Alison’s Pantry is a great business and a fantastic way to earn extra money and stay in touch with your friends and family. But are you treating it like a business, or is it more like a hobby for you? How do you know the difference? And why does it matter?
Your business is a hobby if:
- You work when you feel like it.
- You are not scheduling time to work your business. In fact usually you procrastinate until the last minute.
- You aren’t intentionally adding and looking for new customers each month.
- You customer information is not up to date in the new website including address, phone number, and correct email address.
- Your customer service is spotty. Sometimes you don’t respond to messages, emails and phone calls until you get around to it.
The biggest challenge of treating your business like a hobby is that it will pay like a hobby. “If you treat your business like a business it will pay you like a business. If you treat it like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby.”
“Even though your hours are flexible, they are not optional. If you want to achieve a consistent income and build a growing, thriving business. Random actions produce random results.” Lydia Martin
Here are some tips on how to treat your business like a business.
- Have a separate bank account for Alison’s Pantry and track your expenses, keeping good records for taxes.
- Have a goal of where you are going and what you are doing. You may not want to grow your business, but you still need to regularly get new customers to keep things status quo. What are you actively doing to get new customers?
- Block out time to work on specific tasks.
- Get organized! Get current, up- to- date customer information into the new website. Have folders and systems for tracking expenses and other important information you need every month with Alison’s Pantry.
- Read your emails!
- Invest in education by attending the webinars, visiting with your RSM on a regular basis and checking out all the great tips at pantryacademy.com
- Consistently do your reminders and follow up with customers. They want to hear from you. You need to ASK for orders if you want them.
For more information, check out this great blog post about treating your business like a business: 19 Ways To Start Treating Your Business Like a Business
Julie, RSM