Search Results for: blog are you controlling your business or is it controlling you

Controlling Email and Social Media

Working from home oftentimes entails battling many distractions. One of the most common is technology, in particular email and social media. We are often looking for ways to control our use of social media and the overwhelming amount of email we can get. One writer friend recently returned from a vacation and tweeted how she was working through 300 email messages. I know that if I take just one day away from email, it can quickly mount up. Then you feel like you need to catch up on what has happened on Facebook. But I think what we need to … Continue reading →

Controlling Your Clients—Good or Bad?

As much of a bad rap as controlling behaviors get, one would think that there is absolutely nothing positive or good that can come from someone who is controlling or overly involved with the trying to get people and situations to go ‘just so.’ Believe it or not, there are some positive things that come from the efforts of a controlling person and if you are prone to being controlling, it can help to look at why you are being so controlling and try to figure out how to let go of the negative aspects and hang on to some … Continue reading →

Leadership Vs. Control Freak

A strong leader is not the same as someone who wants to control every aspect of a project of event. Sometimes, I think we have a tendency to assume that the person who talks the loudest, is the bossiest and who takes over every aspect of a project or event is the “leader” when in fact, that person may be overly controlling. Good leaders let others shine, and they know how to share the glory and delegate both the “good” tasks and the “bad” ones. A person who wants to control every aspect and micro-managed what he or she does … Continue reading →

Trust Issues in Your Home Business—Part Two

Earlier today I wrote about how our own trust issues can have a definite impact on how we work in our home businesses. We are not the only ones who might be wrestling with trust stuff, however. Our customers and clients bring their trust issues to the table when they work with us and it can influence how well we are able to work together. There are things we can do to help to ease the tension and help our customers and clients learn to trust us. In the first place, it might be tough to identify what is a … Continue reading →

Trust Issues in Your Home Business—Part One

When we think of “trust issues” many of us think of our personal relationships—those we have with a partner or spouse, children, or friends and family. Trust issues can also affect our home business operations, however, whether they are issues that we have or ones that are coming toward us from our customers and clients. Writing and talking about trust issues can be sticky. After all, many of us do not even realize what we are wrestling with. We may think we are just being “smart” or preparing ourselves for the inevitable. If we are constantly assuming that our customers … Continue reading →

Are You Controlling Your Business? Or is it Controlling You?

Of course we cannot always be in control—especially with our home businesses. Not to mention, there is a big difference between maintaining some elements of control and being controlling (or a control freak.) Still, I do think it helps to ask ourselves if we are in control of our home business operations…or if our businesses are actually controlling us? Can you set parameters around your business and stick to them? Do you have general operating hours or do you take calls at any time of the day or night? I think that having some basic boundaries around a business can … Continue reading →

Letting Things Happen in Your Business

We talk a great deal here in the Home Business blog about control and organization–how to build and shape and encourage growth in our business operations. In reality, sometimes even our home businesses have an organic process of their own and they need us to get out of the way so that they can develop and grow in the direction they are meant to. I know this might sound a little “new age” for some of you who have strong ideas about how to build and shape a business, but I do think there is such a thing as energy … Continue reading →

Are Your Customers and Clients Controlling You?

The other day I wrote about how we cannot control what our customers and clients do—no matter how much we might want to or how much energy we put into sales and customer service. There is a flip side of this coin, however, in that we might be letting our customers and clients control us! Do your customers and/or clients have more influence over your life and your home business than you would like? There is no denying that customer service is incredibly important in any sort of business. Even if you have a small consulting business with only a … Continue reading →

Engaging Your Customers

We cannot make sales or get contracts if we cannot get prospective clients and customers interested in what our business is all about. This may sound incredibly simplistic and obvious, but marketing a home business is about more than just hanging up the “open” shingle and opening the doors. While we do have to spread our message and get it out in front of our market, we also need to engage our customers so that they will become interested and attached to what we do in our business. Engaging our customers and clients means that we need to find ways … Continue reading →

We Cannot Control What Others Do

I know that I often write here in the Home Business blog about how we can strive to improve our relationships with our clients and customers, and we also talk about ways to improve sales and communication skills. I also think it is important, however, to point out that while we can do our best to work with other people, we really cannot control what anybody else does. We really can just do our best and focus on what we can do and how we can improve our own skills, but we are not going to be able to force … Continue reading →