You are here: Home / Archives for working from home

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help You Grow Your Business

May 17, 2013 By 4 Comments

Virtual assistant for small businessYou may be Working Naked, but you still wear several hats from marketing director to business manager to publicist, among other jobs. While some of us (myself included) think we can do everything ourselves, others who know they can’t, and are ready to grow their businesses, hire virtual assistants.

Several small business owners who work with virtual assistants shared what their virtual assistants do for them. In some cases virtual assistants seemed to be even more valuable than their spouses.

“My virtual assistant handles all my website design and maintenance. I’ve gone from four published books to eight. She has also saved my neck during a couple of major e-mail crises, performed troubleshooting of all sorts of stuff, and researched the best option for me on various technologies and platforms. She lives about 5000 miles away from me in Alaska and we’ve never met.”
—Shel Horowitz, ethical marketing expert

”My virtual assistant has always been based in Copenhagen. I have used my virtual personal assistant for over a year and find that it is the only way to maintain efficiency and excellent service levels than any other method. She schedules all of my global meetings, does all of our invoicing and travel arrangements- getting me to and from clients in the US to Europe.”
—Jennifer Hicks, founder of ink Communications and co-founder of bGrand

“My virtual assistant does many of the things I am not qualified to do: She created a web site for me and maintains it by adding new materials, links, resources etc. She does this also for an existing site I have. My virtual assistant pushes me and encourages me. We’re a team that just happens to sit in two different states.”
—Jane Cranston, ExecutiveCoachNY

“Over the years, my virtual assistant has done a variety of tasks for me including formatting/updating documents, creation of Powerpoint presentations, flyer development, database management, email marketing, and website design/update. Over the years she has also helped me to automate as much as possible so I’ve actually used her less as time has gone on.”
—Jackie Nagel, President of Synnovatia

How has a virtual assistant helped you?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

What Makes You an Entrepreneur?

April 29, 2013 By 4 Comments

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes, sizes and ages. What links most entrepreneurs is their desire to call the shots and stop answering to others. This infographic, originally posted on Bit Rebels (my favorite technology/geek site), illustrates 9 signs you might be an Entrepreneur.  How many characteristics describe you?

 characteristics-of-an-entrepreneur-infographic

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Is Your Home Office Still Working For You?

April 18, 2013 By 2 Comments

home office workingSome days you may look forward to working in your home office, while other days you may go straight to a nearby coffee shop to work. If you’re spending more time working away from your home office, than in it, it may be time to make a few home office changes.

Consider whether your home office still inspires you to work.

Whether you’ve had a home office for many years or you’re ready to set up a home office for the first time, start by asking yourself a few questions: Is there enough light? Is your home office in a high-traffic area?  Is the space too isolated to let you accomplish anything? It’s important to find the right place for your home office so you actually enjoy working there. If you’re tired of your current office and want to try to work in another part of your home, do a 30-day trial. If after that time you still like the new space, move everything from your old home office into your new office.

Move your furniture around.

Consider moving your desk from against the wall to floating in the room. Maybe I’ve seen too many horror movies, but I never feel comfortable having my back to the door. You’ll feel less isolated and may even enjoy a view of the outside if you look into the room instead of stare at a wall all day. Moving your furniture around can change your outlook (literally).

Add a bookcase.

Out of the last 10 home offices I’ve seen, half of them didn’t have a bookcase. What’s the problem with that? Without a bookcase or shelves, there’s no place to store books, reference materials and even knick knacks that can add a little something to any home office. Not only can a bookcase be functional, it can serve as an interesting design element within your home office, or as a divider in a large room.

Keep your family in mind.

You may want to keep your family out of your home office while you work, and if so, you’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your family in mind while you’re working. Hang a bulletin board near your desk and add family photos, or keep family photos on nearby shelves.

Your home office should be a place you enjoy spending time. Until you take the time to consider whether or not your current set-up is working, you may not realize what a difference a little change can make.

Filed Under: Home office design Tagged With: , ,

How To Make Friends Appreciate Your Time and Expertise

February 8, 2013 By 3 Comments

others taking advantageLast week while I was juggling three projects that had to be finished by the end of the week, I received this text:

“I need the name of a good flooring company and painter…now!”

