadian buyer has higher standards when shopping for their next home.

Sellers mistakenly think that viewing an empty property will give buyers a better sense of available space, when actually it’s difficult to estimate the size of a room without furniture as a reference point.

An empty room allows buyers to focus on negative details instead of getting a sense of overall space. In oddly shaped vacant rooms, buyers must use their imagination to visualize furniture layouts.

The need to stage smaller properties with larger windows, such as condos, becomes more important where it can be tricky to gauge how furniture will fit. Newer condos may have higher ceilings, but they may also have smaller rooms; staging helps buyers envision themselves in the space and emotionally connect to it.

If you must vacate your home before a sale, don’t forget to leave some furnishings for viewings…or better yet, have your Accredited Staging Professional rent furniture to make it feel like home. After all, it can make a tremendous difference in how fast you sell…and for how much.

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Catherine E. Brown is an Accredited Staging Professional and owner of Staged to Move. Catherine is committed to helping clients sell their home for the best price in the least amount of time. She can be contacted at (519) 868-7171 or by email at catherine@stagedtomove.ca. Visit her Web site at www.stagedtomove.ca.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Home Financing Made Easy - Part One

By Bruce Smith

Buying a home could possibly be the biggest investment you'll ever make. Your ability to position yourself for the best mortgage will help you pay down this investment early and assist you in becoming mortgage free.

What Can I Afford?

When you begin the home shopping process it helps to know your purchasing power. Otherwise, you can easily waste time looking at homes priced above or below your means. Avoid disappointment by having your mortgage broker assist with a prequalification or formal lender pre-approval. The information that is factored into your financing equation includes:

• Income

• Credit history

• Amount of proposed down payment

• Total current debt

• Current interest rates

• Estimated taxes and heating cost

Once this information is assembled and reviewed, your mortgage broker will provide you with an idea of what you can afford. An application may be filed as a means of introducing you to the lender and indicating that a purchase and sale offer will be forthcoming.

You can visit the Future Group Mortgage Web site at www.futuregroup1.com for links to mortgage calculators, which will assist with the prequalification process.

Choosing the Mortgage Best Suited for Me

Today’s buyers have an unlimited financing options to choose from. If you are wondering which loan program is right for you, you’re not alone. The right loan depends on your family situation, finances, tolerance for risk, investment strategies, and how long you plan to own the home. Questions to consider are:

• Do I expect my current income to significantly change over the next five years?

• How much do I have for a down payment?

• Do I have family that can assist me if required?

• Can I tolerate possible increases in interest rates to achieve an overall lower rate over time, or would I sleep better with a fixed monthly payment?

• Do I want to pay off my mortgage quickly or would I prefer to take any extra money and direct it to other investments?

• Do I plan to move in the next five years?

Armed with this information, your mortgage broker will be able to direct you into the best mortgage product for your unique situation.

Read Part Two: Improving My Ability to Obtain a Mortgage

Read Part Three: Information Required at the Time of Application

Part Three coming in February 2007: Additional Costs Associated with Buying a Home in February

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Bruce Smith is a consultant with Future Group Mortgages and brings more than 20 years of business enterprise development and funding solutions, through an innovative and effective results driven approach. Bruce holds a Bachelor of Business Management Degree, double majoring in accounting/finance and enterprise development. Future Group Mortgages arranges residential, commercial, and construction mortgages. Contact Bruce at 519.649.2502 ext 3 or. bsmith@futuregroup.ca

Published in Networking Today, November, 2006

The Three C’s of Leadership

By Rich Fredricksen

We all grew up with the three R’s of basic learning, and we’ve all heard the three keys to success in business: location; location; location. In corporate circles, it’s the Three C’s of leadership that can make or break your company.

While every organization should have a framework for applied leadership, the Three C’s: clarity, confidence, and courage are the traits of superior leadership, and the traits that differentiate an individual as a superior leader. To execute at the highest levels, leaders must demonstrate the Three C’s.

Clarity…

The first and possibly most crucial of these is clarity. Clarity means understanding strategy and how to execute it. Clarity takes strategy from the abstract to the concrete, bringing into focus what must be done. It requires leaders to ask themselves tough questions: what results am I trying to achieve? What steps are necessary to achieve it? And the toughest question: how will I measure success…or failure?

