I used to work for a horrible boss. This boss demanded long work hours, allowed limited breaks and scheduled deadlines that were impossible to meet.

The horrible boss I worked for, was me.

If you’re ready to work for a boss who is understanding, reasonable, and respectful of your time and talents, there are a few simple changes you can make.

• Limit the number of hours you work each day. When your commute is only seconds away, it’s easy to go to work early and stay late. The key is knowing when to stop working and when to start enjoying your personal life.

• Keep your to-do list reasonable and remember that you can’t do everything. Instead of scheduling a long list of tasks to finish in one day, limit your list.

• Schedule at least one mini-vacation each year. When you worked for someone else, scheduling two weeks off was easy. When you work for yourself, finding time to take two days off may seem impossible. Make a point of getting away from your home office so you can recharge and reconnect with your family.

• Limit your weekend hours. Depending on your business and whether or not you can avoid it, limit your weekend hours. Some clients may only be able to meet with you on Saturday or Sunday, so it’s important to be flexible. Other than that, schedule all other appointments during the week. (Note to realtors: ignore that last suggestion.)

• Establish rewards for completing difficult tasks or accomplishing major milestones. A reward doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. A walk around the block or going out for a cup of coffee can serve as a motivator to get the job done.

• Don’t expect perfection all of the time. Before you retype an e-mail for the third time, or make another change on a proposal, ask yourself why. Perfectionism is a dangerous trap. Before you know it, your standards become outrageously and unreasonably high. Find a balance between what is acceptable and what could hurt your credibility.

When you work for the boss from hell, and the boss isn’t you, you can quit and do your best to find another job. But when you’re the boss from hell,  you can continue to make yourself miserable or take steps to improve your working relationship with yourself.

I thought they’d work well together.

I was wrong.

Relationships aren’t always as they seem

Last week I sent my remodeling friend an e-mail to ask her how things were going with the architect. She sent me a one-page e-mail describing everything that had gone wrong with the project. She couldn’t understand why I would have a friend as nasty and unprofessional as my architect friend.

Crap!

I had no idea how unhappy she was or what was going on.

How you communicate makes all the difference

When I suggested that my friends work together, what I didn’t count on was their lack of good communication. The architect likes to talk on the phone and meet in person with clients, while my remodeling friend wants to handle her house project through e-mail.

E-mail is a phenomenal way to communicate and save time, but it’s easy to misinterpret what someone writes. You may think you’re making your point clearly, while the other person is thinking something completely opposite.

Meeting face to face and seeing the other person’s expression, can change the way a conversation goes. By hearing someone’s response on the other end of the line, you can tell right away whether or not you’ve offended someone.

Sometimes you have to involve others

My friends had been working on this project for weeks, but neither of them mentioned anything to me about the problems they were having working together.

The architect didn’t feel comfortable divulging information about her client (kind of like the client/patient confidentiality regulations in medicine) and my remodeling friend didn’t want me to feel bad for recommending a friend of mine who wasn’t working out for her.

After I read my remodeling friend’s “architect from hell” e-mail, I called the architect to ask her what was going on. She explained a few things to me and then everything made sense.

When I hung up with the architect, I called my other friend and explained a few things about how remodeling projects work. She said that she felt better.

I’m not involved with the project but I feel responsible for making sure their working relationship gets back on track.

Move forward or move on

Both of my friends agree that until the project is finished, they’ll have to meet in person and talk on the phone more. Their next meeting is next week and I’ll be there too.

I’ve always followed the advice “don’t do business with friends,” but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop recommending my friends to each other.  It’s worked out well other times.

What I have stopped doing, however, is fixing up one friend with another. That never works.

At first, my co-workers were skeptical and figured I’d be back within a year, begging for my old job. Many years later, I’m still working for myself and some of those same employees are still working for the company I left. I’ve never looked back.

Now whenever I run into anyone from my old job, they usually tell me that they wish they could work for themselves too.

Being an entrepreneur definitely has its benefits, but those of us who own our own businesses know that there are advantages and disadvantages to being the boss.

In her article, “Five Myths (and One Absolute Truth) about Entrepreneurship,” Author Carol Roth shoots straight about what you can expect when you’re an entrepreneur.

