Advice for the Entrepreneur: Lee’s Tip #255

One of the biggest challenges work-from-home entrepreneurs face is when family and friends fail to take your workday seriously. You need to create a true work atmosphere in for your business.

Although one of the benefits of being your own boss is that you are able to take time off to do the things you want, it can be highly disruptive to your business to be constantly interrupted. In order to succeed, you must take charge of your average work day.

So 3 tips today:

1. Post your hours of operation on your door, and make sure you stick to it. One of those handy “Do Not Disturb” signs showed up by mistake in my suitcase after a trip, and I hang it on my office door.
2. Put your business hours on your voicemail and refer the caller to your home phone if it’s personal.
3. Pretend you’re not home. Don’t answer your home phone or door during business hours. You’re not being anti-social; you’re being a business owner.