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She read one too many sensationalist teaser headlines. You’ll never guess what happened next!
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Flinders St Station, Melbourne
Why coffee shops are a better venue than a home office for your business meetings.
Ever noticed how much noise there is in our everyday life? While I'm typing this I can hear the white noise of traffic on the major road half a kilometre away. I don't, for once, even have the radio on. It's usually in the background, quite gentle, and tuned to ABC Classic FM; soothing stuff for the most part. I need peace and quiet when I work, which is why I work alone. Surrounded by people I can feel my annoyance rising.
A trip to the post office will take me into a noisy mall, all tiled floors and hard surfaces. It's only when I walk out and head towards home (I walk to the PO rather than take the car for environmental and health reasons) that I realise how awfully loud it was in there. And it IS awful, a cacophonous din of doof doof music from the fashion shops, kids crying, people talking loudly so they can be heard over the music.
Noise can affect our moods. Shopping mall noise - any constant, loud noise really - can make us short tempered, or in a work situation, decrease our concentration. It's no surprise that people are addicted to their iPods, choosing their own music over the noise forced upon them.
Having had the house to myself for a few days with my husband on a business trip, I haven't even turned on the television at night. I have rejoiced in peace and quiet. I've spent two nights painting pictures, and the third, last night, I watched silent movies on YouTube on my iPad.
Louise Brooks
We're having a rainy February here in Sydney. Not just rain in some cases but a heavy, pelting deluge. I was driving through one of these yesterday and visibility was shocking. Even more shocking was the number of cars without their headlights on.
When you look at the number of cars on the road here it seems almost 50% of them are conservative colours in the monochromatic scale: black, dark grey, grey and silver. Colours that blend in a little too well with the road at times. Those times include rain.
I was trying to make a right-hand turn and didn't see the guy in the silver car on my left until he was almost in front of me. Thankfully there was nothing coming on my right and my brakes are good even in the wet. The silver car didn't have headlights on and in the almost tropical downpour was virtually invisible.
In 1995 I visited Canada and it was mandatory even then to drive with one's headlights on day or night. In rainy Vancouver it made a lot of sense. On sunny days driving east as far as Calgary on country roads, cars coming in the opposite direction were easy to see; on dull and rainy days the oncoming traffic really stood out. This is a lesson I brought back with me and habitually drive with lights on when I'm on country roads, sunny or cloudy. I also put my headlights on around Sydney on rainy days.
This is my request to all drivers: if it's raining, put your lights on. If you're worried about burning a tiny bit more fuel as a result, think of this: it might save your life or someone else's.
(Oh, and if you're driving in the kerbside lane in a heavy downpour, have a care for people scurrying along the footpath and try not to send a fountain of water over them. Saw that yesterday too.)
With typewriter production all but dead (apparently it's struggling to hang onto the earth around the grave with one feeble hand on a tussock of grass), the MamaMia site posted an article todayabout the almost lost art of letter writing, by hand.
With the rise of the internet and social media, the only people likely to write a letter by hand are those who don't own or operate a computer - ageing relatives, typically, who just can't get the hang of it or don't want to know about computers.
Time was when receiving a personal letter was exciting, especially if it was from a friend in a far-flung place. There was the texture of the paper for starters - my aunt in Surrey used beautiful thick, creamy paper - and depending on the writer, handwriting that ranged from spider-crawled-out-of-an-inkwell to elegant pseudo-Copperplate. My grandmother was a prolific letter writer and kept her family and far-flung friends up to date with family happenings.
I had a long-distance relationship for a couple of years in the 1980s with a guy who lived in Canada, and we'd send long letters full of our daily lives and photographs to each other. Our letters were stuffed too with newspaper and magazine clippings we thought the other may be interested in. Occasionally the letters would be just that, simple letters with no insertions, but I kept them and read them over and over; even the nasty bust-up ones that signalled the end. I binned the lot during a big life purge about five years ago, with some misgivings, but it was a cleansing feeling as far as those bust-up Dear Jane letters went.
