Business baby steps

by Crystal Paine

I answered the following email from Mary today and after I finished writing it, I thought I'd post it here because maybe it would be a help to some of you who are thinking of or working on starting a business.

Hi Crystal--- I am thinking about writing e-books and am sort of at a standstill because I don't know where to begin!! I want so badly to have a business "up and running" but don't seem to have time to carve out to get it going! Any advice?? -Mary

Hi, Mary ! Could you carve out 20-30 minutes everyday to dedicate to getting your business up and running? I'm sure you're very busy with being a wife and mom but you could probably find 20 minutes to devote to this most everyday. You might be surprised at how much can be accomplished business-wise with a short focused time everyday.

For me, I've found that its best if I get up early, take a shower, spend time in God's Word, get some laundry running, and then spend an hour or so on business things before my family is up. I often get up around 4 a.m. in order to make this happen. Later on in the day, it is harder to find time to set aside and focus.

My point is, don't bite off more than you can chew. You have a website and a blog, that's a great start. Maybe set a goal to have one ebook produced and instantly downloadable by the end of September or something manageable - maybe December! Then after that you could work on setting up an email newsletter and getting that going. Like FlyLady says, "Baby steps, baby steps." Don't try to do it all at once.

Once you learn how to do one ebook, it will be much easier to do your next one. So each little baby step is making way for things to be much easier the next time around. People always ask me how I keep up with avid blogging, sending out a weekly email newsletter, producing books and ebooks, selling other people's books, moderating a Yahoo group, etc. while seeking to keep my husband, my family, and my home my first priority. My answer is that I didn't start doing this all at once. It was a little bit at a time.

Little bit by little bit I learned how to do things, learned what worked, learned what didn't work. And as I learned, things became much easier. And little by little I was able to add new things to the mix. It might look like I spend a lot of time blogging or writing or working on our business, when in reality, some days it's less than 15 minutes. I've learned to be really fast and efficient at things through lots of practice and trial and error. Because of everything that has slowly been put into place, the business practically runs itself - I just have to be available on occasion to keep things "oiled" and fix any hiccups. Only a very small portion of my time these days is actually devoted to business things and that is a blessing. Getting to that point took a lot of dedicated work and effort. But little by little it does pay off!

Crystal Paine is a 24-year-old homeschool graduate from Topeka, Kansas. She is the blessed wife of Jesse and joyful mother of Kathrynne. Visit her site, Biblical Womanhood, for books, articles, encouragement, and inspiration!

This article may be reprinted freely in your publications or on your website, provided it is reprinted in its entirety and the bio information is kept intact. Thank you!

We'd love to consider publishing your articles as well! Click here to submit your article and we will be glad to review it for possible inclusion on our website!