This year’s Working Naked day was a huge success. People around the world shed their sweat suits, chucked their daily commute and celebrated the freedom they have to work from home.

Now that this year’s event is over, you have 364 days to think about how you’ll celebrate next year’s big day. And of course, you’ll have plenty of time to figure out what you’re going to wear that day…or not.

Although we officially recognize Working Naked Day once a year, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy the benefits of Working Naked all year long. These guest blog posts I wrote for Bit Rebelsand genConnectshould keep you in the mood for Working Naked.

4 Geeky Ways to Stay Safe While Working Naked 
Whether you’re literally working naked, birthday suit and all, or figuratively working naked — without the support of the corporate workplace — staying safe while working from home is important. After all, if for some reason you can’t work, who’s going to cover for you? These four gadgets can help you stay safe and stay on track when you’re working from home.

Working Naked Day: 10 Ways to Make You More Productive
Working Naked Day is tomorrow and whether you’re working in your birthday suit, a business suit or in your jammies, being productive is important. Think about it: When you work for someone else, your time isn’t your time … it’s your company’s time. When you work for yourself, time is precious and any time you waste during the workday is money out of your pocket. When you look at it that way, being productive takes on a whole new meaning.

There’s still time to get your FREE Working Naked Day gift, a collection of eBooks and guides to help you grow your business. Click here for your gift.

Whichever way you interpret Working Naked, today is the day to celebrate your independence from corporate life, bask in your break from a daily commute, and enjoy the flexibility you have to work from home on your own terms.

Today as you bare it all and enjoy your work-from-home freedom on the 3rd annual Working Naked Day, expose yourself to these six ways to grow your business.

1. Partner with other small business owners

Working Naked can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. Connect with other small business owners and find ways to work together. Let’s say that most of your clients are realtors. Think about companies that target realtors, like sign companies and home stagers. You could approach them to put ads on your site, sponsor your seminars or webinars and even share client lists. You’re both trying to reach the same market, so why not work together?

A different option is to work with another business or several businesses to sponsor a contest. By pooling your resources, you can come up with a strong list of prizes. When the contest ends, everyone involved in the contest can share the list of names and e-mail addresses they collected.

2. Update your website

Take a close look at your website. When someone wants to know about your business, or when he or she searches for a business that fits your keywords, what impression does your site give? Your site is your link to the outside world. Make sure that impression is a good one.

Have fun with your site. Add photos and videos. Let visitors get a sense of who you are and what you can do for them. If you don’t have a site — you need to have one — or your site needs a facelift, hire a Web designer. Before you decide which designer to hire, check out the sites they’ve designed to make sure you like their work. Most site designers have a link at the bottom of the sites they’ve created so if you like a site, contact the designer to find out what he or she can do for you.

3. Sign up for a class online or on campus

When I graduated from college, I swore I’d never go back to school. So much for never saying never. I loved school and learned so many skills that I’ve applied to every client I’ve worked with since I graduated. Also, I’ve been able to write for different design magazines and websites that wouldn’t have given me the time of day without my degree.

Consider whether going back to school or learning online will give you the skills you need to serve your clients better. You don’t have to earn a degree but if taking Web design, marketing or programming classes would give you an edge over your competitors, consider investing time learning new skills. Keep in mind that you can write off any expenses related to your classes.

4. Attend a webinar

You can get in your car or catch a plane to attend a seminar, or you can grab a cup of coffee instead, sit at your desk, and attend a webinar. Different websites offer free webinars throughout the year. If you want to learn more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), check out Hubspot. If you want to learn how to start and maintain a WordPress membership site, WordPress University offers regular, short programs loaded with good tips.

Some webinars are live, but if the webinar time doesn’t work for you, sometimes you can download a recording. How easy is that? Best of all…you don’t have to get dressed to attend a webinar. Seems to be the perfect Working Naked Day activity. The bottom line: nothing beats learning something new while you’re sitting in your pajamas or your birthday suit. Ask your corporate friends how often they get to do that!

5. Read business books and eBooks

I admit I’m an eBook addict, but you can learn so much from experts in every field. The best part is that you can find hundreds of eBooks online, loaded with information, for free. There’s an eBook on almost every subject. Use Google to find eBooks about something you want to learn about or need to know.

The more you read eBooks, the more you’ll realize that you can write (and eventually sell) your own eBooks. Research the topic for your eBook to find out if there’s anything similar available. If so, figure out how to make yours different.

