Challenge #1 - Growing Too Fast and Not Being Prepared I hear this all the time, "Oh, I wish I had that problem." But honestly, you don't. It can affect your entire business if you get too busy too soon and haven't prepared adequately for it. Or even those already established in business, if they suddenly get a rush of work or orders and don't have a back-up system in place. It can be devastating not only for your business, but for you as well. You need to be prepared for this.
Challenge #2 - Bookkeeping So many want to run a business, yet they don't want to do the business and bookkeeping aspect of it. They enjoy the selling or the working part of their business, but don't enjoy the business nuts and bolts part. This can be a challenge in your business, but it's crucial to do and once you get things set up, can be done easily. Start from day one and regularly keep everything going.
Challenge #3' Out of Town Guests I live in Florida and this has truly been one of my biggest challenges over the past 23 years. I absolutely love having company in town and getting the opportunity to see relatives. However, it can be draining on my business and me, especially if they stay with you during their visit. It can upset your entire schedule of work and family, and also a lot of times they are here for fun and don't understand that you still have a business to run. It's hard for them to realize that you are working. When you are out of the home at an office, you aren't physically there. However, when you are in the other room, it's a different story. When I wrote my first book, Words From Home, Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business. I had just had a season (winter months in Florida) full of company. It had been extremely difficult. In my book, on the chapter on Obstacles in Running a Business, I wrote the following: One of the greatest obstacles of running a home-based business is out of town guests. I then provided solutions for making it work. Naturally, the next time my step mom came to town I proudly presented my new book. As you can guess, faith would have it and she opened right up to that page about the greatest obstacle of running a business. She wasn't too happy being one of the greatest obstacles. Naturally, I changed that in the next printing of the book.
Here are some tips for making it work: In starting your business research and read as much as you can on starting a business before you begin. Write out a complete plan of how to not only set up your business, but how to market it and keep it running on a daily basis, etc. This includes what to do if you get too busy. This doesn't need to be anything technical, but it does need to be done. This helps you prepare for many of the unknowns that come your way.
Plan and organize your business from the beginning. Set up your bookkeeping in Quickbooks or have someone handle that for you. Get an expandable file (A-Z) so you can divide and keep all your receipts as they come in. When I started my business, I offered all clients 24-hour turnaround on transcription. That was perfect when I had one or two clients. But then I grew quickly and it wasn't long before I had six or seven clients, each one dropping off work one day and expecting it back the next. I can remember one evening when I had an entire desk full of files that needed transcribed. I knew I had to implement a change when one day a client came to drop off work and he told me, "You look like a truck ran you over." I had prided myself in always looking professional and this was extremely eye opening. I changed the next week to 48-hour-turnaround and longer depending on the work and rarely did the truck hit me again.
For out-of-town guests, if at all possible have a separate office with a door that you can close. My office is the back family room. It's a great office, but it's open with no door. Therefore, when I have company in town, it's hard to turn it off. Be firm. Most guests wouldn't think of visiting you at an office if you were still working out of the home. So why do they think they can come to your office at noon and want to stay and talk. I used to try to do it. Now, I simply say, I should be done at 4:00. Let's go out to dinner then. You know the unique circumstances of your business.
Plan ahead for those challenges and you'll be so much ahead of the game.
You already know how bad too much stress is for you. We know that it can cause high blood pressure and even heart attacks. The cancer connection comes from the stress beating you down physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It beats you down so far that it keeps your immune system from blocking cancer's attacks.
Unfortunately, too many people don't realize that their striving to succeed can kill them in multiple ways. Does that mean you shouldn't strive to succeed? Absolutely not! But this information should affect the way you strive. Here are four steps to achieve success without killing yourself.
1. Relax in God -- This isn't the "let go, let God" mentality that's kept so many Christians from engaging in life. Rather, this is a "get going and let God" frame of mind. It says, "I've got work to do to build the kingdom of God, so I need to be fully engaged in work, ministry, family, etc. But I need to let God determine the outcome." It's much like the Israelites in the Old Testament -- they had to fight the battle, but God determined the outcome of each fight.
2. Trust God -- If you're a believer, God has great promises for you during the tough times. For instance, Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." If we relax in God, we can also trust Him to accomplish what He says He will accomplish -- and we can trust that it is for our ultimate good. So we shouldn't shy away from difficult things. We should engage in them, fully trusting in God.
3. Build some margin into your life -- Rick Warren and Tom Holladay said, "Margin is breathing room. It's keeping a little reserve that you're not using up. It's not going from one meeting to the next to the next with no space in between. Margin is the space between your load and your limit. Hopefully your load is not heavier than your limits. But the truth is that most of us are far more overloaded than we can handle, and there is no margin for error in our lives." Without margin for error, we think of ourselves as more capable than we really are. We're trusting more in ourselves than we are in God. Like good reading material needs some margin space to be legible, our lives need margin to make us more effective.
4. Keep your eye on the right prize -- The bumper sticker is wrong: The one who dies with the most toys doesn't win. Success is too often determined by what you accumulate during your lifetime. That's a very narrow view of success. It's focused on what you can do for yourself. And since you can't take your toys with you when you die, there's not much sense in worrying about them. (Besides, worry is a self-inflicted form of stress. If you struggle with it, see #1 above.)
Remember that God gives us wonderful things for two reasons. One of them is to enjoy them. But the main reason is to use them as tools to build the kingdom. We really don't enjoy our things the way God intended if we use them to build our own empire. Paul tells us to run in a way that we may obtain the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). The prize he speaks of is Jesus Christ and His kingdom.
Striving for success can kill you. But these steps will go a long way toward helping you avoid death from stressful situations. God is Peace in the midst of a storm. Resting on Him can spare your life -- and help you succeed.
Note: Even if you do all of these things right, overly stressful situations might still result in death. After all, that's a reality we all must face. Following these steps doesn't guarantee survival. But at least death comes while striving for the right prize and with the right motive. Death is an obstacle we shouldn't let deter us from ultimate success.
Both Diana Ennen & Steve Kroening are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Diana Ennen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Book Reviews, Home Businesses and Family. Diana Ennen has been a leader in the work-at-home industry since opening her business in 1985. She's the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Word Perfect Virtual Assistant Soluti. Diana Ennen's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.
Steve Kroening has sinced written about articles on various topics from Investments, Asthma and Health. Steve Kroening writes for Success magazine and also publishes Wisdom's Edge. You can get Biblical tips on health, finance, relationships, parenting, and success, delivered to your email inbox every week. Simply visit. Steve Kroening's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.