When you first start working from home, you’re thrilled at your freedom. You don’t have to dress up for work. You don’t have to fight rush hour commute. You don’t have to take orders on what to do. And you don’t have to ask permission to go to the bathroom and leave your workstation unattended.

What’s more, there is no cap on how much you can earn, how many hours you have to work, or when you should start and end your day. You can even give yourself the day off if you want without having to come up with some ingenious excuse to call in sick.

Unfortunately, after awhile you notice that this freedom has its shadow side. There are many things that can derail your work from home plans:

Here are a few things that could go wrong and how to turn them around fast:

1. You fall into a technological black hole.

The worst case scenario is that your technology breaks down. You might be able to work around problems with your phone or printer.  But everything grinds to a halt if you have computer problems.

Here are some things that could happen and what to do about them:

• * Your computer crashes and nothing you do can reboot it. In this case, your hard drive may have stopped working. Contact a hard drive recovery service to get help recovering your data if you have not backed it up yet.
• * You lose Internet connection. Rather than panic or fiddling with wires, stop making wild guesses about what might go wrong. Instead, call your Internet Service Provider. An experienced technical rep can help you troubleshoot the issue. Sometimes, too, it might be a problem on their end, but at least now you know and can wait for them to fix it.
• * Your computer is not working well. Perhaps your programs don’t open up. Perhaps your computer is painfully slow. Perhaps your screen freezes up at random every now and then, and you need to reboot to get it going again.  Don’t panic. It might be something you can fix yourself. Either visit an online technical forum where you can ask questions or call someone who can help. If this doesn’t help, take it into a computer repair store.

2. You are not getting much work done, regardless of how hard you work. 

This could be an issue with how you are managing your time. Effective time management is crucial to a successful work-from-home career. Unfortunately, though, setting and sticking to a work schedule can be difficult in a home environment. Thankfully, time management tips like the following can boost productivity, reduce work-related stress and enhance the odds of having a successful, enjoyable career:

• * Set a schedule. The key to setting a good schedule is figuring out what works best for you; according to factors like kids, personal lives and other commitments, no two schedules are alike. So, a great place to start is by listing your daily duties and responsibilities, and work from there.
• * Rearrange your space. Sometimes the issue is you are getting frustrated by not being able to find stuff in a messy office. Find efficient ways to work in a small space.
• * Use management software to help you organize your work. Visual tools like Kanban boards can clarify your workflow. Kanban boards can help you avoid distractions and stay focused. You will do all the right things in the right order of importance. At a glance, you can see work-pending, work-in-progress, and work-completed.
• * Arrive on time. If you start the day late, then everything is chaotic and your mood suffers.  By arriving on time, you will be able to calmly schedule and organize your day in the most effective way.

3. You just can’t get into the mood to be productive.

There are many reasons why you can’t get in the mood to put in a good day’s work.

• * You don’t feel well. You either didn’t sleep well, didn’t eaten enough or are stiff and achy. Do what you can to feel better. Perhaps, eat something nourishing or go for a walk.
• * You had a bad day yesterday. Start each day as a clean slate. Simply roll over projects that you didn’t complete yesterday and forget about your feelings of frustration about not getting work done as quickly as you had hoped.
•  * You don’t know how to do something. Don’t procrastinate because you’re feeling intimidated. Figure out how you can learn what you need to do. Is there a blog you can read? Is there a Youtube tutorial you can watch? Is there a book you can buy? Is there a class you can sign up for?
• * You have a lot of negative self-judgement. Your website is not as professional as your friend’s website. You don’t work as fast or as efficiently as you imagine you should. You feel you aren’t getting ahead in your entrepreneurial or consulting career. “In reality, every career has setbacks, obstacles, and failures, says Deepak Chopra. “There will always be someone richer, smarter, and more successful than you. These facts have nothing to do with how worthy you are. The voice of self-judgment is misleading you, and the sooner you stop listening to it, the better.”

While holding yourself up to a high standard is a wonderful thing, you also have to give yourself some slack. When you have setbacks, don’t make things worse through negative self-talk. It takes time to be great at anything.

When you have a small business, it is important that you find ways to personalize your services in order to stand out from larger companies. While this often comes in the form of good customer service, it can also come in the form of personal touches that you add, which make your customer feel like they are truly a part of your brand family. These small touches have a meaningful impact on how customers view your product and you. Ultimately, this will lead to an increase in customer loyalty and profit. Here are three easy ways to add that special touch to your business.