6. Set up a group chat through Skype or over the phone

When you’re Working Naked, most of the time there’s no one around to tell you that your ideas are worthless or even amazing. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel when you can meet with other entrepreneurs and pick their brains. They can filter your ideas, encourage you (everyone can use a pat on the back) and maybe even tweak your ideas a bit to make them work for you. Also, it’s incredibly helpful to be able to get input from other business owners who may have faced the same problems you’re dealing with now.

Enjoy your day and call your friends who are stuck in a cubicle or in a boring office today and wish them a Happy Working Naked Day. Maybe next year they can celebrate it with you.

How are you going to celebrate Working Naked Day?

Click here to get your FREE Working Naked Day gift, a collection of eBooks and guides to help you grow your business.

To get you ready for the big day, crank up the heat and check out this recap of past Working Naked Day blog posts.

The Naked Truth…It’s Working Naked Day

Today is the perfect day for those of us who work from home to celebrate the freedom we have to set our own hours, follow our own rules and live a life that doesn’t include reporting to a corporate job each day.

Get Ready for Working Naked Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the 2^ndannual Working Naked Day…the day we celebrate our freedom to work from home on our own terms. While our corporate counterparts are cursing their morning commute, we’re enjoying a slow stroll to our home office down the hall. The blog posts below should get you in the mood for Working Naked Day. They’ll also remind you of why there’s no better way to work, than from home.

It’s Working Naked Day. Strip Down and Get to Work

If you’re one of the 32 million home office pros working without the support of the corporate workplace, you’re working naked. Who knew? It’s OK to blush. I created this holiday to help you strip away your anxieties about doing it all by yourself.  Let the celebration begin with these five tips…

source: Tom Newby Photography

“On my desk is an 18″ tall Suzuki Harmonica Bluesman. Every time I sign a contract for a speaking engagement, sell a book or CD, or otherwise make money, I push the button and let the blues man dance and blow his harmonica for a minute or two. It’s basically my end-zone dance for a successful day in the office!”
—Steve Gamlin

“Iced tea in a canning jar with a glass straw! Seriously!”
—Cheryl Newcomb

“I have a 1-ft tall skeleton that holds an Italian Flag and wears badges from dance conferences I’ve attended. This was a study aid when I was in Exercise Science classes and it still has some clay “muscles” I had to make for a practical exam.”
—Mahin Sciacca

“I have a pen holder on my desk that my wife gave me on Valentine’s day.”
—Gaurav Sharma

“I keep at least one harmonica on my desk. Hohner Special 20, key of G if it matters. I find it relaxing to play some music and it works a different part of my brain.”
—Chris Rovin

Other things on other desks:

“As a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, one of my prized home-office items is a past Christmas gift: Fenway Park infield dirt! It sits right on my desk in a small trophy case! In the cold winter, it’s a reminder that spring will come!”
—John Goodman

“On my desk is a paper ornament with a photo of a rescued moon bear living at the Animals Asia moon bear sanctuary. Seeing that bear (who looks like he’s smiling!) always brightens my spirits.”
—Melissa Dinwiddie

“I keep a little token given to me by friend and fellow publicist Megan Lane of a white little Asian cat that means luck and wealth on my desk. She brings me all sorts of wealth in my inbox- ha! This was a gift from a recent trip overseas and reminds me how lucky I have to work with such great and giving people.”
—Stephanie Krol

“My cat! Seems that the busier I am, the more the cat wants to strut around on my desk and keyboard! She could care less about being sociable when I’m ready to take a break though.”
—Jim Smith

“Something I’ve always had on my desk is a large (unfortunately fake) diamond. I occasionally use it as a paper weight, but it’s mostly just my ‘fidget toy’. When I’m on the phone or re-reading an important email it’s nice to flip through my hands to keep me focused.”
—Josh Weaver

“When I was first married at 33 years old, on my wedding day my father gave me the last piece of my baby blanket that I carried around. He had it put into acrylic with an engraved plate, “Gail’s Meow.” To this day I can still remember crying when he told me that there was nothing left after its last washing. It’s the most important thing on my desk.”
—Gail Mayhugh

On my desk are … barf bags. Yes, really.
—Steve Silberberg

“I love to have a container of newly sprouting seeds on my desk. Each morning, I am excited to see how much they have grown overnight. As they grow I switch them out to a fresh batch to care for.”
—Krayl Funch

What’s on your home office desk?

Mistake #1 Not spreading the word about your business

Maybe your business is better than everyone else’s, but it doesn’t matter if no one knows about you. When you develop a new product or service, send an e-release out to your media contacts, spread the news on Twitter and other social networks, and tell everyone you know. Don’t be shy.

