#1: The Grocery Store

You can learn a lot in a grocery store. As a customer, you learn to compare prices and values, and to budget - both critical skills for a small business owner shopping for materials and supplies. As a clerk, you learn to calculate item prices and tax, and to provide customer service – these skills will also be extremely valuable to any budding business-kid. Best of all, the role-playing is fun. If you have more than one child, assign each to a role, provide play money and a cash box, and sit back to watch the show.

#2: The Salesman

Teach your kids the art of the sale by letting them practice on you. Have your kids make a ‘Wish List’ of items like a raised allowance, more time for video games, and an extra trip to the Mall. Once they decide what they want most in all the world, they can make a list of all the reasons you should ‘buy’ what they’re saying, and use the list as a guide as they ‘sell’ it to you.

#3: King for a Day

Delegation is a skill every business-owner should learn, as an alternative to ulcers and insomnia. There’s a huge difference between delegation and just being bossy – help your kids learn this lesson by putting them in charge for the day. By dinner-time, your kids will understand that there’s more to being the boss than just issuing orders. Bonus: Since they probably forgot to plan for dinner, call it a Pizza Night and use the occasion to teach about contingency planning.

#4: Desperate Times

Can your child function in the face of a crisis? How will he handle it if things don’t go as expected? Challenges are part of life, so contingency plans are the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur. When dinnertime rolls around, and there’s no food in the fridge or on the table, your kids may panic. Teach your kids to find serenity in the midst of crisis-mode, by brainstorming for solutions, such as ordering pizza or even save money by eating sandwiches or breakfast-for-dinner.

#5: Professionalism

Once your child masters the other skills necessary to promote his or her business, move on to professionalism. In this case, dressing up in fancy clothes and role-playing for a pretend business lunch is a fun and simple way to practice being a jet-setting entrepreneur.

Photo by MJ/TR

Listen to your grandparents! Image by Gronvik

Wisdom… The combination of knowledge, understanding and experience that turns information into gold. You can find information in books, gain understanding from your peers, and work to build up experience, but isn’t there an easier way? Yep: Spend some time with the people who have been there, done that, and did it all long before you were doing more than selling lemonade from a cardboard box in front of your house. That’s right, your grandparents – they can teach you about the value of a good work ethic, and the importance of keeping your word.

What is a ‘Good’ Work Ethic?

A work ethic is a combination of your beliefs about the way that you should comport yourself at work. A ‘Good’ work ethic has various features, but usually contains the following:

• Hard Work: You don’t slack off, you work hard on the job at hand.You do this, not for an immediate financial reward or pat on the back, but because a job worth doing is worth doing well.
• Self-Motivation: If you see something that needs doing, you do it, without waiting to be told.
• Punctuality: You show up on time for work every day – maybe even a little bit early. You don’t take extra-long breaks, or leave early unnecessarily. You give your job the benefit of your abilities for all of the hours you are meant to work.

Honesty in Business

A handshake used to mean everything. Now, even a contract on paper, duly signed and witnessed, can be broken. Don’t be that person – the one everyone knows can’t be trusted. You can bet that customers and business partners will remember whether you’re honest or not, and use that information to make future business decisions. Word-of-mouth can be underrated – don’t underestimate the power of a good or bad reputation around town.

Learning from Experience

Your grandparents have some powerful lessons to teach you about business – lessons that are universal, and always timely. What lessons have you learned from your grandparents? Share your experiences in Comments below.

Succeed by improving your business skills. Image by jsnflo

If you’re in business, one of your top priorities should always be developing your business skills. You can never been too organized, or too business-savvy, so take a look at these three resources to help you nurture your entrepreneurial talents.

Small Business Administration

The SBA offers classes, one-on-one help with loan and grant applications, and a wide variety of other resources for entrepreneurs. Even if you don’t need a loan right now, and you’ve already got a business plan in place, the experience of gathering the necessary information and documentation will be priceless if you get slammed with a last-minute deadline. Knowing how to apply for a small business grant when you need one, for example, is a priceless business skill.

Books & Classes

Don’t be afraid to ask for help! You can learn a lot from business-related books, and a management or accounting class can either create new skills or hone the abilities you already have.

Study to learn about business. Image by mazwebs

• Online classes simplify the process of adding to your education, even when you’ve got a busy schedule.
• Choose books based on your needs – an accounting guide or an ebook to clue you in on the basics of social networking are simple examples of resources that can help you hone your business skills.

