by Cindy Hartman

Created on: May 11, 2008

A HOME-BASED BUSINESS CAN CONSUME YOU.

When people hear I am a home-based business owner, their first comment is usually a funny remark about working in my pink fuzzy slippers (actually, they're purple). I must confess, many winter days would find this to be a true statement. Coming from the corporate environment, there has been a drastic change in my wardrobe.

The clothing, though, is the least of the issues. I asked fellow entrepreneurs what they found to be the biggest hurdle for them as home-based business owners. Many stated that their business seemed to consume them because work and home were one and the same. They lack the discipline to keep the two separate.

Every waking moment at home is spent in their office pounding the keyboard. If they do leave the office, they find themselves constantly "stopping in to check emails" or remembering they needed to do just one more task. Then 2 hours later, they are still working. Often, attention to the family, friends and the house suffer. Whether it's a lack of discipline to stop working or a compulsion to continue to focus on the business, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that relationships with family members and friends suffer, social life suffers, the upkeep of the house suffers and ultimately health becomes a factor. So what can someone do when they find the dishes piling up, the laundry isn't done, the grass is now 10 inches long, they can't remember the last time they had a family meal together and they still can't walk away from the business?

The first step is to admit it's a problem. I would venture to guess that your spouse and other family members have already discussed this with you. Take an eyes-wide-open look at your daily routine and ask if this is absolutely how you want to spend the rest of your life. Sometimes just being honestly aware is enough to create the discipline needed to stop spending so much time in the office.

Give a true assessment of your work habits. Are you really being productive, or just doing busy work? Are there things that you can stop doing that won't affect your customer service? Is there something you can reduce or eliminate that won't affect the quality of your work? Can you outsource some of the daily routine?

If you had even a few hours a day away from the office, think of the things you could do instead. Spending time with family members, friends or even business associates on a social level would begin mending and creating life-long relationships. Start a hobby that

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