When you run a home-based business it can be rather difficult to juggle all the responsibilities you have all in one place. Work at home moms (WAHM) may have even more difficulties making the time to work.

You live in your home but you are working out of it too, so what happens when those responsibilities begin to co-mingle? It seems there isn’t enough time for everything or everyone in the day and finding a balance can be frustrating at times. When the kids are at school this isn’t as difficult. You know what time they go to school and when they will arrive home. Every business has office hours and your home based business should be no exception. Set the work at home hours to coincide with the children’s schooling. You know just how much time you will have in between to take care of business. During the summer months and various holidays, however, this can be a more challenging task.

Because you are self-employed you can’t just take time off whenever you choose. Time means money and not working means not making any, so the alternative then becomes finding a way to juggle kids with work. The key here is to give them something constructive to do while you are working, something that makes them feel like they are important contributors to the task at hand. This way you will know what they doing at all times while still being able to take care of important business. Working while enjoying the kids events is a great way to mingle your WAH activities. Another is to give your children chores that relate to your business. This way they earn their allowance, learn business skills and help you out as well.

When it comes to computers, kids are usually just as, if not more, technically savvy as the adults. If you are going to let them use a computer, make sure it is one earmarked especially for leisure time. That way you have a computer for business and they have one for fun. Encourage them to use the computer while you are making important phone calls or sending out e-mails.

If you do not own two computers and allow the kids to use yours, give them specific times when this will be possible. Give them a separate log in so they won’t be able to access your important information. Back up everything in your computer. This is crucial even if you don’t have kids, but always remember accidents can happen. This may be especially true if you and the kids are using the same computer.

Manage your work at home time well. Most WAHMs are more likely to be diligent in working with a timetable when kids are around than if you are by themselves. This will make tasks much easier. Also keep in mind it may be necessary to work outside what are considered to be normal working hours and this can mean grabbing an hour or two when you can get it. One effective way to work around this is to try and match your off-hours work schedule with kids’ activities that don’t require your assistance or involvement. For example, you might choose to make calls or write your blog posts while the kids are doing their homework.

For smaller children give them constructive activities to accomplish. If your kids love to draw, stock up on art supplies. Allot them a workspace that is theirs and encourage them to be creative. Giving your little ones special games or activities that are only available when Mom is working will make them feel special and more apt to be cooperative when you are trying to get things done.

Working at home requires planning. When you make some plans and systems that will provide balance between family and work your WAH business is sure to prosper. When you incorporate WAHM time management systems into your business you will increase your income from your business on the long term basis. Learn more work at home tips at: http://www.CreateACashFlowShow.com

Any home party consultant knows that with each at home demonstration it only gets better. And when things don’t quite turn out the way you want…well there is always coaching and training.

After the very rare disappointing round of golf, Tiger Woods will often take a golf lesson. Why would someone who is arguably the greatest golfer of all time take a golf lesson? And who would he take it from?! The value is in the ability to “see himself objectively” from an angle or perspective that is not his own.

Training: Knowledge it is said is power. Not true. How many of us know things and yet haven’t seen the rewards of that knowledge. Well did Goethe write when he wrote these words,

Knowing is not enough; you must apply. Willing is not enough; you must do ~ Goethe

We all know that a business is the best way to create financial freedom, how many are out doing it? How many of us know that to maintain or get to our ideal weight, we need to eat less of the bad stuff, have 4-6 small meals a day, exercise, relax and let go of stress? How many of us are doing it? You see it is the application of knowledge that leads and equals power. Training, Education, Experience & Personal Development is the key.

Imagine that you get a phone call, where you are informed of your random selection as a Plastic Surgeon by a computer program. You are to report promptly at Hospital ABC, the following day at 8:00am! Consider the number of botched cases and the media frenzy. Would you seriously jump into something without the proper training and practice necessary to execute? Invest in yourself! Keep abreast of the latest marketing techniques to improve sales skills. Financial freedom, is not an event, it is a SKILL!

Work harder on yourself that you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you make a living which is fine. But if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune which is super fine ~ Jim Rohn

Duplication is all well and good. Remember that a home party business is about you. Until you realize that you the product is timeless and priceless you will be spinning your wheels. You are the single most important determinant of how successful this business. There is no such thing as proven SYSTEMS, UPLINE SUPPORT. The only thing that will help you build a successful direct sales home party business is personal development, training, education and experience.

Do you have an Action Plan / Game Plan? It is one that can be taught to others i.e., duplicatable while still leaving room for creativity, innovation and expansion? Times have changed. Some things that worked just a few years ago, do not today. Many companies and TEAMS are using outdated systems and methods. Most people (92+% of population) do not like to sell or be sold. Are you building a party plan business using 8 track methods in an iPod world? Don’t get caught in a rut!

