The best way to achieve time freedom with your business is to become better organized.

This is YOUR business and you’ve got to treat it like a business if you want to reap the rewards of a business. Like any business, you’re going to have to maintain some records so you can track your progress and complete the required tax forms when the time comes. Plus you’ll want to have important reference material easily available to you when you need it. Spending a few minutes now in organizing your business will save your hours in the future.

Following are some items that you will need at a minimum.

Daily Planner
You’ll want to get a Daily Planner and/or Appointment book if you don’t have one, make sure it has at least 1 page for each day. Write down all of your appointments in it, along with each days Conference Calls and Training calls. It’s a proven fact that our brain works on the basis of what we write down, NOT on what we just think about.

Better yet, I suggest a daily diary like those from Franklin Covey or DayTimer that gives you a place to record all those expenses that used to be personal and non-deductible, but are now legitimate tax deductions because you’re a business owner.

I’ve been using the Franklin Planner Palm OS version that links my laptop and Palm Pilot together so I’ve always got access to my planner and other tools. It has a great appointment scheduler and planner that I’d be lost without.

8 1/2 x 11 inch binders
I recommend you print out for easy reference pages from your website and lessons from the 30-Day Training. Having these and other documents available in printed form will make it much easier for you to refer to them when you need to. There will be other documents (support emails, planning worksheets, time schedules, phone scripts, call sheets, etc.) you’ll also want to file in these binders.

You’ll also want to get a good 3-hole paper punch because that paper coming out of your printer doesn’t have holes in them for easy insertion into your binder.

Notepaper and pens
These seem rather obvious, but let me ask you… how many times have you been talking with someone on the phone and when you give them your phone number or website address, they have to fumble around to find something to write on?

“Smart” businesspeople are prepared and always have a notepad and pen available to them next to their phones to take notes or write down important information while on the phone.

Open Separate Business Checking Account
You will want to keep separate your personal and business expenses - and a separate checking account will help you do this plus make it easier for you to prove your business tax deductions.

I suggest you fund this account with the savings you “harvest” from your paycheck after submitting a new W-4 form and deposit all the commissions you earn into this account.

Accounting/Bookkeeping system
This is a business and you’ll need to track your income and expenses. Remember, one of the benefits of having your own home-based business is you will be able to deduct on your taxes many of your expenses incurred. If you don’t know how to use your accounting program or system, you’ll need to learn (unless you have someone else keeping your books for you).

I personally use Quicken on my computer, but you can use another program or even keep your records manually.