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In light of our recent family troubles I want to highlight some things that I do and which you may need to think about as a business owner/operator for times when emergencies arise and you are unable to be present in your own business.

Some years ago, when my husband and I started going on overseas trips, I developed some systems to ensure I could hand over the running of daily activities in my business.

• I set up a new ‘business’ phone line so that business calls came only on that number and not my home number.  And yet for 10 years previous I’d only used my home number.  With the new number it meant I could simply divert my business calls to one of my Virtual Assistant team members and she wouldn’t be receiving personal calls as well – those could be diverted to my mobile number if necessary or we simply left a voicemail message saying we weren’t available for a period of time.
• After hearing a professional speaker talk about the use of his mobile (cell) phone I stopped giving out my mobile number to anyone who isn’t family or a close friend and diverted my business line to my mobile phone only when necessary.  This meant that my business didn’t have to follow me wherever I went.  And because 98% of my work is carried out in my own office (I rarely do on site work these days) it’s not necessary for people to call me on my mobile phone but I recognise this might not be a suitable step for all business owner/operators.
• I have an email address that is used specifically for job requests for clients and this is automatically forwarded to one or more team members to handle when I’m away from my office for periods of time.
• I have an emergency phone list of clients and contacts stuck on the wall by my computer so that if my husband or another family member have to call anyone on my behalf, they don’t have to go hunting for that information. The sheet is updated periodically.
• I also have a simple email list set up so I can email all my clients at once notifying them of unavailable time coming up so I can organise backup support for them in my absence.  Planned trips usually mean 1-2 month’s notice to my clients but of course, in emergencies, it’s usually at short notice – but at least they’re not left in the dark and they’re given a contact name of a team member to look after them.
• I’ve also developed more than one income stream through my business so I’m not wholly dependent on client work to financially support my needs. Which means I could realistically have a bit of time off without worrying too much.  Mind you, it is important to plan and put away funds when you know you are going to take leave but if something unplanned came up, finances won’t necessarily be at the top of the list in your mind.

If you are planning leave timing it across two months, i.e. a week or two at the end of one month and a week or two at the beginning of another will allow you opportunity to still bring something in for each month.  I’ve done this in the past, but of course, when unexpected things come up, you cannot plan the timing.

These are just some simple things I’ve done to ease the ‘load’ of what needs to be actioned whenever I have to be absent from my business for a period of time.  What about you? What ‘emergency’ systems have you put in place?

systems, planning, emergencies, taking leave, planned leave

Tags: Business Operations, Self-employed, Work From Home by Kathie Thomas
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Telecommuting is beginning to emerge as a truly viable way to work nowadays as it’s proven to cut down on costs from an employer’s end and make life easier for the employee working from home. Employers used to believe that people working from home were more apt to not get the job done but that has been proven to be an error in thinking. As more mothers are working now than ever there is a lot of competition out there to land a job working from home. Here are a few tips for job seekers:

1. Network! Network! Network! Let everyone know that you’re looking for a job working out of the house. Numbers indicate that at least 75 % of jobs are landed through networking. Go around and talk to people with small businesses that may need some extra help. The only way a job will ever fall into your lap is if you make the first contact and get the ball rolling.
2. Be proactive, not reactive. Not every employer is going to make their positions immediately available for work at home. So go ahead and apply to positions that could potentially be done from home. Data entry and bookkeeping are a couple examples of positions that could be easily transferred to the home. After you’ve been at the job for a while go ahead and approach your boss about moving the job to your home. Just be ready with statistics that prove that working at home is productive.
3. Be prepared to enter the work force. If you feel like your skills are a little rusty then you want to be sure you’re ready to jump into a job when you’re ready. Improve your skills and confidence with computer training classes at a local community college. Also, take a look for online tutorials that are often free and very informative.
4. Recruit yourself. Don’t be shy. Go ahead and put your resume in freelancing job banks. If you can get a part-time job doing freelance on a contract there is a good chance that you can develop the position into a full-time gig.
5. Make your resume spotless. The number of people that apply to part-time work will often be in the thousands of respondents. With these figures in mind it’s imperative that your resume can stand out in a crowd. If you’re worried about your resume take it to a career counselor and be receptive to constructive criticism.

By-line:

Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and credit writer, as well as a regular contributor for Business Credit Cards, a site for comparing best business credit cards. She welcomes questions, comments, and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

Tags: Business Operations, Work From Home by Kathie Thomas
6 Comments »

I get regular updates from Smart Company here in Australia and a recent article highlighted the difference between someone who is an employee and one who needs/wants to be an entrepreneur. Where do you think you belong? Would you like the flexibility and freedom of being an entrepreneur or do you prefer the stability of being an employee?

The Agony Aunt comes up with some great stuff in her column and this latest one is no exception.  The book she quoted I’d not heard of before, but I loved the chart she put up and I thought I’d share it with you. How do you fair in the test? I’ve love to hear about it!

Oh, so now entrepreneurship is the Gen Y answer to boredom. Jennifer, maybe you need a shrink, not a business. Why not try this poll? I found it in a book called Entrepreneur… and Beyond, By Alex McMillan.

Test yourself out on this.

Employee thinking

Entrepreneur thinking

To see the rest of this article, click here.

entrepreneur, employee, business owner, self-employed

Tags: Business Operations, Self-employed, Work From Home by Kathie Thomas
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I received an email with the title ‘Question About Your Service’ and then the lady proceeded to tell me all about her services and how she would like me to meet one of her team to discuss my interest in their services. All seemed above board but when I got to the bottom of the email she signed off with her name and a hotmail address.

I emailed her back with the following:

Is there a reason why you’re using a hotmail address and not a domain address? Your signature block does not have a phone number, website or anything at all that makes me think you are a genuine business.

Sorry but that’s how it seems – too many scammers and spammers around these days.

With respect to the list below, you haven’t even indicated what country you are in so even if I were interested in any of these chances are I’m not even in the same country as you.

Seriously, I would think if she’s going to offer savings for healthcare and worker’s compensation, shipping rates, office equipment and travel expenses, etc that she would at least have a business name, domain name for a website (or at least for her email) and some other form of contact information such as a phone number, fax number, etc. What do you think? KMT

The email above was received over a week ago – to date she’s not answered my query.

professionalism, email etiquette, global business, business, advertising

Tags: Author's Thoughts, Business Operations by Kathie Thomas
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