Live Life with Priorities

It has been a while since I have blogged!  Over the past month we moved into a new house, after moving into an apartment for three weeks.  I was amazed at the amount of work that it takes for one move let alone two!  During this transition period we managed our daily lives, or at least tried to.   What I learned about life management during this time confirmed what I have always believed – prioritization is the key to success and sanity.  But I also learned that you must prioritize what makes sense in your life at that minute.  For example, I was not as regular with my workout because I never stopped moving during the day and did not think I could have had energy for both!  But I did make it a point to schedule specific times to manage the family and business finances, or they would have easily been forgotten or even lost.  Taking the time to stop and analyze what is most important right now given today’s circumstances will pay off in many ways!  It will keep you on track; it will keep you sane and make sure that nothing gets passed over.  Do you have your priorities in line?  Do you actively work on what is important and not what just comes up?  Don’t let your life pass you buy – watch what matters today!

Eliminate Risk

Self employment is risky.  We hear that said many times, it is usually the first thing that comes up for those who are thinking of starting their own business.  Let’s take a minute to see what risk is and how to eliminate it!

Risk by definition is the chance of suffering harm or loss and the uncertainty of all of this unknown.  Instead of worrying about how you can handle risk, worry about the best way to reduce risk.  The best way to reduce risk is to plan how you are going to eliminate the possibility of loss or harm occurring.  The more you know the less risk you have.  So how do you plan to eliminate risk?

1. Create a list of all possible risks for you in starting a business.  This can include income, time away from family, start-up costs, location, experience – you name it if it could be a problem for you put it down.
2. Study your personal situation, how long can your finances make it?  Do you have the traits to be self employed?
3. Your prospective businesses chances – try many what if scenarios, not just one best case scenario.  When doing a plan do a best, good, bad scenario and know what to do to handle the business during each scenario. 
4. Talk to others about your feelings about going into business for yourself.  Many times talking through issues and having a person as a sounding board is very beneficial!  At the least journal about them.

Planning eliminates lots of risk and makes you more comfortable with the steps you do take!  Don’t sit on the sidelines because of risk, make a game plan and start playing!