Home Office Warrior | Home Office Warrior

Get out!

Mar 19, 2009

No, seriously. Get out of here.

Oh, wait! Read the rest of this first. Thanks.

So I’m working at home all by my lonesome. The view is pretty, I’ve got access to snacks and coffee. I’m on Twitter (too much, probably), so I’ve even got little conversations going.

So why do I start feeling down? What’s with the inner struggle, the questioning of my abilities, wondering about my effectiveness?

Recently I’ve discovered the answer.

Most of the time when I work with my clients, I never even meet them face-to-face. A lot of my interaction is with someone on the other coast via phone, iChat, or e-mail. It works for them, which is the important thing. I do have a few local clients that I am fortunate enough to meet in person. Mostly I work in my studio away from the things of man.

So I’ve noticed that every time I get out and meet a client, a business partner, or even another illustrator I come back feeling refreshed and ready to take on new stuff. It’s not even that we always talk about refreshing new stuff I could work on or apply, sometimes it’s just local microbrews.

Using a small bit of logic and reasoning I’ve deduced that getting out sometimes is healthy for me and my business. There are (of course, you couldn’t see this coming?) a few things I try to remind myself on the way out the door:

1. It’s about them, too. Whoever I’m meeting with. They have plans, thoughts, and needs that aren’t related to me at all. Respect that.

2. Shave. I know, I know; “this is Portland.” I still shave.

3. Bring something to offer. I don’t mean like a casserole. I mean like a thought, some information that might be valuable to the other person.

Thats’ pretty much it. No major rules here. It’s just about being a human and meeting other humans outside the confines of your computer. It helps, it really does. Besides just getting that essential interaction, you might pick up some valuable info for your business. You could even (crazy) create a brand new relationship.

Now you can go. Go on, get out!

David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He currently runs two businesses from his home studio near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.

Sparky Firepants Images (http://sparkyfirepants.com) is focused on building kids’ brains to ginormous sizes while they have a crazy time. David creates fantastic, colorful images that complement books and educational media for preschool and elementary-level kids. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog (http://sparkyfirepants.com/blog).

He also uses his technical expertise in creating corporate graphics and presentations to consult with and assist presenters of all types, keeping their audiences rapt with attention. Prepared Graphics (http://preparedgraphics.com) focuses on helping individuals and small business owners with great content who don’t want to mess around with that PowerPoint stuff.

David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm. No, they don’t really smell that bad.

Home Based Business, Home Office Warrior, Home Office Worker, Networking, Tips for Working at Home, Work-Life Balance Written By David Billings Comments (0)

Are You Like Target?

Feb 19, 2009

Saturday found us browsing new car seats at Target. It’s something we would usually order online after careful research, but after buckling our little dude in that morning, we realized we have a giant toddler on our hands. I decided we should just pick up the best one we could find for our needs at Target.

We found just what we were looking for, but the only one they had on the shelf was blue. We wanted the red display model because it matched our car (I know, such a yuppie thing.)

We called a Target team member to see if they had a red one in the back. She was nice enough and checked for us, but came back with bupkis. Nada. Zilch. Strong absence of red.

Okay, bummer, right? Yeah, we survived. We’ll probably just order it online now. But it got me thinking (as you just knew it would). A couple observations about this trip to Target:

The store was really slow. Not a lot of Target shoppers lately, I’ve noticed. In fact, a lot of shelves were eye-sore empty. It looked like a Goodwill going out of business.
No overhead music. Deathly quiet in the store.

So, with these observations noted and considering the current state of the economy, I was struck by the fact that the nice Target lady left us with just, “Sorry, none in the back.”

I was struck with the realization that when Target lays off employees, they will probably be shocked. When Target’s sales suck, Corporate will blame “the economy.”

The craziest thing about this is that there are these tiny, yet incredible, opportunities for the nice Target lady to save her store.

