Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Home-Based Businesses have a way of taking over the entire house.  As your business grows, so does the pile of things you accumulate to make that business happen.  Equipment, supplies, files, etc. are strewn all over the office, so finding something you need immediately becomes a full time job.  To make this even more complicated, in many of the home-based business offices that I have seen, the personal files are also housed there.  Everyone knows it is important to be organized, but somehow they just don`t have time to get organized.  They don`t see the value of taking the time to find a permanent place for everything.  Being unorganized is an enormous waste of your time...what good is it if you can staple two pieces of paper together in a few seconds, but it takes 20 minutes to find the stapler?

In my consultations with home-based business owners, I am emphatic on getting and staying organized.  Get the filing cabinets and other storage tools, buy file folders and desk-top trays, etc.  Then, spend the time making a list of the files you will need.  In my experience, there are 2 types of files: The Action Files, which house your daily activies, such a Bills, To Do, To File, Pending, Follow-up, etc.  These files are kept on your desk in a vertical file holder and updated daily, as you go about your activities.  The Permanent Files house your files that you need to keep on file such as insurance policies, medical/dental records, business legal papers, etc.   These are kept in your filing cabinet, as they don`t change and you don`t need to see them daily.  It is also important to remember to separate your business files from your personal ones.  Why not make your business files Yellow and your personal files Blue, so when you are looking for your child`s dental records, you are not wasting your time looking for a yellow folder?  Take the time to clean up your office and find a place for everything...and don`t forget to put things away at the end of your work day.  You can`t really enjoy your family time, if your brain is still looking for that bill that is due tomorrow! 

For more information and a DVD on "How To Start and Operate Your Own Home--Based Business" visit me at www.thehome-office.com.         

Love what you do and the lifestyle will follow,  Helene

 

Helene,

so people don`t have to run off and buy a DVD, can you provide additional tips here? this is very relevant advice - 50% of all businesses are home-based and we want to provide as much free advice to home-preneurs as we can!

thanks so much for your contributions!

rich


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Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

What`s the definition of "organize?"