The New Year always brings optimism, good intentions, fresh starts, and a few new actions. Invariably, however, we get bogged down in the same old routines, excuses, patterns, and delusions. As I write this, it is early 2009 and I am 58 years old (for a few more months). I have been putting some professional priorities on the back burner for far too long and I am declaring to you right now that this is going to be my year to begin breaking free from old, worn-out ways. The checklist in this article, though written in the context of a new year’s resolutions, is timeless and can be used at any time of the year, any year of the century. The operative word in the subtitle is “action.” Until you put something into action, it won’t help you. The next operative word is “small.” None of these things, by themselves, is hard to do. So there’s no excuse!

1. Spend some time thinking. This exercise will help you focus your efforts and save you a tremendous amount of time down the road by enabling you to prioritize better and work smarter. It’s a step that we so often hate to take because we think we don’t have time. TAKE THE TIME for this step.

Carve out an hour or two, preferably a morning or an afternoon. Don’t answer calls; don’t check e-mails; go into a room by yourself with a legal pad and ask yourself the following questions and write down the answers:

• What am I really good at? What things do others comment on that I do well?
  
  
• Of all the things that I do in a week (month, year in my business), what things really give me satisfaction…make my heart sing?
  
  
• Of all the things that I do in my business, what things do I really dislike the most?
  
  
• Which clients or client jobs give me the most satisfaction? Which give me the most heartburn?
  
  
• Which products or services in my business offer the most return for my time invested?

Now, look at your answers and compare them to the ways you are spending your time. If you’re spending too much time on things that you’re not good at or things that you don’t like doing or things that don’t return much income, then it’s time to delegate or drop some things off of your “To Do” list.

2. “Systematize, Automate, and Delegate.” Andy Jenkins teaches this strategy for working smarter. He says to make a list of everything you do in your business day to day and then break it down into discrete tasks, as detailed as possible. This will take many pages (he says for him, it was 35 pages), but when you’re finished, you can look for patterns and find things to automate and other things to delegate. Read his excellent blog entry (see Sources below) for details on how to get your business running much more smoothly.

3. Increase your fees or prices by at least 10-15% right now. Home-based entrepreneurs are famous for under-pricing the market. They have a misguided sense that they have to charge less to compete with “the big guys.” Not so! Before you freak out completely from this advice to increase your fees, do the math. In order for you to LOSE money by raising your price 15%, you’d have to lose 33% of ALL of your sales for that particular service or product. You may lose a few clients, but research shows that most of your clients won’t even notice; in fact, you are much more likely to increase your income and gain other clients who will be attracted by the intangible fact that you value yourself enough to charge appropriately for your product or service.

4. Add value to your current products or services. This is the secret to offsetting any potentially negative aspects to raising your prices. The result will not only increase sales but will increase customer satisfaction in their perception of what they are buying. Read Jenkins and Lemberg’s “MBA in a Box” (see Sources below) to find out how to add so much value to your offering that a price increase will seem like a great deal to your customers. The gist of their advice is to remember that you’re not just selling a product or service. There’s a lot that goes along with that, and we—as sellers—need to remind our customers how much value there already is in such things as extra features, delivery, installation, your customer service, your reputation, your guarantee, convenience, terms, etc. Note that we’re not adding cost to the product or service, we’re just painting a more accurate picture to the customer of the true value of what they’re buying.

5. Revive an untapped source of clients by sending an e-mail, postcard, or letter to everyone with whom you have ever done business and bring them up to date with your current products and services, providing them with your current contact information, Website, and e-mail. Andy Jenkins says to make it sort of like a survey and to always include a special offer. If you have been diligent about keeping their e-mails, one e-mail from you alone may generate lots of sales. Don’t forget an important rule about sending group e-mails: put the e-mail addresses in the Bcc (Blind carbon copy) field instead of the To field or the Cc field so that their address will be invisible to all recipients.

