Create A Cash Flow Show

Time Management and You

The key to time management is simple. It boils down to only one question. What is enough?

Are you scheduling enough time to accomplish your goals for your business? Are you giving yourself enough time to manage your business? It is really not about time management. It is more about commitment management! Most people completely underestimate the time required for a project or necessary to achieve the desired results from their business. There are all kinds of projects, or activities that we underestimate all the time. Such as the amount of time commitment you are making when you sign your kids up for a sport, or you commit to coaching the school team, or organizing the fundraiser, or any activity in life. Today everyone is busy and most people underestimate the amount of time required to do the many things they schedule into their life and as a result, every one is running ragged. Now I am not saying that you should not do these things, and at the same time, before you make a commitment decide how much time it will require.  Many families that I know are running every direction because they have two or three kids and each kid is in 2-3 activities. This is a two times, issue. Your time and the kids’ time too. Yes it is good for them to be in activities and at the same time are the kids over-extended? Studies are showing that kids are experiencing significant amounts of stress because they are over-involved, not eating and sleeping and playing enough. It is up to a parent to be sure that kids take time out to be kids, families take time out to be families, and Mom and Dad have time for themselves. If you do not have time to enjoy life, then what good is all of these activities, and money and your home business which you started so that you can enjoy life. Be sure that you give time to be grateful for what you have and enjoy in life.

Talking about your Business

Let’s talk about our businesses. Most home business are started so that we can enjoy our life and time more. Yet frequently the home business is not given enough priority. In order to benefit from your business it needs to be a priority. Did you start it for a certain amount of income, and are you getting that? If not then are you putting enough effort into your business to justify the results you want? We all know that when we go to work for someone else, then and only then will we get paid. The same applies to your direct sales or network marketing business – you must work to get paid.

So let’s talk about what is enough? What is enough effort or focus to get the results you want? Let’s talk home parties. Say that you average $100 per show. And you want to earn $400 per month. That means you will want to schedule 4 days, or one day per week, out of the house. Most of us probably do that; most of us probably have our calendars marked into the next few months for our show dates. Do you have the additional time marked? How much additional time will it take to do those four shows? Marketing, lead generation, closing shows, customer call, follow-up, potential appointments and coaching of team members. How much time will you allow per show for all of that?

The answer to that question depends upon your business plan or goals. Do you want your business to grow? Or are you happy with it exactly where it is now? (See the blog post on business plan in the business category) Even if your company is not home party referral-based, think about what is enough time to invest in your business to get the results you deserve. If you looking to sponsor 3 people per week, how many calls does it take to find three, if one in ten say yes and you need to call 25 people to actually speak to 10, then how long does that take you? How much time do you want to schedule to reach your goals? Before you decide what is enough time, think about what is enough from the point of view in all areas:

• What are enough shows?
• What are enough show leads?
• What are enough new consultant leads?
• What is enough sales for a month?
• How many is enough calls in a day?
• How many is enough fund-raisers or non-profit calls to make in a day?
• What is enough time scheduled?

Time management will always be an ongoing battle unless you think realistically about these areas. So do you want your schedule to stay the same? Then, it would be good time management to schedule 6 hours per show per month. Are you doing 4 shows per month and that is the way you want it to stay? Then block out 24 hours of work time per month for your business on the calendar. If you are currently in a growth setting for your business, then block out 8 hour per show per month. So, let’s say you want to do 6-8 per month and you are at 4. Those extra 2 hours per show per month will be put into your education, marketing, cold-calling, prospecting, and other growth generation activities.

When you have a job at someone else’s establishment, you schedule yourself to be there, or more accurately, they schedule you to be there, and you show up. Do you give yourself the same respect? Write it on your calendar just like you would if you were going somewhere else to work. Post a calendar for the whole family to see. Sometimes as an entrepreneur we allow other less important activities take front seat over our business, forgetting that the business is actually what makes those activities possible. A posted schedule allows the whole family to see and understand the importance of your work. They need to understand that the business is a priority.

Simple time management skills

Simple time management skills really require you to manage your commitments and to remember to concentrate on results, not on being busy. Stop once in awhile and ask yourself this question: Am I producing income or just am I just playing office?

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Deb Bixler www.CreateACashFlowShow.com 717-751-2793