Managing your Home Business Easier

Running a business at home is very much like a spinning plate. There are so many tasks to follow at the same time, and not paying due attention to a task can cause something to break. This is especially true if you are a solopreneur who has to wear all the hats in the business, including the accountant, the marketing manager, the product / service provider, the customer service and more.

While hiring virtual support can help, if you’re not in a place where you can outsource work, and even if it is, you can save time and money by taking some tricks to help you run your business.

Here are 16 tricks to help you achieve the success of your home business.

Delete Phone Apps : I personally suggest to make a bold move to delete phone apps. This includes social networks, email, games and web browser.

If you travel or need to use your phone to do business, this may not work for you. However, you should seriously consider the frequency with which you use your phone, for what and if you really need to do it. When you are working in your business, unless you are driving it through your phone, you do not need the distractions that telephone applications bring.

Disable Notifications :You may not be able to delete applications from your phone, but at least you can turn off notifications. The truth is that, in business and in life, you do not need to be “turned on” 24/7. Also, when you are working in your business, you should concentrate on the task and the objectives within your reach, and do not be distracted from having reached a Facebook message. While you’re at it, turn off the ring on your phone. Anyone who calls can leave a message.

Not only turn off phone notifications, but also, turn them off on your computer.

Unsubscribe : Is your inbox flooded with bulletins, announcements and more? While you may have wanted to subscribe to these resources initially, if you are not reading the content that is being sent, these emails simply mess up your inbox. You end up wasting time erasing them.

Use a tool like Unroll Me, which will unsubscribe you from the emails you do not want, and offer the subscriptions you want in a daily summary, which you can schedule to read at the same time.

Use a Second Monitor : There are several benefits of having a second computer monitor in your home business, such as:

• Reduce or eliminate the number of tabs opened in your browser, which can slow down your computer
• Making it easier to refer to the resources needed to complete your work
• Increase ROI by thousands of dollars each year, according to a 2005 Pfeiffer report
• Increase productivity up to 42 percent, according to Jon Peddy Research
• Fewer mistakes, as found in a study conducted by the University of Utah and NEC, which also provides information on the best screen size and the best resolution to maximize your results.

Of course, most computers now allow you to split your screen; however, even on a large monitor, the smaller size of the added screens may not help you achieve your goal of doing things faster.

Stay focused on the Work at Hand :There are a lot of tools that will prevent you from surfing the web and other online distractions. Set a timer and all you can do is work (unless you decide to let the clothes distract you). Some of those you can try are SelfControl and StayFocused.

Reduce and Automate Social Networks : Social automation tools have been around for a while and are useful for scheduling your publications. However, even with tools, social networks can end up taking the time that could be better spent doing something else.

Do a renewal of the social media plan to make sure you are using it and the tools that come with it to the fullest. Choose two or three platforms that give you results and eliminate the others. Will you lose any business? Perhaps. But if you rock the few you do, you will compensate for that loss.

Once you have the few platforms on which you are going to focus, choose the tools that offer the most simple and easy automation. Some things to consider include:

• It works with the platforms you use
• Programming
• Mass load of posts
• Replenishment or recycling of evergreens content.
• Analytics
• Browser application to easily share between platforms
• You can consult resources such as Hootsuite, Meet Edgar and Smarter Queue

Make your Website Work Harder :While direct contact with your potential clients and customers is important, you will not want to waste time answering questions and providing information that your website can do for you. Some things that your site can do for you include:

• Answer FAQ
• Make Appointments
• Take surveys
• Collect forms
• Manage presales questions and customer service with a tool like Quriobot
• Provide schedules and places for meetings and events
• And more

Get Applications to Work Together : There are more and more services or tools all in one that are integrated to help you in your business, but sometimes, there are tools that you want to work together that do not. When applications do not work together, it often means more work for you to do things.

Using a service like IFTTT, allows you to create integrations between a variety of applications that include Gmail, Dropbox, Twitter, Evernote, Slack and more. You can even use it to connect your appliances and your car if they have applications. Basically, IFTTT works by having an activator (if this happens) and an action (then this should happen). Examples of IFTTT recipes include:

• If you take an Instagram photo, send it to Dropbox
• If you receive an email from a specific person, send an SMS to the phone

The number of recipes you can create is infinite. If you are willing to have one digital task sent automatically to another, see IFTTT.

Zapier is another workflow automation tool that works with tons of applications, and like IFTTT, works on triggers that generate action.

Use Templates : If you find yourself writing the same kind of thing over and over again, it’s time to create a template. For example, if you answer the same questions by email all the time, create a template for that answer. If you use HARO to request advertising, create a template that contains your media information, so that all you have to do is add the specific information of the tone to your query.

You can use templates in blogs (WordPress has add-ons to duplicate or copy a publication too), invoices and more.

Make Programming Easy :As mentioned above, your website can become your appointment maker. You can use tools such as Calendly, Assistant.to or BoomerangCalendar that allow your potential clients and clients to schedule appointments.

Receive your Calls Anywhere : While you do not want to feel obligated to answer your phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there may be times when you need to be available. You can use a tool such as Grasshopper to route incoming calls to mobile phone lines or residential or your Skype account.

Find your Things Faster : Do you ever lose your keys and arrive late for an important meeting? Can not find your laptop bag? If you are often delayed or frustrated because you can not find your things, consider adding a crawler.

Tile offers trackers that can attach to almost anything, keys, phones, bags, tablets and more. When you can not find the item, touch the corresponding option on your phone and the tracker will sound or give you a location if you left it somewhere else. If you lose your phone, you can touch the tracker (that is, on your keychain) and your phone will ring, even if you have set it to silent mode.

Automate the Delivery of Supplies : If you find that you are going through a lot of supplies and have to run to the office store to refuel, consider setting up an automated delivery. Both Staples and Office Depot have subscription services that will automatically send you supplies. Amazon also has a recurring delivery for its business accounts.

If you use a lot of ink and have a wi-fi printer, you can sign up for HP Instant Ink, which will deliver new printer cartridges before they run out.

Use Digital Signatures : Avoid printing, scanning and e-mailing (or faxing) signed documents using RightSignature, which sends files by email that require signatures, and receives the signed documents in the same account.

Have Someone else Take Care of the Errands and the Busy Tasks : A virtual assistant service such as Fancy Hands allows you to use an assistant when necessary for things like scheduling appointments, researching and more.

By using a service like TaskRabbit, you can have someone run errands, as well as take on household projects such as assembling furniture or lifting weights.

The more you can do in the shortest time possible, the more time you will have to perform money tasks or with your family. Many of these hacks are free, so there’s no reason not to try them. Some hacks take a while to set up, but once they do, they will save you time and allow you to avoid tedious tasks.