We frequently hear about the habits of slick entrepreneurs and there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom to pick up from them. As a mumpreneur, working from home, juggling a family and a difficult business, forming these habits can be quite a proposition.
If you have ever tried juggling the task of being an entrepreneur and a mum, you can see why many turn to online life coaching providers to help them with this difficult task. By coaching women I can understand the difficulties and the particular circumstances, between work, family and being a woman. It’s important to draw her attention to the seven important “habits,” helping her to achieve success without exploding!
Habit No. 1 - Learn to prioritise.
We certainly don’t have enough time and it is very precious and easily wasted. It’s ironic that when you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy, the minutes seem to drag relentlessly.
If we are busier than ever and time is flickering past, we have to be able to understand the management of time, or we will be quickly overpowered.
This management of time is quite simply the most important rule of all, as professional coaching staff often preach.
Look at all the tasks ahead of you, get a piece of paper and write it all down. You will need to allocate a priority to each task and condense this into a manageable timetable. When you embark on this task, it can seem daunting, if not impossible. Remember, you are very ingenious and it is amazing what you can accomplish with a little determination. When you have finished, print it all out and make sure you display it prominently, so you can always refer to it.
Habit No. 2 - Did you forget about yourself?
Mumpreneurs should not forget about themselves, as this is the second habit of those who are highly effective. Without rewarding yourself and enjoying valuable “me” time you will quickly burn yourself out and be far less productive.
So make personal time a priority and understand that this is not about being selfish, but is in fact a vital investment in your business and your life.
Habit No. 3 - Make friends with a little routine in your life.
Setting up a routine is one of the best habits you can practise. By placing a routine and sticking to it, you will become more effective, even though it may take a minimum of 14 tries before you get into the habit.
Whilst you might not like to be too structured, I would be surprised if you do not benefit from incorporating some routine into part of your daily business management.
Habit No. 4 - Don’t get distracted!
Even though phone calls from good friends can occasionally be quite a relief from daily pressures, make a point of not letting distractions get in the way of your efficiency. You have to block out time when you can turn off your mobile phone and make use of your voice-mail facility.
I’m certainly not saying that you should be ignoring people, but taking some “quite” time to concentrate on bigger projects can make all the difference when it comes to major accomplishments. Once you’ve taken this time for yourself, you can then set aside additional time to return calls once you’ve finished the endeavours that are crucial to the expansion of your enterprise.
Habit No. 5 - Create sacred space to work.
Habit number five is about creating your own special and protected area. A surprising number of mumpreneurs operate their businesses from their homes. If you happen to be a work from home entrepreneur, you’ll know from first-hand experience that it’s not a good idea to try balancing a laptop on the living room table and placing your file cabinet in the lounge!
Wherever it is in your home, make your workspace sacred and ideally place it in its own room, off-limits to the kids when you are working. Set this room up with ergonomics and efficiency in mind, and don’t use the room for any other purpose than work. If possible, have another computer set up elsewhere for personal use.
Habit No. 6 - Healthy body, healthy business.
If you don’t look after your health, all the other habits will be difficult to maintain. It’s essential that exercise and fitness become a regular habit and you should ensure that you have not less than three exercise sessions every week.
Do whatever is easiest for you to take on as a new exercise habit. So if you don’t live near a gym, it’s unrealistic to plan to go to a gym three times a week, as you’ll find that you don’t have the time to travel to and fro. Keep it simple - walking, running, cycling or dancing in front of an exercise DVD are all examples of keeping your body moving that are easy to adopt into your life as a mum.
Habit No. 7 - Build a superstar success team.
You’ve heard the expression “no man is an island” and the same applies to women! None of us can run a business alone and we all need support in various guises - mothers even more than most as we’re juggling so many commitments. Ask yourself what sort of support you need to become a highly successful mumpreneur and start to look for ways of building your “superstar success team.”
Professional coaching for women can help you to achieve your business goals much more quickly than you would on your own and is an important part of any highly effective mumpreneur’s success team.
But however you choose to build your team, don’t try to do everything on your own as there is so much to be gained from seeking the wisdom of good friends, confidants, associates and professional coaching experts. They can be superb sounding posts and lynchpins to your business success!
Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!