Business women are well known for being some of the busiest people around.

With either a home based business to run or one away from home, combined with responsibilities in the home for family or alone, there’s always something to take up too much time. In fact, some women start a home based business in an effort to be able to spend more time with their family while earning an income. While it is never easy to be a full-time working business woman outside the home, it can be just as hard, if not harder, to be a full-time working business woman from home.

Learning to get a balance in an already business life can be a challenge to any business woman. Here are some secrets for getting a life balance for busy business women if you’re a single business woman or one that has a demanding family.

1. A home based business can be a great thing but for the busy woman it can also add another dimension of obligations. If you are alone during the day to do your work, keeping a focus can be problem. If you have the discipline to stay focused you also need to know how to take a break once in a while so you don’t burn yourself out.

2. If you have family at home during the day, you have another problem. Family may automatically feel that you are at their service. This is even more so if the children are at home during the day. The day could look like this: one child may need a ride somewhere, another child wants you to find something they are looking for, and your spouse wants you to run to the store and buy something for dinner. On top of all of that, you have clients expecting you to complete various projects for them, as well.

3. Moving from busy to balance is what you have to consider as you look at your working situation. Gaining the understanding of a support group is a first step towards that goal. The support you need the most starts at home. If your family does not quite understand your work day, you might think about holding a family meeting to explain how important it is for you have time set aside for your business. It doesn’t matter if you leave the house and work from an office, or if you work from the kitchen table, work is work. Your family wouldn’t come to an office outside the home and ask you to do all those miscellaneous tasks; working from home should be no different.

4. You will want to set aside time for your family, just as you would for your clients. Working from home will allow you to have a flexible schedule and that gives you the opportunity to attend school functions and other activities. If you’re accustomed to taking a lunch break for work outside of the home, think about this inside of the home with your family. You could take your child to lunch or fix lunch together in the house. But after that you have to get back to work.

5. While it can be easy to procrastinate and not get your work done as a business woman, it can be just as easy to over schedule yourself and spend too much time working. Work quality family time into your schedule and it will be easier to ask family to give you separate time for your work.

Read Consuelo Meux’s other 5 Top Secrets of Life Balance for Busy Business Women by clicking here

Starting a home based business requires that several factors are taken into consideration to see if building a business is something you can actually do. For instance, do you have the time to dedicate to working? No one becomes successful without consistent activity over time. Can you put 10 – 15 hours a week into your own business? If you where going to purchase an expensive franchise, you would make sure you had the time to see it grow. The principle is equally applicable to your own home based business.

Secondly, do you have initial capitol to begin your business? There has never been a successful business built that has not had initial capitol investment upfront. Most traditional businesses take 5-7 years before they are generating a profit. The incredible opportunity in the direct sales industry is that you can begin a legitimate business at home with a much smaller amount of money. You need to be clear on what you want. Do you want to make a little extra money for Christmas presents? Do you want to make and extra $100 a month to put into savings or pay off debt? Or do you want to make a full time income by working from home? All of these scenarios can be achieved by working from home if you have the right team, the right company, and the right attitude about your business. What is even more incredible , it that you even have the opportunity over time to start out just needing extra money for Christmas and graduate to complete financial freedom within 5-7 years. It all depends on you.

Now you have determined whether you have the time and you understand that it takes a little money to get going. Now how do you know if the business you are looking at is a legitimate, reputable, ethical company that will stand the test of time? Look at the company and its leadership. Have they been around and are they established. Most network marketing companies do not last more than 3 years. There are pros and cons to going with companies with a long established name or a newer company just starting to gather momentum and name status. The bottom line remains. What do you want? What do you like? Can you be passionate about the companies’ product? Would you buy the product even if you did not want to build a business around it? Then you are getting close to making a decision.

Does the company have consumable product? This is a very important point to consider. You will save yourself time and money in the long run, if you build a network of consumers that love to use your businesses product over and over again. If they get to the bottom of a container and can’t survive without your product again, then you are starting to build a distribution system with ongoing product sales that provide passive residual income. Does your company offer a way to sell their product online or allow clients to order products themselves? Think long term. Act as if your business is a multimillion dollar international business that is servicing hundreds of thousands of clients around the world. This is bigger than asking a friend to throw you a party. This is big business.

What are the timing and trends in culture? You surely do not want to be selling VCR’s right about now. You would be in the poor house. “Health and Wellness” is this decades and the next decade’s business boom. “Why?” you may ask… because of the Baby Boomers. They want to look younger, feel younger and stay fit and energetic well into their 80’s. Does the company you are thinking about representing, provide products that hit that market?

Do you have the ability to leverage your time? Leverage is the key ingredient that makes good businesses take off. CEO’s get paid off of the efforts of their employees, and there can only be one CEO of a company. However with direct sales, you can teach and train others to do what you do. They get all the benefits of being their own CEO while you get a percentage for teaching and training them how to do it. It truly is a brilliant business model. Everyone wins.

Do you have strong corporate leadership and up line support? These are vital components for long term success. You want to join a team that know where they are going, and have the ability to show you what to do as you are first starting out. More importantly, do you have strong personal leadership? Do you know what you want? Are you going to let anything or anyone stop you? That will get you through the bumps and bruises of your first year in business. If you are committed to working on yourself, developing the skills needed to be successful and give your business time and consistent effort, the sky is the limit.

In- Home parties are a great way to market your home based business. For one, you are invited into someones home and are now a trustworthy contact for their friends and family. Secondly, you are now a friend and someone they can trust. Sales boom when customers feel like you are “one of them”.

