A Few Very Simple Keys To Success

When working from home, as there is in life, there are a few simple keys that will help assure your success.

1. Know why you are doing what you're doing. This may sound quite simple at first. In actual fact, it can be as simple or complex as you like. Why is a very powerful enforcer. Why is never as simple as "because it was there" or "to get to the other side". You must drill down to the core of your Why. Ask yourself, "Why do I want to work from home?". If your answer is; to make money, to be happy, because I don't like working at ABC Co., you need to ask yourself Why again. Keep drilling down until you get to the very basis of your reasoning. Don't accept generalized answers. Doing so will only ensure generalized success. To help get you started, I'll tell you a little about my Why. I want a riverside, rustic log cabin in the mountains with a front porch where I can sit and watch my family playing in the water. Now that is only the beginning of my reasons. If I were to list them all in the detail that I have pictured and written down, this entry would go on forever. I hope you're getting the idea though. Be very detailed and specific. Picture it in your head. Imagine how it will make you feel. Now, you must write it out in detail, find pictures in magazines if possible and post it where you work. It will serve as a daily reminder and motivator on those not so great days that we all encounter.


2. Have one major goal (the finish line), with lesser, more easily achievable goals (mile markers) along the way. Again, write out your goals! Goals are different than your Why. A goal is the the finish line, while your Why is the reason you start the race. Goals must have specified time periods attached to them. They must be realistic and achievable, yet they mustn't be too easy. You must get a sense of satisfaction from achieving your goals and they must lead you to your next goal.


3. Make a plan for your success. I know, I know - you hate making plans. Sorry, but in reality you make plans every day without ever realizing it. Is your success worth the time it will take you to write out a specific plan? Schedule time to draw up your plan. It's really that important! Not having a plan in place is the single largest reason why people fail at a home business. And this is one time where you really must start at the end result and work backwards to figure out your plan for achieving your goals. If your goal is to get 8 new customers within 4 weeks, break that down into weeks. Now, you're looking at 2 customers per week. Let's say that averages have proven that it requires you showing your product or service to 5 people in order to get 1 new customer, that's 10 people per week you must show your product or service to. Let's go back even further. Let's also assume that the averages have proven that half the people you speak to will not even allow you to get past "Hello, my name is ..." before they say No. That means you must really speak to 20 people each week to get 2 new customers. That's 4 people a day you must speak to. That's how you make a plan. It's not difficult but it is a little time consuming. In my humble opinion, it's well worth spending the time to plan ahead rather than spending that same amount of time frustrated and confused about why your business isn't going as well as you thought it would be.


4. Be accountable. Laziness is a very easy habit to get into when working from home. Making yourself accountable helps stop that habit from becoming permanent. At the very least, be accountable to yourself. Using the example above, write at the top of your daily planner - 4 contacts today! As the day goes on, check off your progress along the way. Even better though, get an accountability buddy. Tell each other your required plan for each day and at the conclusion of each day, let the other know exactly what you did to accomplish your daily goals. For example, I may tell my friends Greta and Terry that I intend to call a minimum of 8 people each day, set 4 appointments and enroll 1 new person. At the end of the day, I'll email Greta and Terry and tell them how many calls I made, how many presentations I did and what my results were.


5. Celebrate each success. Regardless of the size of your accomplishment, you must celebrate it. Even if that means giving yourself an extra 10 minutes of quiet time at the end of the day to sit and relax with a cup of tea. Your celebrations need not be elaborate but they must have a recognizable reason behind them. The larger the success, the larger the celebration! (In my case that means new shoes - Wahoo!!!)


6. Don't beat yourself up if you don't achieve a set goal. Instead try to figure out why you didn't achieve it and what you may have done differently to get the results you were seeking.

Relax! Once you get the hang of this stuff, it does become habit forming and Yes, it does become enjoyable. You will see your success skyrocket when you know your Why, have achievable goals, set up a plan, become accountable, celebrate your success and try to understand your near-misses.