Handwritten Notes

Nothing says personal like a handwritten note. From invitations to thank you notes, there is just something special about getting something that someone has taken the time to write out for you. Incorporate this touch into you business by including a handwritten thank you note when you ship a product. Find cute stationary, or better yet, have branded stationary printed. Then, each time you ship out a product to a first time customer, include a quick thank you for their business from your team. You can even have an intern do these, as long as he or she has good handwriting!

Branded Packing Tape

Another great way to add a personal touch to your business is to use branded tape on your packaging. This is an inexpensive and versatile way to incorporate your brand into the packaging of your products and have other people see it. Companies such as Continental Tape Printers can help businesses create customized packing tape using your own artwork or the help of an in-house graphic design professional. This tactic will make your brand pop and add an extra touch to your shipments.

Personalized Mail

When customers sign up for e-mail or check out on your website, be sure to ask for information such as their birthday or anniversary. That way, depending on your specific business and products, you can send special notes or coupons on these special days. This will make your customers feel special and develop a loyal client base. And before you think that this is too much work, keep in mind that you can set up systems to automate this process for you.

Incorporate one or all of these tactics and you will be well on your way to developing a great relationship ith your customers through added personal touches.

As a working mom, it seems like you never have enough hours in the day. You have to do as much as you can to promote your company and help it grow. And that’s why it’s vital to dedicate time and resources to becoming a brilliant entrepreneur. There are plenty of ideas at http://www.parents.com to help you with this. And you can use the ideas on this post to work toward it as well.

 Focus on Supporting Your Business

 The hardest thing you can do as a mom is to make time for your business as well. You need to give the kids your full attention, but you also have a business to run. So, you need to do what you can to make time for your company. Set aside a certain amount of time each day to dedicate to the business. And work towards further supporting the company by ensuring you finance it. Check out businesslendermatch.com to find the right business loan to support your company. This is essential for helping and supporting the business when you might not have the time to get money through other means.

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Set up a Home Office

 As a working mom, the best thing you can do is work from home. This gives you the perfect position to look after the kids and help your business grow. The best thing you can do here is to set up a home office from which you can run the company. Now, you will need to have some home office ideas for small spaces. You want to create a professional working environment and have somewhere you can run your business productively. A home office is a vital component for any successful mompreneur. So, you’ve got to take the time to make sure yours is perfectly set up.

 Connect With Other Mompreneurs

 It’s always a good idea to try to connect with other mompreneurs. If you can become friendly with other moms in a similar position, you will have a great support network. You can all help each other out and promote businesses together. It’s great to have a common bond of being moms who run their own businesses. This gives you a great outlet to generate working relationships and personal ones. Connecting with other mompreneurs is crucial for helping you navigate the crazy arena of business startups.

 Spread the Word

 Spreading the word is so important as an entrepreneur because it’s how you generate interest. You need to make people aware of your business and generate interest. Drawing and attracting customers to your brand is crucial. You need to build up a successful business and do what you can to spread the word. This is how you build up interest and exposure for the brand, and ensure that you give yourself the best possible chance. There are so many ways you can spread the word these days, and you can use technology to do this much more easily.

 Being a working mom is no mean feat, and you need to make your life as stress-free as possible. Make sure you prioritize your life and get your business to a competitive level. You need to try to make time for it as much as you possibly can.

One thing I have learned about headphones is to have quality ones such as those audio-technica ath-m30x here. The problem with buying something that is low quality instead is that you end up with a product that is not what you thought it would be and the quality of music will never be the same as the quality you can achieve with the help of better headphones that you can easily get from more reputable places.

Do you know some of the most popular music terms in the music industry such as 8 strings plugged in? To be honest, if you are into music, you need to know some terms because otherwise you aren’t going to know what others are talking about. And you want to understand everything they are saying because you want to fit with them. The more you have in common with people, the more friends you will have.

Have you ever been a student? If yes, then you probably know that the life of an average college or university undergraduate is not so easy in terms of all those things students have to do these days. Contrary to popular belief, student life is not only about partying and having fun, as an average young person is required to write at least a few essays and dissertations per year, depending on his college or university. Fortunately, there seems to be a way to avoid writing essays. This way is perfectly legal and thousands of students across the UK use paper writing services to their advantage seeing them as a great way to have more spare time for fun or for making extra cash, the two things that are very important to every young person in this country.

