The tweetometer stands at 1000
Jan 31st
My observant coworking friend Lee Cottier pointed out the other day that I have now sent out more than 1000 tweets. I wasn’t keeping count, so the total was a surprise. It would be good if you could attach a tweetometer to the side of your computer and watch the tweets roll up, just like the miles on a car!
Passing 1000 tweets made me think back on all the people and information Twitter has brought me in just over five months. For a start, it was where I found out about Jelly and then met or connected with many interesting people who can see the possibilities in coworking. I now have lots of Jelly information on the site and it’s exciting to know that it’s being read, and recommended, by coworking spaces in the US where Jelly originated.
I find it quite staggering that I can tweet a short message from the West Country here in the UK that is instantly picked up by like-minded people on the west coast of America. This really is the best time in history to be starting and running a business.
Jelly goes Enterprise Nation-wide
Jan 25th
Excellent news to start my home working week! My new page on starting your own Jelly has been featured on Enterprise Nation, the site for people setting up and developing a business from home. I have been posting on the EN forum for a while and exchanging the occasional tweet with Emma Jones, the site’s founder, but I’m thrilled to get such prominent billing as her site is visited by thousands of home business owners, many of whom will benefit from learning about Jelly.
Take a look at Enterprise Nation for tips and advice on any aspect of running a home business. If you can’t immediately find what you’re after, you can post a question on the forum and will undoubtedly get a response that will point you in the right direction, whether it’s facts you need or a bit of support and reassurance.
Just do one thing at a time!
Jan 21st
I’m pleased to say my advice to myself worked and I was able to get stuck into my new webpage on how to start your own Jelly. It’s now published apart from some pictures I’m waiting for A to put on as we have a glitch with the site that means pictures have to go on the server first…or something. Something that I need to stay well away from, anyway!
I’ve written the new page in response to all the questions about Jelly and coworking that have been coming in to me and Lee Cottier, who organises Jelly in Bristol and Bath. It seems that although the idea of coworking has been around in the UK for a few years, it’s now really taking off. Timing is all.
Having completed this, I’m keen now to crack on with my page for freelance writers working from home.
Decisions, decisions
Jan 20th
Today I need to take some of my own advice, as outlined in my work from home book in the chapter on productivity, to decide what to work on first. There are so many things I’d like to get done, preferably now, straightaway, this minute, that it’s hard to plump for one and just concentrate on it.
Sometimes it’s very clear what needs to be my priority, other times I pick one thing and as I do it, in the back of my mind I’m thinking I should be doing something else! For example, I’ve been leaving the dreaded search engine optimisation (SEO) to the bottom of the list for ages, because I couldn’t get a grip on where to start.
I’ve wondered about paying someone else to do it, then changed my mind, and finally bought a copy of Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day
I think it’s easier to decide on priorities when you work with other people, as there’s often a common goal or deadline to work to. When you’re on your own it’s harder to make a decision. So when I’ve finished this post I’m going to prioritise the jobs, start with the most urgent and put the rest firmly out of my mind.
Hanging on the telephone
Jan 13th
The telephone seems to be the the theme of today. I was here at the keyboard this morning ready to tell you about the teleseminar I’m doing next week with Inspired Entrepreneur founder Nick Williams, when I received a tweet telling me Radio Bristol were doing a phone-in on working from home at that very moment.
So I googled their phone number and minutes later was chatting to radio show host Graham Torrington about how British businesses can be persuaded to let more staff work from home! Certainly gave me a buzz to start the day on! It’s about five minutes and you can listen again – start the recording at 40 minutes 20 seconds.
Anyway, back to the teleseminar. Nick Williams helps people sick of working just to pay the bills to find their real purpose in life and start making plans to earn a living from it. He runs courses and events and also calls on a range of experts well-respected in their fields. I’ve benefited enormously from their experience and will be recommending some of them in future pages.
So I’m very honoured that Nick has asked me to be part of his programme. The teleseminar is next Monday evening – not much notice, but the recording will be available afterwards – and we’ll be talking about how to get the very best from working from home. Which just happens to be one of my favourite activities, so I’m really looking forward to it!
