Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps

White board...in the barn too!

A question that I am frequently asked is, how do you juggle everything that you do (business, personal and farm)?

I don’t. Yet, I do. Working from home, with two businesses operating from the same office, and with a farm to boot, means some tasks simply wait or are delegated.

Here are my basic rules of thumb:

Schedule, plan, and think ahead.

Allow yourself time to find a pattern that allows a frequent task to flow efficiently. In most cases, when beginning something new, hours of practice and patience are required until the procedure becomes smooth as glass.

Determine when your productive hours are. For example: soap making works best for me before noon. I make sure I have time between feeding and milking goats, before lunch, for soap making. I am less tired and feel more creative during those hours.

Focus on your business during the hours you schedule for business. During that time do not fret about dirty dishes or a pile of laundry. Remember that your thoughts and attitude determine your future. I frequently give myself a “you are grateful” speech, put my best foot forward, and continue to put 110% into whatever really is most important.

A home based business requires adjustments from friends and loved ones as well. I learned to call my business hours “work time.” When I go to work I announce, “I am going to work.”  And I announce my work schedule to others if needed.  A growing business comes with growing pains. Until you can afford help, you wear all of the hats, you steer the engine, and you pull up the caboose. If you take your business seriously, others will too.

Remember, seeking help is not a sign of failure. Personally, I have reached a point in my life where it is obvious that deep cleaning the house is extremely difficult, if not impossible. So, ask yourself, can I afford help? Perhaps you cannot delegate accounting work at this point, or soap making, but can you hire a person twice a month to help you with domestic work? Or, perhaps there is someone you can barter with (help in exchange for help)?

To wrap this up, owning and operating your own business comes with independence that truly can be embraced, yet, it comes with a lot of sacrifice. The key is exactly that, how driven are you to sacrifice?

Finally, never forget, you need down time. Seek and find balance between your personal and business life. You cannot be there for yourself and others without your own happy and healthy mind.