When I help managers develop their execution skills, the first step – and usually the most painful step – is to ask these tough questions. The best managers have answers but many managers have never thought in these terms before. After all, the idea of measuring results can be nerve-wracking. But knowing what must be done and how to measure it is critically important to successful execution. Knowing what to do is only a portion of the equation. The majority of people believe the hard part is figuring out what to do and developing a plan to accomplish it, but the hard part is actually doing it.

Clarity is what allows leaders to optimally bring to bear the different skill sets and capabilities within their organization to meet the desired business outcome. Clarity can only result if you have enabled thought, allowing you to simplify and focus. Leaders with clarity are able to engage the organization around plans and objectives, have clear, unambiguous expectations and path forward, and communicate in simple terms that people can take action against.

Confidence…

Great leaders must have confidence in his or her team to accomplish the desired goal. Confidence is developed by coaching teams through a challenge and support model ensuring plans are rigorous and thorough. Then they can implement processes and systems that reinforce discipline of thought and action. Confident leaders are those who begin with well thought out and challenged plans and approaches. They maintain a positive attitude and build committed teams, and have a consistent ability to overcome obstacles and deliver desired outcomes.

Courage…

Demonstration of the first two C’s is useless without the third. Courage – business courage – is necessary to simplify a complex world and commit to the right four initiatives, rather than ten, hoping two will succeed. Courage requires a trust in your principles of execution that will lead to a true clarity of what needs to be done, and the confidence that the organization can accomplish it. Demonstrating this kind of courage will entail a personal risk for the leader but will differentiate him or her from their peers because it will create a focus that is guaranteed to deliver results. “Strategy equals execution,” said Colin Powell, “all the great ideas and visions in the world are worthless if they can’t be implemented rapidly and efficiently.” Great leaders make great companies. And great leadership can be built by using clarity, confidence, and courage – the Three C’s of leadership – to bridge the gap between strategy and results through execution.

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Rich Fredricksen is founder and principal of the Paiva•Fredricksen Group, whose Strong•Leader Execution System is designed for organizations who wish to improve and sustain their ability to execute. The system aligns and focuses organizations, builds efficient governance and decision making processes, and works in the trenches to improve people, processes and results. www.strongleader.com

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Is Your Résumé Only Doing Half Its Job?

By Barb Smith

In the job search process, your résumé is often your only point of contact with a potential employer; your only opportunity to convince that company that you are worthy of their consideration. Therefore, your résumé deserves the time and effort it takes to get it to a point where it is capable of doing its job – getting you an interview!

Many people begin the résumé writing process with the assumption that the best way to impress a potential employer is to showcase all the responsibilities they’ve held. I can’t tell you how many résumés I’ve read that existed of line after line of “responsible for….” What does this tell the reader? That you’ve had a lot of responsibilities – that’s it. It doesn’t explain how you carried out those responsibilities – and whether or not you did them well. When writing your résumé, a better way to impress a potential employer is to showcase all you’ve accomplished that relates to that employer’s needs. This requires two things:

1. An understanding of the employer’s needs:

This means doing your research…and you have a few options:

• Search the company on the Internet. Don’t just read the company’s Web site, search out articles and information on other sites as well.

• Tap into your network to find someone who works or has worked or knows someone who works for that company. Talking with someone who works for the company can provide you with lots of useful information.

• Re-introduce yourself to your local library. Tell the librarian what you are interested in learning more about and you will likely be flooded with resource materials.

2. An understanding of your own accomplishments:

Bear in mind that there is a difference between a responsibility and an accomplishment. A responsibility is a duty you are charged with carrying out and are (hopefully) being held accountable for. An accomplishment is an action you have taken that yielded a positive result for the company. For example, you may be responsible for collecting past due accounts. Implementing a system of past due letters, invoice copies, and regular follow-up calls that resulted in a reduction of past due amounts by 45% would be an accomplishment.

A résumé that cites accomplishments is far more powerful than a résumé that simply lists responsibilities. The extra work is time well spent. When those accomplishments match with employer’s needs, you can expect an invitation to interview.

---

Barb Smith is a professional Job Search Coach in London, Ontario who applies the employer’s perspective when helping individuals find satisfying jobs with a minimum of stress and frustration. For more information, contact Barb at 519.691.0218 or email barb@barbsmithjobsearchcoach.ca. www.BarbSmithJobSearchCoach.ca

Resiliency Part II: Ten Ways To Build Resiliency

By Karen Susman

See Part I: Resiliency: Seven Traits of People Who Bounce Back from Stress

1. Make connections: Don't be isolated. It's easy in our busy world to get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, rinse, and repeat. Even houses are designed with the garage in front so you can punch the garage door opener and slide into seclusion without ever greeting a neighbor. To build resilience, build a network of support. No matter how long it's been since you've contacted friends, it's okay to give them a call. Sit on your stoop, if you have one, and greet your neighbors. Walk your neighborhood and say, "Hi." Get a dog. Believe me, there is no greater social lubricant than a furry canine on the end of a leash.
   
