successful home working
Posts tagged books
Why you should try coworking
11
Entrepreneurs are looking for new ways to work and it’s easy to see why they would be attracted to coworking. Coworking combines the best of different work settings where small businessess thrive: the flexibility of a home office, vibe of a café, and facilities of a serviced office.
Here are more reasons to try a coworking space:
1. Network everyday just by bumping into someone.
“By being surrounded by entrepreneurs on a daily basis, I am constantly learning and growing,” says Joey Coleman, a member at Affinity Lab in Washington, D.C. “Brown bag lunches with guest presenters, featured speakers at evening training sessions, and even the casual conversation in the hallway, have all led to tremendous opportunities.”
2. Build your bridges— from finding team members to generating contacts.
Coworking hinges on the belief that innovation and inspiration come from the cross-pollination of different people in different fields or specializations. Group projects are often successful not because of one person’s technical prowess, but because of the diversity of expertise among different players.
“Being a member of a coworking facility has connected me with a large and talented pool of like-minded, hardworking individuals— some of whom have since worked with me on projects and enhanced my ability to accept a broader range of work”, says Jason Beatty of NextSpace in California.
3. Find opportunities to score bigger projects.
Johnny Bilotta says that when he first came to Indy Hall in Philadelphia as a graphic designer, “I was struggling to find work, picking off things from Craigslist. But before I knew it, I started being contacted by companies in San Francisco, New York, and wherever, who saw the work that I’d done. I would not have the success that I have today if it wasn’t for this space.”
Being a solo worker means independence, but you shouldn’t feel like you have little choice but to work alone. Find your community and thrive.
Genevieve DeGuzman is the co-author of Working in the UnOffice: A Guide to Coworking for Indie Workers, Small Businesses, and Nonprofits (Night Owls Press), the first volume in a series of books planned covering the ‘collaborative economy’.
Creating space for a home office
79 months ago
When it comes to creating a home office, it’s clear that home workers are as resourceful as they are varied in their needs and working preferences (Who needs a separate home office?). We’re all different in our working patterns and, in turn, what constitutes our ideal working environment. However, the one thing we all need to varying degrees is space.
Creating space may involve some selling activity, be it online, through the classifieds or at car boot sales, a trip (or two) to the charity shop or excursions to your local recycling centre.
So much for the items you’re happy to part company with – but what about those that you want to keep or will need in the future? Safe, secure storage outside your home may be the answer, so I spoke to Big Yellow who gave me these tips:
Clothes, bed linen and soft furnishings
A wardrobe, with its small footprint, is excellent for soft items. It allows you to hang what needs to be hung and fold and stack other items. Shoes, handbags and purses along with hats, gloves and other accessories will also store happily for as long as necessary in a wardrobe too. Stuff your leather items with bubble wrap – its more insect resistant than tissue paper – and arrange straps and buckles so they won’t crease or leave impressions.
Wood and metal
So long as your storage area is dry and you treat wooden items with a coat of wax or varnish, your wood furniture will be absolutely fine. Make the most of the space available by dismantling flat pack furniture and protect the components with cloth or old carpet. Keep the fixings handy – we suggest putting them in a small bag and taping it to the item itself. Apply some oil or rust protector to metal surfaces.
Mattresses
Most DIY and homeware stores sell bags designed for storing mattresses. With these and an annual check, you’ll be able to store mattresses perfectly safely for extended periods.
Books
The two key tips for storing books are to use lots of small boxes instead of a few large ones (collectively, books are heavy) and to keep them horizontal to protect their spines. If you’re storing a large collection of books, devise a simple cataloguing system to help you locate and access any particular publication.
Stock, promotional literature and business archives
Depending on the nature of your business storage needs, you may need a place to keep stock, brochures and company records. If so, ask your local storage facility about its range of business services.
With rooms from 9 sq ft to 400 sq ft, and leases starting at just one week long, you can store just about anything at Big Yellow Self Storage for as long as you need.
Beware of those sneaky home working assumptions
410 months ago
A home working life can be a life spent largely in the confines of one’s own head, whether at home or travelling to meetings. I recently met someone at a networking event and we were discussing the drawbacks of this much solitude. He said he used to spend hours alone every day in his car and although an introvert by nature, in the end he grew to hate his own company.
