From the WHY Vault*

10 Tasks You Can Farm Out to a Virtual Assistant Right Now

If you run a business from home, it’s hard to bring in an assistant. It’s not just a matter of the expense and paperwork of employing a helper, but the idea of bringing someone into your home, even for work. On top of that, you have to worry about whether you have enough work for an assistant: no matter how many hours you agree on initially, you don’t want to run the risk of paying someone just to sit around.

There is an option that addresses these problems, however: the virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants, or VAs, aren’t employees — they’re contractors. By working with a VA, you don’t have to worry about any of the costs of employment such as taxes and insurance. Furthermore, VAs work as many or as few hours as you agree on, and you only pay for the time you actually use. There are a few drawbacks to working with a virtual assistant: because they don’t actually visit your office or home, there are some limitations on the tasks that a VA can take on. Also, prices can vary significantly. You can work with a VA based in India or another country for just $6 an hour, but most U.S.-based VAs charge at least $30 per hour. Taking that into account, there are still a wide variety of tasks that a VA can handle for you.

1. Newsletters: Many VAs offer newsletter writing services and are also willing to handle the logistics for sending a newsletter out over email or arranging for printing and mailing. You can also arrange to have a VA update a blog or handle other marketing communications.
2. Travel Arrangements: If you need to book a flight, it can take time to find an inexpensive ticket at a time that works for you. A VA can handle these details, along with finding a hotel, making arrangements for a rental car and more.
3. Research: Need to find concrete numbers on a target demographic or find a phone number for a contact? VAs take on research projects both big and small. In most cases, it’s just a matter of telling a VA what you’re looking for.
4. Customer Service: While most customer service matters are routine, you still have to see to them. That means answering emails or phone calls — or having someone else see to them. A VA can handle everyday matters, allowing you to focus on bigger things.
5. Bookkeeping: While you have to find a VA who specializes in bookkeeping to outsource this particular task, it is a fast way to eliminate an administrative chore many people dread.
6. Writing Services: Many VAs provide a wide variety of writing services, from editing and proofreading to creating press releases, articles and other materials for your business.
7. Website Design: Just as many VAs specialize in written projects, others have a wide variety of design skills. Many can create at least a simple website, as well as handle updating and maintenance. VAs also offer print design services, such as creating brochures.
8. Personal Tasks: Need to order flowers for Mom? What about scheduling an oil change for the car? VAs don’t have to handle just business tasks. Many are happy to help with personal matters — and often at prices far below those of concierge services.
9. Payroll: A VA can handle the details of payroll for your other employees. There are even a few employees that outsource filling out their own timesheets to a VA — although that’s usually as part of a larger batch of tasks.
10. Anything Else That Can Be Done Via Computer or Telephone: If you need to outsource a task not listed above, it’s still worthwhile to contact a virtual assistant. Even if you’re looking for a service not normally offered, if a VA can handle the task, he or she will. If not, that person might be able to find you someone who can.

Finding a VA is relatively simple: there are hundreds of agencies that will connect you to a VA as well as many independent VAs. All of them have websites. You can even find VAs through bid sites, such as Elance or oDesk. However, finding a reliable VA who works well with your business can be a little harder. When considering working with a particular VA, think about asking for references. References provide a simple way to weed out potential problems before you pay any money. Even with a VA with excellent references, though, it’s worthwhile to start out with a few probationary tasks — especially if you plan to have your VA handle sensitive information in the future.

Also, keep in mind that you’re not limited to working with one virtual assistant if you find that outsourcing certain tasks works well for your business. You could work with one VA for your bookkeeping needs and another who can handle your online marketing — it’s a matter of what work you need to get done and how much time you want to spend on it. The crucial skill to managing the outsourcing of tasks, though, is clear communication. No matter how good a VA is, he or she will struggle with tasks that aren’t clearly defined — requiring more time and money.

If you’re ready to start looking for a VA, the first step you should take is creating a list of tasks you want your VA to handle. Having such a list will help you narrow your search for a VA — not every VA offers every possible remote service. Instead, you’ll probably have to prioritize the tasks you need taken care of and start with a VA who can help you with those key items. From there, you can branch out as necessary — maybe even hand over the search for additional help to your virtual assistant.

--this article, written by Thursday Bram, ran in the january/february 2009 issue of WHY magazine, sponsored by the The Web Servant.

