Take Advantage of the Advantages

One of the best things about being self employed and working from home is the lack of need to dress up for work every day. Meeting people on a professional basis, such as a networking group or one-on-one meeting it is best to dress accordingly, of course. However, the rest of the time we have an advantage over those in the "corporate world".



Another advantage is the opportunity to work to your own schedule. You do not have to clock in or clock out. You do not have to be there to cover for others at lunch or wait until someone else comes back in before you can go to lunch or coffee.



Just this morning I had the opportunity to take advantage of those advantages. The sun was out and it was a warm but not yet hot day. So, I took my work to the back patio. With wireless connections on a laptop, a Blackberry and call forwarding from the office line, it was just like being in the office.



The advantages:

a) I was not locked inside breathing recycled or air-conditioned air

b) I was able to get that vital dose of vitamin D we all need, direct from the sun not from a pill

c) I was able to do my work in a pair of shorts and comfortable t-shirt (OK, the t-shirt did have the word STAFF in big letters on the back but that is another story entirely)

d) At noon I was able to turn on the barbecue and grill up some nice pork chops.



As there were a few potatoes baking in the oven, it made for a great lunch-time meal. Those in an office environment had to go out and pay a minimum of $10 - $15 for a meal like that. For me, it was a little diversion from work and a total cost of just over $5. for a meal for two. Another advantage, the cost of meals can be brought way down without sacrificing the quality of meal.



Bottom line, I say to all you independent business people out there who happen to work out of their home, take advantage of the advantages. As long as you are moving forward with business initiatives, does it matter whether you are inside or outside?

Direction Makes A Difference

Recently had to take several trips on a major highway. In one case was heading East on the 401 across the top of Toronto early in the morning. Traffic was steady but flowing not too badly. We managed to keep at least at the limit of 100 Km. Looking to my left it was clear to see that those folks heading West were not doing as well. The cars were barely moving and in some places they were totally stopped on the road.

That same day was now driving west on Highway 401 and saw the same phenomenon only in reverse. The westbound was moving well but eastbound was stop and go. Must admit that this made me feel great. Perhaps a little sorry for the plight of the drivers on the other side of the highway but really glad it was not me over there.

This got me to thinking how business is often like a highway. Depending on the direction we are taking it can be stop and go or moving steadily forward. This led to wondering what was the difference, can a business truly decide the direction it wants to take?

Clearly the answer to this rather rhetorical question posed to myself is, YES. As a business owner one can decide which direction to travel and therefore influence significantly how well the trip goes.

For example, let's say you want to do exactly what everyone else in your industry is doing. That would be the equivalent of my going westbound on Highway 401 in the early morning. Clearly, everyone is coming into Toronto to work and do business. True it did depend upon where I started my trip but that is always the case, is it not.

Now, what if you were to decide to go a different route with your product or service. To focus on one or two aspects of your organization's offerings that are unique. This would be like going out of Toronto in the early morning to conduct business. Now the trip is much more enjoyable and less stressful. You are not battling the other businesses (cars) for space on the road.

Looking at the direction of our company may mean challenging the norms. It may mean stepping out of our comfort zone. That said, it may mean a true breakthrough in business and in turn mean we start to enjoy the trip more.

Which direction are you driving in?

Cutting the Grass

Took advantage of a break in the rain yesterday morning and got around to finally cutting my lawns. Looking around the neighbourhood it was easy to see that I was the first on the block so to speak. Soon the sound of lawnmowers could be heard up and down the street as neighbours worked on their own lawns.

This phenomenon made me think of how it often is in business. As soon as someone does something to improve others are quick to follow. One clear example is the number of corporate presidents / CEO's / owners who do their own pitch on television. At one time you could count them on one hand now it seems to be all the rage. Some, unfortunately are not as good as others and could possibly be better off by not following the trend.

While my mind was spinning out of control so to speak, another thought occurred to me. It. appears home ownership has both an upside and a downside. The upside being that we have something to call our own and do with pretty much as we please. The downside is that we are responsible for keeping everything looking like it should.

Again, the similarity to owning and operating a business came to mind. One of the main reasons people give for opening their own business is to be their own boss. This being a very laudable purpose it often does not work out as expected. You merely change one boss for another. The new "boss" is you and/or your client base.

We find we are doing more and enjoying it less. Perhaps this is because our passion now has become a job. Perhaps it is because we are technicians who are good at doing one thing but the other aspects of business are just not our forte (to make a poor pun on a recent car commercial).

The challenge is to be able to put enough of ourselves into the business to make it a success while at the same time taking enough from the business to allow us to enjoy our success while we can. Every now and then we need to stop and ask ourselves a key question:

"Am I running my business or is my business running me?" The answer we get if it is an honest one can either stimulate us to keep doing what we are doing or stop doing what we are doing or perhaps start doing something different. Rather like coming to an interesection and deciding what to do depending on the colour of the traffic light.

What colour is your traffic light?