Business Mentors

Know someone who is successful in business? Ask that person for mentoring, and reap the valuable benefits of his or her experience. Who knows the ins-and-outs of the corporate world and business networking better than someone who has been-there-done-that? What if you don’t know anyone who is in business? Try SCORE – the Service Corps of Retired Executives will match you up with a retired executive in your area. All SCORE mentoring is confidential, so don’t worry about the loss of private company information.

Developing Business Skills

Success requires growth – if you want to be successful in today’s business climate, you must work to improve your skills in every possible way. Whether you choose to read a book, take a class, get help from the Small Business Administration, or choose a mentor to help guide you, adding to your business toolbox is a simple way to smooth your path to amazing achievements.

Teach your kids business sense: Image by mzacha

The lessons you teach your children today will last a lifetime, so choose wisely! Enable highly-organized entrepreneurial skills and model appropriate business dealings today, and watch your kids succeed tomorrow.

Getting Organized: Help Kids Learn to Plan Ahead

One of the most critical entrepreneurial skills you can teach your kids is organization. A well-organized business is much more likely to succeed and remain successful than a slapdash by-the-seat-of-your-pants venture. Let your child choose a home-based business, and get started with a business plan.

• Business planning for kids: Since it’s unlikely that your child will be seeking funding, the business plan should be geared less towards selling the business idea and more towards planning for future success. Market research and product research is a must. Budget planning and calculating the required investment to start the venture will also help your child understand the hidden costs of business ownership.

Once your child has created a business plan, help him or her organize spending and receipts with office supplies. Post-it notes in bright colors, pretty clips, customizable labels, page tabs and binders are a fun way to get kids involved in the day-to-day duties of running a home office.

Modeling Better Business Behaviors

Business can be cutthroat, but that may not be the lesson you want to teach your kids. If want your children to be respectful and hones in their business dealings, model that behavior yourself. If you follow this simple rule, and encourage this ideal in your children as well, they’ll grow up to be entrepreneurs you can be proud of. What is the rule? Honesty in all things: be truthful in dealings with customers, competitors, and even the IRS – your kids will follow your example. What does this mean? Among other things:

• Don’t write off personal expenses as business expenses, even if you could probably get away with it.
• Don’t make up stories about a competitor to get more business.
• Don’t pass off low-quality products as high-quality products.

Teaching Your Children Entrepreneurial Skills

Your kids may be motivated by different things when they decide to start a business, whether it’s a dog-walking service or a lemonade stand. Use this motivation to help them understand the need for organization and proper business behavior, and they’re more likely to work toward improving their skills in general.

Make a List to Organize Your Ideas: Image by doctor-a

In any business, focus is key. When you’re an entrepreneur, it’s even more critical to make sure that you’re focusing on the best ideas for your business. As you work to make sure that your company grows and prospers, prioritize your ideas to achieve success.

Step One: Make a List

When you’re trying to get organized, and choose which ideas to move forward on and which to delegate or put aside for later, a list is critical. There are several ways to come up with a list of ideas you’d like to act on, including keeping a running tally, and sitting down to brainstorm ideas all at once.

• Keep a running list of business ideas in an Idea Book. Most of us have ideas occurring to us at all hours of the day and night. How many times a day do you say, “Hey, you know what would be great?” What if, instead of trying to remember that great idea later, you just jotted it down in an “Idea Book?” A tiny pocket or purse-sized notepad will keep all of your brilliant ideas in one place for later evaluation.
• Brainstorm with partners and peers to build on great concepts. Sometimes, bouncing ideas around alone isn’t enough to inspire the best plans. Brainstorming, and taking notes of each terrific idea for later evaluation, is a fast way to quickly compile a list of ideas for your company.

Step Two: Evaluate Your Business Ideas

Every idea is not created equal – some are more practical than others, while some are downright exciting and others just plain dull. Once you’ve got a list of ideas compiled, just take a quick look through and sort them by your preferred criteria, such as:

Cost – how much will it cost to implement this plan? Do you have the money? Will it require investors?

Time – how much time will it take to implement the idea? Is this time available? Do you have someone to whom you can delegate the work?

Motivation – how excited are you about the idea? Are you motivated enough to offset higher costs and time investment?

Benefits – will the idea provide short-term or long-term benefits to your business?

