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?

Last week, I gave a seminar to an incredible group of business owners and after the session I spoke to a few of the attendees.

One woman stood out.

She waited until everyone had left the room and then sheepishly admitted to me that her home office was a disaster. She was ashamed, upset and convinced she was a failure.

The more questions I asked her about her office, the better she felt. I focused on what she was doing right, instead of on the description of her home office that included piles of paper, supplies stashed everywhere and old magazines piled in the corner of her office.

She said that she uses a daily planner, backs up her computer every week and uses an adjustable desk chair on wheels instead of a kitchen table chair. These three things may seem insignificant, but they’re helping her stay productive.

This woman was so focused on the mess in her home office and what she wasn’t doing, that she hadn’t taken the time to pat herself on the back for doing a few things right.

She knows that her office won’t look anything like the home offices on the All Dressed Up page, but that’s OK.

So the next time someone makes a snide comment about your office, brush it off. You’re doing at least one or two things right, and for most of us, that’s enough.

Some people tell me that they don’t have space in their home for a home office. But no matter what size home you have, there’s always room for a home office.

The services (actually gigs) on the site range from creating music for your next video, to getting advice on how to get your story or event covered in the local news, to creating a blog. Then there’s a guy who will post a sign on his “badass motorcycle” and take a picture, a guy who will call someone and take the blame for you and another person who will mail your pet a Christmas card.

Why would you hire anyone from this site? I can think of a few good reasons:

• You can hire someone to help you with your business for only $5.

• You may find someone you want to work with again.

• If the person you hire doesn’t do a great job, you’ve wasted invested only $5.

Not only can you buy services, you can offer them as well. As a serious business owner, there are a few advantages to offering your services at a ridiculously low price.

• The exposure. Fiverr has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, on Fox News and in other national media outlets, and continues to get exposure. You can be the most talented person in your field, but if no one knows about you, big deal.

• You could earn a little extra cash. Sure, all can buy with your first sale is a latte but if you offer something that’s simple to do, won’t take much time and is popular enough that you’re hired on a regular basis, you could make some extra spending money.

• One gig could lead to a larger project. This is the main reason to sign up for the site. If the people who hire you are happy with your work, they may hire you again for a higher fee.

• For the fun of it. Add a fun twist to your business and you may get some extra media exposure.

I didn’t hire anyone from the site this time (a good friend took care of the layout for me), but the next time I need someone to handle a project and I don’t want to spend much, I’ll definitely hire someone from Fiverr.

Maybe I’ll start with the person who will write a cheesy rap on the topic of my choice and perform it on video dressed as a hot dog. My Birthday is coming up soon.

Part of the reason is that I’m from a family of five kids which makes me want my own space, my own supplies and as much privacy as possible. This site is called Working Naked, after all.

The other part is that too much of a good thing can be bad. You may adore your spouse but if you spend every day and night with him or her, you may drain the fun out of your business and your relationship.

If you’re still willing to work with your spouse, there are a few ways to keep the peace so no one considers hiring a hit man by closing time.

• Buy duplicate supplies. No one likes to reach for a stapler and realize it’s on someone else’s desk or in another room. Get creative and buy two sets of office supplies in different colors.

• Use separate equipment. There’s nothing wrong with cutting costs, but sharing a computer to save money will cost you in the long run. Whether you use a desktop and your spouse uses a laptop, each of you should have your own equipment. If neither one of you needs to print often, share a printer.

• Leave the room when you need to take a call. Unless you can talk quietly and not bother your spouse while he or she is in the office, leave the room. Anyway, it’s good to get away from your desk throughout the day.

• Use separate desks. Whether you install a long counter with two workspaces or use two desks, keep them away from each other.

• Stay in your own territory. If you and your spouse have different working styles, a neat freak spouse doesn’t want to find stacks of paper on his or her desk. Keep your piles to yourself. If you’re the pack rat spouse and like to work with papers piled everywhere, your picky spouse may drive you nuts when he or she tries to straighten the piles or convince you to toss everything.

• Compromise on the temperature. You may like the office to be as cold as a meat locker, but not everyone likes to wear three sweaters, a hat and gloves to work. Consider using a fan for your side of the room and keep the thermostat at a reasonable temperature.

I’m a firm believer in everyone working together, but not always in the same space.

Do you know how your business looks to the outside world? As your client base grows and your business gets busier, you may start to ignore the basics. Take time to look at your business from an outsider’s point of view.

• Analyze your Web site. Does it reflect the tone and style of your business today?  Your product photos and blog should be up-to-date. You don’t need to blog every day but a few times a week is ideal. If you want honest feedback about your site, ask for it. Six months ago I sent a short survey to friends, acquaintances and clients to get their input and insight. Their feedback helped me make a few changes to improve my site.

• Read a few of your outgoing messages. If you were supposed to attach a document, did you? Are there typos? Spell check will catch misspelled words but it can’t tell you automatically whether you’re using the right version of a word.

