By 2020, more than 40% of the US workforce will be freelancing, consulting, or bringing in independent income in some form. Americans are moving toward an indie economy, and it’s easy to see that trend in Southern California as more and more people build businesses as a primary income or as a secondary or part-time business. While there are clear benefits to being your own boss, running your own business can be challenging. There is always more to get done in a day than the minutes you actually have to do it. Entreprenur Magazine interviewed participants of Empact Showcase — an annual program highlighting the power of successful founders and their companies’ play in the community. These are three of their top strategies and how to leverage them in your business:
Tip #1: Get Off the Sofa
Get into a regimented schedule for maximum productivity. Your home should be your haven, but it isn’t a great place to try to work effectively. Working from home can be very comfortable. You can wear pajamas; You don’t need to comb your hair; but it’s not always the most productive place to get things done. Get yourself into a routine – get up at a certain time, get dressed for work, go to a dedicated office space – to ensure you’re fully focused and ready to work. Rameet Chawla, Founder of Fueled said, “My overarching goal is to be consistent in my schedule, and as a result, I live a lifestyle that allows me to maximize the amount of work I get done. I believe this type of prioritization has made a huge impact on how quickly Fueled has grown.” Fueled has offices in Chicago, London, and Newcastle; with another office possibly on the way in Asia. Its very cool headquarters– in Manhattan’s SoHo district that mixes equal parts Victorian London and New York hep with a dash of Silicon Valley geek – is a coworking space, home to the majority of its 85 employees plus about 35 startups. As the company says, “It’s not an office, it’s a collective.”
Tip #2: Access the Right Tools
One of the Co-Founders of E2M & Moveoapps said, “When I was starting my company E2M, the set of organizational tools I used kept me from drowning in all the work. The right time can save a lot of tears and a budding startup can use the right tools to accelerate their game to the next level.” Every start up knows the pain of standing in line at the printers, running to the post office or trying to find the best phone answering solution. A dependable printer, mailing tools, phones, fast internet speed and wi-fi, and access to a fax (yep, they’re still necessary) are essential. It’s also important to have a good working space, a quiet working environment, and access to lots of coffee. For some people, a co-working office fits the bill. With only a few dollars, you can have a highly productive work space to call your own and more importantly, co-working spaces offer professional meeting space for client meetings and collaborative work sessions without time wasted in finding space each time
Tip #3: Seek Different Perspectives
Danielle Fong of LightSail Energy said, “Usually, the simple answers that come quickly do not satisfy me; but instead of giving up or forgetting it, I work at the problem each day from different angles, under different lenses seeking outside perspectives.” A great way to get new perspectives is to create a trusted network for yourself outside of your one person show or small team. This network is the best resource to help you work through business challenges, find new ways to prospect, even introduce you to new apps or programs that make your business more efficient. Networking not only ensures you stay open to new solutions, you might just be rubbing elbows with your next investor, your future partner, or your board of advisors. You never know where business relationships can take you, but you need to get out of your home office and surround yourself with the innovators, early adopters, and experts that you need to be around to make the most of your business.
Share Your Tips
Do you have a tip or approach you’d like to share with other entrepreneurs? We’d love to hear it. Please share in our comments section below. And to check out our collaborative environment, fostering productivity, CLICK HERE to find out more.
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