Step Three: Prioritize Your Way to Entrepreneurial Success!

Once you have sorted your ideas, it’s an easy task to prioritize them based on the needs of your business. Remember, just because you can’t take action on an idea today, doesn’t mean that you can’t take action when an opportunity arises. If the opportunity isn’t there, however, stay focused on the ideas that will profit your company today, to build a successful tomorrow for your business.

Facebook icon: Image by ZyMOS

What is the Prescription for success when it comes to Facebook fan pages and business development? Creativity and content will help you develop your business, while a drab fan page without compelling posts isn’t going to earn you many fans.

Creativity? On Facebook?

Yes, even on the heavily-templated Facebook platform, you can be creative. Whether you express your originality in the technical aspects of the page itself, or the content you post, a fresh and interesting fan page is a great idea. What can you do to set your page apart?

• Edit the HTML on your fan page to create additional/different tabs, and change the overall look of the page, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.
• Use the available Apps to customize your page, and make it more user-friendly to your fans.
• Eye-catching photos and video keep your visitors coming back for more.

Content is Key

A bright and interesting page will bring visitors back once or twice, but if you don’t have new content available every time they come back, they won’t keep returning. Think of your business fan page as a mini-blog that requires frequent posts and updates. How can you keep your content fresh?

• Encourage employees to post updates throughout the day. Avoid personal comments, but a friendly reminder that the company is composed of individuals is a great way to personalize your business in the eyes of your fans.
• Brainstorm once a week to come up with a number of mini-posts for the fan page, then post them periodically throughout the week.
• Link to any content produced by your company, or referencing your company, elsewhere on the web. New blog post? Link it in your fan page. News release? Of course. Did someone in your company give an interview? Link the resulting story.

Business Development with Facebook fan pages

A Facebook fan page is another way for you to spread the word about your business, grow your customer base and gather future leads. With a little creativity and the frequent addition of fresh content, your fan page will grow into an important part of your marketing plan.

Summer Themes for Business: Image by blue one

For entrepreneurs, keeping a weather eye on seasonal changes is a great way to improve your business. Take advantage of summer trends in business, to get a leg up on your competition.

What are Summer Business Trends?

Pay attention to the changes in your business environment,  and make the most of the summertime!

• More free time and fewer scheduled activities: During the summer, you may find that you have more free time, since the kids are out of school and don’t have all the lessons, meetings, study groups and other activities that take up so much family time. Take advantage of this free time by focusing on your business goals. Consider getting your family involved in the business as well. A summer job with your home business is a great way for kids to take on extra responsibility as well as earning some extra cash during summer vacation.

• Traffic patterns: Whether you have a solid online presence or operate a real-world storefront, traffic patterns matter. Keep an eye on changes in foot traffic and page views based on weather, and look for ways to take advantage of the traffic that you do receive. Consider extending or reducing hours, and offering different services based on your evaluations of customer needs and behavior.

• Health and the outdoors: Gear your advertising and products toward customer needs during the summer months. Slimming down and suiting up for the swimming pool are major concerns for many people. Others may be planning vacations or just trying to beat the summer heat. Whatever your industry, customize your approach based on the season, and you’ll reach more customers.

Business Changes During Summertime

Consumer behavior changes during the summer, so don’t miss out on the opportunities the season brings. Look for unique opportunities to market toward buying trends, take advantage of changes in traffic, and get some help from your kids and spouse to make the most of business trends this summer season.

Track Changes When Modifying Your Business Model

Whenever you make changes to your business model, whether the changes are major or minor, frequent evaluation is critical to the process. A comprehensive evaluation after you have completed the first six months of your plan, will help your organization get past the mid-year doldrums and achieve goals on schedule.

Business Models Central to All Operations

The business model you choose will impact all other parts of your organization, but the type of changes will dictate the areas in which you evaluate the progress of change, as well as the methods for evaluation. In all cases, a well-organized plan for the change, including clear goals and milestones, is a necessity for monitoring the success of your endeavor.

• Customer Satisfaction: If you’re moving to a more customer-oriented business model, consider implementing customer surveys to evaluate customer satisfaction. For best results, you should have a baseline to which you can compare your progress.

• Marketing: In the case of a change to a business model that focuses more attention on marketing and promotion, there are a number of factors you can compare to determine your success level. Although increased income is a clear sign of success, an increase in new customers or inquiries can also be taken as a positive result.

