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The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Mumpreneurs

By Amanda Alexander

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 20Dec2009 Word count: 907 Viewed: 263 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

We frequently hear about the habits of slick entrepreneurs and there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom to pick up from them. But as a mumpreneur or work at home mum, running a business and a family means that such habits are not always easy to adopt.

Being a mum and an entrepreneur is a delicate balancing act and many mums often turn to online life coaching experts and services to approach this significant challenge. When I coach women, I look at the individual and the circumstances surrounding her, her family and her career. I also focus her in on seven fundamental "habits" that will help her to juggle it all without feeling overwhelmed.

Habit No. 1 - Learn to prioritise

It is a truism that time is our most precious commodity and we just don't have enough of it. It's ironic that when you're doing something that you don't enjoy, the minutes seem to drag relentlessly.

On the other hand, when we are busy, time appears to fly and unless we grasp the concept of time management, we are likely to feel overwhelmed.

Professional coaching experts will tell you that time management is rule number one.

Evaluate all that you have to do and take time to jot it all down in a list. You will need to allocate a priority to each task and condense this into a manageable timetable. When you embark on this task, it can seem daunting, if not impossible. However, with a little ingenuity and application, you can make it work. Print your resulting prioritisation plan out, put it somewhere you can see it and refer to it frequently.

Habit No. 2 - Don't forget about you!

The second habit of highly effective mumpreneurs is that they remember to think about themselves! Without rewarding yourself and enjoying valuable "me" time you will quickly burn yourself out and be far less productive.

So make personal time a priority and understand that this is not about being selfish, but is in fact a vital investment in your business and your life.

Habit No. 3 - Make friends with a little routine in your life

Setting up a routine is one of the best habits you can practise. They say that it takes a minimum of 14 attempts at before you a habit becomes ingrained, and we all seem to work better if we adopt a routine.

Whilst you might not like to be too structured, I would be surprised if you do not benefit from incorporating some routine into part of your daily business management.

Habit No. 4 - Block out time without distractions

Whilst phone calls from close friends can sometimes be a welcome relief, don't let distraction become the enemy of efficiency. You have to block out time when you can turn off your mobile phone and make use of your voicemail facility.

I'm not advocating that you ignore people, but just try blocking out some "do not disturb" time to focus on larger projects. You can then allocate time to return calls once you've completed the tasks and projects that are essential to grow your business.

Habit No. 5 - Create sacred space to work

Habit number five is about creating your own special and protected area. Many mumpreneurs run a business from their home. If you are a work at home entrepreneur, don't try balancing a laptop on the kitchen table and putting your file cabinet in your bedroom!

Wherever it is in your home, make your workspace sacred and ideally place it in its own room, off-limits to the kids when you are working. Design this room with efficiency and ergonomics in mind and don't use it for leisure purposes. If possible, have another computer set up elsewhere for personal use.

Habit No. 6 - Healthy body , healthy business

If you don't look after your health, all the other habits will be difficult to maintain. Exercise and fitness must become a habit and you should plan on getting at least three exercise sessions in per week.

Do whatever is easiest for you to take on as a new exercise habit. So if you don't live near a gym, it's unrealistic to plan to go to a gym three times a week, as you'll find that you don't have the time to travel to and fro. Keep it simple - walking, running, cycling or dancing in front of an exercise DVD are all examples of keeping your body moving that are easy to adopt into your life as a mum.

Habit No. 7 - Build a superstar success team

You've heard the expression "no man is an island" and the same applies to women! None of us can run a business alone and we all need support in various guises - mothers even more than most as we're juggling so many commitments. Ask yourself what sort of support you need to become a highly successful mumpreneur and start to look for ways of building your "superstar success team".

Professional coaching can help you to achieve your business goals much more quickly than you would on your own and is an important part of any highly effective mumpreneur's success team.

But however you choose to build your team, don't try to do everything on your own as there is so much to be gained from seeking the wisdom of good friends, confidants, associates and professional experts. They can be superb sounding posts and lynchpins to your business success!

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