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Respecting Your Business Time

May 28, 2012 :: by Linda Jo Martin

I ended my last post with the words, “time is money,” and that inspired me to write about respect for your business time.

This is a problem I’m facing today. There’s a tendency for people to think that because you work at home, your business time isn’t important. They will walk in and talk for lengthy periods of time… or suggest you go somewhere or do something, none of which has to do with business progress.

Let Go of InhibitionsWhat will you do if the people you live with, or your friends, undermine time that should be devoted to your small home-based business?

My first course of action is to make a written schedule to post on my office door. I pay for the electricity, the phone, and the internet connection, and there is no other internet connection in my house. The person I live with likes to surf the web but doesn’t pay for it, so I need to be clear on what my office hours are. If I’m working, it is improper and impolite… and totally unacceptable to ask for internet time. Even if I’m doing something that is done mainly offline, I need to use the internet for reference.

A schedule is good only if you can stick to it. You are responsible for that and nobody else. If you have young children you’ll have to work around their needs because they always come first. Very little else deserves that consideration. Your small business is your livelihood. It doesn’t allow for distractions because if you’ve got a one-person business, there’s nobody else available to keep the business rolling if you’re not there.

If the people you live with won’t respect your business time, perhaps it is time for counseling, or a change in roommates. If that’s not possible you might need to decide whether you want your family or your business. You might have to scale back your business expectations if you don’t have enough time to devote to it.

Why is it that people don’t realize that working on the internet is WORK? I’ve been accused of “piddling around on the internet” when actually what I’m doing creates a full-time income. Where’s the respect?

There comes a time when you must insist on respect for your business efforts, and that starts with self-respect. If you truly respect your time you’ll force others to do so as well.

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About Me

Hi! I'm Linda Jo Martin, an artist in training. Formerly I was a xhtml/css web designer. This used to be my webdesign business site. Since I retired I've preserved the old articles about webdesign business issues but transformed the site for my adventures in creativity. This includes art, writing, and whatever else comes up in the creativity sector of life. I also review books. I'll review art books here, but my main site for book reviews is Linda Book Lady.

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Hello – I’m going to use this corner of the universe to tell you how happy I am that you stopped by to visit my site. This website has been a long-term project for me. I started my webdesign business back around 2002 and used it to supplement my meager income while my children were growing up. What a joy it was to be able to earn some money and help support the family! However now my children are adults and I’m retired. I still live in the Klamath River Valley here in far-northern California. My heart and thoughts have turned to art, something I saved for my retirement years. I call myself an artist in training, but truly, I think artistry training should never end.

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