Treasured though are letters and cards from my long-gone father and grandparents. When I see their writing - each one individual and packed with their personalities - I can hear them speak the words on the paper. Their voices flood into my head and I can see their faces. That's something you just don't get with email or social media even when, as with Facebook, there's a face right in front of you.
Then there's the postcards. Luckily we have friends and family who still send them, as it's nicer to get a picture and message we can stick on the fridge for a bit rather than read "OMG! In Barcelona! Does anyone know a good tapas bar?" on Twitter or Facebook - a message meant for as many readers as possible. The postcards are personalised for us alone. Nice.
Being so used to using a computer for just about all correspondence these days, I find writing letters by hand quite difficult. My handwriting doesn't keep up with my brain, whereas my typing almost does. The joy of using a computer means you can edit and delete your work until you get something with which you're happy. I'm guilty of sending printed letters to family and friends as a result. Yes, the dreaded Christmas Newsletter! However I do personalise it and edit it for each person, usually older relatives. I did write by hand to my cousin Bruce last year (using, I might add, my fountain pen) but because I'm impatient didn't tell him half the news I would have in a word-processed letter. And of course there's email and social media, and hitting the send button is far less work than walking down to the post office.
When I write handwritten letters these days I actually draft it on the Mac and then copy it out when I'm happy with it. Daft? Maybe, but it's the way I organise my thoughts.
Finding good writing paper these days is a challenge, too. There are some awful and twee stationery sets on eBay, but as for plain-printed linen paper, it's a hard call. I did have some thick parchment-coloured A4 paper put aside which I've guillotined down into a more personal size for handwritten letters.
I'd like to think that the odd letters I write give their recipients something in the mail other than bills and junk advertising; certainly I enjoy the ones I receive.
Here's a challenge: This week, write a letter to a friend or relative. Surprise them. Make them smile. Give them something that perhaps, in this throwaway and delete-button age, they may keep for at least a little while.
(This post cross-posted from Caroline Sully's fiction)
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'll never be a workaholic, I value my time too much", and then found yourself working after dinner or at weekends? You're not alone, especially if you're a small business owner. Trust me, I've not only been there, I AM there.
I used to enjoy switching off at the end of each day, but that's a luxury these days. I think the rise and rise of technology puts more pressure on all of us to be connected, to be always available. I'm sure you've had people leave repeated text messages, voice messages or emails for you, wondering why you are out of range for an hour or two. You could be in a meeting or conference, but whatever the reason you're simply not there when people want you to be.
The trouble is, many of us put up with it.
Do you:
- let people ring you outside business hours - have mobile phone, will travel...er, be available?
- check your emails before going to bed?
- check your emails before breakfast?
- stuck in meetings all day, you work into the night to catch up on projects and tasks?
- view weekends as the perfect time to work without constant interruptions from mobile phones and emails?
- use your smartphone or tablet to check your email/professional social media accounts at restaurants?
- work when you're on holiday - after all, most hotels and resorts have good broadband, so why not catch up on work?
Some of us don't like the sudden shift from working in a building full of people to working on your own. In my case it was one of the best things about starting up my micro business. I can't work when I'm surrounded by people and constantly being interrupted. I've found a lifestyle that works for me. Having said that, it's important that, when you leave a team situation to working solo, you find someone compatible to bounce ideas around with, to keep your business creativity going.
One of the best ways of meeting your idea-bouncing buddy is a business association such as a Chamber of Commerce or industry group. I'm part of Ryde Business Forum and much of my business comes from word of mouth contacts from other members, or direct meetings with other members. I'm also involved in joint projects with some members; pooling our complementary skills has given us the strength to address projects we might not have been able to win or manage on our own. You can't expect clients to drop at your doorstep, you do have to go hunting. When I started my business ten years ago I had ten probable clients on my list, all of whom promised me work in the industry I'd just left. None of it eventuated. The work came from Ryde Business Forum members instead. It wasn't instant, but it's been constant, and it's growing.