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

WHY Xtra: 5 Twitter No-Nos

1. Retweeting without attribution. Think of it as plagiarism in 140 characters or fewer.
2. Having every link you post be for your own website. Nobody likes someone who only talks about himself.
3. Tweeting constantly. The general rule is to contain yourself to no more than 10 tweets a day.
4. Not including a link or photo when making a compliment or recommendation. That is such a tease.
5. Not thinking before you tweet. Remember, as fun and casual as Twitter seems, this is a social networking site used by many for business, employers as well as employees, so keep your comments filtered and fair.

HARO Rocks

I'm researching a story about working at home with the kids for the next issue of WHY magazine. I've been using HARO over the past six months or so to find experts for stories I'm writing -- for WHY as well as other freelance projects. HARO has always come through with good and plentiful leads. This time, however, I was overwhelmed by the response I received. Since my query was sent out yesterday morning, I've received more than 100 (and counting!) responses. Amazing! And it's FREE! HARO rocks.

I Heart Twitter

There has been so much media hype about Twitter over the past week, with Ashton Kutcher and CNN vying for the 1 million follower mark and Oprah tweeting for the first time on Friday. Non-Tweeters seemed more outspoken than usual about their dislike (or is it the inability to realize the potential?) of the social networking site, and those who were the first to jump on the Twitter bandwagon began complaining that Twitter had jumped the shark with all this new, rather mainstream attention. For me, Twitter remains a fantastic way to market a home venture, such as WHY magazine, or any small or large business. Networking has never been so financially feasible and fun! I've "met" a bunch of amazing entrepreneurs and telecommuters and have learned a lot from all of them. Shark or no shark, I'm here to stay.

WHY Xtra: 5 Telecommuting Myths Debunked

1. "No schedules!" Au contraire! At-home workers may not have to punch a clock, but the onus is on them to chisel out blocks of their day for work or they risk getting nothing done.
2. "Too isolating!" Social media has helped take the lonely out of working from home, but successful telecommuters schedule regular face-to-faces with colleagues, clients and friends.
3. "No office politics!" Because they’re not at “an office,” telecommuters can have a hard time staying on their boss’ radar. Make periodic visits to your company office if you can, or schedule monthly conference calls with your boss or team leaders so that you can stay in the loop.
4. "I’ll gain so much weight!" Yes, the fridge is just a few steps away, but just as working from home is all about discipline, so is meal planning. Find ways to fight those cravings – make a bagged lunch, if that helps, and drink lots of water.
5. "No child care needed!" Whoever said this never experienced the stress of a conference call with a screaming child in the background. Although full-time daycare may not be necessary when you work from home, hiring a mother’s helper for an hour or two, and scheduling all your calls for that time period, is helpful when a SpongeBob DVD or box of cookies won’t do the trick.

Sign up for WHY magazine today, and we'll send our WHY Xtras directly to your inbox every Monday!

Staying in Constant Contact

I've been using Constant Contact for my WHY magazine emailers for more than a year. You probably know that already, because I'm so happy with the level of service I receive from the company that I gush about it to just about anyone who'll listen.

Earlier this month, there was an issue that came up with my account, and in the process of remedying things, I had a run-in with a poor customer service rep -- I mean, REALLY poor, the kind that makes your mouth hang open in utter shock. I was so infuriated with him that after I hung up the phone, I took to Twitter with some heated ramblings. Within minutes, I received a DM from a vice president of Constant Contact who assured me that he would help me solve my problem and get to the bottom of what had gone wrong with my communications with his sales rep. He was patient, he listened, he tried to crack jokes -- he did all the right things to make the customer (me) feel appreciated and understood.

Within minutes, my account was back in working order, and all was well.

Over the past year, I've read about varying degrees of customer service issues that have been resolved with the help of social media. It wasn't until now, though, that I personally have been able to experience its power in helping customers get their voices heard.

Although no company should be judged by one poor customer service rep, I do believe that companies SHOULD be judged by their responses to those inevitable glitches that pop up in long-term (or short-term) business relationships.

Props go to Constant Contact for its speedy attention to my glitch. Let the gushing continue!

WHYing Solo

For those who have not yet heard, my business partner Lucille has left our little company to pursue other interests, and it will be just me, myself and WHY going forward. I'm excited, motivated, determined and scared to death -- just the way I like it.

WHY Xtra: 5 Tips for Writing a Short, Professional Bio

1. Start off with a bang. The first sentence of your bio should be strong and attention-getting, and give a clear description of what you do and the field you're in.
2. Less is more. Don't give your entire work history. Instead, touch upon your main accomplishments.
3. He said, she said. It is standard practice to write professional bios, even your own, in third person, unless the bio appears on your website and you're going for a more casual, folksy flavor.
4. All work and no play... Include some personal information, so that there is a sense of who you are beyond the boardroom. But keep this section short.
5. Include contact information. Excluding it is kind of like trying to sell a house without an address.