   

2. Reframe crisis and challenge as surmountable. Instead of catastrophysing, get into a problem solving, action mode. Reflect on your past abilities to surmount challenges. Use those same skills again.
   
   

3. Accept that change is the only thing you can count on. Rigidity will break you like a tree in a hurricane. Expect change. Learn to live with ambiguity. As Garrison Keillor said, "Give me ambiguity or give me something else."
   
   

4. Move toward your goals even if you just take tiny steps. Curves, my favorite exercise emporium, is encouraging members to get a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day. Prizes are involved. Drat! That pedometer starts at zero. The only way I can get to the 10, 000 steps is by putting one foot in front of the other. Every day, I start at zero and step, step, step.
   
   

5. Take action. Make decisions. Not deciding sends us into a state of anxiety-filled paralysis. Decide something. If you've made the wrong decision, you'll find out soon enough and you can fix it. Many decisions are not right or wrong. They just lead to different consequences.
   
   

6. Keep learning and discovering things about the world and yourself. Curiosity and learning are life affirming. They also give you a sense of control over your life. Surprises are reduced by awareness and knowledge.
   
   

7. Develop confidence in your ability to handle things. I always figure if I can deliver two children, I can handle anything.
   
   

8. Step back and check your perspective. Each person has his own reality. It's possible that if you step back and examine your reality, you might get a fresh perspective that can help you manage challenges. Many times we don't realize that we have choices, and not just one or two.
   
   

9. Remain hopeful. Give yourself a pep talk. Hang out with positive people.
   
   

10. Take care of yourself physically and mentally. Take at least as good care of yourself as you do of your car.

Resiliency can be learned. But, knowledge is not practice and practice is not knowledge. Practice resiliency until you believe you are resilient.

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Karen Susman is a Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author of 102 Top Dog Networking Secrets. Karen works with organizations that want to maximize performance. Programs include Humour at Work; Balance In Life; Networking Skills; Presentation Skills; and Building Community Involvement. Order new guidebooks on humour, networking, time management, and community involvement by calling 1-888-678-8818 or e-mail Karen@KarenSusman.com.. www.KarenSusman.com.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

POP – How to Make Your Business Stand Out in a Crowded Market

By Barbara Bartlein

There’s an old saying, “be anything but boring.” Boring means not memorable, which translates into NO repeat business. Customers and colleagues must see your business as the premier resource in your field. Your business needs to be notable from competitors by product, brand, and customer service. If you are one of many, you will always be competing with others for business.

In a fascinating new book, “POP-Stand Out In Any Crowd,” author and award winning speaker, Sam Horn, shows you new ways to brainstorm, communicate ideas, and connect with customers, clients, and colleagues. It’s packed with concrete ideas to break away from the pack and stand out in your field. A great tool for entrepreneurs, business people, and authors, it delivers fresh ideas, new inspiration, and techniques that work.

Horn describes the W9 Form: nine key questions to clarify your purpose; The Eureka Moment: why people love to discover the Next New Thing; and the Jerry Maguire Test: five secrets to crafting a message that gets people at hello. She shows you how to coin original phrases so you are the expert and sole “go-to” resource in your field. Some other ideas from Horn:

• Think POP – Purposeful, Original, and Pithy messages. People today are BB – they’re busy and bored. They have a hundred things competing for their attention and they have seen and heard it all – or at least, they think they have. Your message has to resonate in the first few seconds with people or they will tune you out. POP messages pleasantly surprise people and capture their favorable attention in 15 seconds or less.
  
  

• The best way to corner a niche is to create a niche. And the best way to create a niche is to coin a word that belongs to you and you alone. That’s what Horn did with her book, Tongue Fu! (The verbal form of Kung Fu!) When you produce a trade-markable term, you don’t just have a clever title or phrase, you have the potential for a business empire.
  
  

• Identify what stops you in your tracks. Keep your antennae up for what grabs your attention. If it stops you in your tracks, it will be noticed by others, which sets you apart from the pack. Example? A book on punctuation became an international bestseller last year because author Lynn Truss didn’t give it a yawn-inducing name. She titled it after the punch line of a joke – Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.
  
