Coaching

Many busy work-at-home-moms have a hard time managing our business and projects. Our homes become neglected because we are working and talking care of our children all day long (clean laundry – are you kidding?).

And then, your home business becomes a success. Soon you begin to gain more clients. You receive more orders to process and ship. Your need for organization and process becomes critical.

Putting together my knowledge of home management, my personal experience as a WAHM, and my 10+ years of professional project management, I can help you!

Through coaching, together we can develop the processes and procedures you need to manage your business. With me as your coach we will develop the tools and processes necessary for you to have an organized, successful business.

Topics we will cover during your personal coaching sessions include:

Time management and scheduling

Setting up your home office

Project management and tracking

Outsourcing

File organization (electronic and paper)

Balancing your home, family and business

 

WAHM Coaching Package Includes:

One 60 minute coaching session: We’ll get on the phone and discuss what you need. Together we will put together the systems you need to better manage and organize your business.

Customized detailed action plan as well as worksheets and checklists emailed to you within 24 hours of coaching session that you will be able to get cracking on immediately.

One-week email access for additional questions and support

Complimentary copy of Alice Seba’s special report 38 Ways To Not Become A Slave To Your Business (an 18 page report plus audio valued at $12.95)

Additional materials/handouts based upon your needs

WAHM Coaching Package: $70

$45 for each additional hour of live coaching after initial

Organizing and Simplifying Bill Paying

There are lots of ways to simplify your bill paying and keeping it organized. First let’s get everything organized.
Here’s how:

Keep all pending bills together in one designated area or folder.  The best thing to do to keep this task from getting out of hand is to do it as soon as you get your bill.  Place it where it needs to go. It will only take a minute of your time.  Keeping everything together will save you time in having to search through several areas where you could have placed them.  Once the bills have been paid place them in another folder labeled “Paid” so they will be readily available should you need to refer back to them.

Set up a weekly or monthly schedule for bill paying.  If you receive you paycheck weekly consider doing it the day you receive your paycheck or if you get paid monthly do it on that day or you can schedule two days a month whichever works best so you meet all your payment due dates.

Create an area for bill paying.  Keeping all of your bill paying essentials, such as stamps, checks, pens, envelopes, and bills of course together in one spot will speed up your bill paying process as you won’t have to keep stopping and getting up to go get things.  Just a few things you might want to keep in your bill paying area are your bill paying filing system, checkbook, envelopes, stamps, pens, pencils, a calculator, tape, a stapler and return address labels.  Take an hour or so and if you have recurring bills which you create envelopes for consider taking the time to prepare the years envelopes all at one time.  That way when you need it, it will already be prepared and ready for use.

Record your payments immediately.  As soon as you pay your bills mark them down in your checkbook register or computer software register so you won’t have to waste time looking for it later or worse get charged overdrawn account fees.

Immediately file your payment receipts and invoices.  Once you’ve paid your bills, marked them in your register and made the necessary notes such as date paid, check number and amount paid on them, file them.  Set up a category for each such as utilities, insurance, credit card, house payments, etc. for easier filing and locating of receipts should you need to locate them.

Reconcile your checkbook and file the cancelled checks just in case you need a copy of one later on down the road or for tax purposes.  To prevent those cancelled checks from piling up, store bank statements and cancelled checks that are more than one year in a separate area or box.

Limit the number of credit cards used.  Consolidating multiple credit card payments into fewer ones, not only help reduce the amount of paperwork, time needed to make and track these payments but you will also be able to pay them off earlier and reduce your interest paid on them over time.  Try limiting consolidating your credit card bills to two or three and dispose of the rest.

Simplify bill paying with online banking or inexpensive money management software.  Money management software can reduce the time it takes to pay your bills and come tax time it can make tracking expenses and creating reports for your accountant much easier.

Seven Must-Have Items to Help Keep Your Garage Organized

Keeping a garage organized can be an ongoing project.  Many times people store so many things in their garage they can’t even fit a car into it.  There are many things you can use to reclaim that spot for your garage.  Here are seven of the best things to help keep your garage organized.

1.  Shelves – Attaching shelves to the walls of the garage can increase your storage space.  There are also stand-alone shelving units that are perfect in the garage.  They are heavy-duty plastic or metal and can hold the heavier items that are often found in the garage, such as tools and sports equipment.

2.  Overhead storage – Overhead storage is a great way to get things put away that you don’t need as often, such as suitcases or holiday decorations.  If you don’t want to build permanent shelves, there are hanging shelf units that can attach to the rafters and provide a great storage area.

3.  Pegboard, etc – Pegboard, slotboard or slatwall are perfect options in the garage. They can have hooks and baskets attached to allow for storage of a variety of items of all sizes.  Brackets can be added to place shelves as needed.  They can be completely customized to hold tools – both for the garden and the garage, parts, cleaning supplies, and much more.

4.  Tool hangers – There are a variety of hanging systems to hold tools.  There are roller versions that grab the handles and hold them in place.  There are also standard hooks that will hold the tool, with the handles hanging down.  These will keep the tools out of the way, making things not only neater, but also safer.