Sign up for WHY magazine today, and we'll send our WHY Xtras directly to your mailbox every Monday.

Tweetdeck

Finally installed Tweetdeck, an application that aims to evolve the existing functionality of Twitter by breaking down Twitter feeds into more manageable bite sized pieces. Although I've only used Tweetdeck for a week or two, my feelings about it, at this early stage, are rather lukewarm. Tweetdeck, with its fancy lists and constant updates, is probably terrific for folks who tweet continually throughout the day or have thousands of followers and have trouble keeping track of it all. However, for those who tweet occasionally -- meaning a few times a day -- to a few hundred followers, Tweetdeck doesn't seem like all that. Am I missing something?

5 Tips for Working at Home with a Spouse Who's Been Laid Off

1. Establish a routine. You've got the office in the morning, and your spouse gets it in the afternoon for a job search, or you take Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and he or she gets Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever works for the two of you.
2. Be understanding. Tensions and insecurities may be very high during this period. Your spouse is feeling unwanted or hovering, so resist the urge to nag.
3. Be supportive. Offer helpful advice, knowing that sometimes that will mean building time into your own work schedule to spend time with your spouse either to scour the want ads or go for a walk.
4. Be upbeat. The power of optimism never can be over-rated.
5. Don't brag. You may be the only one in the house bringing in an income right now, but, as many will attest, anything can happen in this economy, so be humble and count your blessings.

Like what you read? Join the mailing list of WHY magazine and receive our popular "5 tip" emails in your inbox every Monday!

The Holy Trinity of Home Entrepreneurship

I had a very interesting discussion with my husband this weekend about "drive": that little something inside of us that pushes, propels and urges us forward, that won't take no for an answer. Over the past two years as editor and publisher of WHY magazine, I've had the opportunity to speak with many people who run home businesses, and there are a few commonalities among them, including what I like to call the Holy Trinity -- if you'll allow me to steal a term from Louisiana cooking -- of Home Entrepreneurship:

• Drive
• Belief in yourself
• Optimism

Not everybody has these traits, but if you're running your own business, you really need to. Home businesses are difficult, frustrating, exhilarating, challenging and often lonely enterprises. There are good days, and there are bad days -- sometimes mostly bad days -- but somehow there are those who continue to get up every morning motivated and excited, thinking, "I can do this." I'd like to think that I'm one of those people, and I have met so many others who are too, who try and squeeze a home business into an already chaotic life and do it willingly and enthusiastically. Where this kind of "drive" comes from, I'm not entirely certain, but, for me, there's almost no doubt in my mind: it comes from my mother.

Change

I spent the better part of 2008 thinking about change. Political change, mostly. Moving forward. Learning from the past. Hoping. Believing. This spring, that feeling of change has extended from the vast political realm to my very own little entrepreneurial one, changing the way I do business in the months and years to come. It was a change spearheaded by me rather than being cast upon me, which is what I think would have happened had I not taken the bull by the horns and faced the agent of change head on.

Making changes, particularly when things have been going on the same way for a long time, even if on a downward slide, is hard work. But just as President Obama, who inspires me every day, can be hopeful in the face of such a great challenge, I too am embracing my own change, am invigorated by it and scared to death of it.

This spring, as you usher your business into a new season, remember that change will happen, whether we want it to or not. As that astute philosopher Ferris Bueller once said: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Don't miss it. Ride the curves. Force the curves. And hold on tight.

Lunch with Lucille

Today I'll be having lunch with my eBusiness partner (as we call each other) Lucille. Haven't seen her since January, but we've made a pact that, even though we speak frequently by phone and via email, we'd do a face-to-face more often. Hey, we both need to eat, right?

Taking time to get out and see people --real people, not just your neighbors and mail carriers -- is probably one of the most important things you can do as a home worker, because working from home can feel isolating sometimes. Twittering is great, but it's no replacement for in-person interaction, so get out there and mingle!

WHY Webinars

Very excited about this. Spring is just around the corner, and we've set our first WHY Webinar for May. Our new WHY Webinar series will tackle all kinds of work-at-home subjects, such as how to recognize a work-at-home scam, how to increase your at-home work productivity and all you need to know about starting a home business. We'll be letting our opt-in subscribers know first what the date/topic will be, so if you haven’t yet subscribed to our mailing list, now may be the time. Although, truth be told, even if you don't sign up, I'm sure -- or at least I'm hopeful that -- you'll hear about it anyway. Thank you, social media!