Those of you who would like to know something more about writing dissertations, I recommend that you visit a place that can show you how a typical dissertation should look like. I am thinking here about a place that offers an essay writing service. You can do anything thanks to them. For example, you can come to their website and see how this can help you with your next assignment. They employ top-notch writers only to ensure that your dissertation is of highest quality possible.

If you do not feel like you are up to the task with writing your paper, you can always ask for help. They also have a referral program that helps students make some extra cash. Not only can you buy an essay or ask for essay editing, but you can also learn a lot of useful information about paper writing that can help you tremendously in your student life. Additionally, you will be able to communicate with them at any time giving you the opportunity to be in control of your essays all the time.

Working from home offers numerous advantages, but setting up a functional home office in a small home or apartment can be challenging. A loan with Newcastle Permanent can help with an expansion, but it may not be a feasible option for your location. A separate office space sounds nice, but it’s not essential. Take a look at some creative design ideas for small spaces.

Natural Light

If you have a room with several windows, place a desk and chair near a window and take advantage of the natural light. You can position your desk directly under the window or a few feet away. Choose a desk size that fits the space and a style that complements other furnishings in the room. For storage, fill a nearby wall with a tall bookcase. Use decorative baskets or bins on the shelves to store office supplies and decorative binders to store files and papers.

Forgotten Corners

Take advantage of unused corners that are often wasted space in a room. Whether it’s a formal living room or a cozy kitchen, an empty corner can accommodate a great work zone. Choose a corner desk or small table, a comfortable desk chair, a desk lamp, and decorative office accessories that enhance the style and colors of the room. If you need storage, consider wall-hung, corner shelves above the desk or table or file cabinets that can slide underneath.

Empty Walls

If you have a room with a long, empty wall, you can create a great work area. When you’re short on space, a long, bare wall can become a valuable storage space. With simple, easy-to-install floating shelves, you can create an entire wall of storage for office equipment, supplies, books, papers, and decorative accessories. For a desk, consider a wall-hung desk that will complement the shelving and free up floor space. Choose a simple desk chair that can slide completely under the desk.

Combined Spaces

Small homes and apartments can limit your options for a home office, but you can still create a comfortable work area by combining work/live spaces. If you need to put your work space in your living room or bedroom, look for a corner or nook that creates a little privacy and separation. If that’s not available, divide your work/live spaces with a decorative screen or beautiful fabric panel that hides your work space after hours.

Search engine optimization is always going to be the best possible way for your business to really get the most out of having a well-planned out website and strategy to bring in traffic. However, in order to take your online presence to a whole new level, you are going to find that search engine optimization advertising will be the best way for you to grow your business throughout this very competitive marketplace.

Who Needs Search Engine Optimization Advertising?

Today, there are millions of companies out there who are trying to get the same traffic to their pages and they are looking for reliable SEO services. When you stop to look at the landscape of the online community, it has never been more important to have a quality online advertising campaign. This is why search engine marketing has quickly grown into being one of the top ways to effectively promote your products while also boosting your business up to the next level. So, how can you make search engine optimization advertising work for you?

Advertising when it pertains to search engine optimization is the practice of marketing your business by way of paid ads that will appear within the search engine results pages, as explained by the expert, On Yavin. The advertisers will place bids on the keywords that users may be entering on the major search engines when they are looking for particular services or products. This helps to give advertisers a chance for their ads to appear right alongside the top results for each of these search inquiries.

Often referred to as pay per click ads, these buy ins can come in a wide variety of formats. You can pick from text based ads, product based advertisements or product listings ads. Basically speaking, you want to choose an ad type that will spark the interest of the exact traffic that you want your website to have. You are then able to place these ads directly in the line of sight for customers who are already motivated to click through and make a purchase. It is really a win-win situation for everyone that is involved.

On Yavin Explains The Keywords

As with anything having to do with search engine optimization advertising, you need to make sure that your keywords are always on point, an expert On Yavin says. Good keywords are going to be the foundation of all of your search engine marketing efforts. This is why it is important that you take the time to do a good bit of research on the best keywords that you should be using to match up to your business, services and everything that your target audience will be looking for. Luckily, there are all sorts of helpful keyword tools that you can find online that can help you to gather the information that you need to set your website up just right for optimization and advertising purposes.