Party Plan Pat

And now I’d like to offer and you can claim At NO COST to you, your own personal guide on how to create home party and direct sales business success. You can get INSTANT access at http://www.homepartyplansuccesstips.com. 10 Deadly Home Party Plan Business Mistakes provides you with 10 factors, which if avoided will sky-rocket home party sales and direct sales profits!

To Your Success,
Party Plan Pat
http://www.partyplanpat.com
Home Party & Direct Sales Marketing Expert

Summer can be a dangerous time for direct sales consultants. With school letting out and families travelling, many consultants hang up their consultant hat for the summer and look to “start over” in the Fall. The excuses are plenty, and the reality is that when consultants do this, they’ve paralyzed their business growth and their cash flow.

In a family full of teachers, I learned first hand the importance of balancing cash flow. Most teachers earn an income nine months of the year, and then have zero income during the summer – the time when they’re most likely to be able to enjoy it! It becomes important to balance cash flow throughout the year, in order to maintain your sanity during the seasonal income slumps.

Here are a few tips to help you even out your cash flow this summer:

1. Keep working your business. This is probably the most important factor. Yes, people are travelling, but many are not, and it’s a good time to schedule one-on-one appointments or hosting recruiting interviews with teachers who are looking for some extra income. Your show sales averages may not be as high, but some income is better than no income.

2. Find your annual averages. I’m a big fan of knowing your averages. If you know that you spend $1000 a month on average, you know that you have to bring earn at least $1000 each month to keep your nose above water.

3. Save a portion of your income during good times. Set aside a portion of your income during the good months so that you won’t have to suffer during the lean months. Later in my aunt’s teaching career, the school district gave her an option to take less money each month during the year so that she’d have a summer paycheck. The automatic nature of the “deduction” made it easier for her to adjust her budget to accommodate living on less.

4. Live on less. Decide where you can cut expenses, save money, and tighten the belt for the summer. This is the hardest solution, because we are a nation of spenders, and once we find a “comfort level”, it becomes difficult to live on less.

5. Eliminate debt. Debt is a claim on your income. Lower your debt, and you’ll need less to live on each month.

Running a real business is about building something that will withstand financial hardships – including times of lean cash flow. These simple ideas will help you move through the summer with your sanity in tact.

© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.

If you need additional help navigating cash flow and building a strong financial foundation in your direct sales business, consider Direct Sales 102. Designed for direct sales pros, Direct Sales 102 shows you how to build a financial foundation for success.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com.

To offer equal time to my Father this month as I did my mother last month, I sat to think about the things I learned from my Dad that I have applied to both my direct sales business and my coaching business. Dad wasn’t a highly educated man – he never finished high school – but he was smart. He served in World War II, in Hawaii as a mechanic, and could fix just about anything. This guy took a Chevy Blazer, chopped off the back end, and built himself a tow truck because he always wanted to own one. He saw obstacles as opportunity, and like my mom, was as stubborn as the day is long.

Here are a few of the lessons Dad schooled me on that I now apply to my own business:

1. “Don’t tell everything you know, Kid.” Dad rarely called us by our names. He was 56 when I was born, so I think it just kept him from being confused. When he used this Dad-ism on me, it was usually because I was getting excited about something I felt I just had to share. What he meant was to hit the highlights, and save the details for people who are really interested – like when you’re trying to book a party or give your recruiting talk. Hit the highlights, don’t tell everything you know to the uninitiated. Save the details for the people who are really interested.

2. “Take care of your own self first, Kid.” This was Dad’s comprehensive way of telling us to mind our own business. Usually, this happened when I was busy trying to parent someone or something else. Stray animals, inattentive siblings. I thought I knew better sometimes. Dad’s advice was to take care of my own business first, THEN I could worry about helping my brother or sister or the stray cat on the street. My modern-day equivalent is to put my own oxygen mask on first. Self-care has become an integral part of my daily routine. This also applies to my business. I need to focus on my business needs before I look to the needs of my direct sales team or their extended team members.

3. “Don’t take no crap from anybody, Kid.” Pretty self-explanatory, I think. In my business, I’ve translated this into not chasing after clients, or begging for bookings in my direct sales business. I lay out my expectations when host coaching, and I stick to my guns. If someone’s waffling on their guest list, I call their bluff. I’d rather be up-front and know what to expect in my business, than stand around scratching my head wondering why my host has cancelled again.