However, just because you are invited into someones home, doesn’t mean that every party will be worth your time. Here are a few tips to make sure that this event is a great success for both you and your hostess.

Hostess Coaching:  Work closely with the hostess to invite her guests. Give her an attendee goal and help her with the invitations. For example, I would recommend inviting through several means: phone calls, snail mail, evite, facebook, or text. People respond to different medias and you want to make sure they feel personally invited to the party.

Speak with your hostess at least 3 times before the event.
1. To explain how a party is run and the hostess benefits. Perhaps give her an attendee goal!
2. To discuss her created guest list and ensure that all invites have been sent out.
3. To gather a guest count and remind her of her hostess benefits.

Gather the names, phone numbers, and emails of the guests and contact them the night before to remind them of the party and see if they have any questions.

Do not be nervous to call the guests who have not RSVPed. People are busy! If they haven’t gotten back to you, it doesn’t mean that they are not interested. It simply means that they are busy and forgot to reply, or maybe they have questions regarding your product before they commit to attending a party at their friend’s home.

Successful In – Home Party Presentation:  Have fun! This is a social gathering of friends, as well as a product demonstration. This is a time to build relationships, ask questions, and get to know your guests needs.

Keep it simple. Keep food to a minimum. You do not want future hosts to feel like they have to provide a buffet for their 2 hour home party.

Be organized and have a clear plan so the guests know what to expect.

Party Follow – Up:  It is important that you follow up with your guests several times over the next few months.

Remember the 2/2/2 rule:
1. Two days after the event to thank them for coming and see if they would like to book a party,
2. Two weeks after the event to make sure they received their order,
3. Two months after the event to see if they have any questions and are still pleased.

This follow up is an important piece of the puzzle as you build relationships and gain more business!

If you’re truly looking to have a lucrative and fun home party, the above tips should get you off to a great start. To learn my BEST secrets for having a great in-home party, check out the following link: In-Home Parties

Denise Walsh is a direct sales expert and certified Life Coach. You can read more about Denise at her blog, I’m Loving Life

Believe it or not, the turkey isn’t even out of the oven yet and already we are hearing the Black Friday call of many retailers across the country. Anxious buyers and eager shoppers are getting ready for midnight or early morning sales that are the talk of the town. Amidst all the major retailer buzz, how can you capture some of the action with your own home based business?

• Create Awareness To All Of Your Regular/Frequent Customers via E-mail.
• Create an incentive for People to Make a Purchase on Black Friday From Your Business.
• Send a Special Captivating Postcard With Your Black Friday Content By Street Mail.
• Post A Status Update On Your Favorite Social Networks.
• Make An Effort To Communicate A Strong Message As To The Reason Your Products Will Help People and How They Make An Excellent Gift.

Joel Yount is a Member of Freeway To Success.

Website: http://www.jgyount.freewaytosuccess.net

by Joel Yount

In a matter of days people all across the country will be joining friends and family for a wonderful time of fellowship and celebration gathering around a table. In many cases, we will likely see people who we don’t normally see all the time. However, passing around the turkey or stuffing isn’t the only thing we can share at the table. In some family traditions, every one sitting at the table takes turns going around and saying what they are thankful for. If you have a home based business, why not embrace the opportunity to express your home based business?

In addition, why not bring some small samples of some popular products along to share after the meal? You never know who may ask for more information. In the meantime, enjoy the season of Thanksgiving and cherish the ones you spend it with.

Looking forward to the cheesy potatoes, red cabbage, and the mountains of stuffing.

Joel Yount

Website: http://www.jgyount.freewaytosuccess.net

Networking in person is something that many home-based and virtual business owners struggle with. I know that I could even be accused of hiding behind my keyboard at times.

It’s true, I don’t do a lot of face-to-face networking. I’ve discovered that my ideal client doesn’t live in my area, and they often don’t attend these events either. They’re in their home offices, working virtually like me. I’ve actually found my best clients through social media like Twitter, Facebook, and my blog.
But, once in a while, I do get an urge to connect with my colleagues face to face. And I’ve discovered that it’s not as scary as it sounds! Here are some tips you can use to make your in-person networking painless too.

Don’t talk about your business. Instead, ask the other person about theirs.
In networking situations, we’re often tempted to tell other people everything we can about our business. It’s like we have this idea that if they know all about what we do, they’ll recognize how much they need us.

It’s a far better approach to learn about the other person’s business before telling them about theirs. Ask them about what they do. Then when they answer, ask even more questions. Don’t talk about yours until you’re asked. At that point, you’ll be able to give the person you’re networking with information that’s of interest to them, and they will be ready to hear it.

Keep your business cards in your pocket… or your purse.
At most networking events, you’ll stand up, give a blurb about your business (aka your 30-second intro or elevator speech) then pass out your business cards. But how many of those people do you think will actually keep your business card and contact you?

We do business with people we know, like and trust. A 30-second blurb isn’t enough to gain anyone’s trust. Instead of passing out your card, wait until you’re asked for it. Then you know that person trusts you enough to consider doing business with you. And you can be sure your business card won’t be thrown in the trash.

True networking never looks like networking.
If you’re networking correctly, you’re getting to know the people you’re networking with, and letting them get to know you. There’s nothing scary about it! Instead of looking like someone who’s pushing your business, you’ll look like a person who’s connecting with other people in a very real way.

Denise Willms is a freelance writer and virtual assistant, and a busy mom to two teenagers. Do you want to know more about being a successful work at home mom? Denise publishes free work at home information on her article directory, WAHM-Articles.com While you’re there, be sure to sign up for her weekly newsletter, WAHM Tips. It’s the weekly email that helps moms earn from home!