6. Reward your existing clients and customers. Send them a coupon or a small gift, perhaps even just a personal note or letter expressing your appreciation for their business. The more personalized your gesture is, the better. Remind them that in these hard economic times, their business is so important and so valued by you. Stay in touch with them—through e-mail, newsletter or telephone. Let them know when you’ve got a new product or service. Even if they’re not in the market themselves, they can be turned into ambassadors to tell their friends and family.

7. Always be in networking mode. Have a stash of business cards with you at all times, and give them out generously, even when you hand them out in social settings more than business settings. That person who gets your card may eventually need whatever product or service you are selling…or know someone who does. Always ask if they have a business card too, and follow up with an e-mail or note saying how nice it was to meet them. If you find a way to help them or provide them with helpful information, so much the better.

Always use a signature at the end of your e-mails. It should include some informational or tantalizing text about your business. Just the other day, I got an e-mail from a business associate of my sister’s who does executive coaching. She had forwarded him an e-mail from me with a compliment about their company Website, and he happened to notice, in my signature, that I did resumés as part of my desktop publishing and writing business. He wrote me, and we are now in collaboration on ways that he can refer his clients to me if they need help with their resumé.

8. Schedule some learning time into every week. One of the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs is their mastery of their field. Clients will pay more when they confidence in your expertise and ability and knowledge of your product or service. We’ve all been in stores where the salesperson was unfamiliar with their products and not very helpful. Contrast that with someone who knew not only the specifications of the product but was familiar with the potential uses, the situations a buyer might encounter, and prepared to answer almost any question or concern you might have. This not only increases the chances for a sale, but it vastly increases the chances for repeat sales. The sources of your learning will depend, of course, but look in industry journals, professional association Websites, and manufacturers’ product literature (if you sell products). Besides impressing others, this knowledge will build self-confidence in you.

9. Make friends with technology. This is related to both #2 (Automate) and #8 (Learn). Technology has revolutionized the ability of entrepreneurs to operate world-class businesses from a home-based office, especially in the areas of Internet and Communications. Don’t be afraid of it or get overwhelmed by it. Get help when you need it, and be willing to pay others to do things you don’t want to do yourself. Our own staff writer, Yank Elliott, has provided some terrific Tool Reviews of various software and other technologies that can make a big difference for home-based business owners. IAHBE members should definitely check the archives for these excellent sources of information. Keep an eye on the technology articles in BusinessWeek.com and Entrepreneur.com. Harnessing the power of technology can enable you to create a business presence that appears to have a much larger staff than otherwise. As with any tool, however, technology can be mis-used, so knowledge is power!

10. Make time for yourself. Why is it that we’ll keep appointments, promises, and commitments to other people faithfully, but we won’t do the same for promises we make ourselves…promises to take time off, to live a healthier lifestyle, to spend more time learning about our field or trade, to write that article or book, to learn that language, to visit that aging relative. Make just one more list—a “bucket list” if you will (those things you’d like to do before you “kick the bucket”). When possible, put a timeframe after the items on your list and refer back to it regularly. Put these things into your calendar (or steps to achieving them) the same way you would schedule any other important appointments.

I tend to “hit the floor running” in the morning, but I’ve changed my daily routine to allow at least an hour of quiet time—prayer, contemplation, reflection, and…yes…business thinking. On those days when I adhere to it (and I’m getting much better), I find that my productivity is much better and my sense of well-being soars. I spend more time on the right things, and the bottom line of my business reflects this directly.

You cannot wait until you have time to do these things. You have to MAKE time to do them. When you do, the most amazing thing happens: you’ll have more time to do the things you really want and need to do, and you’ll earn more money for the time you spend on your business...
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© 2009 Elizabeth H. Cottrell. All rights reserved worldwide.

Elizabeth H. Cottrell is a home-based entrepreneur, freelance technical writer, and owner of Riverwood Technologies, a desktop publishing company in Maurertown, Virginia. She is currently a staff writer and editor for International Association of Home Business Enterpreneurs (IAHBE).

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