If you are unfamiliar with how search engine optimization advertising works, it might be in your best interest to hire SEO services to help you get your website pointed in the right direction. According to On Yavin, once everything is set up and ready to go, you should start to see and incredible boost in traffic as well as sales for your online business venture.

More and more people are turning to business as a viable way of life. Why this may be is a discussion, perhaps for another time. But one thing is for sure: if you are keen to set up a new business from scratch, you are not alone. The fact that there are others in the same seat is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it means you face plenty of competition from the outset. On the other, it does mean that there is plenty of information and help available to give you a hand. If you approach the subject in the right way, even the competition can be seen as part of the benefits. The competition, after all, is what drives you on. And you need to be driven if you are to succeed in the long run.

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If you are coming to the world of business with completely fresh eyes, then you may be a little confused. There is plenty to learn and lots involved when it comes to starting a new business. The truth is, it can be difficult even for the most experienced among us. If you have never done anything of the sort before, it can be downright terrifying. But don’t fear. Chances are, you have come to this point because you are driven by a powerful idea. All businesses begin with the conception of a powerful idea, and yours is no different. Follow where that idea takes you with honesty and integrity, and you are unlikely to go far wrong. There are, however, certain common techniques, and received wisdoms, which you should be aware of. To make the process of setting up your business easier, take a look through this guide. Here are some of the most important things you need to bear in mind.

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The Plan

All businesses begin with a solid plan. Business plans are not really all that difficult to draw up. Mostly, they are a test of your patience – but an important test. It is at this point that you soon discover whether or not you have it in you to run a business. The reason for that is because planning out your business acts as like a microcosm of the enterprise itself. To be able to plan a business successfully, you need a strong head on your shoulders – and, quite possibly, no small amount of help. So what should be included in a business plan?

The first and most important part of your plan is a simple statement of your business’ vision. What is it that you hope to achieve? Why are you setting up this particular company, with these aims, at this time? Where do you stand? Getting this down in black and white early on gives your business a clear focus when you begin operating. You also need to include the basic goals you are heading for with your business. Beyond that, it is all about being as detailed as you can. How many people are you likely to employ? What service or product will you be offering or selling? Who will feel they have a need for this? How are you going to ensure that you get the word out to them? What is your starting budget going to be? How much profit are you expecting to take in the first year?

It may seem like there is much more involved in this process than you at first thought. Don’t worry – most people feel a little overwhelmed at first. However, planning in as much detail early on helps to save you from a considerable amount of headaches further down the line.

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The Budget

The budget backing your business forms a significant part of your plan, of course. But it is so important that it needs exploring independently of everything else. Any business exists in order to make money. Yes, you may have other visions and goals, but ultimately this is the overarching aim. With such an aim, it is of course imperative that you keep a close eye on the financial side of doing business. The way that we achieve this is by using a budget.

A budget is an essential part of any company. You can easily tell a company which does not have a budget, because it is one which fails before it has even begun. To avoid being one of those businesses, you must ensure that you have a tight handle on your budget from the outset. As with the plan, you need to be as detailed and as diligent as possible with your budget. As well as knowing what your current financial situation is, you need to be aware of potential future problems and successes. What does a good budget look like?

First, you need to calculate your operating expenses. It is vital that you do not miss out anything here. Even the slightest mistake can mean liquidation in no time at all. Next, you need to figure out your gross profit margin. This is easier if you have already been in business for at least a year. When you are just starting, you need to estimate as well as you can. If in doubt, go lower. After that, it is a matter of allowing the time for any necessary readjustment. Set up your budget solidly from the outset, and you are on a very good path with your new business.

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The Marketing

Marketing your business is a vital aspect to the running of it. Without a good marketing strategy, your business is unlikely to succeed in the long term. Put simply, you need to reach out to those people who you think would benefit from the service you are offering. How to achieve this aim is something which has been at the centre of much debate. There is plenty of differing advice around on what the best tricks and techniques are. It can be difficult, with such an information overload, to know exactly how to go about marketing a new business. However, there are some tips which you would do well to bear in mind.