She couldn’t help the fact that there were no red car seats in stock at that moment. However, she could have:

Offered to call another local store to check
Looked at the display to see if the cover could be switched with the one in the package
Asked us a few questions about what we were looking for (besides “red”) to see if there might be another option in stock that could work for us.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that regular, on-the-clock Target employees don’t make enough money to offer that kind of salesmanship or customer involvement.

I’m saying, how can they afford not to offer that kind of customer support?

You see, I don’t care how much money you make per hour. I don’t care that your job is “only part time.” I don’t care that you don’t have health benefits.

As a company, Target is not really saving money by leaving shelves unstocked. They’re telling customers, “We’re anticipating having trouble so we don’t care how we look right now. It’s about us, not you.“

Those tiny, seemingly insignificant things like dirty, empty shelves and silence in the store are things that stick in people’s minds long after they leave (obviously, since I’m writing it about a week later).

Are you listening closely? Good. Hear this:

If you don’t go the extra mile in this economy, you will lose your job, your company will go under, and/or you will not get repeat business from your consulting clients.

If you’re working from home, you cannot afford to just do a job as promised. You can’t rely on simply delivering at expectations. In a good economy, a company like Target may be big enough to absorb a lot of lackluster employees. In a poor economy, it could be their downfall.

It’s just not enough.

There are people close to me who are being laid off as their companies reexamine their profit/loss statements. I sympathize with them, I really do. I don’t mean to make it sound as if they could have kept their job if they just worked harder. It’s more complex than that, sure.

As independent business people, even more important to take those extra steps to please your clients. I’m not talking about offering services at a discount or free (that’s a swear word for consultants). On the contrary, independent consultants should be charging premiums for their work on the basis that they are already saving their clients money simply by being lean organizations without large overhead or payroll to meet. Hiring a permanent employee or large company is going to cost a lot more in the long run. It also costs more to hire someone who doesn’t care about them beyond the invoice.

What are you projecting to your clients? Empty shelves and desperation, or a positive, “it’s all about the client” attitude?

If you can appreciate how this works, you can see how it applies to employees of large corporations. When an employee thinks like an independent consultant, they will offer more to customers without the dangling carrot of a bonus or raise (although those things tend to happen to those people anyway). Rather than working from a position of fear (losing their job), they will automatically be supporting the company in a more positive way by equating the company’s success with their own.

This economy is not simply “down.” It’s changing in a huge, huge way. People can’t afford to be “employees” anymore. Every single working person needs to be independent, even if they have a “contract” that calls them “employee.”

As home office warriors, we’re already ahead of the game. We need to stay ahead of the game by distinguishing ourselves as the highest value support around.

Think about it.

David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He currently runs two businesses from his home studio near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.

Sparky Firepants Images is focused on building kids’ brains to ginormous sizes while they have a crazy time. David creates fantastic, colorful images that complement books and educational media for preschool and elementary-level kids. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog.

He also uses his technical expertise in creating corporate graphics and presentations to consult with and assist presenters of all types, keeping their audiences rapt with attention. Prepared Graphics focuses on helping individuals and small business owners with great content who don’t want to mess around with that PowerPoint stuff.

David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm. No, they don’t really smell that bad.

Home Based Business, Home Office Marketing, Home Office Warrior, Mind Map Written By David Billings Comments (4)

When Clients Don’t Pay: Part III – Should I Hire Some Muscle?

Feb 05, 2009

In my last post, When Clients Don’t Pay: Part II – How to Get Paid without Hiring Muscle I outlined some steps to take that should help you get your cash. If your cupboard is still bare, then this post is for you.

I posed the question to my freelance people in my networks: Have you ever hired a collection agency or lawyer to get paid?

The most interesting answer I got was in the silence. I interpreted the cricket chirping to mean that taking the extra step into the formal collection process was either: A. not necessary or B. not worth the effort.

I did get an e-mail from a VA/CV who went to some extreme lengths to get her money, including swearing out a warrant for a wayward client’s arrest. She got paid after two years and felt that it was worth the effort.

