911 for Your Business!

I was recently reminded of how important it is to have an emergency plan in place for your business. Last week, I went to my home office to start a day of work and low and behold my computer would not power up. I, of course, went through all the steps I knew to try to troubleshoot it, but wound up taking it into the PC hospital.


Likewise, I was working offsite at a client's and wound up straining my back. Many of you know that I teach yoga many times a week, so this is almost like having a computer that won't turn on.


What lesson I learned from this was that every business, small or big, regardless of what you do, needs a back up plan or emergency plan. This goes beyond backing up critical files (although this is a great link for some info on how to back up your system: http://www.business.com/directory/advice/technology/data-management/backing-up-your-business/) This means also having that back up process where you are able to function remotely (such as from another computer on the premises, or laptop).


For example, what if your phones went out, 5 minutes before an important client call? Do you have your client's contact numbers in a physical place other than on your computer files? Do you have good coverage from your cell in your house?


Here are some suggestions for setting up your emergency business kit:

• Have a binder of important contact numbers and client processes on hand


• Make sure you have a printout of bookmarked sites for your clients (such as email access accounts for them if you have a custom email address for that client)


• Have a good cell phone coverage and plan in place so that you can have quality calls even if your business line goes down.

Most of all, make sure that you don't stress out! Be flexible and adaptable and realize that you CAN make it work wherever you are...that's the beauty of working remotely!

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Letting Go...

When you first begin your business venture, you wind up doing EVERYTHING...acting as a bookkeeper, a receptionist, administrative assistant and CEO. And then your business grows and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and things are starting to pile up on your "to do" list.

The important thing to remember is that you are NOT ALONE! There is a huge virtual world of people to help you.

I realized this in a recent lesson I learned. Having "done it all" for the last 10 years of my business, when it came time to launch a new site (thehomebizbuzz.com ---coming soon!) I panicked! How was I going to have time enough to create the content, set up the technical aspects of a website AND keep my other ventures going? So, I decided to take a lesson from some of my favorite mentors and realized that delegation was the key to my success, and I decided to outsource my web design.

Elance.com and guru.com are two excellent sites to post projects and have providers bid on your job. You set the budget and time frame and are protected through an escrow system. There are many qualified virtual administrative assistants, web designers, graphic designers, bookkeepers and much more out there, waiting to help your business grow.

The bottom line is that if you want your business to grow you need to stop trying to do it all yourself and think about what you can delegate to others so that you can focus on what YOU do best---growing your business!

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Mirror, Mirror...Am I As Successful As I Want to Be?

Let's face it, we as human beings need motivation or some type of inspiration to achieve our goals. For some, it's money. For others, it may be fame (such as celebrities). And yet others may be motivated or inspired by a higher calling (such as humanitarians). So take a moment and think about with your business, what is it that you hope to achieve? Is it financial success? Perhaps fame? Or is it something else?


Here's a 5-minute exercise I want you all to try:

1. First of all, have a notepad and pen handy.


2. Close your eyes and visualize a picture of yourself as a sucessful business owner. What do you see?


3. Visualize your bank account---what do you see as a balance?


4. Who do you see yourself surrounded by?


5. Open your eyes and write down what you saw. Make it into a statement about who you want to be.


6. Post it near your desk so you physically see it every day. Every morning, repeat the statement you wrote.

The more you visualize your success and what it looks like, the better your chances are of achieving it. Never lose sight of your vision and become blinded by things that distract you from that picture of your success.

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Don't Paint Yourself Into a Corner!

Take a moment and close your eyes. Visualize your business’s success. How does it look? Jot down your how your picture of success looks. Setting goals for yourself gives you measurable rungs on the ladder of success, eliminating the chances you'll paint yourself into a corner.

Setting and refining your goals is an important step to achieving them! You can't box yourself into a corner if you are constantly reviewing your work.

Keep in mind that some of your goals may change as you achieve them, or as your business evolves. I always find goal-setting a great motivator.

I usually set my goals twice a year to make sure I have achievable success. A good time to set goals and re-work your vision is at the end of the year, right before New Years. This enables you to focus the year ahead on achieving your success.

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.