The text was from someone I’ve known for years, but haven’t spoken to in months because she’s a user. She appreciates what I do for my clients, but she doesn’t respect my time or ability. She doesn’t consider that the time I spend helping her with a project at no charge, will take time away from my clients who do pay.

What do you say?

When a friend asks for a favor, do you tell your friend NO and risk insulting him or her? Or do you put your clients aside and help your friend because you don’t want to lose that friendship? If you can answer those questions honestly, either you’ll keep letting others take advantage of you, or you’ll realize that your friends need to see your value, the same way your clients see it.

What do you do?

Take a mental inventory of your friends and figure out which ones are users. Decide whether or not it’s worth spending time with them or with others who appreciate your abilities. My guess is that when you take time to think about who appreciates you, you’ll spend less time with the users, and more time with your friends who don’t want anything from you but your friendship. Those are the friends who rarely ask you for anything, but when they do, you’ll help with no questions asked. I have a handful of those friends who, day or night, know they can count on me.

What about next time?

The next time a friend asks you to do yet one more favor, consider what your expertise is worth. Think about what you will you have to give up to help someone who will ask you to do something for him or her again. Consider why a friend thinks it’s OK to ask for your time, help, and advice, for nothing. Sure, doing favors for friends is part of any friendship. but at some point enough is enough and your friendship will change from a mutually beneficial, give-and-take relationship, to a one-sided, constantly-giving relationship.

The site Freelance Switch — I’m one of their newest fans — published a comic that illustrates how hard it is to turn someone down, especially when you’ve always considered that person a friend. Something to think about.

 

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,

Stuff Happens When You Work From Home

January 17, 2013 By 7 Comments

home office challenges small business

A friend of mine I’ve known since grade school likes to say that “life is messy.” She’s right.

I like to say that home office life is messy, because it is. But it’s a life that few of us want to give up, because dealing with the messes outweighs the alternative: working in a corporate office.

Consider whether you’ve ever had one of those days when:

  • The dog gets sick. This time on the product samples you need to send to a client.
  • Your in-laws decide to visit you the same week your biggest project of the year is due.
  • Your child is home from school and in a lame attempt to entertain him, you show him how cool your new shredder is. Everything’s fine until you realize you’ve accidentally mixed up your “throw away” pile with your “extremely important” pile of paper.
  • You’re wearing a suit (finally) and as you’re ready to leave your car, it starts raining. That’s when you remember that you never replaced your broken umbrella.
  • Your printer runs out of ink when you need to print a proposal and you’re already running late.
  • Your smartphone quits working the week after the warranty runs out.
  • Your favorite client is laid off and now you have to deal with his boss who’s a jerk. It’s hard to take him seriously considering all that your client has told you about him, including what happened at the last company Christmas party.
  • You lose your Internet connection right before a videoconference call you’ve had to reschedule three times.
  • Your car is on empty, your meeting is across town, and you don’t have any time to spare.

Working from home has its challenges, and every day isn’t going to go as planned, but that’s true in a corporate office too. The difference is that when you work alone, you’re the one on clean-up duty.

So the next time anything listed above (or anything similar) happens to you, try not to get discouraged. Instead of working from the comfort of your home office, you could be stuck in traffic, cornered by a co-worker describing his latest surgery, or leading a boring corporate life.

 

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,

Corporate Employees See Benefits of Working From Home

January 10, 2013 By 4 Comments

working from home office surveyThose of us who have worked from home for years know the benefits of a home office and would have a tough time going back to a cubicle. Who needs a boss looming over your shoulder, or co-workers who can’t stop bothering you?

In the article Top 10 Benefits of Working From Home, Forbes shares the results of the Microsoft survey, Work without Walls. In the survey, corporate employees ranked what they consider the top benefits of working from home.

10) Environmentally friendly (23%)

9) More time with family (29%)

8) Less stressful environment (38%)

7) Quieter atmosphere (43%)

6) Eliminate long commute (44%)

5) Less distractions (44%)

4) More productive (45%)

3) Avoid traffic (47%)

2) Save gas (55%)

1) Work/home balance (60%)

Do you agree with this order?