Mistake #2 Not seeking advice or guidance from others

Don’t expect to know everything about finances, marketing, and sales. A business consultant, or a volunteer at SCORE (the Service Corp of Retired Executives) can offer business help. Or call someone whose business style you admire and ask them specific questions.

Mistake #3 Not knowing when to cut your losses and move on

It’s too bad that no matter how much you believe in your products or services, that belief doesn’t determine how much success you’ll have. If you’re losing money on a product or service, take a close look at what you can offer instead. It’s tough to let something go, but when you do you make room for more opportunities to grow your business.

Mistake #4 Skimping on the wrong things

A computer, printer, scanner and other office equipment are more important than a top-of-the-line desk and credenza. Keep in mind that most of the time clients will see only what comes out of your office, not what’s in it. Focus first on technology, then go from there. Don’t forget to invest in a reliable, comfortable and adjustable office chair. After you sit in front of your computer day after day, your back will remind you that you need more support.

Mistake #5: Forgetting to listen to your clients’ needs or requests

You may be so closely tied to your business that you overlook new ways to serve your clients, your best resource for new ideas. Before I wrote my first home office book, people often asked me to recommend a book to help them set up their home office. Finally the light bulb went off and I wrote a book. Some people have “aha” moments. Mine was more of a “duh” moment.

There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes, and when you work for yourself you’re going to make plenty. In fact, that’s part of being an entrepreneur. The key is to learn from those mistakes.

source: discoodoni

A friend of mine keeps as many promises as she breaks. Why are we still friends? The main reason is that the promises she makes to me aren’t important.

When she promises to meet me for coffee, I enter the time in my iPhone and then before I leave my house, I send her a text to confirm. Sometimes she remembers and sometimes she doesn’t.

While those broken promises aren’t earth-shattering and haven’t affected our friendship, if she did the same thing to her clients, her client list were dry up. To a client, any broken promise is important, so you need to do what you can to keep every promise you make.

Start with these tips.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

A huge corporate client with a large budget may tempt you to make promises you can’t keep, and add more to your plate than you can handle. Before you say yes to a request from a big client, take a close look at your current schedule and decide whether or not you have time to complete the job. Don’t forget to consider if you’re even the right person to handle the project. If not, recommend someone else who can help your client.

Prioritize your projects and clients

The minute you sit down at your desk each morning, make sure you have a clear idea of the tasks and projects that need your attention that day. Start by reviewing your list of ongoing projects. Bringing in new clients is important, but don’t forget about your existing clients. If a prospect calls you and you accept the project, how will the new client affect the attention and service your current clients expect? Will you be able to do a good job if you face a time crunch? You have one chance to make a first impression and if your work isn’t up to par, you’ll lose any chance of building a long-term relationship with any client.

Build in a cushion

When you promise something to a client, do your best to gauge how long it will take you to finish the project and then, if possible, add a week. That gives you extra days to make sure you deliver what you promise, when you promise it. Even if you’re the most qualified person to handle a job, yet you can’t meet your client’s deadline, you could damage your relationship with that client. And rebuilding a damaged relationship can take longer than you think.

As the old saying goes, “Promises are made to be broken,” but that doesn’t mean they should be.

What strategies do you use to make sure you keep your promises?

What do you do when you don’t cook or eat at home, but you need to set up a home office? You may do exactly what entrepreneur and author Mandy Williams (aka Black of Red & Black) did, and convert your dining room into a home office.

Mandy isn’t your traditional author or business owner and doesn’t take a conventional approach in her personal and business life. Her approximately 15.8′ x 15.7′ home office is the perfect example. She could have converted a spare bedroom, corner of a family room, or a formal living room into her workspace, but how conventional would that be?

Mandy’s well-hidden home office is still disguised as a dining room, thanks to the wall of wood. Unless you opened the cabinets, you’d never know that behind the Wenge wood doors are several file drawers along the bottom, a slide-out printer stand, and open shelving for storing loose-leaf binders and  various office organizing boxes/sorters. She also has cubbyholes for paper, notepads and envelopes.

Her gorgeous custom-designed, glass-top table with a leather base looks like a dining table but can be used as a conference table or desk.  Not unlike many dining rooms, Mandy’s office is filled with natural light (often the best in the home).

Not eating or cooking at home seems to be a good trade-off for a stunning home office.

source: miss.killer!

For years, I’ve worked with clients who’ve tried everything to organize their home offices, but then have finally given up. Either they didn’t know where to start or were overwhelmed by the process. They also started to believe the negative comments their family and friends were telling them about getting organized.

