There's no doubt that one of the things that excited you
about operating your online business was the thought of
making money while you're in bed. Having free time to spend
with your family while—at the same time—generating an
income is something almost every person on earth wants. But
as you've moved further and further into the Internet
business realm, you've most likely discovered that this is
hard work!
Are all those so-called marketing gurus lying? Do they
really generate enough money to live on when only working
10 to 20 hours per week? And what's more . . . can you?!
Some may be lying, but I'm living proof that you can have
it all. What's the secret? Automation!
Automate what? Everything you possibly can. Why automate?
Because the less time you actually have to spend at your
business the more time you can spend doing the things you
love. Also, the more "hands-off" your business is the more
profitable it becomes.
Most of the people who have made it big online have their
own products that they deliver electronically. However, if
you sell affiliate products, physical products, or even
services, there are an unlimited number of ways to automate
your daily routine.
Let's take a few moments to review some ways you can find
to automate as much as possible about your business so you
can be free to enjoy your life.
Action Step 1
Make a list of those routine chores you do every day.
(Answer email, check search engine positioning, review
pay-per-click ads, calculate payments, etc.)
Everything!
Action Step 2
Next, place a checkmark beside each item on your list that
is repetitive. These are items where your actions are
exactly the same (or practically the same) each time you do
the action.
These are the items in your routine that can most likely be
automated.
Action Step 3
Visit some of the free (or cheap) software and script sites
to see which ones offer helpful products you can use to
automate your day. You can find free software at
http://www.download.com. For free java scripts, check out
http://javascript.internet.com/. You can also search your
favorite search engine for free C.G.I. scripts, D.H.T.M.L. scripts,
and more.
Action Step 4
Read your user's manuals. I know . . . what a horrible
thought! Most of the software user's manuals now are
included on your hard drive. You can actually search the
table of contents for topics of interest. You'll find tons
of ways to automate workflow in your user's manuals.
For instance, did you know you could automatically create a
table of contents (T.O.C.) using Word? If you've finished
writing an ebook or report and need to add a T.O.C., Word can
scan your document—no matter how long it is—and layout
the TOC for you. There are also tons of macros you can set
up that will automate your workflow. And Word is not the
only program that does these neat tricks. You'd be
surprised at what you can learn by snooping around in your
user's manuals.
The more you're able to take your hands off your business,
the more time you'll have to enjoy your life. You'll find
your schedule is freer and your profitability is stronger.
It may take some time to initially set everything up so
that it works the way you need it to, but just a few
short-term sacrifices can make for some pretty powerful
long-term gains.
©2005, Diane Hughes
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