Myth 1: You get to do more of what you love.

Everyone thinks that if you love to do something, you’ll get to do more of it when you run a business. Wrong! When you run a business, you have to do and oversee many functions, from marketing to accounting to handling employees to dealing with customer service and more.

Myth 2: You are the boss!

When you’re the boss, guess what? You’ve increased the number of bosses that you have—exponentially—because every single customer will be influencing your decisions.

Myth 3: Business is about you.

If there is a gap in the market that customers are desperate for a solution to and willing to pay for, that’s a darn good reason to start a business. Successful businesses are all about servicing customer needs.

Myth 4: It’s easy!

There is a reason the word scheme usually follows the phrase “get rich quick.” Businesses take a long time to build, sometimes taking two years or more to even get their legs underneath them.

Myth 5: You can equals you should.

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should, that you will be successful, or that it’s the best choice for you given your goals, circumstances, and opportunities. You have to look at the rewards of your opportunity and see if they justify the risks—and I’m talking both financial and qualitative risks and rewards here.

And the one truth: The Rule of 3.

Everything is going to take three times longer than it should to complete (whether your legal contracts, getting revenue, or getting your website up and running), will cost three times what you have budgeted, and will be three times more difficult to execute than you expect.

Being an entrepreneur takes hard work, otherwise everyone would do it. But this list shouldn’t discourage you from pursing your dreams. After all, those of us who work for ourselves know that the advantages of being our own boss far outweigh any advantage of working for someone else.

Guest post by The Franchise King®, Joel Libava

Please read the title of this post again. Look at the last two words. That’s right; it’s about what is better for you. Please don’t base your decision on what your well-meaning friends, relatives, and MBA friends suggest.

The business model of franchising is totally different than a “business opportunity” type of business, (like vending machines) and it’s really different from a business that you come up with on your own.

People who are looking at franchises are looking to get into business for the same reasons that people looking at non-franchise businesses are. But, it’s also about speed; speed to market. (In the case of franchising.)

Think about something as simple (or what used to be simple) as a cell mobile phone. Every 6 months a newer, shinier one comes out. Users barely have time to get used to their current phones, and then a new one comes out, and it’s time to learn. Again! But, heck, maybe you like having the latest gadgets for your cool home office.

Our businesses change really fast now, too. Do you run your business exactly the same way you did a year ago? Or, are you offering new services and products? Have you had to get creative, because of the lousy economy?

If you’re a non-franchise business owner, coming up with sorely needed new ideas on services and products is challenging, especially when you’re trying to actually run your business!

Advantage of a franchise. There’s a team of people at your franchise’s headquarters. They’re always on the lookout for new markets, and new opportunities. They can test them out. They can lay them on you when they’ve been tested. It’s a strategic process. It would be tough to do if you’re a non-franchise business owner. You probably don’t have a “team” of people at your disposal.

Of course, there’s a cost involved with having a team. The cost comes in the form of the up-front franchise fee, and the monthly royalties, (a % of your gross sales) that you have to pay the franchisor.

Advantage of a non-franchise business. There are up-front costs involved (lots of them) when you invest in a franchise business of your own. Besides the franchise fee, ($25,000 on average) there’s usually specific equipment you’ll need, including a new laptop, software, and maybe some inventory. You’ll have to arrange travel for your formal training, and there will be other operations costs that you’ll be paying, up-front.

Here are some other advantages and disadvantages of both types of business models:

• Franchise businesses have rules; lots of them. Do you like 200 page operations manuals?

• Non- franchise businesses have rules, too; you are the rule-maker, though.

• Franchise businesses have specific marketing and advertising plans.

• Non-franchise businesses try different things, until they’ve found what works.

• Franchise businesses have other like-minded business owners. You can network with them. You can even have a few mentors stacked around the country that can help you figure things out. After all, they’ve probably experienced the same things.

• Non-franchise businesses are usually of the solo variety. You’re probably not going to talk with others that are doing what you do. They’re competitors!

• Franchise businesses are under contract. Most franchise owners sign a 10-year franchise contract. In it, mutual expectations are explained, along with enough legalese to keep an Ivy League law student engaged in learning, for months.