If you’ve tried to organize your home office and have given up, or have started to believe what others have told you for years about getting organized, it’s time to change your thinking. When you stop believing old organizing myths, you can move forward and get your home office organized.

Myth #1 You have to be born organized to be organized

We learn both good and bad habits at an early age and you can change any bad habit, including disorganization. When I was in the corporate world, co-workers who had organized offices told me that their homes were a mess. They focused more on their workspace because that’s where they generated their income. By the time they came home from work every day, they were too exhausted to organize anything. The bottom line is that you can learn to be organized, and it’s easier if you’re motivated to make a few changes.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, click here.

The truth is there’s no way we entrepreneurs can know everything and do everything well, but we don’t have to. There are experts nearby (virtually and in person) who are willing to share their business experience with other small business owners like us. Best of all, you can get their advice from one source: SCORE.

SCORE is a nonprofit association — it’s been around since 1964 — that provides information and support to entrepreneurs and small businesses around the country. They have 370 chapters throughout the United States and 11,200 volunteers nationwide. They’ve helped 8.4 Million Small Businesses including Vermont Teddy Bear, Vera Bradley Designs, Jelly Belly candy, and more.

SCORE offers advice from starting, managing, and growing a business, to financing and technology. They feature articles on their site from business owners around the world and offer online workshops.

The site itself is packed with information, but they also offer one-on-one help. The SCORE mentoring program matches entrepreneurs with both working and retired executives, and business owners. You can learn from retired CEOs, attorneys, business owners and other professionals who volunteer their time to help small business owners grow their businesses.

One of my favorite features on the SCORE site is the forms they offer, from business plan templates, to profit and loss forms. Why reinvent the wheel when you can get detailed forms with one click?

It’s easy to get lost in the business world, especially when you’re out there on your own. SCORE is worth checking out, and best of all, it’s free.

Have you ever sat at your computer on the day you were supposed to post to your blog and been completely stumped about what to write?Believe me. It’s not just you. Writers block happens to the best of us.

But I’ll bet that just as often as you’re stuck for what to write, you also have inspired ideas for blog posts. Yet, if you don’t take note of them, they float off into the ether never to be remembered. Then, on blog posting day, you end up sitting in front of that blank white page with a blinking cursor for longer than you want or need.

Luckily, there is a simple blog post organizing system that will help you to not only corral your ideas as they come to you, but also have a plan in place every time you sit down to write. But first, let’s address the problem of what to write.

Finding blog post ideas

The simplest way to create excellent blog posts for your readers is to consider the questions your customers ask you regularly. What do they want to know more about? What valuable information can you give them about your expertise that will solidify their trust in you as an expert? Think back to conversations you’ve had, and scour your old e-mails and blog comments for those questions.

Next, ask the people who follow you on your social media channels what they’d like you to write about. Regularly ask the same question at the bottom of your blog posts. Encourage your readers to leave a comment with their answers.

If this doesn’t kick up much information, you might host a contest in which you give away a desirable discount, e-product or free consultation. To enter your contest, your readers must give you three topics they’d like you to write about.

Organizing your blog post ideas

Start a digital note taking system to keep a running list your best blog post ideas. A sheet of paper will either get lost or eventually overlooked. Instead, Evernote and Dropbox are excellent tools, because you can access your notes on a smart phone and computer. Plus, if your computer were to crash, your notes will still exist online.

Additionally, Gmail users might create a Google Doc list but to my knowledge these can’t be accessed via smart phone. Finally, if you’re on the go when inspiration strikes, you can also use your cell phone’s note taking or voice recording applications to capture ideas and later transfer them to your online digital list.

Create an editorial calendar by filling it with your best blog post ideas

I use a Google Calendar, but keeping a paper calendar works just as well in this case. Implementing this posting system makes it clear exactly when you need to post to your blog, and exactly what you’ll write. Plan your calendar for months in advance, and you’ll never lack for a good topic to write on posting day. You’ll also avoid neglecting to post, as can sometimes happen without a solid plan in place.

As a business owner, failing to post regularly — at least once a week — is one of the worst things you can do. Why? Because a neglected blog raises a red flag that you might have gone out of business. Consistently showing up and delivering helpful information on your blog will indicate to potential customers that you are an expert who can be counted on. Having an organized blogging system will help you do that.

Monica Crowe teaches small business owners how to use their blogs and e-mail newsletters as marketing tools so they can make more money doing what they love. To get more of Crowe’s blogging tips, visit her blog.