• Listen to your voice mail message. Can you hear your kids or spouse in the background? Make sure that your voice is clear and easy to understand.  Don’t forget to ask the caller to leave a detailed message that includes their phone number and the best time to return their call.

• Check to make sure the contact information on your business card is current. Business cards are cheap. Instead of crossing out an old phone number, order new cards. Also, make sure that your card is easy to read. A business card I saw last week had a light background, which made the white type hard to read.

Sometimes the image you have of your business can be a bit distorted. Make sure that what others see is a true reflection.

Here’s the deal: just because we’re working from home doesn’t mean that we’re available to wait for repair calls, UPS deliveries, or to pick up a friend’s kids from school when that friend can’t leave work.  Of course when it’s an emergency, there’s no question whether you should help out. But there’s a point where others can take advantage of you.

One woman in Zaslow’s article who was asked constantly for help from friends and neighbors, turned errand requests into a job.  She works part-time for a new online company called taskrabbit, that matches “senders” (people who need someone to do an errand for them) with “runners” (people who will handle the errand).  Now she’s paid for her time.

The bottom line is that someone who works from home is no different from her corporate counterpart except for having a more flexible schedule, dressing casually (if at all) and being available to handle last-minute emergencies.  She also has the freedom to say no to requests for favors when she’s doing what the person asking for the favor is doing, which is working.

Later that day, I called a mutual friend and she told me that six months ago my friend started his own business and was doing well over six figures. As I clicked off the call, I realized that I did to him what others have done to me for years. I’d assumed that because he was running an errand in the middle of the day and was casually dressed, he wasn’t working.

It’s no wonder that others have trouble taking us seriously when we work from home. Consider why:

• You can go to your child’s events during school or anytime in the summer.
• If you want to take the day off to spend with your family, you can.
• You can sleep late and work through the night because you don’t have to wake up early to get to work.
• You can schedule repair calls or deliveries anytime during the day.

Those of us who work from home “get it.” We have flexibility that our corporate counterparts don’t have and at times, don’t understand. There are a few things you can do to help others realize that even though you have a home office, you’re still working.

• Set guidelines and boundaries with your family and friends. They need to understand that you can’t take personal calls all day or at times you need to work uninterrupted. It’s a balancing act that can be challenging.

• Learn to say no when friends or family ask you to wait for the repair person or a UPS delivery. They need to know that although you’re working from home, you’re still working.

• Treat your business as a business, not a hobby. That means that you don’t work for free. Your time is worth something to your clients. It should be worth the same (or more) to your friends and family.

• Use one e-mail address for personal use and another for business. The goal is to keep your business e-mail address clear for clients and important messages while your personal address is for annoying joke e-mails that your friends can’t resist sending.

• Set up two Twitter accounts: one for business and one for personal use. Your personal tweets can include cryptic messages to friends and the latest update of where you are, while your business tweets should be professional and helpful to others who can use your services.

The bottom line is that you can’t get everyone to take you seriously but then again, who cares? You have the freedom that others only dream about during their daily commute to work. Eventually they’ll come around — probably when they’re working from home too.

When you first start working from home and you’re spending time growing your business, it’s normal to face a few worries along with fear. Aside from figuring out how you’re going to grow your business, you have to worry about how to pay the bills, where your next client will come from and how to keep your family from turning on you because of your crazy hours.

For some people, fear is a motivator.  For others it’s the first step to feeling discouraged. While being motivated is a good thing, being paralyzed with fear and weighted with worry can dampen your spirits and possibly keep you from growing your business.

You can’t get rid of all of your fears but there are a few ways to tame them.

• Don’t quit your day job. Lately I’ve been reading about business owners I thought were doing well but it turns out that they work full time during the day and work on their business at night. When they make enough money, they’re going to quit their job and focus on their business full time.

• Go for the low-hanging fruit. If you left a corporate job to work from home, turn to your old employer as your first client. The company won’t have to train you, pay your health insurance and give you two weeks off each year. If you left your last job on bad terms, skip to the next tip.

• Use skills not related to your business to make money. If you’re handy with a hammer, have an eye for design, or can landscape like nobody’s business, get to work. There’s nothing wrong with taking odd jobs to supplement your income or in some cases to serve as income until your business takes off.

Not long after that, my clients asked for a book about keeping their home office in shape and their homebased business on track. After I did some research and found out that a home office book that would help my clients didn’t exist, I listened to my clients.

I wrote a book outline and then contacted a literary agent who had a home office, and she agreed to represent my book.  (This is a simplified version of events, but you get the idea.) She sold the book within three weeks and four books later I credit my clients for directing my business.

If I hadn’t listened to my clients, I wouldn’t have changed my business focus as soon as I did. Also, I wouldn’t have a series of books under my belt and a blog that gives me the opportunity to share home office advice and tips for working from home.

Are you listening to your clients?