Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Every home-based business has a story!

Recently, on  my internet radio program, The Home-Based Business Show, on http://www.worldtalkradio.com/ Variety Channel, my guest was a Public Relations and Marketing professional.  She has always worked at home and was able to share her insights about balancing her professional life and her personal life under the same roof.  But the most important thing that I learned from her guest spot was about Public Relations.  I asked her to give us some tips about promoting our home-based businesses and she gave us this gem:  Every home-based business has a story!  How great is this!  How applicable is this to each of us!  Our common denominator is that we are all humans; we come from different places, we may look different, we may speak a different languages, but we all have our own personal story.  So, the message here is to take your story and make it work for you.  Start by writing down your biography; not just the jobs you had and the skills you acquired, but where you come from, what your childhood was like, what obsticles did you overcome, etc.  Elaborate on each detail of how you got to the point of having your own home-based business.  For me it was the moment after I got laid off from the third job in a row - in 2 years, I had 3 jobs and they all fell apart.  During these 2 years and shortly thereafter, when I spent an enormous amount of time lying on the couch and talking to myself about what to do next, I finally realized that if these idiots can run a company, then so can I.  That was my spark - that kept me laughing for a long time, as I researched what I wanted to do, as I reached out and explored my options and as, I realized that I could very well fail at this, but oh, well....I can always fire myself and go out and get another job!  It should not be a surprise to learn that I had no clue as to what I was doing at first, I just knew that I was going to make it happen...finally, about 18 months into being my own boss, it started to all come together.  I had such avoidance issues in the beginning; I would go about doing the things that I just had to get done before I sat down at my desk, which was in the living room of my one bedroom apartment; you know, things like ironing the curtains or re-organizing the cabinet under the sink....but then, as I got my rhythm and my balance to working and living under the same roof, I actually enjoyed sitting down and getting work done.  Twenty-five years later, I have a hard time leaving the desk in my office which is now in a room all by itself; it I can get a coffee pot and a toilet in here it would be great!  Only joking of course, because after all these years, I am really good at shutting the door and doing some fun things while I'm still young enough.  My story is one of perserverence, panic, determination, stress and learning how to look at both sides...I hope you have the same tale to tell and that is why you have your own home-based business.  Be well, Helene   LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!