Get the Help You Need

If you're running a small or home business, it's important to get organised and find a way to get the help you need. This might sound great in theory, but I know some of you will be thinking "I can't". I can't because I don't have enough time, I can't because I don't have family support, I can't because I don't have enough money, I can't, I can't, I can't.

Most of us don't want to or can't afford to put our kids into day care, so we have issues relating to finding time to work.

Most of us think we can't afford a cleaner, so we spend hours tidying, cleaning, doing the chores.

Most of us think we can't afford to contract out parts of our business like book keeping, responding to customer inquiries, product fulfilment - all the mundane stuff.

I'm here to tell you, Yes you can! You just need to find a way and get creative.

Here are some options you might not have considered.

If you can't afford day care, how about enlisting the support of a home helper who comes and plays with your kids for a few hours - that way they'll still be under your roof and your control, but they'll be occupied and they'll love the change of pace. Perhaps you have a teenage neighbour or niece who's keen to earn a bit of cash - even if it's only $5 an hour. Or maybe you can even trade with the home helper - they spend a few hours with the kids and you let them use your computer for a few hours afterwards.

Consider offering a work experience place to a student from a local university. In my PR consultancy, I got a student involved in sending out media kits, doing media deliveries, and creating labels for mail outs - all the stuff I didn't have time to do, but it gave them a great insight into how a public relations business operated and some experience before heading into the work place.

Contract out - finding someone you can pay $30 to $40 an hour to help you do some basic admin tasks can free up a few hours a month which you can use to grow your business. If you come up with just one great idea during this time that leads to more sales and more profits then it's absolutely worth your while.

Home duties (like cleaning) - get your kids involved. They need to take responsibility for themselves so you're teaching them a great lesson and giving them the opportunity to develop. It may not be done to your standard, but it will be over time.

The thing to remember is that no successful home business owner is truly successful until they've outsourced some aspects of their business.

You simply cannot do it all yourself, so take baby steps towards delegating and you'll see the difference it makes to your bottom line.

There are more time management and organisational strategies available to Home Biz Chicks members in the Smart Chicks Tips.

© 2010 Home Biz Chicks