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5 WAYS TO GENERATE QUICK CASH YOU NEED BY RUNNING A MINI-BUSINESS, PART 1

It happens to all of us. You’ve left your full-time job for the freedom of self-employment. Things are going well, but then that big bill comes due. Where will you get the extra cash? If you plan ahead, this won’t be a problem. One of the best things a newly independent businessperson can do is to run a mini-business in addition to the regular business. The mini-business acts as a fast cash generator to help you along in those tight times.

The ideal mini-business can be operated in a total of one or two days per week, with a minimum of upfront time and expense. This leaves enough time and resources for your major business. Depending on the type of full-time business you’re running, your mini-business could be an offshoot of your main business, or something completely different. In most cases, service businesses will be the most adaptable to your needs.

Before I go into some examples of mini-businesses, I’d like to cover an essential skill for every businessperson, especially if they’ll be running a secondary business. This subject is TIME-MANAGEMENT.

TIME MANAGEMENT

I remember when I first started my business. I held a full-time job at the same time and worked at least three to four hours every night, and most of Saturday and Sunday, in my own business, just to keep up. I thought there weren’t enough hours in the day. I know I drove my family crazy! Anyway, it all added up to major stress. Do you feel this way?

If you do, you need to do what I did: learn to manage you time. It wasn’t until I took a time management course that I realized how much time I was wasting on unimportant or disorganized tasks. You need to learn to say NO to the time-wasters and to organize and prioritize the important things. Once I started managing my time, I found I had enough time to get everything for my newsletter done, PLUS enough time to write full-length books and market them successfully! You can, too.

The first thing you should do is purchase a daily planning system. If you go to an office supply discounter, you should find a selection of sizes, styles, and prices. You don’t need a big, expensive one, but find one that will be big enough for your own needs. I use a Franklin planner, but any of the others will work just as well. They all work with the same principles of organizing and prioritizing.

If you don't want to purchase a daily planner, you can accomplish many of the same things with a modified "To-Do" list. Now, almost all of us make To-Do lists. They usually consist of a list of tasks that get crossed off when they're done. This is good, but not good enough. Here's what your To-Do list should look like. You can use this as an example to create you own with you computer.

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/ X / PRIORITY / TASK
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/   /          /
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/   /          /
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/   /          /
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/   /          /
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/   /          /
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/   /          /  
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When using this list, first fill-in the tasks you want to accomplish in the “TASKS” column. Write down EVERYTHING you want to do. When you have all your tasks written down, assign priorities. Give all the important “must do” tasks an “A” priority. Tasks that are somewhat important, that can be done if there’s time, get a “B”. Totally unimportant tasks get a “C”. Once you’ve assigned letter priorities, organize your list further by assigning number priorities within each letter group. Look through your “A” list and pick the most important task that MUST be done first. Write a “1″ next to the “A”. Continue through your “A” list, and then start over with the “B” and “C” lists.

You now have a road map for your day. Do the “A1″ task first. When it’s done, DON’T cross the task out, like you might have done on your old-fashioned To-Do list. Instead, put a check mark in the box to the left of the task’s priority.

At the end of the day, you’ll be able to see exactly what you were able to accomplish. Any “A” or “B” tasks still unaccomplished can be transferred to tomorrow’s list. Cross out any “C” tasks that remain. You’ve just eliminated a group of time-wasters!

While you’re transferring “A” and “B” tasks to tomorrow’s list, think about how you could have freed up time during the day to have done them. Were you distracted by the TV for a while? Did you stroll into the backyard to talk to your neighbor? Stick to the list religiously and you’ll get more done.

This might sound corny, but making a written, prioritized list will really help you be more productive. You’ll see exactly what’s important to do, and what you can say NO to (an important skill to have!). You can’t argue with something that’s written down. Just be sure to be realistic when assigning priorities, then single-mindedly finish your tasks according to their priorities.

Give this time management system a try. It only takes five minutes a day, at most, and you’ll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish (including a secondary business)!

This is part one of a five part series.  Click to read part two, three, four, or five.