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,

5 Steps for Accident-Proofing Your Home Office

December 26, 2012 By 6 Comments
source: ell brown

source: ell brown

When my sons were little, I baby-proofed my entire house. Between cabinet latches, toilet locks and baby gates, our house was safe. I realized it was time to remove the locks when my younger son showed his babysitter how to use them.

Taking the time to make your home safe for your kids is important, but who’s keeping your office safe for you? All it takes is one fall to break a leg and you’re out of commission for weeks. If you don’t have a staff or a virtual assistant, who will keep your office running smoothly?

Whether you work by yourself, or with others, an injury is still inconvenient. These five steps can help you make your home office safe.

1. Keep your path clear.

Avoid accidental falls by securing loose cables instead of letting them snake throughout your home office. Keep your home office from becoming an obstacle course by putting things away where they belong or close to where they belong. I used to put things on the floor “for now” and would forget I did that until I tripped over whatever it was I should have moved earlier. Graceful is not my middle name!

2. Place items strategically.

Set up your home office so you can reach the equipment and supplies you use often and reduce the strain on your back. You may not notice the effects of regular up, down, and twisting motions until you feel a sharp pain shooting up your spine or down your neck.

3. Strive for support.

Avoid neck, back, and even wrist injury by using a chair that supports your back while absorbing and distributing your weight. In other words, don’t use your kitchen chair or dining room table chair in place of an ergonomically correct chair. Sharp pains or a throbbing in your neck are a sure sign that your monitor is either too low or too high (usually it’s too high). When you use an adjustable chair, you can set it so the monitor is at the right height. Or you can use a monitor riser to help you reduce neck strain.

4. Manage stacks.

It’s easy to think you’ll be able to tackle the stacks of magazines you’ve saved all year, but who has the time to read everything? Instead of stepping over stacks, tripping over plies and seeing your blood pressure go up as your stacks rise, recycle them. If you want to read a certain article, you’ll be able to find it online. Also, not only will you be able to save space in your home office, you’ll be able to save money on subscriptions to magazines you’ll never read.

5. Ensure that you’re insured.

You may have homeowners insurance, but make sure that you know what it covers. Not all policies cover home office equipment. The time to find out that you’re not insured is before, not after, you have to turn in a claim.

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,

How to Protect Your Small Business

November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Guest post by DeAnn Flores Chase

As a small business lawyer, I work with entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals on a daily basis. For new business owners, I advise that an entity be formed from the start. For existing business owners, I advise that an entity be formed as soon as possible.

Business owners have several business entities to choose from, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs). In my opinion, it is critical that a business owner choose one, and not do business as a solo proprietor or partnership.

A properly formed and maintained business entity, such as a corporation or LLC, can provide the following benefits: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,

5 Ways to Make Video Conference Calls More Productive

November 16, 2012 By 7 Comments

Last week I set up a video conference call with a client who was on the West Coast, while his assistant was on the East Coast. During the call I learned a few tips I’ll use on my next call.

1. Learn a few stealth moves.

If you decide to leave the room during the call, make sure it’s during a time when no one will notice. When you’re the next one on the agenda, it will be fairly obvious to everyone on the call that you’ve left your computer. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Working with clients Tagged With: , ,

Should You Work During the Weekend?

November 7, 2012 By 8 Comments

Guest post by Amanda DiSilvestro

source: Aristocrat

One of the biggest perks to working from home is the flexible schedule. It’s important to work during normal work hours for clients as well as your coworkers who may need to get in touch with you during the day, but more and more people who work from home are beginning to work on the weekends by choice.

The pros seem to outweigh the cons on the surface, but the realistic question remains: Is pushing my work to the weekends really a good idea, or will my work suffer?

The Defense: Working on the Weekend Pros

For some, having to work during the weekends is a necessity. If there is simply too much work to get done during the week, it is the weekends that come to the [Read more...]

Filed Under: Working From Home Tagged With: , ,
«Older Posts