I lost a client recently. When I asked why he was making a change he said to me, "Your site used to be in the top three results of all the search engines and now it's not".

Alarmed, I immediately investigated. He was right.

It was then that I realized that I had dropped the ball. I hadn't even looked at my search engine results for a couple of months. I hadn't been marketing my business.

How had this happened? As I reflected on what I'd been spending my time on, I realized that recently more and more of my time was being spend on adminstrative tasks. And I'd been spending very little time doing the things I love most about my business; writing, researching and marketing. Not good.

Over the past year, I've been working harder and longer. And I'd been marketing less and less. Not to mention the fact that the precious time that I have with my kids was being chipped away by my "projects".

My business was running ME.

I was also still locked into the mindset that I *couldn't afford* software and services that could really help me to run my business more efficiently.

Here's a good example:

I spend a great deal of time answering emails from site visitors, most of them the same types of questions. Now, I really like to answer my emails personally, but there comes a time when you have to decide whether or not this is really the best use of your time.

I bit the bullet and purchased two programs: a program to set up and administrate a Frequently Asked Questions area, and an autoresponder program to set up an Instant Answers section which sends immediate responses to common questions by email.

What a difference! Now, I spend alot less time answering the same emails each day, and my site visitors get immediate answers to their questions. Well worth the expense (which, by the way was definitely within reach once I took the time to budget money for it).

While I don't want to run out and start buying every program out there that might save me time, I have broken out of the pattern of saying, "I can't". Now I'm asking, "Can I afford not to?"

The benefits of this approach are many. I find that I have more time with my family, less stress, and I again have the time to do what I love the most....write, research and grow my business.

I'm resolved to keep this from happening again. Here are some things you can do to avoid straying from your path to success:

Sharon Davis

Sharon Davis is the founder of 2Work-At-Home.com and the Editor of the site's ezine, America's Home.

A work-at-home mom of two girls, Sharon was formerly a sales management and training professional.

"After I had my second child, I was overwhelmed with the need to stay at home with my girls," says Sharon. "I felt that I was missing out on the most important part of my life. The deciding moment for me was seeing a picture of my older daughter on her first day of school. I was never able to be there, as my company held their annual meetings each year on that day. She looked so sad in that picture, it was devastating."

After being at home for some time, Sharon decided to look for a part-time job that she could do from her home office. "I realized that in addition to the extra income we would have, a job would provide me with the professional interaction that I was missing," she says. She embarked on an internet job search and was frustrated to find the large number of scams targeting stay-at-home moms. "I knew there had to be legitimate jobs out there, but I just wasn't finding them," says Davis.

She knew that there were many others who were in the same situation and it was at this point, in September of 1999, that she was inspired to start 2Work-At-Home.com. Her site provides free telecommute job listings, resume posting in the Talent Bank, information on Telecommute Friendly companies and much more.

There are also comprehensive tools and resources for those looking to start a home business. From 100's of home business ideas to tax and legal issues, they have everything you need to start, run and grow a profitable home business.

Sharon runs her business from her home in a small town on the Northern California Coast. Says Sharon, "I'm living proof that you really can work from home. It's fulfilling to know that I am helping others to achieve their goals of working at home. I feel I am the luckiest woman alive."