Small Office, Home Office Information

Well I’m writing the draft for this post in something I never thought I would use … an online word processor. I have to admit that for a long time I’ve had some reservations about online software and I’ve written about those reservations here. Now though, because we’ve split our office between town and home Toni and I sometimes need to work on the same document from both offices. By having the document available online we don’t have to keep on emailing it to each other.

So here I am using Peepel … a full suite of office programmes that you’ll find at Peepel.com. Peepel is an Australian company and the programme is still in beta but you can sign up for a free account without an invitation. Perhaps it’s something that your small business could use to overcome the same challenges that Toni and I face in our work almost every day.

I’ll see how it goes over the next couple of weeks and let you know.

by Stuart Livesey

I had an interesting conversation with a friend on Twitter yesterday about why it’s so hard for businesses to sell goods and services to those involved in small business and home office type businesses. And it is hard, many have tried and most have failed despite being very talented at what they do and despite offering a service that is real value for money.

I think my friend and I both came to the same conclusion. So many small businesses … and especially those who work from a home office … set up their business with very limited financial resources. Their budget is so small that they really can’t afford anything other than the very basics and what they can pick up for free.

The sad fact is that you have to spend money to make money. That’s not to say that you won’t succeed if you start out with very limited resources … it just means that your chances of achieving the success that you want are reduced. Shoestring budgets tend to break very easily and once your budget is broken you run a very real risk of seeing your small business fall apart.

If you start with limited financial resources it might only take one or two clients to miss paying you and your small business days could be over.

If you’re just starting out on your small business adventure and you’re trying to set up your office - whether it be a home office or something downtown - the cost of furnishing that office can really hurt your budget.

But what if you could get all the furniture you need for free?

Well maybe you can and to find out you need to visit freecycle.org - you may just find someone in your area who is trying to give away what you need. You’ll also find that it’s not just limited to the United States - there are local freecycle.org groups across the world.

A hat tip to Build a Solo Practice, LLC for the link.

There are a lot of small businesses and home office people involved in affiliate marketing. It can be very demanding and not all that rewarding but there certainly is money to be made there.

It can be very encouraging to read of the success of others and my last post I posted a link to a story over on Site Point of a guy in New York who has worked hard and is making a lot of money from affiliate marketing.

That thread on Sitepoint encouraged another affiliate marketer from the UK to post his success story. He approaches affiliate marketing from a different perspective and his story - My Bank Statement - Monthly Earnings from AM - is worth reading and so is the whole thread.

Working from home is the goal of many people but sadly, when they achieve that goal, they find that the dream of working from home is far removed from the reality.

It’s something that Toni and I have been grappling with over the last few months and Toni has taken to working from desk in a friend’s office just to get her out of the house and mixing with real people. On the other hand I’m a bit of a hermit so isolation doesn’t worry me to the same extent.

Whatever your point of view is on the subject of working from home I’m sure you’ll be interested in this press release that arrived today.

Home Office From Hell(TM) Contest: Win One Year’s Free Rent and Escape to a Real Office

In a nationwide contest offering 12 months of free rent in real office space, Offices2share.com(R), a Web site that focuses exclusively on short-term, ready-to-use office space, is inviting entrants to submit their Top 10 Reasons for wanting (usually desperately) to move out of their home office. Aimed at those hearty souls who have — in the past and present — toiled amidst crying babies, nagging spouses, annoying neighbors and other horrors typically found in the often unproductive environs of the home office, the Home Office From Hell(TM) contest will reward the author of the wittiest and most compelling Top 10 list with a free 12-month sabbatical in the relative calm of a real office.

“For anyone who’s ever had to deal with a bratty child, fend off overly-persistent telemarketers and fix a toaster — all while negotiating an important business deal — this is a chance to have a professional office for a year, rent-free,” said Jeffrey A. Landers, founder and president of Offices2share.com. “All they have to do is examine the frustrations and drawbacks of working at home and put a humorous spin on it.”

Working at home instead of an office can be fraught with pitfalls. According to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the noted global research and advisory firm, 61 percent of respondents reported that working in a home office deleteriously blurred the division between their work life and home life; 44 percent said that working at home made it more difficult to collaborate with colleagues. Other liabilities commonly associated with the home office — especially for all but the most self-disciplined — include intrusive phone calls, the lure of the TV and the refrigerator, family obligations, procrastination and even a tendency to overwork.

The winner of the Home Office From Hell contest can select professional office space in any of the hundreds of cities across the U.S. served by Offices2Share.com. Entries will be judged by an independent panel that includes volunteers from SCORE, “Counselors to America’s Small Business,” a national nonprofit organization which provides counseling and training to small businesses.

Those wishing to enter the Home Office From Hell contest must visit http://www.offices2share.com/contest and fill out the requisite online form. Official rules, prize description, guidelines and helpful hints are included therein. Contestants can base their Top 10 list on both real-life and whimsical situations; entries will be judged on originality, creativity, humor and relevance to topic.