4. Be proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished. This one is hard for most of us – especially mompreneurs. We face so much guilt on a regular basis, that it becomes challenging to recognize the good work we do every day. Even if our efforts don’t always produce the results we desire, the fact that we’re giving it our all is truly commendable. I had to wait until my Father was in the hospital dying to finally hear him tell me he was proud of me. It was worth the wait, but not something I’d recommend to others. Don’t wait for someone else to tell you how great you are and what a great job you’re doing. See it in yourself – and celebrate it now!

Building a strong direct sales business takes courage and faith. Dad was a strong, positive old coot that didn’t take “no” for an answer. This Father’s Day, when you’re remembering your Dad, remember the lessons that you can apply to growing your business as well.

Copyright 2010, Lisa Robbin Young.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com.

Whether you joined your company for the additional income, the fun and products, or the tax benefits, taking the following steps will enable you to get control of your business finances for higher profits and greater peace of mind.

• Control your spending. Write down in advance what you will need for your business in the coming month. First, focus on business essentials such as catalogs and show supplies. Then be conservative for additional expenditures like buying equipment for your office or supplies for organizing.
• Be creative. Necessity is the mother of invention. Find ways to reduce unnecessary expenses by thinking creatively. Invite a prospect to your home for dessert and coffee rather than taking her to lunch at a restaurant. Make long distance calls to customers and hostesses on your cell phone if your plan includes free long distance minutes. Find new ways to save!
• Get Organized. Disorganization not only costs you time; it costs you money as well! Avoid wasting money on too many copies or duplicating forms by organizing your files. In addition, have a place in your wallet and a file in your desk where you place receipts for business expenses. Imagine the thousands of dollars in tax-deductions you may have missed simply because you did not keep a receipt.
• Track every business expense for the month. At the end of each month, total what you have spent on your business. Consultants who are maximizing tax benefits keep two totals: “Essential Expenses” and “Maximized Write-Offs” so they can see the additional benefits they are enjoying from their legitimate home-based business expenses. Write the highest total on the outside of a 9X12 envelope for each month.
• Track your income. List all your income for the month on the outside of the envelope as well. These will include Retained Profits (the 30-36% you keep from each show), Overrides (the amount earned on your team’s sales volume), and Bonuses (kit and volume bonuses).
• Compare income to expenses. Subtract your expenses from your income and evaluate the results. Keep in mind that if you are maximizing your tax benefits by writing off every legitimate expenses you would incur whether you had a business or not, you may show a loss that does not truly reflect the profitability of your business. This saves you tax dollars!
• Make necessary adjustments. How can you reduce expenses next month? Are there expenses, such as mileage that you are not taking advantage of? How can you increase your income next month? These questions will help you get greater control of your business finances and give you a feeling of confidence and success!

Jane Deuber is a Co-Founder of http://www.DSWA.org (the only association dedicated to the needs of the independent party plan and network marketing professionals). Discover what makes the DSWA so unique. Listen to three motivating and informative free teleseminars by visiting http://www.mydswa.org/tele_class.asp

It’s not often I write about booking, selling and recruiting, as there are plenty of Direct Sales trainers that speak on the core elements of our business. However, as a consultant in the trenches, I must chime in about taking advantage of the biggest selling season of our year.

And it begins NOW.

One of my mentors told me that the biggest mistake we make in sales is selling “in the month for the month”. In essence, we’re skating on thin ice in our business because we’re focused on the “now” rather than planning ahead.

Direct sales coach (and also a good friend), Julie Anne Jones, made a post on her blog about getting back to business once the kids are in school. It touched a nerve with me. If you’re just now “getting started”, you’ll have to play a lot of catch up just to get your business on solid ground in time for the holidays.

If that’s the boat you’re in, here are a few tips to get you moving forward faster:

1. Get clear on your objectives. Think about what you want your holiday earnings to look like now. And as Julie said in her previous post, make a plan. So often, we get cloudy on the execution because we weren’t clear on our goals and didn’t make a suitable plan. Plan for the vacation, the new TV, the gifts for the kids – and know how many parties you need between now and then to make that happen.

2. Know your benchmarks. What’s your average show sales? What’s the average ticket per customer? How many bookings do you average per show? If you don’t know those numbers, you can’t begin to plan. Benchmark your last 6 months versus the same time period last year. For some, their averages are slipping due to local economic issues (or other issues), but for others, because competition is waning, their numbers are on the rise.

3. Commit to “a little more” than before. Getting more than you’ve had before means being willing to do things differently. Are you reaching out to new markets, spending more time creating an online marketing strategy, or making more cold calls? What are you doing above and beyond the norm to drum up new, additional business to front load your calendar?