And anyone interested in sponsoring a webinar should DM me.

Gotta keep the ideas flowing in this economy. In any economy, really. Are those birds I hear singing?

WHY Xtra: 5 Offbeat Holiday Tie-ins

1. Multiple Personality Day, March 5. Offer a hot deal on a product or service and then immediately offer an even better deal as a celebration of two "mindsets."
2. Employee Appreciation Day, March 9. Offer goods and services at discounted, "employee" prices.
3. Middle Name Pride Day, March 10. Offer 5 percent off for those customers who list their middle name on the order form or contract, or have special discounts for customers who share your middle name.
4. Pi Day, March 14. Got tipped off to this tie-in opp by Cafepress.com, which sent out an email with the subject: "There's 3.14 reasons to celebrate!" Yours can say something just as cute, like, "Our product specials promise never-ending fun." Be creative!
5. April Fools' Day, April 1. Lots of companies toy with bogus promotions on this day to generate excitement. Check out our quiz in this issue's WHY magazine for some of the most memorable.

Subscribe to WHY magazine today to get our Xtras sent to you every Monday!

New Issue of WHY is Live at www.workhomeyou.com!

Our mar/apr 09 issue of WHY magazine features articles written exclusively for folks who work from home, including:

• 10 ways telecommuters can stay on their boss' radar;
• 7 tips to solicit business w/o looking desperate;
• 18 home business deductions to consider;
• 5 tips on using Twitter to boost your profile;
• 10 easy ways to green your home office;
• 10 things you should know about those elusive customers;
• 5 no-no's of online journalism, and much more!

We hope you enjoy the issue and would love to hear your feedback. We've got lots of exciting things happening at WHY. Join our mailing list and stay in the know.

Now, I think I speak for Lucille as well as myself when I say, "We're pooped!" Time to leave my computer after what feels like -- and probably was -- nearly 48 straight hours of work and play in the snow. Enjoy!

Celebrate Working From Home

With more and more people working from home these days, don't you think it's time we work-at-homers had our own product line? We do too.

WHY magazine's online store carries all sorts of products that celebrate working from home. Whether you're looking for a unique baby shower gift, a gift for your telecommuting employees or just want to wear your work-at-home heart on your sleeve, there's lots of unique items at a variety of price points to choose from, including this 160-page journal priced at $11.99.