• Non-franchise businesses don’t have nearly as many legal requirements to deal with. They have to pay taxes, keep receipts, and maybe have some basic contracts set-up to use with vendors and/or suppliers. This one’s not even close.

There are other differences, for sure. There are a lot of things to think about before you become your own boss. You can choose to invest in a franchise business, and with it, have the ability to get to market fast, and have a support team in place to keep you competitive in the market.

You can choose to become a solopreneur, and try to “earn while you learn.” And have more freedom and flexibility. One thing’s for sure: if you can become your own boss, and be successful, there’s nothing quite like it.

The Franchise King® is the King of straightforward franchise information. The Franchise King Blog is his award-winning franchise business content/social media hub.  Joel Libava is also a regular contributor for Small Business Trends, SBA.gov, and OPEN FORUM by American Express.

But what about the bad days?

Maybe your sure-fire proposal that works every time, didn’t work with a new client. Or on the day you decide to focus on being more productive, all you have to show for your efforts is a funny e-mail you’ve written to a friend. Or while you’re uploading your latest YouTube video, you accidentally delete your other videos that have a decent following.

When you’re working from home by yourself, you have to be your #1 cheerleader, especially when you’ve made mistakes, things don’t go your way and you’re the one to blame. It can be exhausting.

I did an informal survey of my clients, colleagues and friends to find out what they do instead of throwing in the home office towel and letting their mistakes ruin their day. Even the ones who seem to have good days, every day, were quick to offer solutions.

Talk with a friend on Skype. Misery loves company and if your best friend who lives across the country can’t meet you for coffee, virtual venting will work too. Your friend will see exactly how you feel and will help you turn your day around.

Grab your laptop and head to your local coffee shop or bookstore. You don’t have to make new friends but by surrounding yourself with others, you’re less likely to focus on your bad day. You may even find someone to commiserate with you.

Take a walk…a long walk. You can brave the snow, head to the mall or hit the gym. When you get your adrenaline going and you feel your endorphins kick in, you’ll feel better. Or if you still don’t feel better, you can fill up on comfort food since you’ve already burned a few calories.

Catch a movie. Join your corporate counterparts who are supposed to be working but are in the 11:30 am movie instead. They’re the ones in suits and business clothes who are trying to look like they’re doing research for their job. They’re also looking around to make sure their boss isn’t at the same movie.

Learn something to help you grow your business. Search any topic you’ve wanted to learn more about. Whether it’s list building, improving your blog or attracting more clients, you’ll find a long list of videos, e-books and training programs. If you can pick up a few tips from any of those sources, you can apply them right away and you’ll have a better chance of changing the way your day is going.

Do something that makes you laugh. Watch funny videos on YouTube, catch a comedian on Comedy Central, or look out your window and maybe you’ll see someone dressed in shorts and black dress socks. How can you stop yourself from laughing at that? Normally I’d say that only works in the summer but I saw my neighbor wearing that exact outfit this morning.

Organize something. Maybe it’s about being able to control something, but when I’m having a down day, I organize. Remember my closet organizing video? Sure, my home office closet was driving me nuts because I knew it could be organized better, but I was having an off day and my closet was the perfect victim. By the time I finished organizing, I felt better and I even had a new topic for my next video.

Not every day is going to go smoothly and even if it did, how boring would that be?

What do you do to turn a bad day around?

Um, why didn’t I think of that?

I moved my grill and now I use it almost every night. That guy’s simple suggestion made something I’d quit using, useful again.

Move it where you’ll use it is a simple idea but one that so many of us forget (obviously myself included). Consider a few ways to make it easier to use what you have.

Make your equipment accessible. One of my clients who prints everything — old habits die hard — used to keep his printer on the other side of the room because that’s where his phone connection was. Every time he printed something, he had to leave his desk. While he was getting a good workout every day, he was losing precious time. On his way to the printer, he’d head to the refrigerator, laundry room or mailbox. He moved his phone line so he could still use his fax and then moved his printer closer to his desk. Although his laundry has piled up, he’s more productive and has even lost a few pounds.

Keep extra supplies within your home office instead of stashed all over your home. Whether you install shelves in a closet, above your desk or somewhere else in your home office, designate a space to store extra supplies. If you keep supplies in your family room, garage, basement or attic, you’ll forget about them until you’re looking for something else and run across them. That’s when you’ll say, “I was looking for that” or “I didn’t know I had that!”