  

• Don’t repeat cliché’s, re-arrange cliché’s. Trotting out tired expressions (such as, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”) sends the message that we don’t have anything new to add to the discussion. They elicit a “so what?” response and many people will roll their eyes and tune out. Rearrange cliché’s to give them a fresh look. For example, a dog walking service called their business, DogOn Fitness: “We’re more than just a walk around the block!”
  
  

• Aflac your business so they see what you’re saying. The Aflac insurance company had a difficult task, how to make people remember their name when it is basically just a string of letters. More importantly, why would people want to give their money to a firm when they don’t even know what the name means? Some brilliant marketing folks came up with the idea to equate Aflac with a duck. Now, because of their TV commercials and print ads featuring a duck quacking “Aflac,” the public associates that abstract business name with an adorable animal. Another insurance company did the same thing with similar success. What do you think of when you see the letters GEICO?
  
  

• Put your slogan in a beat that is easy to repeat. Craft your slogan or tagline to a distinctive rhythm that makes it stick in people’s brains, or even better, becomes a part of the popular culture. Remember the fast food commercials with the lady saying, “Where’s the beef?” It had a distinctive cadence that became very popular. Most people still remember that phrase. Think of a more recent example with Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” This trademark slogan has made its way into the popular culture. Do people remember your tagline?

For more ideas to make your business POP, check out www.SamHorn.com. Remember, if you are not the lead dog, all the scenery looks the same.

---

Barbara Bartlein, CSP is The People Pro and president of Great Lakes Consulting Group which helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953 or by email at barb@thepeoplepro.com. Visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Is Your Résumé Only Doing Half Its Job?

By Barb Smith

In the job search process, your résumé is often your only point of contact with a potential employer; your only opportunity to convince that company that you are worthy of their consideration. Therefore, your résumé deserves the time and effort it takes to get it to a point where it is capable of doing its job – getting you an interview!

Many people begin the résumé writing process with the assumption that the best way to impress a potential employer is to showcase all the responsibilities they’ve held. I can’t tell you how many résumés I’ve read that existed of line after line of “responsible for….” What does this tell the reader? That you’ve had a lot of responsibilities – that’s it. It doesn’t explain how you carried out those responsibilities – and whether or not you did them well.

When writing your résumé, a better way to impress a potential employer is to showcase all you’ve accomplished that relates to that employer’s needs. This requires two things:

1. An understanding of the employer’s needs:
   
   This means doing your research…and you have a few options:
   
   
   • Search the company on the Internet. Don’t just read the company’s Web site, search out articles and information on other sites as well.
     
     
   • Tap into your network to find someone who works or has worked or knows someone who works for that company. Talking with someone who works for the company can provide you with lots of useful information.
     
     
   • Re-introduce yourself to your local library. Tell the librarian what you are interested in learning more about and you will likely be flooded with resource materials.
   
   
2. An understanding of your own accomplishments:
   
   Bear in mind that there is a difference between a responsibility and an accomplishment. A responsibility is a duty you are charged with carrying out and are (hopefully) being held accountable for. An accomplishment is an action you have taken that yielded a positive result for the company. For example, you may be responsible for collecting past due accounts. Implementing a system of past due letters, invoice copies, and regular follow-up calls that resulted in a reduction of past due amounts by 45% would be an accomplishment.
   

A résumé that cites accomplishments is far more powerful than a résumé that simply lists responsibilities. The extra work is time well spent. When those accomplishments match with employer’s needs, you can expect an invitation to interview.

Barb Smith is a professional Job Search Coach in London, Ontario who applies the employer’s perspective when helping individuals find satisfying jobs with a minimum of stress and frustration. For more information, contact Barb at 519.691.0218 or email barb@barbsmithjobsearchcoach.ca. www.BarbSmithJobSearchCoach.ca

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Things Your Customers Never Want to Hear

By Nancy Friedman, The Telephone Doctor

Customer service plays such an important role in business today. No one will ever argue that.

What they will argue about though, is how companies treat customers — and how their staff communicates with them. Believe me, some of the horror stories that I hear — let alone what happens to me personally — are beyond anyone’s imagination!

Over the years, Telephone Doctor has created a list of things that your customers never ever want to hear. We’ve put them into our best-selling DVD program, "Five Forbidden Phrases."

These phrases (along with many others I'm sure) are guaranteed to turn customers off and rush them to the competition. And yet, customers hear these words day after day, time and again.