That’s the real question, isn’t it? How much is the invoice amount worth to you in time?

I’m assuming that readers here equate time with money. Most consultants understand that conversion theory very well.

The question of worth is as individual as your business and the invoice amount. For an invoice of under $500, some consultants will write it off (did you know that you can claim some of those write-offs on your taxes?). On the flip side, a freelance copy editor might consider anything over $200 as something worth pursuing through an agency or attorney.

Is the cost of hiring a collection agency worth it based on the invoice amount? Some attorneys get 40% of what they collect. It’s one thing to be right in principle and get justice, but it’s something else to remain a profitable business. It’s you, the captain of your ship, who decides which is more important to you and has to act accordingly. If collecting is what will keep you afloat, then hiring an attorney may be your best course.

Life coach Shannon Wilkinson offered some sound advice as a first step before diving into collection agency waters. She suggests sending a demand letter to the client and cc’ing an attorney. That way, the client gets the impression that you mean to collect (you’re not joking) and that you have somebody backing you up. It doesn’t cost you any fees since you’re not involving the attorney at that point.

Some clients will pay without any further hassle.

Speaking of hassle, here’s something you want to avoid: harassment.

There are laws against harassment and they vary by state. It’s in your best interest to find out what those laws are and understand them before going to the mattresses.

You might think that a collection agency works to represent you in the best way while attempting to collect client debt. You would be wrong.

If you decide that an agency is the best thing for you, be choosy about who you hire. Even large agencies break the rules and can make you look bad. Here are some links with great insights on the ins and outs of collection agencies:

http://rubyhoneymarketing.blogspot.com/2008/07/hiring-right-collections-agency-for.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/clientpay

http://www.fastupfront.com/business-articles/accounts-receivables/using-a-collection-agency-to-recover-unpaid-accounts/

Thanks to Angie Haggstrom of Freedom Freelance for the excellent links!

Whatever you decide to do, remember something, okay? It’s important to get paid for what you do. Your work has value and shouldn’t be given away. Collecting on overdue invoices shows that you really do mean business, that you’re not just in it as a lark. Don’t let yourself be walked over by a deadbeat client because they don’t see the value. You deserve to be paid.

That said, collecting on debts should not ruin your rep. Maintain a businesslike bearing and never make it personal. Don’t collect out of spite or desperation. Collect because you’re a professional and collect like a professional.

Even eccentric artists like me do it that way. Business is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy it and keep running!

David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He currently runs two businesses from his home studio near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.

Sparky Firepants Images is focused on building kids’ brains to ginormous sizes while they have a crazy time. David creates fantastic, colorful images that complement books and educational media for preschool and elementary-level kids. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog.

He also uses his technical expertise in creating corporate graphics and presentations to consult with and assist presenters of all types, keeping their audiences rapt with attention. Prepared Graphics focuses on helping individuals and small business owners with great content who don’t want to mess around with that PowerPoint stuff.

David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm. No, they don’t really smell that bad.

Fees & Collecting, Home Based Business, Home Office Warrior, Tips and Hints Written By David Billings Comments (2)

Stuff You Don’t Need for Your Home Business

Jan 08, 2009

This is a great guest post from David Billings of Sparky Firepants Images. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did when I read it before I hit the published button.

By David Billings:

Home-based business are booming and there’s more helpful information out there than ever before. Freelancers, consultants, and business people of all types are now sharing their ideas about the tools they use to be successful. I thought it would also be helpful to point out those things that are actually not necessary at all. Don’t worry if this conflicts with other stuff you’ve read. Those other people were all wrong anyway. Pretend that the stuff here is hot, boiling lava and your business is a balsa wood airplane.

iPhone or Blackberry

Handheld mobile devices are just toys. They’re extravagant accessories that suck your wallet dry but don’t add any real value to your business. It’s a total show-off piece. You have to own a celebrity-scale ego just to carry one.