Keep your files nearby. If you work in your kitchen, bedroom or family room, instead of your home office, stop wasting time getting the files you need from your home office. Instead, use a cabinet that looks more like a piece of furniture than a traditional cabinet. Or use a rolling file cart that you can move into your pantry or a family room closet when you’re not using it.

Set up a space near your front door or the door to your garage, for things you need to take with you. How many times have you left your house without your cell phone, keys or computer case? You can leave something in front of the door and count on tripping over it to remind you to take it with you. Or you can add hooks, a basket or a small table near the door to hold anything you don’t want to forget.

Move things to where you use them and you’ll be more likely to use them. But some things aren’t worth moving, using or keeping. Those are the things that are worth losing.

What can you move so you use it more?

Image from cbs.com

There’s a show I’ve watched a few times called Undercover Boss.

The premise is that the owner, president or CEO of a corporation, goes to work as a regular employee. The manager or person in charge of the store, manufacturing plant or other type of business who’s in charge of training the new employee, doesn’t know that he or she is dealing with the “head cheese” of the company. It’s a brilliant idea!

By going undercover, Mr. or Ms. Cheese sees first-hand what’s wrong with the company. The best part is that they get a clear view of what’s really going on in the company, instead of getting a skewed view when they tour their business and everyone is on his and her best behavior.

I especially like the part when they ask the manager if he or she thinks the “employee’ is good at his or her job and they say no. That has to be a little humbling for the person who is supposed to know more than anything about the company.

As a home-based business owner, you can’t go undercover, but you can look at your business from a client or prospect’s point of view. There are a few places to start.

Look at your Website. Don’t just check out your home page. Instead, click around. How old is the photo that’s above your bio and along the same lines, how old is your bio? Is your logo a little dated or do you have several versions throughout the site? Make sure that every link works and that your contact info is up-to-date.

Call your business line and listen to the message. Do you hear your kids in the background? Can you hear a Call Waiting click while your message is playing? Make sure that if you have a long message, you let the caller know within the first few seconds how to bypass your message.

Find out what your clients think of your product or service. How? Ask them to answer a short, simple questionnaire and offer an incentive for their time. It could be a copy of your new e-book (the one you’re charging for, not the free one!) or a free, 15-minute consultation. After you have their feedback and assuming it’s all good, why not ask for a testimonial? Actually, the best time to ask for a testimonial is when someone starts using your product or service and is thrilled with the results he or she is getting.

When you look at your business through your clients’ eyes, you may be surprised at what you uncover.

What do you do to see your business through your clients’ eyes?



Some people think of their best ideas while they’re in the shower. I think of my best ideas before I go to sleep and when I wake up in the middle of the night.

That’s why I keep a notepad and pen next to my bed. I used to think that I’d remember my brilliant idea in the morning, but I never did. There’s only one problem with this non-techie method: my handwriting sucks.

I even took a handwriting course before my first book came out so that when I signed books, everyone would be able to figure out what I wrote. Don’t laugh…the class was full of people like me who didn’t pay attention in grade school during the handwriting sessions. The classes didn’t help.

Instead of wasting time racking my brain for an incredible, heart-stopping idea, I’m giving in and trying a few other tactics for letting ideas come to me.

Exercise. Without sounding too much like Jillian Michaels, when you exercise, you release endorphins and you feel better. When you feel better, you can think more clearly. Remember Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde?   She says that her fitness guru client can’t be a murderer because exercise releases endorphins, which makes you happy, and happy people don’t kill other people. What we do without brilliant defense strategies like that?

Meet someone for coffee. A friend, business associate or even someone you see at the coffee shop everyday, may have some insight that would help you solve a problem or come up with your next business idea. Make sure that the person you’re sharing ideas with, encourages you rather than shoots down everything you say. All of us know someone like that.

Read articles and visit websites outside of your industry. You could discover an idea from a completely unrelated field and apply it to your small business.

Take a walk, go for a drive, ride the subway…just get out of your home office. When you work from home and sit at your desk all day, you can feel boxed-in. When everything around you is the same as it was the day before, your imagination can fizzle a bit.