4. Sell into next quarter. I know several consultants that are booked 90 days (or more) in advance. Yes, it’s totally possible. For my business, I rarely have a client that can book in the next two weeks because of their own scheduling conflicts. I don’t fight it. I book 4-5 weeks out and coach my hostesses, using incentives to help them keep their originally scheduled date.

If you’ve already got a full calendar, good for you. Here are some tips to make November and December your best months ever:

1. Plan a special promotion at Thanksgiving. Each year, when other people are expecting/sending Christmas cards, I’ve already touched my most valued (top 20%) hosts and customers with a Thanksgiving card. Make a memorable connection, include a special offer, and follow up with a quick phone call to see if they’re able to order or book to add to your holiday sales. It’s a unique and different way to provide value and generate business.

2. Start approaching businesses and school offices now. Many times they’re already planning their holiday gift purchases, and if you wait until November, they’ve already made up their minds. Be proactive in contacting commercial customers – sometimes they have a huge lead time for approvals on orders and holiday gifts.

3. Remember to give plenty of advanced notice on all your parties. Consider sending invitations a week earlier than normal, and follow up with a phone call. It’s a little extra work, but the payoff is tremendous.

4. Start your VIP/customer appreciation programs now – when spending is high. This encourages repeat business throughout the year – even after the holidays. They’ll already have a few stamps on their VIP cards, so they’ll be eager to get them filled!

Don’t feel compelled to do all of these strategies, just pick a few and see the improvement from last year. The important thing is to be clear, focused and take new action toward attaining your goals. I’ve had consultants on my team sell thousands more in fall just using a handful of these tips.

Lisa Robbin Young is a marketing coach who specializes in online marketing and personal branding strategies for direct sellers. She’s also a consultant, still in the trenches, just like you. Her weekly ezine “PartyOn!” features articles designed to help you grow your business like a real business, not an expensive hobby. Learn more at http://www.homepartysolution.com

One of the most commonly asked questions of home based business entrepreneurs, is, how do I get organized. Yikes.

Really, where to begin. I suppose the most obvious thing is that you absolutely MUST have some form of designated area in which to work your business. Now this would preferably be a room of its own where you could close the door and work without interruption and make phone calls without background noise. However, if this is not possible, at least make some logical working space for yourself where you keep all of your business tools. Without this, I think it would be next to impossible to function with any degree of efficiency.

Having an office space is simply not enough, you must organize it. Equipping yourself with office / administrative tools is the first place to start. Make yourself a list and get the supplies you need. A filing system is also very important as I have yet to come across anyone who works efficiently with stacks of paper everywhere.

If you have limited amounts of time, which most of us do, the last thing you should need to do is clean your area or look for important information when it comes time to work. You will burn up all of your time with this wasted time. What you should be doing with this time is making money.

A common hurdle that many of us in this business have is that many of us have small children. This does not mean however that it is impossible to get anything done or be successful, people do it all the time!

What you need to do is think ahead and plan ahead. Figure out when it is you can work on your business and when that time comes – work on your business. Refer to your task list and calendar to tell you what you are supposed to be doing. Do not make excuses to yourself as to why you can not get these things done, when the time comes, JUST DO THEM!

Jillian Middleton spoke to Usborne consultants at the Calgary convention in January 2009 about setting Store Hours and this is one of the best systems you could possibly implement. You set the hours in advance that you will work in any given week, (they can change each week) and then, You Stick To Them. Ask your supervisor for more detailed information on setting store hours.

Learning to work with children around is unavoidable. If you think you will be able to run your business without ever making a phone call, sending an email, assembling paperwork, planning your schedule, packing for a party, cleaning your office area or any other business related task while you have children around you are mistaken.

Children who grow up in homes where mom does things other than tend to the house and children adjust very quickly to this. They can even be a big help when they are old enough and you will have built in assistants! Until this time though, you have to be creative and learn to work around them. All kids can play independently for short periods of time while mom works and they will become accustomed to this very quickly. This way, you will not be restricted to nap time, and after bed time to do your work.

Another thing you can do is bring in a babysitter while you are home working to play with the kids. You will be able to get tons of work done and will still be available if they need you. Bringing in a babysitter one or two days a week after school for 3-4 hours will make more of a difference than you could imagine. Of course, for those of you with unlimited help and babysitting won’t have to worry about this but for everyone else, it’s a great option.

Being able to get more done in your allotted work times by being organized and utilizing help will make sure that you are able to stay balanced. Your work will get done in your designated work times and then you will have the time you need for other aspects of your life.