5.  Store-Pod – Store-pods are a great addition to your garage storage system.  They are waterproof, heavy-duty plastic storage units that are attached to the beams above.  They look like a large plastic bag with shelves inside.  The front is a clear plastic door that zips closed.  They have ventilation slots that help reduce dust and mildew, while still keeping pests out of the things being stored.

6.  Sports storage – If you have a family involved with sports, there are always balls lying around, as well as shoes and other gear.  Instead of tripping on them, the garage is a great place to store them.  There are specially designed holders for sports equipment.  There are some for balls, bike racks and more.  There are bike racks that can be mounted on the wall or ceiling.

7.  Cabinets – Cabinets with a work surface are perfect for the garage.  You can close the doors and hide any possible clutter.  You also have a work area for projects that are too messy or noisy for the house.  Many of the cabinets also come with locks – not only to protect your tools, but also to keep small children safe.

Conquer Bathroom Clutter Simply and Effectively

Bathrooms seem to be notorious for becoming cluttered and unkempt.  Between small makeup compacts, medicine bottles, hair accessories, razors and the like, it can be quite easy to lose things in the shuffle.  Assess your bathroom and its contents and utilize a few simple ideas and you’ll find more space and tranquility as a result.

First, take a good look at your medicine cabinets.  Ironically, it’s probably not a good idea to store medicine in your medicine cabinet, as most bathrooms become hot and humid during showers and baths, and can be detrimental to medication that requires being stored at room temperature.  Don’t keep medicines past their expiration date, even if you’ve never opened them or have used them very little.  Try storing your medications on a high shelf in your linen closet with a lock-tight lid.  This will help lengthen their shelf life as well as keep them out of reach of curious little hands.

The same should be done with old makeup.  Generally speaking, most makeup will last about 18-24 months, with the exception of mascara, which lasts about three months, and liquid eyeliner, which lasts about three to six months.  Nail polish generally only holds up for about a year, so if you have any older than that, get rid of them.  And since many makeup products have animal-based ingredients, it’s also important to pay attention to how they smell.  If they smell like they’ve gone bad, they probably have, so toss them. Try using a permanent marker to mark the purchase date on the back of the item, so that way you won’t have to try to remember just how long it’s been since you purchased something.

If you take a look in your favorite discount store’s home organization aisle,  you’ll find lots of inexpensive storage containers that can easily be utilized in bathroom drawers, under the sink, and for shower and bathtub areas as well.  Since bathrooms are full of small things, they can easily be organized in small bins, baskets or boxes.

Home Office Organization Tips

More and more individuals are working from home, either replacing their nine to five jobs or supplementing their family’s income.  One of the best things you can do to improve your chances of successfully working at home is to establish a home office.  A hope office makes your home business more professional, helps you stay organized and can provide you with tax deductions (be sure to check with your accountant as to what is and isn’t deductible.)

The type of office you’ll need will depend on the type of business you’ll be running.  Here are just a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself prior to deciding on your office space: Will I be meeting with clients in my office?  Will it be a multi-purpose room?  Will it be a work area?  These are all important questions you’ll want to consider as the answers to such questions will dictate how much office space you will require.  If you have a business you run from your computer, you won’t need as much work space say, as someone who is doing craft production or a product distribution business.

Begin by eliminating anything that isn’t directly connected to your business (unless of course it’s going to be a multi-purpose room).  For getting your work done, you’ll want to have as few distractions as possible.  Removing all the unnecessary items from the room will also help reduce unwanted clutter. Simply move these items to another room or box them up and store them elsewhere.

The workspace is often the most difficult to keep organized, but if you have a handle on the paperwork, it helps reduce one area of clutter.  There are quite a few filing system options available, everything from the traditional filing cabinets, to hanging file folder systems that can be attached to the back of a door.

Sort through the papers in your office decide what needs to be kept and what can be discarded.  If you are unsure about any documents, set aside another folder or tray and place it in there and go back to it again later and review to see if you are going to be needing it or not.  If so, file it in the appropriate place, if not, dispose of it.  Paperwork can quickly overwhelm you if you don’t maintain it on a daily basis.

Consider a color-coded system, one color for invoices, another for expenses, and other for tax-deductible and so on.  Then simply place the papers or receipts in the appropriate colored folder.  Makes things much easier to handle and maintain.

Make sure your workspace is large enough and comfortable.  Whether you’ll be standing working or sitting down working, it’s important to make sure the surface you will be working on is at the correct height.  Doing so will prevent back strain and will allow you to work for longer periods of time thus being more productive.

Now that the files are taken care of make sure your desk workspace is as well. Use desk organizers to keep items you may need frequently close by and drawer organizers to keep everything in your drawers tucked away nice and neat and easy to find when you need it.

If you have a desktop computer make sure you give yourself enough space for each item including keyboard, monitors, printers and any other hardware you may need.  Short on desk space? Try using a laptop rather than a desktop computer system or for the other hardware such as scanners, faxes, copiers, etc. look at the new, space saving all in one units.

It is also important to keep your computer organized.  Track appointments, clients, and your work with one of the many organizational software programs available.  By utilizing such programs, you can be more efficient in your bookkeeping and more.  Set up folders and sub-folders so you’ll be able to find what you are looking for easily.   Spreadsheets and databases are also very helpful tools in tracking inventory and other business related needs.

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