I find that a big disadvantage of spending time alone is the danger of losing perspective. The lack of exposure to other people’s ideas means my own thoughts and opinions get rather too well reinforced. For example, I remember being very motivated by Harvey Mackay’s book Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty and particularly struck by his exhortation not to ‘say no for the other guy’. In other words, never assume you can’t ask somebody something, don’t talk yourself out of a possibility by assuming they will say no.
I took this on board for a while but over the months I’ve slipped back into believing my own assumptions. Ever since my book about working from home was published two years ago, I’ve been meaning to ask a few people to put a review on Amazon for me. I know they like and recommend the book, they’ve said so, but somehow the moment passed and it seemed awkward to do it so long afterwards. I kept putting it off, saying no for the other guy, until my publisher nagged me about it a couple of weeks ago.
It’s weird what you’ll keep putting off until someone else asks you to do it, isn’t it? I sent a couple of emails and immediately got a cheery reply – ‘Of course I’ll post a review, loved the book etc etc.’ And the review appeared a few minutes later. I haven’t heard from the other recipient, but maybe they’re just busy. They either will, or they won’t, but at least now there’s an equal chance they will!
Assumptions – don’t you just hate the way they come crawling up without you even noticing, until they’ve taken up full-time residence and it needs a big push to get rid of ‘em?
What assumptions have you conquered to become a more effective home worker?
This post was first published on www.workshifting.com, the site for people who work out of coffee shops, hotels, airports and their homes every bit as much as the office
What’s mine is yours…?
51 year ago
At the moment I’m staying in a flat in west London in a spacious room with a comfortable bed made up with crisp white linen, a TV, free wifi and access to a kitchen. The Hammersmith & City line is at the end of the road and the Central line an easy walk away. The new Westfield shopping centre is literally round the corner.
How much am I paying for this? £33 a night. I don’t want to sound like an advert for Crashpadding and I’m not on commission, but renting a room in someone’s house is such a good idea I can’t stop talking about it!
It’s all part of what the website Collaborative Consumption calls ‘the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces’.
Car clubs are part of this, as are Freecycle, Jelly and Central – in fact some of the most exciting free services and businesses around. I’d really like to read What’s Mine Is Yours
Speaking of home workers and sales…
71 year ago
I’ve bumped the planned post for today in order to let you know about this offer from my friend and mentor Nick Williams of Inspired Entrepreneur. Until next Wednesday 12 January you can get a signed copy of Nick’s latest book The Business You Were Born to Create sent post-free anywhere in the world plus Silver or Premium membership of Inspired Entrepreneur for only £1!
Click here to find out the benefits each type of membership brings and what a couple of friends of this site say about the book. It comes highly recommended by cavy lover Chrissie Slade of Gorgeous Guineas, who has commented on posts and shared her favourite home working item, and by coach and Jelly organiser Elizabeth Cairns of Amovita.
Nick says this latest book is a follow-up to his bestseller The Work You Were Born to Do, which is featured on the Other home working books page.
Home working style page 2
121 year ago
I’ve been working on and off over the weekend to catch up with some of the backlog that built up last week while I was suffering with a cold (and cluttered up my newly clear desk!) One of the jobs I’ve done, with A’s help as usual, is create a new home working style page. We felt the first one was quite long enough, as apparently some people don’t like scrolling down.
Home working style 2 will therefore have the latest pictures added at the top, so that regular readers don’t have to keep scrolling. I’m pleased with the variety we’ve got so far – we have stylish home workers, Jelly and this striking graphic of Heather Bestel‘s free ebook.
I hope you’re getting the flavour of the pages now. You don’t have to be immaculately turned-out or bang up-to-date (although we’d love to see you if you are!), just willing to share something that catches your eye and lifts your spirits during your home working day. Maybe a vase of flowers, a cake that looks (almost!) too good to eat, your garden as the leaves turn.
Looking forward to seeing your photos and adding them to the growing page. Oh, and by the way, Sharon of Bay Web Designs has sent a picture of her home office, which Twitter followers have been enjoying over the weekend. Thanks, Sharon!