Brandy Burge has been in direct sales for 6 years. She is in the top 10 consultants in Canada with Usborne Books at Home, a Sales Manager with Norwex Enviro Products, and proud owner of NorwexWebsites.com and DreamcatcherWebStudio.com. She does all of this with 2 small children at home.

So, you’ve decided to be an entrepreneur, which probably means it wasn’t a decision at all. You either ARE an entrepreneur or you are NOT.  Entrepreneurs guide their own destiny and build their own businesses using systems to facilitate intentional forward movement.

Entrepreneurs have vision. They feel things, they dream things and they let intuition guide them through both successes and failures. What really sets entrepreneurs apart is their ability to emerge stronger, wiser and even more focused on achieving their dreams after experiencing failure.

Entrepreneurs do not wait for instruction, they do not need someone to tell them what time they start work, what time they are off, how much money they are going to make or how quickly they will advance.

What entrepreneurs recognize is that they must focus on is continual self improvement and personal development. Just because someone possesses vision and desire does not necessarily mean they know how to manage their time, promote their business or balance their personal and professional lives.

A crucial part of being in business is having the ability to design and implement systems to regulate your business and make it easier to manage. Educating yourself on how others have run their businesses is very important. Anyone who is building a direct sales / mlm business has a wealth of places from which they can draw knowledge and ideas from experienced consultants.

Not only do they have their own upline and other consultants within their company but they can also draw upon the experience of consultants from any other mlm company as well. Remembering that it is not the product that will expand our business but the promotion of the business itself and team building, we are free to capitalize on the ideas and innovations used by any mlm company to incorporate with our own business.

There are many areas that need to be managed in order to grow a successful business, however, without breaking them down and going into the more specific areas of parties, customer service, bookings, hostess coaching, organization, recruiting and so on, we can very easily break down our business into 3 Major Categories:

1. Managing Your Customers
2. Managing Your Team
3. Managing Management (That would be you!)

In order to be able to continually build and manage your business, you must not only be able to keep up with its growth but also be constantly introducing tools with which to propel it continually forward.

To put this into perspective, think of it this way; imagine a young girl wanting to start a baby sitting business. She is an entrepreneur. She begins by taking a babysitting course, which educates her in her field. Then, she prints up flyers, posts them around her neighbourhood and delivers business cards door to door, dropping them in mailboxes around her neighbourhood. She soon begins to build a customer base and even starts to get referrals from her customers and starts to see growth in her business.

She keeps her clients names and phone numbers written on a piece of paper taped up by the phone and even takes the initiative to call anyone she hasn’t heard from in a while to see if they need her.

Now, suppose this girl decided she wanted to build her business even more and make more money than what she was making already.

What could she do? How could she expand outside her neighbourhood to a larger market?

Would posting flyers and hand delivering business cards to the surrounding neighbourhoods or the rest of the city or town be a solution? Of course not. As you can see, if she really wanted to expand more, she would need to use a more efficient means of advertising.

Now what could that be?

• Local papers?
• Online Classifieds?
• Create her own website for her business?

The difference between her posting flyers and delivering business cards door to door and using one of these methods is that by using one of these methods, not only is she reaching a much larger audience, but these customers start coming to HER without her spending her time going to them. She is also then contacted by people interested in her services and not wasting her time and materials going to people who are not interested at all.

Now, after promoting her business even more, she finds herself flooded with requests for her babysitting services to the point where she can no longer handle the requests herself unless she finds a friend who can help her.

She also runs out of room on her piece of paper by the phone and is now recording the names and phone numbers of her customers on the side of her mother’s kitchen cupboard.

She begins to receive the scattered call now and then from customers stating that the friend she recommended did not show up for an appointment. To add to her stress, her friends are beginning to get upset with her because all of her free time is now consumed by her babysitting service and she never spends any time with them.

This girl needs to do 3 things:

1. Manage Her Customers
2. Manage Her Team
3. Manage Management (Herself!)

How can she manage to better keep track of her customers?

How can she ensure that her babysitting team is being reliable, professional and doing a good job so that her customers are happy and her business continues to build through more referrals?

And finally, how can she better manage her time to ensure a balance between her business and personal life? This girl needs systems, schedules and tools to get and keep her business on track.

To lay it out in black and white, if you are going to do business in the 21st century, you must have a 21st century business and use 21st century systems and tools. If you do not, you will reach a point where you will fall far behind the more modern, efficient entrepreneurs who truly know how to maximize and capitalize on all resources available to them.

Brandy Burge has been in direct sales for 6 years. She is in the top 10 consultants in Canada with Usborne Books at Home, a Sales Manager with Norwex Enviro Products, and proud owner of NorwexWebsites.com and DreamcatcherWebStudio.com. She does all of this with 2 small children at home.