Cottier on coworking
Jan 12th
You’ll know by now how keen I am on coworking and Jelly. Well, all my information came originally from Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West, and the driving force behind coworking in this area.
Last week I had a good long natter on the phone with him about how he discovered coworking, why he’s so keen and what he’d like to see happen in the future. I’ve transferred all that information to a new page on coworking that I hope will explain the concept, still a very new one to many home workers and freelancers in the UK. There’s also a brief but illuminating video made by a coworking space in Seattle, which was brought to my attention yesterday in one of Lee’s tweets about coworking. (Follow him on @CoWorkingWest for general news as well as events in the South West).
Coworking is an exciting development for anybody working from home. It tackles both the potential problem, always looming, of isolation and becoming cut-off, and also offers countless possibilities for collaborating with other freelancers on new projects.
Jelly on ice
Jan 8th
A and I crunched carefully down the road yesterday to Jelly at The Old Church School and were joined by two other people who live locally and were able to walk in. Others were stranded by the ice and couldn’t make it.
Having spent all the previous day at home, with not even a short walk, it made me feel so much better to be in a different environment and talk to people I don’t often see. I’m always recommending other home workers to get out as much as they can, but even so, every time I do it, I am amazed once again just how much difference it makes to my mood and outlook.
I’ll be organising more Jelly very soon and details will appear here and on the Work from Home Events page. It’s worth pointing out that you don’t have to have a laptop to come to Jelly! Just bring some portable work – something to read, write, sew, knit, whatever – and enjoy the company.
There’s always some help available. Yesterday A got a Jellyer going on Twitter and Tweetdeck. Often it turns out that something that is a complete mystery to you is natural as breathing to another Jellyer!
Snow joke for business – unless you work from home
Jan 7th
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimates that £600 million will be lost by British business during the icy weather due to employees not being able to get to work or having to stay at home to look after their children because of school closures. It’s also suggested that 2000 businesses may go bust as a direct result of the bad weather.
That is very bad news in an already struggling economy and I have huge sympathy for the individuals affected. I also hope that there may be some longer-term beneficial consequences if more British businesses start to realise that allowing staff to work from home is not just a nice perk but actually makes sound financial sense.
Businesses would be so much more able to cope with any kind of unexpected situation, whether internal, local or national, if more of their staff had a home office already set up and were familiar with the demands of working from home. I’m not naive enough to think everyone can do it, but I do believe it’s time to let go of the old suspicious attitudes and the need to manage people by having them physically present.
Work from…where?
Jan 5th
We had some disappointing news before Christmas. Our landlords have decided to sell the house we rent and so we will have to find somewhere else by March. It’s a shame because we really like it here, it’s light, roomy and a quick walk into the town centre, which has all the amenities a home worker could want – Post Office, banks, building societies, cafes, library, good mix of shops, markets etc.
It’s a big upheaval to move two businesses as well as all our belongings and inform all the authorities about our change of address, make sure post doesn’t go astray, arrange for new phone lines and internet and so on.
A level of insecurity goes with renting, but we are just not ready yet to commit to buying again. We both want to get our businesses firmly established and know for sure where we want to be. So if you know of a nice house in Frome with 3 bedrooms or enough space for us both to work from home, please get in touch. Oh, and a woodburner would be good…
Back to reality
Jan 4th
So now all the festivities are finally over and ‘real life’ strikes again. Despite doing bits and pieces of work throughout, I’m finding it unexpectedly difficult to get focused today, perhaps because there are so many exciting things on the horizon that it’s hard to know where to start.
I’ve got several phone calls booked over the next few days to discuss how to help home workers in different ways. On Wednesday I’m visiting Bath Jelly at Green Park Station to interview Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West and the person who has established Jelly in these parts. I want to talk to him about how he organises his working life and what his plans are for 2010 – on film if I can persuade him!
The second Frome Jelly takes place on Thursday and already there are only 2 places left but now I’d better get on with the new content I’ve got planned for the site, starting with resources for writers who work from home. Do let me know if you work from home as a writer, editor etc and have any useful links you think others would appreciate.