From the WHY Vault*

10 Ways to Revitalize Your Business in 2009

1. Take a Client Out for Coffee. The first step to revitalizing your business has to be figuring out what area you want to work on. But handing out a stack of surveys to your customers isn’t really going to get a lot of answers: you’ll be lucky if you get any response at all. Sitting down with a customer and chatting about what he likes and dislikes in your product can provide plenty of information, especially if the client feels that he or she is getting something out of it. So rather than struggling through some mass emailing asking how you did on a scale of 1 to 10, pick a client or two to take out. Which clients? You might consider the client that you’ve had the hardest time with over the past year. Find out where the problem was, from the client’s point of view, and why he stuck with you. You just might be able to avoid a repeat next year.
2. Read Up On SEO. You probably (or should) have a website to support your business. But so do your competitors, and they might just be appearing above you in a Google search. Search engine optimization is the key to making sure that you’re the top result for a given set of keywords. You can hire a professional to optimize your website, but you should still learn about SEO so you understand the terms of the trade. You can start learning at sites like SEOmoz and Search Engine Roundtable.
3. Take a Break. If you’re feeling the spark that convinced you to start your business has disappeared, you may need a little revitalization yourself. Taking a break when you’re the boss feels impossible, but it’s necessary: successful business owners experience just as much burn out as corporate employees spending eight hours a day in a cubicle. Start small, if you aren’t sure how your business will handle your absence. If you’re the type to take phone calls during dinner or have a Blackberry on your hip all weekend, just try disconnecting during non-business hours. Do something enjoyable or relaxing, and see if you’re at least a little more prepared to tackle Monday.
4. Offer a Social Media Giveaway. With a traditional giveaway, every entrant gets one chance to win. But you can offer an online giveaway with a few more opportunities to pick up a prize: if you post your giveaway on your website or blog, tell participants that if they mention your contest in a blog post of their own, in a note on Facebook, in a message on Twitter, in a newsletter to their email contacts or elsewhere online, they can pick up additional entries. If you’re offering a cool prize, your contest can get mentions on hundreds of websites. To confirm that a participant has really posted about your contest, you will want to require URLs of those posts as a condition of entry.
5. Ask for a Recommendation on LinkedIn. Google your name. If you have an account on LinkedIn or another major social networking site, links to those accounts are probably among the most highly ranked results for your name. People looking for you will find those accounts right off the bat, so you want them looking the best. One of the easiest ways to make sure your LinkedIn account looks good is to make sure that you have at least one recommendation. LinkedIn has even made it easy to request that members of your network recommend you: if you take a look at your recommendations page, you’ll see a “Get Recommended” button. If you don’t already have an account on LinkedIn and other sites, like Facebook or Twitter, you can set one up easily and improve your Google results almost immediately.
6. Put Your Press Releases Online. There’s only so much a press release can do, sitting on your company’s website. You might email it out to a few different bloggers or news sites, but it’s only going out to people you already know about. You can reach a wider audience with your press release by submitting it to sites like PR Leap and PRWeb. Both of these sites do charge fees to post your press release, but they also reach tens of thousands of readers. Those readers include numerous bloggers who are looking for easy stories, as well as members of the traditional media looking for a hot topic.
7. Send Out an Email Newsletter. Email newsletters may seem like they’re behind the technological times on the surface, but they remain one of the most effective methods of staying in touch with existing clients online. If your newsletter includes information that your recipients feel is worth forwarding, you can even pick up new customers surprisingly quickly — newsletter recipients will forward an email because it’s easy. Web surfers are less likely to pass along a website or other information because they have to copy and paste it into an email and complete several more steps.
8. Attend A BarCamp. You probably already attend a conference or two within your professional niche each year. Those conferences may be pretty expensive and require quite a bit of travel. You can get the conference experience, cheaply and locally, by attending a BarCamp. BarCamps are usually focused on technical topics — PodCamps, for instance, focus on podcasting while WordCamps focus on WordPress. These technical topics can provide the introductory level material you’ll need for a number of online marketing techniques, as well as provide networking opportunities. Most BarCamps are listed on the BarCamp wiki.
9. Outsource One Task You Dislike. Enjoying your work is just as important as increasing your sales. If you’re like most business owners, there is one task that you absolutely hate — for some it’s invoicing, for others it’s finding advertising opportunities. But you can get that task off your plate, and get back to the work that really is important to bringing in more income. You can outsource it to a specialized professional or to a virtual assistant. VAs have a range of skills, perfect for a small business, and are more affordable for most businesses than hiring new employees or going to a specialist who handles only a limited variety of tasks.
10. Quit Advertising in Print. While print advertising can bring in some customers, placing a newspaper ad isn’t much different than firing a shotgun blast: you’re sending out an ad to thousands of readers, but most of them have minimal interest in your product or service. But with online advertising, you can often target your ideal customers specifically. With contextual advertising, for instance, you can advertise to potential customers who are specifically searching for information on your keywords. You can also advertise on blogs and websites that cater to the specific niche you are targeting. Therefore, you can slash your advertising budget by moving online, without losing new sales.

--This article was written by Thursday Bram and ran in the nov/dec 2008 issue of WHY, sponsored by Summit Publication Design.

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY magazine articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

WHY Xtra: 5 Ways to Create Buzz

1. Lead the social media charge. Go at 'em with your guns blazing: Use posts, tweets, videos, links -- everything in your arsenal -- to get your information out there. Remember, friends let friends drive traffic to their website.
2. Be a traditional media maven too. Stay in regular contact with those publications/websites that cover your industry or community. While social media is the hot place to chat up journalists, a solid press release -- emailed or snail-mailed -- still goes a long way.
3. Milk industry events. Conferences, meetings, seminars -- go to as many as you can and talk to as many people as you can.
4. Develop key opinion leader relationships. Opinion leaders are considered credible sources of information, and they can be found in virtually ever field. Know who yours are, and keep them well informed, making sure they know who you are as well.
5. Try something wacky. Invent a new buzzword. Host contests for your customers. Have giveaways. Get that Jason dude of I Wear Your Shirt to wear your logo for a day. You never know what can get the viral marketing ball rolling.

Need Input!