Besides, who wants to be that guy walking down the street with his head buried, incessantly tapping a stupid piece of plastic?

It’s not essential to have a mobile device to run your home business. You can make do with a shared Motorola phone and your Sprint Family Plan. It’s cool.

I fell into the mobile device trap and here’s exactly why it’s stupid:

One afternoon I was at Fred Meyer picking up some stuff for dinner, minding my own friggin’ personal business for a change.

While waiting in line, I picked up my iPhone to see what time it was (I sold my watch to buy it anyway). Seeing that I had new e-mail, I groaned but my curiosity got the better of me.

Turns out a client had lost the Flash presentation I had sent her earlier that day (before I got to take care of my own damn stuff). Stupid clients. Right?

I had downloaded one of those “amazing” apps everyone chatters about so much on Twitter (another waste of time, see below). To test it, I had uploaded the Flash file to my iPhone.

So this silly bi*** lost my file and was whining because she had a meeting coming up to discuss it. That’s my problem, right?

Just to shut her up, I e-mailed the Flash file to her from Fred Meyer using my iPhone. Ever since then, she won’t leave me alone. It’s like, “David, we have another Flash project for you,” and “We’d love for you to help us out again.” It doesn’t stop. Jeez, you’d think by now they could find somebody else to do all the work.

If I didn’t have this stupid iPhone, I could save money and have more time to myself. Much more time.

Twitter

It’s completely unnecessary to be on Twitter. In fact, it can suck up your productivity so easily it would make the Dyson guy jealous.

When your work-from-home colleagues are tweeting about the weather or lunch, you can feel awesome knowing that you’ve bucked another trend.

You don’t need silly lunch talk to interrupt your flow. Believe me, I know how easy it is to get sucked in.

There’s one guy I follow on Twitter who constantly re-tweets stuff he likes. We’re both artists so it’s all kind of interesting, but it’s way too much for me to click on his tweets all day long. I just don’t have the time. I stopped clicking on all his tweet links and pared it down to a few every now and then, when I can catch break.

I feel terrible. He probably hates me but is too polite to stop following me, the poor guy. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking about all the people on Twitter who are missing me because I’m in bed. They’re probably getting
angry at me, too. I just can’t stay on top of it all.

You can’t teach a 38-year old guy new tricks.

Some people say it’s just a new way of networking. From what I hear, good networking is simply about being helpful to the people you meet. It’s also about introducing those people to others who might benefit from knowing
them, too. If it lands you a primo gig, that’s fabulous, but it’s probably just a stupid coincidence, anyway.

Business is about luck. Don’t waste your time chatting with any of those 3,000,000 losers. They just don’t understand how it works.

Web Site

There’s a lot of talk about how you “need” a web site for your business, it’s like the “new Yellow Pages,” blah blah blah. So we all bought that piece of trashy advice in the 90s and look where it got us. Somehow we’re supposed to conjure up one of these things so internet-addicted people can see what we do.

It all just sounds… expensive. So no it’s unavoidable, but you can at least save some cash. Here’s how:

If you’re in business, you’re probably old enough to have nephews or nieces. Maybe you have a young cousin. Kids these days are all into computers and know how to build web sites. It’s like a new class in most grade schools, isn’t it?

All you have to do is get the kid to build your site for you. You might have to buy them pizza or something, but that’s a lot cheaper than paying one of those “expert” bozos to create it. It’s a bunch of crap anyway – SEO, CSS,
branding, etc. They make this stuff up just to get rich off your ignorance. Total scam.

All you really need is an address and a phone number on one page. Anything else is a waste. As far as the design goes, let the kid do whatever she wants. She’s up on the latest styles anyway, so her background color choices are going to be better than yours.

Another web site secret no one tells you is that it’s really, really easy to make one. They even have software that just does it for you and it says so right on the box. If you don’t have a young kid to build it for you, you could spend as little as $60 and just let the computer do the work.

