Archive for the Category »Goal Setting «

To me, moms working at home are a great inspiration. Because of:

  • The sacrifices to spend more time nurturing their family.
  • The lessons being taught to the kids about planning, working, organizing, goal-setting, dreaming and so much more.
  • The chaos of being together so much.
  • The creativity and ingenuity to get things done.

I like to research, read and write. I like to talk about true home business opportunities. Those born of inspiration, perspiration (and maybe even a little desperation to make it work.)

There are plenty of people who talk about other stuff. The home business ideas with big headlines and large claims. I know some of it probably works. I know some of it probably only works for certain people. That’s OK.

Real passion, hobbies and interests of real people are more interesting to me. I’d rather choose to solve problems and share genuine ideas over searching out get rich today quick-fixes.

Why is Passion Important?

Ever wonder what the secret of successful moms working from home is? Do you think they know something you don’t? Do you think they just have more connections? Maybe you are sure they have better luck?

If I were to guess, I would guess that successful moms have a passion for their business.

  • It consumes them. They could work all night without a care.
  • They could talk about their business all the time.
  • They could make any stranger a friend by discussing the what’s and the why’s of what they do for their business.
  • The truly enjoy what they do.

Passion Turned into Starting a Home Based Business

What if you haven’t found anything in your life that you enjoy so much that you could start a business with it? Well, if you are serious about striking out on your own you have some work to do. These are my suggestions for finding a topic your are passionate about.

  1. Start with your hobbies. What do you like. Why do you like it. Get a piece of paper and come up with 30 ways you could make money from your hobby.  List silly ways, crazy ways, ways you have no idea how you would make them work. Come up with some ideas that seem outrageous.  Once your list is done, fold it up and put it away for a while.
  2. Head to the library and get yourself to the non-fiction section. Start wandering around. Pick out a few books. 4,5 or 6 about things that just sound interesting. It doesn’t matter if you know anything about them or not. Check them out and take them home. Read them if you enjoy reading and have the time to read. If not, then just start skimming them. Pull out a piece of paper and make another list of 30 ways to make money around these topics. Fold it up and put it with the first list.
  3. Try a new hobby. Learn it. Take a class. Have fun. Read some blogs about your new hobby.  Make a third list of 30 ways to make money. Put that list away.

Starting a business – moms working from home

So, now it has probably been a while. A few weeks or months have probably past. And you know what… while you have been busy learning new things your mind has continued to think about those lists you made with all the ideas about how to make money. I bet you’ve even found yourself thinking more often ‘hey, that could be a business’.

Now is the time to take action. Pick the idea that won’t go away. The scary idea even. I’ve heard once that the more scary something seems and the more you say to yourself  ‘There’s no way I could do THAT’, then that might be the right idea to pursue.

Start your business plan. Pick a start date. The ultimate goal (in my mind anyway) is to be an independent business owner. You control it. You control where you get your supplies. You control the pricing. You control your website, your blog, your advertising and your online store. Um…overwhelmed yet?

Why is this important?

In the end, you don’t want to be subject to someone else’s business policies. You don’t want changes decided by another person to negatively impact your business.

How did all those moms working from home learn everything they need to know?

Honestly, the ’school of hard knocks’ is a great teacher. And the only way to learn the lessons is to get started and take action on your business plan.

Second, find a small amount of positive resources you can trust. Your own mind can generate more than enough fear, anxiety, worry and doubt. The last thing you need is to read and participate and talk about those topics even more. I say get a small amount of resources (a nice blog, a favorite book, a friend, an online forum) because you don’t want to spend so much time talking that you aren’t doing!

Third, do you your own thing. Your intuition knows what is best and right or wrong for you. This is not a race. It is not a popularity contest. There is no right or wrong way to run a home business. There is YOUR WAY!

It is your passion and your business. Make it be what you want it to be.

In the end, as far as my passion goes,  I hope I can help a few moms stick on the path to their dreams like other moms working from home.

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You are contemplating trying your hand at working online. You’ve researched some ideas and there a couple that seem like they would work for your skills and interests. What’s next?

Start with asking yourself questions such as:  Does this business goal conflict with my family, or is it compatible?  Do I need to modify my original ideas?  Do I know enough about my business idea to make it work?  What information or training do I need?  Write your questions down and then answer them.  Think about them. more…

Every year more and more women decide to challenge themselves to accomplish personal goals.  For example, the percentage of women starting the own businesses continues to grow in number every year.  Goal setting for women has become an important and integral part of business and personal planning.

Juggling both family and business responsibilities is a huge challenge.  To succeed in both requires effective goal setting.  You will pay a price for not setting goals in both areas if you want to succeed in business. more…

The first thing we must do to effectively live our lives is to give some thought to what we want in life.  This is where goal setting comes into play.  We are not one-dimensional creatures.  We have many facets to ourselves.  We have, among others, private personal areas, relationship areas, family areas, business and career areas, financial and spiritual areas in our lives.  Each of these areas demands and needs our attention.

We have decisions to make in each of these areas.  Again, most of us drift through life wondering why we are getting nowhere.  This is why goal setting is so important.  To get the most out of life, we must give each of the above areas some serious thought. more…

Why is goal setting important in our lives?  The obvious answer is that if we don’t know where we want to go, then any destination will do. 

Whether we realize it or not, we are setting goals everyday.  Each day, from the moment we wake up, we are deciding what we are going to do with that day.  For the vast majority of us, we do this unconsciously.  We decide what to have for breakfast, what to wear, how to get to school or work on time, what we must accomplish that day, or just waste the day away watching television.  We make a lot of choices and set a lot of goals in the course of a day. more…

Now that you have evaluated your business skills and come up with a viable business idea, the next step in your goal setting is writing a business plan.  Your business plan will include the type of organizational structure that is best for you.  They range from a sole proprietorship to corporation structures. 

In your business plan goal setting you must also evaluate your tax implications, licenses, and insurance coverage.  Check your local chamber of commerce.  They will probably be able to point you in the right direction for getting the answers you need. more…

Starting a new business is not for the faint-hearted.  When you decide to start a business, you should be aware that it takes a tremendous amount of your time and energy.  This is where business goal setting will help you over the obstacles you will face. 

Planning and goal setting are essential elements that you must have in order to launch your new business.  Let’s take a look at what’s facing you as you begin a journey that can be both exciting and rewarding. more…