• Online Presence: When transforming your business model from a solidly brick and mortar company to a company with an emerging online presence, you can evaluate your progress by measuring the amount of traffic your web presence is enjoying, as well as tracking the amount of sales generated by the website as opposed to sales made in-store.

Transforming Your Business Model

Any business that doesn’t evolve with changes in the economy, supply and demand is doomed to fail. When you decide to make changes, a six-month evaluation, as well as periodic reviews throughout the year, is critical to the success of your venture. As you work to transform your business model, and evolve your company to meet the changing demands of today’s economic climate, don’t forget to take the time to evaluate your progress – you’ll improve your chances of success.

Don't Work Alone - Get Your Family Involved

The support of everyone in the family can make a huge difference for your home-based business. If you can find a way to get everyone involved, with more than just the bare minimum of cooperation, you’ll not only improve your chances of success, but bring your family together. Try these strategies to get your kids involved with your home-based business.

Getting Your Family Involved

Make Work a Game: Mary Poppins had this one right – If you turn work, or your business tasks, into something fun, even younger kids can get involved. Divide your family into two teams, each with at least one adult or older child, and conduct envelope races to get through a stack of marketing materials or business letters.

Rules: The eldest person on each team sorts and folds business correspondence, and the younger members of the team insert the letters into pre-printed envelopes. When your team has stuffed all available envelopes, stamp and seal the envelopes. Whichever team finishes the assigned stack of correspondence first is the winner.

Three (or Four) Heads are Better Than One: Kids are smart and savvy, and they may have some great ideas to help your home-based business. Kid-centric marketing or promotion ideas, as well as new products, may be the key to getting your company off the ground. Big companies pay focus groups to review new products or give opinions about current marketing campaigns. You’re blessed with a house-full of free opinions – why not put them to good use?

Rewards are the Spice of Life: Getting the kids interested in helping out with your new family business may be as simple as setting up a rewards system. The fact that you need to make money so you can pay the rent is not impressive to a ten-year-old, but “We’ll go out to the movies on Friday, if you help out” can make a big difference.

The Family that Works Together Plays Together

Once you manage to get everyone involved in your home-based business, you’ll realize more rewards than just improved productivity. Consulting with your kids and your spouse can bring the whole family together, as you work towards your financial and business goals.

Choose the Best Mother's Day Gifts

Thinking about forgoing the traditional Mother’s Day gifts this year? If you’re buying a present for an always-on-the-go business woman, you can probably cross the bath salts and flowering shrubs off your list.

According to a study conducted for the Small Business Administration (SBA) working women spend more time caring for others than men do, whether they’re self-employed or salaried. In fact, according to this study, business women with children spend as much time caring for the kids as they do working at their primary jobs. So, if Mom is too busy with meetings, video-conferencing and caring for her family to have time to enjoy everyday gifts, what should you get instead?

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Business Women

Gifts for Business Women on Mother's Day

If you’re choosing a present for a business-woman on Mother’s Day, consider her tastes and lifestyle before you purchase anything. If possible, combine practical gifts with something a little more fun, so she’ll get something she needs as well as something that she might not have chosen for herself.

Practical Gifts for Mom:

These “practical” presents will help your mother get through the day, so she’ll be thanking you long after Mother’s Day has come and gone.

• Time: Help your mom manage her time by giving her a new day-planner, or contacting her favorite babysitter, and paying for some extra time in advance. The gift of a few more hours in her day time may be the most valuable present you can give her.

• Efficiency: A new set of notepads in her favorite color with some nice pens will give her something on which to jot down notes while she’s working, and a new briefcase or bag will help her look stylish as she carries around all those important papers.

Fun Gifts for Mom:

Get your mother something thoughtful, but make sure that it’s something she’ll actually use. Try these fun gift ideas for your mom this year.

Manicures for Mom's Day

• Mom & Me Mani/pedi outing: Any mom would love a trip to the salon for a manicure/pedicure with her daughter(s). Finish off with a lunch out, and let her come home to a clean house, for a Mother’s Day she’ll never forget.

• Music: Whichever type of music Mom likes best, she’ll love a chance to experience it live. Present her with tickets to the opera, her favorite musical or a rock concert, and pair them with a CD of her favorite music. A personalized gift of music shows her that you care enough to remember what she loves to listen to, and give it to her.

