How to Know When to Move Your Business Out of Your House

An recent article in Entrepreneur magazine tackles the question “Have You Outgrown Your Home Based Business?” Some of you might think that day will never come, but some might already be looking around and realizing that space constraints are making it harder to run your business.

The article outlines key indicators that let you know it’s time to find a new place to do business: product-based businesses that are filling your home to capacity and beyond; increased customer or vendor flow into your house; trouble separating work from home; and the need to hire employees.

Developing an “exit” strategy for your business before you need to move can help you make the transition from home office to an outside location. A commercial real estate agent can help you find the perfect office space for your former home-based business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Picking the Right Time

An interesting article in Inc Magazine talks about how for entrepreneurs, it’s never the “right” time to start a business. Juggling work and home life can be a struggle, especially when building a business.

“Balancing Acts: If Not Now, When?” discusses how running your own business can become a series of “not right” times or about postponing (fill in the blank). Check it out for inspiration to move beyond the “not right” into the “right now.”

Until next time,


Sarah

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Russia Ball anyone?

Today, I taught my oldest child and one of her friends one of my favorite childhood games, Russia Ball. Why it’s called that, I have no idea, as there’s nothing inherently Russian about it. Basically, the game involves tossing the ball into the air and catching, with variations. It can be played with one or more people, which makes it a great solitary game as well as a fun group game.

I practiced Russia Ball for hours on my own as a kid. And, years later, I can still do it very well, if I do say so myself. So I got to thinking, does working from home and my childhood experience with Russia Ball have anything in common?

First, Russia Ball and working from home takes practice. Sometimes we catch the ball right away and sometimes we have to lunge to make the catch, only to miss the ball completely. Don’t be discouraged when you make a mistake related to your at-home work. Maybe you lost a client or maybe you had to put in extra hours on a project because something went wrong. You can do it, you might just have to go about it a different way than you had originally thought.

Second, Russia Ball and working from home takes patience. I had to develop patience with myself as I learned how to perform the routines necessary to perfect Russia Ball. Sometimes, we need a lot of patience when performing our at-home jobs. Be persistence and patient, especially when starting your business.

Third, Russia Ball and working from home takes persistence. Doing the same routines over and over again until I had mastered the skills necessary to play the game well took persistence. I spent many a summer’s eve outside banging the ball against the sidewalk in an attempt to “win” the game. That persistence is what’s necessary to be successful with your at-home work, too.

So when you’re feeling discouraged with your home-based business, take a minute to recall your favorite childhood game and the practice, patience and persistence you needed to perfect that game. Then use that memory as a way to encourage you to get right back into the swing of things.

Until next time,


Sarah

PS: If you're interested in finding out how to play Russia Ball, send me an e-mail through my contacts page and I'll send the instructions.

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