One of the biggest problems facing people who have just started a home based business online is maintaining the focus and discipline necessary to be successful with their new enterprise. When you’re trying to work from home you’re faced with so many distractions that you may sometime think it’s impossible to concentrate and dedicate the time required to make this venture flourish. Some of the many distractions may include: kids, wife, in-laws, neighbors, television, telephone, email, surfing the web, sunny days, social events, sporting events, friends and sometimes the feeling that this is too much like work; just to name a few.
There are several ways to overcome these challenges or roadblocks to your success with the main solution being forcing yourself to develop a disciplined, regular routine which you follow no matter what happens; within reason of course. The most important tactic to help maintain this restraint is learning how to say no. When the neighbors call on the spur of the moment to come over for a bar-b-cue, when your wife wants you to go shopping with her, when the kids all of a sudden want to go for pizza or when the in-laws drop by unexpectedly, the answer has to be, in a polite but with a stick to your guns attitude, no.
Unfortunately the temptation will always be there arising from one situation or another but you must keep your eye on the final goal, which in many cases, is to become financially independent and work from home on a full time basis. A great way to accomplish this is to compile a list of goals when you’re developing your marketing plan and review these motivators on a daily basis. So when a tempting situation raises it’s ugly head you will be better prepared to stare it down and answer no, “I have work to do”.
One of the first things you have to do is isolate yourself as much as possible from all these distractions. Create your own work space as far away as possible from anything and anyone that will encroach on your allotted work time. Inform your wife and kids up front that you’re starting a new home business on the Internet and you need this time for work unless something very important comes up, otherwise you’re not to be disturbed. You must treat this opportunity as if it is your nine to five regular, mortgage paying, meal supplying, utilities paying, tuition providing, job. You must envision this as your family’s future and your independence from the nine to five rat race.
Next you need to install a separate telephone line in your home office and only give the number to people related to your home business. Don’t supply it to family or friends or anyone who isn’t contacting you for business purposes. As far as email is concerned dedicate a half an hour to an hour either at the beginning or end of your work time to this task. The most important point with regard to email is, and I can’t emphasize this enough, please do not get side tracked by offers from other Internet marketers. Speaking from personal experience this can devour a major portion of your allotted time and really slow your progress.
You must, at all cost, concentrate on one program or business idea at a time and not get distracted by the latest million dollar making Internet marketing idea. It’s so easy and so tempting to look at all the opportunities you receive in your email and to purchase the latest Internet marketing tool but at times like these you must reflect on your goals and why you started this online home business in the first place.
Your workspace should comprise of nothing more than your computer, your business telephone, your printer and if need be a fax machine. Otherwise no television, no radio, no other telephone lines, in other words eliminate all other possible intrusions on your time. Creating success online requires hard work and dedication which is accomplished by nothing less than a laser like focus and a discipline which is unwavering no matter what the temptation.
These may seem like drastic measures and drastic terms but I feel they are necessary to deter people from the notion that success online is accomplished by working two hours a day and making $10,000.00 a week. This foolishness has to be put to bed forever in order to eradicate the scam artists and con men and women who give legitimate hard working business owners on the Internet a bad name.