Home office technology

Making the Most of Home Office Technology

February 22, 2011 By Lisa 2 Comments

When I was in the corporate world, I had the perfect assistant. She was never late, took care of the tasks I didn’t have time to do, and was always in a good mood. When I started my first business I couldn’t take her with me, but since then I’ve relied on a few other assistants, my home office equipment.

The cost of equipment and the size of anything with an on and off switch (to borrow a phrase from flight attendants) drops all of the time. So having access to the equipment you need to help you stay productive is easy. Knowing what to buy can be tougher, but it doesn’t have to be.

The Crucial Computer
Keeping up with the latest computer is as easy as changing the tires on a moving car. You can either wait until you think the [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office products, Home office technology, Working at home Tagged With: Brother, Fellowes, Home office technology, iosafe

5 Things You Need to Know About Your Small Business Web Site

January 19, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

One of my clients just fired her Webmaster.

It was sort of my fault.

She kept complaining to me about how long she had to wait for him to make updates, program the right keywords and put together an opt-in form, so I took a close look at her site. After I read a few pages, I realized why her blood boiled every time she thought about her site. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office technology, Improving your web site

You CAN Take it With You, But What Would You Take?

October 27, 2010 By Lisa

In one of my favorite “brain candy” movies, The Jerk, Steve Martin leaves his house (with his pants around his ankles) upset and a broken man. As he walks to the door, he picks up things to take with him. Each time he reaches for something he says, “All I need is my thermos…my lamp…my chair…” and so on.

If I had to leave my house (with my pants on, of course), there are a few things I couldn’t leave behind. Although a few would be physically impossible to take without a little help, I’d have to take my:

iPhone. I’m addicted to this second brain of mine that makes my life so much easier. Between the calendar — the alarm feature keeps me from missing [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office products, Home office setup, Home office technology Tagged With: Home office products, Home Office Tips, iPad, iphone, MacBook, working from home

5 Stupid Texting Mistakes to Avoid

October 11, 2010 By Lisa

E-mail is the perfect timesaving tool, but so is texting. In other blog posts I’ve shared stupid e-mail mistakes, but now it’s time for a list of texting mistakes.

My friends, associates and I have made most of the mistakes on this list (we like to be good examples of what not to do). As you read through this list you may recognize some of these mistakes or thank your lucky stars that you have enough common sense not to make any of these mistakes.

Make sure you’re sending the text to the right person. After you type a text and before you push send, double check whose name is at the top of the screen. Whether you’re complaining about someone, making suggestive comments or sharing private information, a text to the wrong person can have devastating results. It could even [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office technology, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: Entrepreneurs, Home Office Tips, Texting, working from home

How Not to Use Twitter to Get Results for Your Business

October 1, 2010 By Lisa

Twitter is a valuable tool that can help you bring visitors to your blog, spread the word about your business, connect with your customers and more. But as with any tool, there’s a right way to use it and a wrong way. I’m always looking for ways to make better use of Twitter. Some tips that I’ve tried worked well, while others have failed miserably.

The HubSpot article “The 9 Worst Ways to Use Twitter for Business,” takes an “avoid doing this” approach to making Twitter more effective. A few of the top Twitter don’ts include: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office technology, Improving your web site, Making money from home, Marketing/Public Relations Tagged With: HubSpot, making Twitter more effective, tweeting, Twitter

What Not to Do With Your Web Site

September 17, 2010 By Lisa

My Web site is a work in progress. I make a few changes to it and then a month later I think of a few more things I need to update. Within the next few weeks I’ll be making a few more changes. It never ends.

In “11 Reasons Customers Don’t Trust Your Web Site,” writer Lisa Barone shares common sense tips and easy-to-stop-doing strategies for making your site better.It’s more of a list of Web site mistakes you may be making including:

It’s littered with typos. Do your best to find typos and squash them dead. It’s hard to believe what someone has written when every other word is spelled wrong. Also, it looks bad if your phone number is wrong. My number changed recently but I didn’t change it on my site until last week. (Oprah, if you tried to call before, try again!) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Internet marketing, Marketing/Public Relations, Working at home Tagged With: Improving your web site, Internet marketing, Lisa Barone

5 Ways Twitter Makes You a Better Person

September 17, 2010 By Lisa

Guest post by San Sharma

If you work alone or from home, there’s no denying that Twitter is an invaluable tool, both professionally and personally. As part of a marketing strategy, Twitter can help spread the word about your business. And when you’re feeling disconnected, Twitter can make you feel a part of the world around you.

But in some circles, Twitter, Facebook and social media, in general, is considered a bad thing. “We’re all getting self-obsessed,” some complain. To them I say, Twitter can actually make you a better person.

Here’s some ‘Twitterquette’ to demonstrate how:

Be more open
Contrary to popular belief, Twitter’s not all about what you had for lunch. But its 140-character limit and the ways in which you can tweet – from your desk or from your mobile phone – make Twitter an ideal platform to share a little more about yourself. Being transparent with your [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Internet marketing, Making money from home, Working at home, Working with clients Tagged With: Enterprise Nation, Facebook, San Sharma, social media tips, Twitter

From Blog to Book…the Working Naked Guide is Here

September 15, 2010 By Lisa

Whenever I mention the blog name Working Naked, I get curious stares, raised eyebrows and sometimes a few smirks. Most of the time women understand the concept immediately while some guys chuckle and wait for me to laugh and tell them the real name of my blog. Yes, it’s Working Naked.

So imagine the looks I got yesterday when I was showing my new book, Working Naked: A guide to the bare essentials of home office life, to a friend of mine. While the guy at the Starbucks counter thought I was holding a “questionable” book, the woman in line behind me had an “I get it” look on her face.

Well, now you can get it…my fifth book. In Working Naked, I’ve included need-to-know tips that I share through my seminars and individual consultations. A few of my favorite tips are:

When your home has limited space, consider all areas of your home including wide hallways, closets, [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office products, Home office setup, Home office technology Tagged With: Home Office Tips, Small business, working from home, Working Naked book

How to Improve Your E-mail Efficiency

September 8, 2010 By Lisa

I did it. I finally broke the habit of checking my e-mail first thing in the morning and too many times throughout the day. It wasn’t easy but I kept reminding myself of how much time I was wasting logging in and checking to see what I had missed.

E-mail is a great way to communicate with others, but it can quickly spin out of control if you don’t organize all of your messages.

Develop a system for reading, responding to and storing e-mail messages electronically. Set up electronic file folders to store e-mail messages worth keeping and label the folders clearly. Treat the electronic folders the same as paper files and regularly purge documents you don’t need [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: E-mail, Home Office Tips, Productivity

Home-Based Business Tips From the Rainforest

August 3, 2010 By Lisa

A view of the CPI courtyard and classrooms.

Last week my family and I toured Costa Rica with our friends, Carlos Najarro, Jonle Sedar and their family. While this was a personal trip, I couldn’t help focusing on their home-based business, CPI, a Spanish immersion school with three separate campuses in different parts of the country.”

The beautiful Monteverde campus in the rainforest (yes, it’s awesome) includes classrooms (of course), study areas, a library, perfectly landscaped courtyards and stylish yet functional apartments for the students. The CPI apartments and the family’s gorgeous townhouse (the couple has an incredible eye for design) are connected to the school. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office setup, Home office technology, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: Costa Rica, CPI, Entrepreneurs, Home-based business, working from home