Tag Archives: improvements

Using Customer Questions to Make Improvements

When customers or clients ask questions, it can be a good jumping off place for us as to the areas of our businesses that need work. If things are confusing or do not quite work for those we do business with, they will likely come up as a question or a problem. Instead of simply feeling resentful or answering the question and moving on—if a question pops up (particularly if it pops up repeatedly) it is a good thing to investigate and see if there is room for improvement. I have found that questions and problems can be a great … Continue reading →

Can You Get Better at What You Do?

Many of us start home businesses in industries where we already feel like experts. Whether we have adequate education, tons of experience, or a combination of both—it is often only after several years of working in a particular industry that we start to feel like we have enough expertise to go solo. Once we start our businesses, however, we may start to feel a bit inadequate (often for the first time in years.) After all, we are being called upon to use skill sets that we may not have needed in previous, more traditional jobs—and we are the only one … Continue reading →

Professional Development and the Home Business Owner

Perhaps you are thinking that now that you are an entrepreneur and a home business owner, your training and professional development days are through. Unless you have licensure to maintain or certain training requirements to fulfill for the industry that you work in, you might think you don’t need to spend money or time on professional development. It might be a good idea for you personally and for your business, however. The great thing about professional development now that you are on your own in your business (besides the fact that it can help get you inspired and make you … Continue reading →

Improvement by Accident

I tend to write about operating a home-based business as if everything can be controlled and organized with just a bit of planning—as if a good business plan and a strong budget, not to mention plenty of focus and effort—and your business will be on the steady incline. I wanted to pay homage to the reality that sometimes, improvements and growth happen in our business pretty much by seemingly complete accident. If necessity is the mother of invention, I think that accidents are often what prompts some interesting improvements and changes in direction—not only in our businesses but in life … Continue reading →

Aiming For Faster Recoveries

If something goes wrong or awry in your home business, how long does it take you to bounce back? In the beginning stages of our businesses, it may take us a while to figure out what has gone wrong, do the research to come up with solutions, and implement “the fix.” However, as we grow and build our businesses, one of our goals can be to have speedier recoveries so that we can get things moving again quicker. I think it helps that we learn from our mistakes. As we amass mistakes and “learning opportunities” in our home businesses, we … Continue reading →

Finding an EVEN BETTER Way

Let’s face it, even the most innovative in our midst can get stuck in a rut. We may find an efficient way of doing things in our businesses, set up some pretty good working systems and then get comfortable. Years ago, a colleague taught me, however, that no matter how great you think things are going—there is always a better way… Think back over times when you have been the new person on a job, or have moved on and someone else stepped into your position. Chances are, just having that fresh approach and new eyes and energy brought about … Continue reading →

Make Things a Little Better Every Day

Keeping things moving in your home-based business can seem daunting. When you look ahead to your goals or work over your short and long-term plan for your business, you might be wondering how on earth you will ever muster the energy and excitement to get from point A to point B–let alone point C or D. In order to keep things moving in the right direction, it might help to bite things off in manageable amounts. Just do a little bit to make improvements to your business every day…and soon those little steps will all add up. It may seem … Continue reading →

Improving on a Good Thing

I often talk about ways to make improvements in some our “weaker” areas of running a home-based business—looking at places where we are struggling or could stand to boost our operations. But, we may also be able to make some tweaks and improvements to something that is going well. The trick is to make improvements to a good thing, without compromising how well it is already working… It is easy to get complacent. I want to confess that I am the first person most likely to get settled into a comfortable groove. Once I find something that works for me, … Continue reading →