Mother’s Day Presents for a Business Woman

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate motherhood and show appreciation for all of the wonderful things that a mom does for her kids all year around. Business women are busy, and even frazzled at times, so give her the gift of time, along with your love and appreciation, and enjoy a wonderful Mother’s Day this year.

I cannot begin to tell you how often I was completing my day by declaring, “Wow! I can’t believe how fast the day went!  Don’t ask me what I did all day though…” Laundry was still undone.  Dishes were still piled in the sink.  Floors needed scrubbed.  Various projects were half done and scattered around the house.  The kids were snacking on store-bought muffins (gasp!).  You get the picture.

I began to feel like a stranger in my own skin–a woman simply staring into the window of her own home watching herself run frantically to and fro trying to manage a house and children.  This was not at all the life I imagined when I was a newlywed, awaking at 5:00 a.m. to bake fresh bread for my husband to take to work or when I was pregnant with our first child and had hand-knit an entire drawer of bonnets, booties, cardigans and blankets.  What happened?

I’ll tell you what happened.  Life happened.  A few years ago I decided to dust off my dreams of becoming a published writer and a few short months after that I gave birth to our second child.   Suddenly I had more on my plate than ever before.  The perfectionist in me wanted to do everything just right but in reality I had become spread so thin over so many different aspects of life that I wasn’t doing anything.  Period.

I sat down and prayed. I prayed for peace and order in my soul and home.  I knew that this didn’t rest on my shoulders alone.  I re-read Proverbs 30:10-31 and remembered how all the things this woman accomplished were not done in one day.  They were accomplished over time.  She prioritized her life. Then I reminded myself of Proverbs 14:1, “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her own hands.”

I found the courage and strength to begin transforming our house into our home.

First, I made a list of all the things that had to get done and all the things that I simply wanted to do.  It didn’t take long for that list to become unrealistically long so I had to prioritize.  Sure, I loved scrapbooking, afternoon naps and reading blogs for hours but I *loved* writing, baking and spending time with my family.  It was pretty obvious which things had to go.

Next, I made a plan and executed it.  My house felt like it was in a constant uproar, nothing was ever in it’s place, so I gave myself a time limit–one hour per morning–to read through blogs and check emails.  After that each day had a designated chore that I took care of.  Monday-laundry, Tuesday-closets, Wednesday-bathrooms and floors, etc. It took about two weeks to get my home–and family–back in order.

Now, I have time to spend quality time with my family, keep my house clean, meals cooked, snacks baked and writing deadlines met–and all it took was a little re-prioritizing.

What things are a priority for you? What things aren’t?   You are in control of your life and have the power to transform it into whatever you want it to be.  No matter what your vision is for your home or family, it is yours.  Make a list and re-prioritize your life today.

Here at Blissfully Domestic we applaud women who are doing things their way.  Whether they’re bakers or no-bakers, whether they grow their own herbs or buy them in a jar…we are all working towards the same goal…there is no right or wrong way.

We are all Blissfully Domestic!

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I’ve struggled with this, probably more frequently than not, but have some strategies that help me (when I remember to use them).

Focusing Techniques – for those times when you can’t, for the life of you, stay on task.

First, step away from your desk.  If possible, go into another room, but if not, make sure you turn AWAY from your computer or whatever it is you’re working on.   Then try one of these, depending on how much time you have.

• Have 10 minutes?
  • Meditation – Sit comfortably.  No need to turn yourself into a pretzel.  If it’s more comfortable, put a pillow under the back part of your butt to help straighten your spine so you don’t slouch.  Picture something peaceful, but still – a flower, a rock?  My favorite is a perfect, round, Granny Smith apple.  Breathe slowly.  In through your nose, out through your mouth.
  • Walk around the block – Get your blood moving.
  • Have a bite – Have an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter or some crackers and hummus.  Not a full meal – just enough to give you some energy.

• Have 20 minutes?
  • Take a nap – Okay, this one doesn’t work for me very well, but I’ve heard that it can do wonders! Set a timer so that you don’t oversleep, and dim all of the lights. Get comfortable; warm, but not all covered up like it’s midnight, and close your eyes.
  • Take a shower – Slightly brisk. Spend an extra minute or two with a loofah or scrubbie to get your blood flowing

• Have 30 or more minutes?
  • Exercise – Fifteen minutes out, fifteen minutes back. Walk, jog, run. Jump rope. Put the kids in a stroller and go! There’s nothing like exercise to get your endorphins flowing. And those, my dear, will help you focus.
  • Take a break – A real, honest to goodness break. Warning: The important thing with this one, though, is that you tell yourself, (in your MOM voice!), that you ABSOLUTELY WILL go back to work when your allotted time is up. Because otherwise, you’ll be reading Blissfully Domestic (my favorite break pastime) 2 hours later and you still haven’t managed to get that task done.

