working from home

Seven Tips for Working From Homestring(32) "Seven Tips for Working From Home"

March 16, 2020
, Entrepreneur, Innovation, personal story, Productivity, Social Media, technology, work ethic 15

In the early 1980s, I spent one of several evenings in the home of an entrepreneurial couple who lived in the foothills of Los Angeles.  This couple would regularly invite people over to their home to talk.  Talk about what?  Everything.  Life, relationships, business, and most of all – the future.  It was an informal mastermind group of people who loved good wine, forward-thinking, and great conversation.  One night after an interesting discussion among that night’s guests, the husband invited me into his office (but not working from home back then) and showed me a fairly large rectangular hard-plastic box.  It was a box with a very small, 5” screen on it.  He turned it on and it lit up with bright yellow monochromatic characters that flashed on the screen.  He said – “It’s an Osborne!”   “An Osborne what?” I asked.  “An Osborne computer,” he said.

By today’s standards, this precursor to the personal computer wasn’t much to look at.   The least expensive mobile phones on the market today have infinitely more computing power than that big box on his desk.  Nevertheless, I was impressed.  More importantly, I remember the words he said next:  “This kind of technology will change the world and the way people do business in it,”  Clearly, I could see how computers would enhance the business but, I still didn’t understand what he meant.  He explained that this type of technology “will allow people to do business anywhere – even at home!”   This was a prophetic comment if ever there was one.

Working From Home Tips

working from home

Working from home has become more common, and sometimes like today – more necessary. So, if you’re working from home these days, here are some things to consider:

  1. Establish a dedicated area as your workspace.  It could be a room or just a table.  But that is your workspace.
  2. Focus.  Don’t get distracted.  Your home is now your office.  Treat your workspace like your office.  Structure your day like you would in an office.
  3. Use the technology that is at your fingertips.
    1. Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting or any other platform that allows you to talk to people online.
    2. Here’s a crazy idea – talk to people using that 21st Century version of what Alexander Graham Bell invented – your telephone.
  4. That technology is great – but stay OFF social media unless it is directly work-related.
  5. Plan your day.  Schedule your work on your calendar, hour by hour.  This will help you stay focused and on track.
  6. Communicate your expectations and ground rules with anyone else that may be at home with you (toddlers and younger are an exception).
  7. Take breaks away from your “workspace” and go back to your workspace immediately after your break time is over.

Working from home can be productive, I know.  I’ve done it off and on for more than 35 years.  The trick is that you have to have a plan and work that plan… even when your work is also your home.

Is Networking Worth It If You Work for Someone Else?string(52) "Is Networking Worth It If You Work for Someone Else?"

May 11, 2015
, , , , , BNI, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referrals, Sales
Photo courtesy of patpitchaya at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo courtesy of patpitchaya at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whether you’re self employed or you work for someone else, it is definitely worth your time to start looking for networking groups that can refer you new business.  If you work for someone, take steps to persuade your employer that you will get business by working with these groups.  I’d like to share with you a true story which demonstrates how this can greatly benefit you.

I met a bank manager several years ago who worked hard at persuading his supervisor that participation in a BNI® chapter would yield substantial results for his branch.  The supervisor reluctantly agreed to let him join on a trial basis.  The manager began getting referrals soon after joining.  After several months, another member gave him a particularly good referral–a man who was disgruntled with the level of service at his current bank.  The manager decided to visit the man at his company.  The man told the bank manager that he felt he was not getting personal service from his bank.  The manager assured him that his bank prided itself on service.  He gave the man his personal mobile and home phone numbers and told him that if there were a problem he could be reached any time of day, at home or at work.  The man thanked him for coming to his office and told him he would get back to him.  

Two days later, at 9:00 a.m., the man was standing at the bank door with several savings and checkbooks in hand.  The manager met him at the door and thanked him for coming to the branch.  The man said he was impressed with the way he was handled by the manager and that he had decided to transfer his accounts to the manager’s bank.  To the astonishment of the bank manager, the new customer handed over checking, savings, and money-market accounts totaling over $950,000!  After everything was completed, the man told the manager how glad he was to be referred to him by their mutual friend.

I first heard this story when my office (BNI Headquarters) started getting phone calls from every branch manager in Southern California who worked for that bank.  Each of them wanted information about local chapters of BNI.  When the bank manager who got the $950,000 referral told his supervisor where he got the referral, the supervisor (Remember him?  The reluctant one?) called all his other branch managers and told them to join a local chapter of their own within the next two weeks.

If you work for someone else, the lesson here is to persuade your supervisor.  Not long ago, I spoke to an individual who wanted to join a networking group but was told by his boss that the company wouldn’t pay for it.  This savvy salesman asked his boss, “If I front the money myself and get two referrals that turn into sales within the next thirty days, would the company pay for it then?”  The boss said, “Sure, if you come in with two sales, I’ll see to it that the company pays for the membership.”  Well, guess what?  This salesman, thus highly motivated, closed three sales and was working on four others at the end of the first thirty days.  He told me that his boss “gladly payed for the original membership, and recently paid to renew it.”  Whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, start looking for groups that refer you new business.

Do you have any stories about lucrative referrals you’ve received through joining a networking group?  If so, I’d love to them–please share in the comment forum below.  Thanks!