As a mompreneur, I know how tough it can be to juggle a new business, your family, and your personal life – honestly, there never seems to be enough hours in the day. But just because you’re strapped for time or money, doesn’t mean it’s okay to cut corners, compromise your integrity, or act rude or snarky.
If you want to build healthy online relationships, grow your business, and keep your customers coming back for more here are eight business mistakes to cut from your act.
1. Always Asking for Favors
Don’t be known as “that girl,” you know the one that is always asking people for favors, but never lends a helping hand in return. People enjoy helping others in times of need, but if you’re constantly asking for things, you’ll start to turn people off, and they will start ignoring your phone calls and emails.
In fact, in the book, Trust Agents, it says …
“In your business, you shouldn’t ask for anything almost ever. Asking for favors, getting people to blog things for you, these are things that make people go out of their way, and that make them feel uncomfortable”.
Instead, be helpful and assist others when you’re able to, you’ll be surprised how people will want to help you in return, and you won’t even have to ask.
2. Being Non-Responsive
Do you immediately read emails and let then let them sit in your inbox because you plan on getting to them later? Well, the next thing you know, weeks go by, and your email inbox has over 1,000 emails waiting for replies – yikes! Don’t let this happen to you when you first open an email either immediately respond to it, or file it away for future use. When you give a delayed response (or no response at all), it tells people that you don’t care about them and that you don’t value their time. Answering emails promptly can definitely make you stand out from the crowd, and it’s an easy way to stay on top of things.
3. Forgetting Important Details
I’m sure you’ve heard the story about the woman who asks the other woman when her baby is due and low and behold she already had it! Don’t get caught with your foot in your mouth; learn to write down important details about your clients, employees, and vendors. An easy way to do this by creating a notecard with simple facts: name, birth date, kid’s names, married, divorced, etc. Not remembering essential details is not only embarrassing for both parties involved, but it can also be hurtful and degrading. Impress your clients by remembering the small stuff – it makes a huge difference.
4. Being Rude and Disrespectful
I’ve seen this happen a lot online and off – it is never appropriate to be rude or disrespectful to people. Situations can be frustrating, but in the end, we are all humans, and we deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Don’t let your frustrations get the best of you, take the high road, and act with integrity and tolerance. As they say, word-of-mouth is the most powerful tool for your business, make sure it’s positive.
5. Making Promises You Can’t Keep
Sometimes you just have to say no. You want to help everyone, but then you end up making promises that you can’t keep. Not only does this make you look unreliable but it can cause feelings of disappointment and resentment. Keep a detailed schedule (I like to use the block scheduling method) so you know exactly what extra projects and tasks you can take on, and when you don’t have any more room on your plate, kindly turn down the offer. People will respect you more even though you’re telling them no.
Related content: 5 Mistakes Business Owners Make That Waste Time and Hurt Sales
6. Putting Others Down on Social Media
I see this a lot online, where one people blatantly bash others on social media. How you interact online, sets the tone for how individuals perceive you and your overall level of professionalism. If you think a client is going to trust you to represent them, when you act like a loose cannon, think again. As they say, “loose lips, sink ships.”
7. Posting Offensive Content Online
All too often individuals post offensive, insensitive, and negative comments on social media. Constant negativity can not only cause you to lose friends, but it can cause an employer or client not to hire you, or worse yet, fire you. What you say and post online, stays online forever – even when you delete it. So think twice before you rant and rave, people are watching what you do and will make decisions based on your interactions.
8. Acting Without Integrity
As Dave Thomas says, “You earn your reputation by the things you do every day.” There is nothing more important than your integrity, it is the foundation for which all of your relationships are built, and once it is tarnished, it is almost impossible to restore. Brands, employers, and customers will make decisions about you based solely on what they find online, so it is more important than ever, to maintain a high level of integrity in your online interactions.
Conclusion
By being mindful and avoiding these business mistakes you can be secure in maintaining your professional and personal integrity as a mompreneur.
What are some other practices individuals should be mindful of avoiding? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
AnaBear Boutique
OMGoodness this has been so helpful! After reading these business mistakes it seems like it would be common sense but I am for sure guilty of delaying a response from time to time and just recently have I learned that its okay to say no to avoid over promising! Thank you so much for this great list! – Melissa of AnaBear Boutique
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Glad you enjoyed the tips Melissa!
Golda Smith
These are great tips! I’m not sure which one I enjoy the most. I use a voice recorder feature on my phone to remind me of important tasks, especially when I can’t write it down. I’ve learned to breeze through email and I restrict my responses to 2-4 lines…cuts down so much time.
Holly Hanna
Great tip for email! People like it short and to the point too.
LaTersa Blakely
I think these are some awesome tips. These tips can take you a long ways in your business …
Holly Hanna
Thanks LaTersa!
Rachel Blaufeld
Great list. All very important….the email thing is key. I set aside 2 blocks of time to answer emails during my day.
Along the same lines, as a mompreneur, I try to block out my day w a rough outline of what I am going to do because it is so easy to get distracted working from home. I need the outline to hold myself accountable.
Rachel
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Hi Rachel,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Isn’t it amazing how much time email takes up, but so important to answer promptly.
Elizabeth Saunders-Time Coach
Holly-Excellent article for anyone in the professional world!
I used to struggle with keeping up on e-mail but have found that for myself and my time coaching clients that it’s important to realize how you relate to e-mail and choose the right strategy::
If e-mail is like candy (i.e. you want to answer it all the time), block in some important project time first before checking and responding to it.
If e-mail is like spinach (i.e. something you prefer to avoid), make yourself answer all of your e-mail first before moving on to other projects.
Here’s a post where I describe my method in a bit more detail: http://www.reallifee.com/e-tip-set-e-mail-expectations
Have a brilliant day!
Elizabeth
http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Those are great email tips Elizabeth! I have the problem that I love to read the email, but often it takes me a while to formulate a response, so I would just let it sit in my in-box. Over time I’ve learned that my responses don’t have to be a literary master pieces.
Tracy Bennett
Hi Holly!
Thanks so much for this! I am passing this along because I could use polishing on several of them!
Tracy
Holly Hanna
Glad you enjoyed the article Tracy!
Colleen W
These are applicable to the 9-5 job aspect as well as to your typical “mompreneur”.
Time management is important in that one needs to have “me” time.
Accepting that it is ok to say “no” to additional tasks or projects.
Get in the habit of taking notes, you will be thankful later.
Keep in mind that although people may not know you in person, your email communication is representative of you and your business and if your email comes across in an unprofessional manner, then your business could suffer as a result.
Word of mouth travels quickly, both in person, on social networks and via email.
Jen
It always excites me whenever I see women put up their own businesses and become independent. Mompreneurs have great insights into marketing gaps and the effort they put in to juggle their time to balance home and business is really amazing. Cheers to all the mums who give it a go! I hope we will continue to see the rise of mompreneurs as future leaders of our businesses and communities.
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Hi Nancy,
I know what you mean. I started keeping a small note-book in my bag at all times, this has been great for remembering details at meetings, new blog post ideas, things I need to do and important dates.
Nancy
Details, details, details. Yes, I’ll need to write them down. Don’t know why I think I can remember so much – I can’t. The big picture is really in the details, they ARE the story.
jen
UGH. I am so guilty of #2 – I try and I try but I just can’t seem to reply in a timely manner to emails. Thanks for the reminder that it is IMPORTANT – my new *rule* is that I can’t go to bed until everything is answered!
jen :)
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Hi Jen,
Thanks for the comment. Email is a hard one to keep on top of, but once you get into the habit of answering emails right away or filing them away it becomes easier and you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Good luck!