Run A Home Based Business, Don’t Let It Run You

by Jens Holvoet on

Ask a home based business owner this question: “why do you run a home based business?” and in 95% of the cases she or he will say “because of the freedom it gives you”. Unfortunately not everyone who runs a home based business achieves that freedom and many times it’s because people allow their environment or personal habits to take over. Perhaps you will need to get familiar with my personal history in order to understand why I think that it’s important to run a home based business instead of allowing it to run you. A short flashback…

People who know me well also know that I have Addison’s disease since my 15th. Because I have only received an official diagnose in March 2011, I’ve only started taking the time to really get deeper in the subject during the past few months. (we are currently May 2012). We are all familiar with the stories about people who neglected their health because of pursuing a busy and successful career. Often they can no longer keep up with this lifestyle and when medical doctors aren’t able to find a medical reason for their fatigue, they prescribe antidepressants or refer them to a psychiatrist or psychologist. “I can’t help you, so it must be some kind of a psychological condition” is often their only advice. I will probably never get better because of the damage that has been done during the past 11 years. However, I made a commitment to myself a while ago: I will NEVER EVER allow something or someone else to tell me what I can or can’t do. Call it arrogant if you want, but this blog post also contains some kind of a personal message towards those who have discouraged me or even insulted me regarding my disease: I no longer care about what people say about me. Hopefully while reading this you also realize that it shows little respect if you judge people based on what you see while you will never be able to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I’m a people-helper, so if you recognize yourself in this short testimonial, please buy this book (no, I don’t get a commission for that recommendation ). If you’re tired for no reason, having trouble getting up in the morning, need coffee or sugar-rich energy drinks to keep you going, feeling run down, struggling to keep up with life’s daily demands and feel like you can’t bounce back from stress or illness, I highly recommend you to read “Adrenal Fatigue, The 21st Century Stress Syndrome”.

Health Is An Important Asset In Every Aspect Of Life, Also When You Run A Home Based Business

Bottom line: even if you’re a 100% healthy and you think you have nothing to worry about, stress (also unconscious stress) can simply ruin your life. I assume you are here to learn more about what you can do to prevent this from happening. In this blog post I’m sharing some simple coping strategies in case you feel like your home based business is running you.

How to run a home based business without feeling frustrated or stressed out:

You don’t need approval of anyone. Don’t you ever waste your energy on trying to convince the non-believers of your home based business opportunity. Oblige yourself to do the work that is necessary to achieve your goals, but never think that you need approval of your family, friends or spouse. Read this blog post to learn why some people will simply never support you (no matter what you say or do). If you believe that certain people need to approve the fact that you want to run a home based business, you will always waste time and energy on finding ways to convince them.
Don’t focus on the outcome. People who focus on the outcome always think short-term. The easiest way to lose yourself and your health is by not being able to see the bigger picture. Let’s say that you are training for a marathon. If you have never run before and you are immediately doing a 10k as first training, there’s a big chance that you will only injure yourself or get discouraged quickly. Build up slowly and write yourself a scheme in order to reach your goals. You don’t want $5,000 tomorrow (try the lottery instead ), but $5,000 over and over again in the future.
Get enough exercise. Physical exercise is not only extremely important to stay healthy, it also increases your drive and creativity. Every time I’m going out for a run, my mind starts to resonate with the energy produced by my body, which ends up in new and fresh marketing ideas that benefit my home based business.
Surround yourself with people (family, friends, business partners) who respect your “me-time”. This is pretty easy for me. As a single guy I can basically do whatever I want to do, whenever and wherever I want to do it. Nonetheless, even if you have a family, don’t neglect your daily me-time. Don’t waste that time on watching television or playing videogames. Use it to relax, reflect on your business and for personal development.
Turn your part-time passion into your full-time business. Something that you’re passionate about will always cost you less energy than all the other daily life events. Sometimes people ask me how it’s possible that I still find the courage to sport. Well, passion is the key. If I didn’t love sports, I would have given up and kept drowning in my own sorrow with six-pack of beer.