Top 5 Home Based Business Mistakes I made in 2009

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} As an entrepreneur of any type I think it is important to look back over the previous year and learn from the mistakes that were made and the key factors that deterred growth. For the sake of argument, an entrepreneur in this case is anyone who writes their own paycheck or determines through their own efforts what they will be paid. I try not to dwell on external factors. It is too easy to blame the sour economy. To do so has become cliché. And since we can’t control those factors we must really examine what internal factors we can control and go from there. I can blame others for telling me “no” or “you can’t do that” or “no one ever does it that way”.  But I refuse to blame those people and know that just because no one does it that way doesn’t mean it can’t be done. So here is the list. Since I called it a “Top 5” each item needs to be numbered, but they are not ranked in any particular order. #5: Spending too much time on getting ready to get ready. This is a habit I have always had and while I have learned to limit the “getting ready”, I still fall into the trap and it sponges up a lot of valuable time. What did I do to overcome the habit? I scheduled out my day leaving room for “getting ready” time. I recognized the “getting ready” for what it is: procrastination. I have learned to put it at the end of the day. I now procrastinate my procrastination and find myself excited to get to the next day’s work and hit the ground running when I sit down at my desk. #4: Spending too much money on stuff that sounded good, but didn’t work. When I started my home based business this year I looked at a lot of different so-called solutions. I listened to a lot of sales pitches and gave too many of them consideration and then bought some of them that provided mediocre results. I did this in real estate and did it in stock trading and do it today in my home based business. In the end, a couple of things were true money wasters. I’m not saying they wouldn’t work for anyone. They just didn’t work for me because I didn’t utilize them. I’m not going to identify them here, but here is what I will do differently: I will do more research on the product I buy. I will ask for referrals and ask more questions and refuse to give into the pitch. One of my favorite sales movies is “Boiler Room”. There’s a great line in that movie that is delivered by Ben Afflect’s character. “A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can't. Either way a sale is made, the only question is who is gonna close? You or him?” Keep in mind…whoever tries to sell you something, no matter how nice they are or how convincing they might be, do your due diligence before saying yes. A Google search can save you thousands of dollars on a service or product. You can be the one who closes that sales person. #3: Not giving myself enough quiet time everyday. I used to do this. I got away from it when my kids came along (See #2). The irony is that you need quiet time most when you are too busy to find time to be alone. I suggest reading or listening to Earl Nightingale on this subject. Here is what quiet time can be: A time of reflection. It is a period of time with eyes closed and your mind open to any idea that comes. It includes a note book or pad of paper to write down thoughts for future reference. I don’t mean a journal, but rather a brainstorm book. I look back on mine and look at some of the goofy stuff I thought up and some of the gems. There is nothing too goofy to write down. Don’t be self conscience. In a field of goofy stuff you will find the gems. What is goofy today might be a gem tomorrow. Also, I visualize how the day is going to go and I am usually not disappointed when I compare my visualization to the actualization. It could be prayer… If I have plans to meet with or talk to someone I pray for them, the conversation, their heart and mind. #2: Letting my family get in the way of work. OK. I know this sounds cold and why did I decide to work from home if I can’t be with family? To be a leader, to be successful, one has to set priorities and schedules and have the discipline to stick to them. I am talking more about using family as an excuse not to get stuff done. I love my family to death and they have their demands that I am willing to accept. But they also know that I have a job to do. If the demands for attention are too much at home, I pack up my laptop and find my favorite coffee shop to pilfer wireless access from. #1: Not showing up! I spent most of December pretty much checked out. You know what I found out? I’m not alone. Most people check out in December. I learned a long time ago that December can be hugely successful if you just stay in the game. When I sold real estate in Michigan, the market would grind to a halt after Thanksgiving and stay in a deep valley until January. Most of the agents checked out, either mentally or geographically. When the leaders took off for the winter I would dig in and make sales. I became a sales leader for a few months out of the year for that reason. I didn’t apply that this year and I am suffering for it now. What to do now? Dwell on these things? No. I will just shake my head and not look back. I will print this out and keep it posted above my desk so I don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. I will keep moving forward and follow the examples of Robert Kiyosaki and Dale Carnegie and keep an eye on the fundamentals of an internet based business. Dave Noyes is a recovering real estate agent who now has time to eat breakfast with his kids. He enjoys teaching others strategies to fill their sales funnel with leads using inexpensive and free solutions offered on the internet. He is getting ready to launch his newer and better website, davenoyesonline.com, and can be followed on Twitter: www.twittter.com/davenoyesblog.