  Relaxing Techniques – Stress reduction – you’re more than an employee.

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  My mother was a stickler for thank you notes.  Not writing thank you notes for gifts or after being a guest in someone’s home was up there with “Murder One” in my mom’s book.  I am only SLIGHTLY kidding.

  A handwritten note, preferably on a personal notecard, is a powerful way to reach out and say thank you to someone after a party or dinner.  It’s even more important if you or your family have been an overnight or weekend guest.  My favorite places to get notes and stationery are Fabulous Stationery and Target®.

  Fabulous Stationery-For $25.00 you can order some nice note cards with your name and return address. I love the fun and bright cards at Fabulous Stationery.

  

  Target®-The image below is some of the inexpensive and bright note cards from Target®. I get papers, notes and stickers from Target and mix them up for fun notes and birthday cards.  As in all other Target products—-it’s cheap and chic.  What’s not to love?

  Bottom line is that thank you notes are nice.  AND it would please your mother.

  Disclaimer:  I am writing this post as a reminder to MYSELF.  I am bad about following my mom’s advice when it comes to thank yous but I’m trying to be better.

  

  ]]> http://blissfullydomestic.com/life-bliss/entrepreneur-life-bliss/thank-you-notes/1966/feed/ 2 http://blissfullydomestic.com/life-bliss/entrepreneur-life-bliss/an-organized-ho/1601/ http://blissfullydomestic.com/life-bliss/entrepreneur-life-bliss/an-organized-ho/1601/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:00:00 +0000 Cara Mirabella http://blissfullydomestic.com/uncategorized/an-organized-home-office-is-a-more-efficient-home-office/ Continue reading →]]>

  More and more people are finding ways to work from home, either to replace a 9-to-5 job or to supplement the family’s income. As I’ve been coaching WAHMs I’ve found a common problem with working from home – not defined office.

  One of the best things you can do to help improve your chances to succeed is to establish a home office. Not only is it a tax write-off (be sure to check with your accountant as to what you can and cannot deduct), but it is also a way to help stay organized and be more professional.

  The type of business you are running will dictate the type of office you need. Will you be having clients meeting you in your office? Will it be your workspace? Will it be a multi-purpose room? For example, if you have a business based mainly on a computer and internet, then you won’t need as much space as you would for a craft production or product distribution business.

  First, eliminate anything from the room that isn’t directly connected to your business (unless it is a multi-purpose room, such as a wall that serves as the family library). The fewer distractions you have, the better. It also helps reduce unnecessary clutter. Store things in boxes or move them to another room.

  There are many nice filing systems – from the traditional filing cabinets, to hanging folders that can attach to the back of a door. Sort through all the papers in your office. Decide what you need to keep and what can be thrown away. When in doubt, set up another folder or box for things to look at again later.

  Once you establish a filing system, keep up with it on a daily basis. It is too easy to become overwhelmed if you don’t. Color-coded systems work nicely. One color for tax-deductible related items, another for invoices to clients, another expenses, etc. Then you simply place the papers or receipts in the appropriate color folder.

  The workspace is often the most difficult to keep organized, but if you have a handle on the paperwork, it helps reduce one area of clutter. Make sure the workspace is large enough, and comfortable. Whether you have to sit or stand,  do to the work, make sure the surface is at the correct height. This will help reduce back strain and allow you to work for longer periods of time, thereby increasing your productivity.

  There are many nice desk organizers that allow you to keep items close at hand but out of the way. If you only keep the items you need most often on the workspace, it will also reduce clutter. Keep the rest tucked away in storage units in your desk drawer, shelf or box. There are drawer organizers that can be customized to meet your needs.

  Don’t forget to organize the computer. There are many organizational software programs that can help you track appointments, clients, and your work. By using these programs, you can keep on top of things and waste less time.

  Set up special folders in your documents folder, so you can file things away for easy retrieval. Databases and spreadsheets are also very helpful tools in tracking your inventory and other business related needs.

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