Here’s a sneak preview of one of them — the worst one:

"I don’t know."

That’s it. Looks harmless, doesn’t it? Yet, it drives customers up the wall and will drive them away from your company. To ask a simple question about your company or product and get a bland, "I don’t know" is inexcusable. I know what you’re thinking; "I’m new and I really don’t know. What do I say instead?"

Being new does not give you carte blanche to be bland. Use our positive alternatives instead. "I don’t know" sounds like "I don’t care" and rejection to the customer. Positive alternatives are readily available and in this case, it’s a simple one.

Let’s say you’ve been asked something about a product and you have no idea what the customer is talking about. The problem is someone has asked you something you don’t have the answer to. It will happen to everyone at one time or another. It’s not an age thing; we simply blank out or lose the information.

The key is to stop before you answer. Think. Then pick up the Telephone Doctor’s positive alternative:

"Gee, Mr. Customer, that’s a very good question, let me check and find out for you."

You can find out. There’s very little about your company that you aren’t able to find for someone. It may not be right away; but we also have found that most questions don’t need an answer as soon as we ask it.

So, be sure to also ask "and, Mr. Customer, when did you need that information?"

I did have one lady come up to me and tell me she always tells the customer "I don’t know, but I’ll find out." You can use that, but those of us in the training area know that "BUT" is the big eraser word. It erases everything you say afterwards. Besides, at Telephone Doctor, we prefer to start our sentences in the positive, rather than the negative. Simply put, Telephone Doctor is a language of positive statements at the top of the conversation.

So... "I don’t know" is now a forbidden phase if you’ve read this article. Catch yourself when you say it and use the Telephone Doctor’s positive alternative.

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Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the website at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006

Running a Home Based Business …is not always a Bed of Roses

By Yvonne Weld

Every rose has its thorns…and that’s true in the garden and in business. Starting a home-based business requires skill in navigating the thorns you encounter as your business begins to grow.

I began researching home based businesses because of the advantages that working from home afforded me: making my own hours, staying home with my children, and taking take time off when I wanted and not when the “holiday schedule” allowed for it. I viewed entrepreneurship through “rose-colored glasses” and didn’t see the thorns associated with owning my own business.

Loneliness

There isn’t a “water cooler” in my home office and my cat never sticks around long enough to talk about who was voted off the island last night on my favourite reality show. Isolation is one of the largest struggles that the home-based entrepreneur faces.

The realization they are now a “one man show” can be overwhelming. The best way to overcome feelings of loneliness and isolation is to join online forums. Also, make sure to get out of the office and attend networking events. If you thrive on interaction with others, this may be a thorn you cannot get past and opening a home-based business may not be a good choice for you.

Misconceptions of Others

Some people think that entrepreneurs sit around with their feet up eating bon-bons all day. When someone finds a way to make money doing that – let me know! I can’t count the times someone has asked me to volunteer on a committee or waste time talking about their favourite soap opera all because they think I’m not REALLY working.

When you start your home based business you will spend a lot of time explaining to others what your job entails, including the hours you plan to work. When others respect that you are serious about your business and its success you’ve successfully removed this thorn.

Separating Personal from Business

Balancing personal life and business life is challenging for many entrepreneurs that work from home. If you have a family it becomes even “stickier.” It is important to ensure that your family sees that you are dedicated to your work when you are at work and you are dedicated to your family when you are at home.

It is vital to schedule family time and business time. I stay away from my office during scheduled family time and focus on my business during business time – the laundry will wait until after hours. Caller ID and call display are wonderful tools to ensure personal phone calls don’t become a thorn in your side.

Billable Time vs. Non-billable Time

The biggest hurdle (or thorn) for many home-based entrepreneurs to overcome is a “paycheck” mentality. Even though you’re working a forty-hour week, you’re not getting paid for forty hours. You need time to market your business and keep both your clients and the government happy.

While you can hire professionals to assist you, it is important to budget for non-billable time.

Before you decide to take the leap from the corporate world to opening a home-based business, stop and smell the roses. If you’ve identified all the “thorns” involved, you’re less likely to get pricked when you reach out to grab one. Take an honest look within yourself and decide if you have what it takes to navigate the thorns and bloom into a successful entrepreneur.

Yvonne Weld is the owner of ABLE Virtual Assistant Services (www.ableva.com), which offers administrative assistance to “solopreneurs.” At ABLE Virtual Assistant Services, we take care of the details of your business so that you can use your time effectively and wisely.

Published in Networking Today, December, 2006