I typically get both camps approaching me for some assistance with launching an e-business, or blog. In the one camp I have those individuals who already have capital investments that they intend to use in order to get their business rolling, and in the other camp I have those with very little in the way of liquid funds who usually state that they “have more time than money”.
Now it really doesn’t matter which camp you’re in. As long as you have the basic necessities needed while you are investing the time towards building your own business you can go just as far as the next person who happens to have fifty thousand to invest in his venture. In fact you’ll probably come out knowing more about your business because you’ll have outsourced very little of it.
Regardless of which of these best describes you, it’s important that you quickly come to realize that time itself has a value. Each person usually values themselves at a different rate but we each only have 24 hours in our day.
Learning to structure your day in such a way as to provide you and your business with the most return on your (time) investment will not only increase your chances of success and profitability, but will be a habit you carry forward even through the businesses success, which in turn only leads you to… you guessed it! More Success!
One of our greatest freedoms that come with our line of work is that we no longer have to commute, and as such can wake up and work pretty much whenever we feel like it. The problem is we can also be distracted a little bit easier, and we have quicker access to “time wasters” like television, Facebook, or random chatting with our network of friends.
As a blogger, or internet marketer I realize that some of those activities might not fall into the “time wasters” category, but generally speaking we can lose track of a fair bit of time on some of those activities if we aren’t careful.
One of the tricks you can use to try and lessen the non-productive time vs. the productive time is to track your activities for a week or two and you’ll usually be quite surprised at the results. Most of us think we “work” much more than we actually do. Just because you’re in front of a computer doesn’t mean you’re working!
One reason people can shy away from work and turn to more pleasurable ways of spending time is actually because they started out working too much! If you know that you have a break coming at the end of the hour then it’s much easier to stay productive until that time.
If however you’ve just work as long and hard as you can till you burn out, you’ll be more inclined to add more enjoyable activities into your daily routine, which will soon become your normal day to day routine costing you productivity in the long run.
Try making a list of productive activities that help grow your business, and then make sure you are accomplishing at least two or three things off this list before you turn to something that might be somewhat less or non-productive for your business.
We will always have some tasks that are not focused solely on us. In this industry it’s important to also give back and helping others to succeed is a great way for us to do that. Donating one’s time shouldn’t be thought of as wasting time. It’s important to not only the recipient’s success, but also to our own because that generosity will be returned to you eventually down the road. One phrase I’ve heard, and learnt to be true is that a “blog isn’t built by an individual; instead it’s built by a community”.
So remember the amount of funds in your bank, PayPal, or affiliate account isn’t the only commodity you have in your favor. Every day you’re given a maximum of 24 hours to do with as you see fit. Try to ensure you are building for your businesses future in the smartest possible fashion, and you’re growth will soon reflect that!
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