You can also pick up work and meet fellow solo spirits from online connections - yes, think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and also websites like Flying Solo, which is an excellent source for micro business owners. Notice how people comment on posts? Get commenting back. Start chatting. See what happens. Social media is growing rapidly as a source for business leads and potential clients and partners. Yes, you can lose yourself for hours once you start reading blogs or finding out more about the people you're following on Twitter (or who are following you for that matter). But if it brings you a good contact, it's time well spent. And you probably enjoyed yourself and learned something along the way. I do recommend getting help if you're going to seriously use social media as a business tool - there are some fantastic social media coaches around and we can recommend one for you - as implementing a professional social media strategy will target and refine your social media usage.
If working from home isn't a suitable option for you and you think you'll go crazy with only the dog for company, consider a serviced office. You'll have your own space but will meet other tenants in common areas, which could be useful in the bouncing-ideas-off category. My husband was in that situation before he moved to Sydney, and enjoyed meeting up with other people in his industry over a cuppa at the serviced office canteen. Serviced offices ARE expensive, so factor that in. Depending on the services you choose you can have a professional receptionist, access to admin staff and much more.
Virtual offices give you the benefit of a receptionist and access to facilities such as admin/secretarial staff without the cost of the real estate that goes with it. Some virtual office firms like Servcorp (another RBF member) have boardrooms for hire so you can impress your clients.
However... I can't count how many clients I meet at cafes for a discussion over coffee. Have a look around you next time you're in a coffee shop and work out how many of those tables are actually hosting a business meeting. Boozy lunches are a thing of the past. A chatte over latte and a muffin is the new short black. So, working from home means you, er, can have your cake and eat it too!
What have you found good and bad about working from home or in a solo office? Has it been the best thing you've ever done? Or the worst?
The majority of my clients are small- or micro-business owners, and most of them, like me, escaped from the corporate world in search of freedom, fame, fortune or at least a decent income and the option to work in pyjamas should they feel like it.
Few of us regret our moves. Most of us drop a bundle in salary at least in the first few years; it's a small sacrifice to pay for being your own boss.
There are cons as well as pros - for example there's no IT department when you're on your own and things go wrong. No hassles there, there are many computer repair places around or if your computer is new, there's a warranty claim. Best of all, if you have a teenager in the house that may solve some of your problems. Having a friend who loves building and fixing computers can be a boon too. Just remember to back up on a daily basis in case things go horribly wrong. If you, like me, are an Apple user an appointment at the Genius Bar at your nearest Apple shop could fix your problem on the spot, depending on the problem.
If you're a member of a business association (and I belong to Ryde Business Forum) you'll find there will undoubtedly be a fellow member in the IT category, either sales or repair or both. Seek this person out and get to know them. You'll be supporting the local economy if you use them, and that's always a good thing.
Remember placing a call to the IT department and waiting for hours or days for someone to come to your desk, spend all of 90 seconds sighing and clattering away on the keyboard and fixing your problem, then giving you a tired, knowing look that said you just didn't 'get' computers? These days if you have a smallish issue - let's say you've lost a printer driver - chances are you can find the answer on the internet. And if your computer has bigger issues and is not responding why not use your smart phone or iPad to try a solution before you head to the repair shop? Time is money as we know, and if it takes you an hour to sort the thing out yourself, rather than leaving your computer in a repair shop for a couple of days, that's money saved.
There's the pro side to no IT department, too. You can choose your own computer and the software that goes on it (paying for all this definitely falls in the con bucket, but consider leasing as everything bar the stamp duty is a tax deduction). In the corporate that I worked for, asking the company to buy you new software required a three-page Investment Proposal to be completed. Your justification had to be mighty to be allowed have anything more than Microsoft Office. As a solo flyer, if you can afford it, you can buy it. And I mean buy it. Don't get tempted to download a pirate copy or borrow your friend's version of Office or Photoshop. It's not worth the risk, and pirated copies can crash your system. Once you've lashed out on OEM software, the upgrades are reasonably priced.
The main thing to remember as a micro business owner is that you are not alone. Whether it's a contact from a business association or help you've found on an internet forum, you have an IT department you can call on. YOU don't have to be IT.
What tips do you have for managing your IT needs? Are there websites which you have found invaluable? Sites or shops with fantastic bargains and service? Software you just can't do without? And what are some of your horror stories? (Come on, we all have them. You can be anonymous!) Answers on a postcard please, or simply leave a comment below.