The last few years of global craziness have left everyone will a cold feeling, but knowing that if you are running a business, especially a home business you will find that it is now time to reinvent yourself if you have not already done so. Keep in mind that if you want your business to succeed into the future and remain an authority in your field, then you are going to have to constantly be re-inventing what you do.
New media platforms, high-tech equipment and updating your content. Now is the point at which you need to make sure your business reflects everything that you want your clients to think when they hear your name. Is your Unique Selling Point (USP) what you want, or can you work on that to meet your client’s expectations?
You may be sitting at home in front of your laptop and the realization that the profits stop coming in as fast or traffic drops off your website. It is time to take a deep dive into your site, work practices and products/services and make sure that everything that is offered in the beginning, is at a standard that is on-trend, or you are delivering above what others are in the same field. Innovation is your priority right now.
Business innovation is peculiar to you and your industry and may involve the researching of new products or services, updating your business goals and plans, creating a new business model, even purchasing new communication devices, learning online marketing techniques, etc.
Communication
You will find that it is important for you to constantly update your communication techniques so that you can make sure that you are on the way to becoming a household name. That could involve creating a Youtube community, starting a weekly Zoom workshop to teach clients how to use your products or finding new and high-end products to add to your online store. And not to forget your various emails; site admin address, social media addresses, messengers, etc.
Market Research
One of the biggest changes that you are going to have to deal with is the change of competitive advantage. You will find that your competitive advantage will make a huge difference in the profits of the business. This is where ongoing, strong market research comes in. You will want to make sure that you think about all the changes and their consequences to your clients, considering how these changes will affect your clients and how they will react.
Making sure that you get a positive reaction from your clients and out of your potential customers, such social media platforms as Instagram and Pinterest will give you a huge and extremely wide audience for you to trial new ideas, content, and products.
Constantly evolving
Consider the idea that you are working on a piece of art, crafting a fine marble statue. Every now and then you will think about things that you can add or change to make it better. This is exactly how you will approach your business innovations. As an evolution of your initial idea.
Moving your operation into to home space you need to, take into consideration that you are going to face some problems, such as technology problems, security issues, time management, lack of staff, or just the everyday household life. However, as you work through each issue you may learn new ways to focus your business and as a positive result these new changes may bring in some potential customers. Your business is an entity that is constantly evolving.
If re-inventing your business is on the cards, getting help from a professional marketing consultant can refocus your message and brand, or give you a few tweaks to help you streamline your operation. You will want to consider doing what you can to make the best decisions possible. You will need to set some personal business goals so that you can have some sort of direction and reasoning for the re-invention of your business.
Changing things up can cause stress in your daily work and around the home, Time Management, as well as some housekeeping techniques, will come in useful. I have added a few simple tips below to give you a start or help you to refine what you are already doing.
8 Simple Steps to Improve Your Time Management
There are several steps that you can take to improve your time management. In fact, 8 simple steps that you can take are highlighted below.
1 – Know That You Have a Problem
Knowing that you have a time management problem is the first step in changing your behaviour. Although it is typical to be late for work or a social event on occasion, it is something that should not be happening on a daily or a weekly basis. If it is, it is time for you to realize that you may have a problem.
2 – Decide to Change
Knowing that you have a time management problem is important but wanting to change is even more important. You need to set goals for yourself, as these goals can help to provide you with a source of motivation. Sample goals include showing up to work on time for a whole month, being fully dressed, on time for all dinner dates, and so forth.
3 – Stick to Goals
Creating several time management goals for you to meet is advised, but it is important that you don’t give up right away or when you are faced with complications. Setting goals simply just isn’t enough, you need to stick with them. A To-Do list will help with this.
4 – Create Daily To-Do Lists
Creating a to do list for yourself is an easy way to properly manage your time. In fact, it is one of the easiest approaches that you can take. Outline what you need to do throughout the day. Be sure to list your tasks in order of importance. Do those tasks you do not want to do first and if there are items still to do at the end of the day, add them to your tomorrow list and start with them first the next day.
5 – Use Time Management Tools
Properly managing your time is important, but it can be hard for many individuals to get used to, especially when away from a communal office environment. If you are one of those individuals, you will want to consider using time management technology to your advantage such as Toggl, Monday.com or Google Tasks. Set your calendar on your phone, tablet, or computer, this may be the easiest for you.
6 – Say No
In all honesty, there are times where you may not be able to refuse a project at work or a task at home but try to not take on more than you can accomplish. Set boundaries and stick to them. Stop work at the same time every day and don’t look at emails until morning is a big one that we all need to try. If you must, investigate using outside help. Consider outsourcing (more on this later) a cleaner, dog walker, shopper, etc.
7 – Get Organized
Organization is key to being able to properly manage your time. If you are unorganized, you are likely to waste a large amount of time. For example, in the workplace you can waste time by searching for lost or misplaced documents. The same can be said for the home office; if you are unorganized, you can spend hours searching for the same things.
8 – Consider Outsourcing
That doesn’t only refer to administration, email management or content writer outsourcing but consider getting a home cleaner, babysitter or ordering all your groceries online and have them delivered. In addition to taking this approach, there are other professionals that you can target. There are individuals and companies who specialize in teaching others how to effectively manage their time and how to easily organize or office environment.