I never know when I’ll get my next idea, but my new approach to problem-solving and generating ideas may give me the results I want. I may even start taking a birdseye view of the world to see a solution in a different light. At least that’s what I figured out when I visited Birdwatching.com.

How do you come up with ideas?

Yesterday I picked up a gift I’d ordered from one of my favorite stationery stores. I looked at the order to make sure my friend’s name was spelled right and told the owner of the store how much I liked the gift.  She thanked me several times for being nice to her.

Was she serious? I didn’t give her a standing ovation, a high five or even a pat on the back. All I did was thank her for ordering the right gift.  She explained that during most of this holiday season she’s had to deal with rude customers every day.

Apparently this woman isn’t alone. This morning when I picked up my mail from my office (actually my local UPS Store that I use as my mailing address), I found a magazine that someone had put in my mailbox by mistake.

When I handed the magazine to the manager, she told me she misfiled it because the magazine owner’s name and mine both start with K. Then she told me she wouldn’t get confused again because I’m the nice box holder and he’s mean all of the time.

What’s the deal? How hard is it to be respectful to salespeople and others whose job it is to help us (at least most of the time)?  We’re all busy and when we’re in a hurry, common courtesy can be the last thing on our mind.  But it shouldn’t be.

The next time you’re checking out at the office supply store, picking up something for a client, or even asking someone for directions when your GPS won’t talk to you, keep in mind that the way you act can affect someone else.

If you’re mean and nasty, you can ruin someone’s day in an instant. If you’re nice and sympathetic, you can make that person’s day.  After all, it is the season to be jolly…or at least a bit friendlier.

With that in mind, happy holidays!

Guest post by DeAnn Flores Chase

As a small business lawyer, I work with entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals on a daily basis. For new business owners, I advise that an entity be formed from the start. For existing business owners, I advise that an entity be formed as soon as possible. Business owners have several business entities to choose from, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs). In my opinion, it is critical that a business owner choose one, and not do business as a solo proprietor or partnership.

A properly formed and maintained business entity, such as a corporation or LLC, can provide the following benefits:

Personal liability protection

A business entity has its own legal existence, separate and apart from the individual owner(s). Without a business entity, nothing stands between you, as a business owner, and the person suing you, in the event of a lawsuit against you for transactions relating to your business. With a properly formed and maintained business entity, a creditor will be limited to the assets of the entity, and not the assets of the owner(s), to satisfy their claims – including claims that are either not covered by insurance or that exceed the limits of applicable insurance policies.

Establish corporate credit

Many business owners would like to use corporate credit, rather than personal credit, to pay for the obligations of the business. However, just like a college student with a new credit card, a business entity needs time to build up its credit history in the eyes of potential lenders.

Ownership of property

A business entity is a great vehicle to own, not only real property, such a commercial building, but also to own intellectual property of the business, such as patents, trademarks and copyrights. Again, this keeps the property out of the hands of a personal creditor, and identifies the owner for all purposes. This is of particular importance in a partnership situation where the disposition of the ownership of the intellectual property of the business is subject to the terms of a written operating agreement or shareholder agreement – and not the whims of any one particular person.

Credibility

Simply put, people who do business from a business entity appear to be more professional and business savvy. A business entity can provide a solopreneur operating from a home office more legitimacy, and can increase client confidence by giving the impression of stability and longevity.

Taxes

A business entity can provide tax benefits to the individual business owner(s), including the ability to write off certain expenses. However, in many cases a business entity may not provide substantial tax benefits due to the “pass-through” nature of the entities used by most solopreneurs and small businesses, LLCs and S-Corporations. I have had many clients whose tax advisers tell them they are too small to bother with a business entity, because it may be a “wash” from a tax perspective and may add some accounting costs. I believe it is the tax advisor, and not the business owner, who is thinking small in this case. I also believe this is irresponsible from a professional perspective.

If a business entity adds some cost to the business venture, so be it. The personal liability protection that comes with a business entity is well worth any additional costs that may be imposed by forming and maintaining a business entity.

DeAnn Flores Chase is the founding partner of South Bay Business Lawyers, which focuses primarily on counseling entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals on protecting themselves and their families from the risks involved with operating a small business.