The key to successful marketing is to first develop a strong brand with which to promote your business. Developing a brand can be surprisingly simple. To start off with, you need to identify your target market. This is the biggest influence on what your brand looks and feels like. A good brand provokes a strong emotional response in the audience. You want something which is bold, immediately recognisable, and unique in some way. As long as you satisfy those criteria, you are most likely looking at a pretty strong brand image. WIth that brand, you can now work on saturating your target market.

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The primary location for most of your marketing will be online. This is the nature of the world of business today. You will advertise elsewhere too, of course, but the Web is where most of the work will be done. This is for the sake of sheer exposure, as well as cost-effectiveness. Set up a website at your earliest convenience, and work on getting the SEO as effective as possible. It is usually a good idea to outsource this kind of work. For more information on outsourcing your SEO, look here: seooutsourcingguide.com

As well as your own website, you also want to make the most of some of the Internet’s other incredible marketing tools. Social media is your best friend in this respect. Ensure that your company is represented on all the social media sites. While this used to be a clever addition to a marketing strategy, it is now seen as an essential arm of any business. The beauty of social media is that you can interact and engage with your audience and present your brand in a positive light non-stop. All without costing a penny. Remember: a good marketing campaign is the fuel which keeps your business going.

The People

There is a popular tenet in business regarding the people involved. Namely: that if you look after your employees, they will look after your clients, and therefore your business. It’s true; the people you employ are the backbone of the business. It is essential for the success of your business that you take great care in who you employ. When you are in the employment process, look for people who show a great amount of passion and care in the work they do. Ideally, you want to fine people who genuinely have an interest in whatever it is your business is going to do. Sourcing the right people can be difficult, and a long process. But it is more than worth it.

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Once you have hired the right people, you also need to think carefully about how you treat them. A well-looked after workforce is a sign of a healthy company. You should show your employees the utmost respect from the outset. It is also worth remembering that your business is only as good as the abilities of its people. With that in mind, ensure that all staff are kept trained up on every aspect of their day to day jobs. Promote a culture in which people feel able to raise objections, share ideas for improvement, and so on. This is likely to prove to be the building blocks of a solid company.

Small Business Owners Revamp their Websites

Websites are extremely vital for small businesses, since they’re a cost-effective way to get a message out to consumers. Most small businesses feel that the return on investment in Web marketing is quite high. Since the cost of hiring personnel from Web design firms continues to skyrocket, more and more people are working on their own pages. Several top industry publications have noticed a trend toward small business owners actually redesigning and updating their own cyberspace addresses as a result.

Tools Small Business Use to Make their Own Web Content

There are a few ways that small business owners can make some great Web design on their own with tools that are easily accessible to them. Those who feel adventurous and want to code their own HTML or CSS pages can probably just pick up any text editor that they have and hand code their pages. This usually takes plenty of trial and error, but those who are experienced can create expert pages this way.

Word processors can often save text as HTML, and they’re increasingly able to save XHTML and CSS documents. That means that if someone writes a document that they want to publish to the Web instantly, they can simply save it from inside of the word processor that they used to write it. Updates are constantly released for both the Open Office and Microsoft Word platforms to provide adherence to the latest Web publishing standards.

Unfortunately Microsoft has stopped providing any support for the FrontPage Web site administration tool, which many people used for small business web design projects. The free FrontPage Express tool can still be found from many shareware sites, but unfortunately more and more small business owners are finding that it’s woefully out of date. It’s still an industry standard tool, however, and many people continue to use it.

Some people have instead turned to sites that allow online marketers to build their own pages around templates. Sites like web.com offer templates that people can use to instantly build a site, which might be time savers for many making e-commerce pages.

Considerations for Web Marketers

More people are paying attention to mobile sites, which is great considering the number of mobile devices in use continues to grow. However, some business owners have forgotten about updating their original pages, which might cost them sales amongst users of traditional desktop and laptop computers. Industry analysts say that regardless of what tools business owners use to work on their sites, it’s important to maintain both a full and mobile version of a site to enjoy the benefits of marketing toward both groups of consumers.

Moving Toward the Future

The sheer number of free tools available to amateur Web masters is expected to grow in the next few years, but analysts have also stated that users of these tools shouldn’t have to feel overwhelmed. Rather than designing something with all the bells and whistles possible, it’s best to keep Web design on par with what’s expected from the professional community. Small business owners would do best to stick to a great professional look without too much clutter.