I can’t say it often enough: when it comes to your web “presence,” save yourself some money. Nobody’s gonna notice your font choice or images, and you’ll never compete with a corporate site. If people won’t take the time
to learn who you are underneath the web site, they weren’t worth it, anyway.

Blog

You’ve probably heard that everybody who is anybody is blogging now. Even the CEO of Pepsi has one (wish I was a CEO so I could waste my days playing online).

What you may not understand is how this is necessary for your business. If you’ve been paying attention so far, you can figure out that it’s not. It’s justt more window dressing.

Even if it’s true what they say about how it establishes you as an expert in your field, it sounds a little dangerous. Nobody says what happens if you screw it up.

What if something you say gets taken the wrong way? What if you’re wrong about something? Is it really worth the risk to put yourself and your company out there?

I started a blog over a year ago and it’s been a lot of hard work. I often wonder what it’s doing for me.

Then, last summer I was at a publishing convention in Los Angeles. On the last day, this woman came up to me and said, “You’re Sparky Firepants!” Some other people nearby heard her and came over, too. Suddenly I was
forced to be polite and talk to all these people about my work, my blog, their work, their writing, etc. Bleh.

Man, that creeped me out.

I took their business cards anyway. One was a literary agent who wanted to see my work and join her writer’s workshop. I wish I was an agent so I could afford to read blogs all day. Also, she just made more work for me, because I had to get samples together and send them out when I got home.

Not to mention all those “regular” people that I now have to keep in touch with all year long. Who knows what they’ll do for me?

In fact, this post came out of a request to write something on somebody else’s blog. As if I don’t have enough work to do already. I couldn’t say no because it’s against the secret rules of the internet.

Blogging is a chore that begets more chores. Avoid them.

Another source of income

All the business books I have ever read say to do one thing and do it well. So what’s the deal with additional sources of income that people talk about now?

Say you’re a small business tax consultant. You’re focused on preparing taxes throughout the year, with one really crazy period every 1st quarter. When times are slow, you probably want to kick back for a bit, right? You
might have to spread the butter a little thinner for six months, but that’s the nature of tax prep.

So let’s say that (as a lark) you decide to offer your services as a virtual assistant in the slower months. With your existing computer and software, you could write copy, edit documents, create presentations and spreadsheets, shop for good deals on office supplies; the list goes on. It’s really up to you what you decide to take on as a virtual assistant, but the point is you’ve got skills and equipment idling at home.

Here’s what could happen (I caution you). You may:

Get busy enough to have to work every day
Have to hire someone to help carry the load
Find yourself even busier at tax time
Get new tax clients through your assistant gigs
Raise your rates on tax consultancy due to heavy workload

I could go on and frankly, what a friggin’ mess. Do you really need that kind of a headache?

It’s better to stick with one thing, definitely.

I hope this list was helpful to you. I know there are hundreds of lists you could have chosen to read today, so I’m grateful that you chose mine. Of course, it’s probably just dumb luck.

Home Office Warrior Written By Grant Griffiths Comments (10)

A Law Practice on a Treadmill Desk

Nov 15, 2008

Lisa Solomon posted about her new home office desk on her blog Legal Research & Writing Pro Blog. You have to check this out.

A contract lawyering practice is very conducive to working from home. When you work from home, you can arrange your office to suit your needs. You can also wear what you want.

My continuing quest to get into better shape, along with the time limitations of a busy professional and personal life, have led me to put together this treadmill desk.

Lisa states, “the treadmill (which I bought in 2003) has been gathering dust in the family room since 2004. I already had the laptop and extra monitor. The cart next to the treadmill is used during the summer to ferry food from the kitchen to the patio for barbecues.”

This is not Lisa’s full time desk, but it is a great idea on how we can work and doing something to get off our rear-ends at the same time.

Source for Post Legal Research & Writing Pro Blog.

Home Office Warrior Written By Grant Griffiths Comments (2)