I am currently finishing up two stories for the next issue of WHY magazine and would love to have some input. The first story is for our "telecommuters" story about how to get promoted when you telecommute -- how do you get onto your boss' radar, and stay there, when you work out of the office regularly. The second story is for our "you feature" about online writing ethics -- what's okay and not okay to do when you write for the web. Just today, I found a website that reprinted a post from this blog, and while I was flattered by the mention and the reference (w/o a link, though), I was upset that the owner of the website/blog was obviously oblivious to the fact that she had done something unethical. Should bloggers be held to the same standards are journalists? Is what this blogger did illegal as well as unethical? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Only 28 Days in February? Are You Sure?

Man, if there was ever a time I was hoping for a Leap Year, this is it. Can anyone loan me a few extra days?

Just about a week to go until the new issue of WHY magazine goes live, and I'm freaking out as usual. Articles to write, edit. Pages to proof. A business partner to calm.

Wasn't it just yesterday that it was February 1? Where did the time go? How did February get the short end of the stick anyway?

Those Romans...

BTW, if you really want to know why February was the black sheep of the Roman calendar, here's the straight dope. Personally, I would have picked on January.

WHY Xtra: 5 Secrets of Great Presidents (of Countries & Companies)

1. Strength: The ability to withstand adversity and motivate yourself in the face of it.
2. Self-confidence: The ability to surround yourself with diverse perspectives and still believe in your own vision.
3. Flexibility: The ability to change course when things don't go as planned.
4. Integrity: The ability to adhere to a strict ethical code, particularly when it's the least popular option.
5. Humility: The ability to remain humble in the face of great power.

A Social Media Birthday

It's my birthday!

And this year, I've gotten birthday wishes from more folks than I can count. In addition to the usual suspects who are stuck seeing me every day -- my immediate friends and family -- lots of friends from Facebook were kind enough to extend birthday wishes. (And there were wishes from the Facebook application itself, as well as Borders and Wii Fit too. It's a brave new world!)

Would all of these people have remembered it was my birthday if Facebook hadn't prompted them with a reminder? Probably not. Even so, it's a lovely gesture and nice to know that someone has taken a moment out of his or her busy day to send me a greeting.

Peter Shankman (@skydiver) mentioned this recently at one of his speaking engagements, but if you're on Facebook, you can easily use the birthday notifications as a daily marketing tool. Take a few moments each morning to send a birthday greeting to a client or colleague. You'd be surprised at how far something so easy and thoughtful -- and free -- can go toward generating goodwill.

WHY Xtra: A Perfect Match? 5 Clues to Finding the Right Business Partner*

1. You share the same business goals. If one partner is looking to get rich quick and the other wants slow growth, it’s not going to work. You need to agree – in writing – on both the short- and long-term goals of the company.
2. You both plan to make the same level of commitment. Not only in terms of financial investment, but of time and dedication. Again, put it in writing.
3. You don’t share the same skills. Your business partner should be “smarter” than you in her respective area of expertise. Complementing one another will provide a firmer foundation for the company.
4. You have a good sense of each other’s business track record. Even though your potential partner is a “great guy” that you know and trust, you also should know how he functions in a business setting and seek out references on past performance.
5. You both communicate well. There are ups and downs to any business, and partners rely on each other for support. It’s important to pick someone who will be available and accessible. Remember, the wrong partner can be worse than having no partner at all.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

Google Alerts

I realized I should have talked a little bit about Google Alerts when mentioning Twilert in my previous post. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results for whatever topic or keyword you input. Every morning, I receive a Google Alert for "Dina Santorelli," "WHY magazine" and "work at home." This way, I'm aware of ANYTHING that has been mentioned about me or my business or my field of business in the previous 24 hours. (I have my alerts set for 24-hour intervals, but you can choose whatever time frame works for you.)

As a writer, I'm able to see where my stories are running and who is linking to them, and as editor/publisher of WHY, I can monitor mentions of our magazine. If you like, you can also set Google Alerts for competitors in your industry or, on a personal level, for your favorite sports teams or celebs.

So Twilert takes care of Twitter mentions, and Google all the rest. Both are really invaluable -- and FREE -- tools, particularly for shoestring marketers (aren't we all?).

Track Your Tweet Mentions

Do you know about Twilert?

Twilert is a Twitter application that lets you receive regular email updates of tweets containing your brand, product, service or any keyword you like. (Think Google Alerts for Twitter.) If people are talking about you or your company or retweeting your tweets, it's good to know.

No School 4 Her, No Work 4 Me!

My daughter is home sick today.

As I write this, she is sitting across from me trying to remove barbecue sauce from the bread of a Quiznos sandwich that I picked up for her on the way home from running errands. Actually, at this point, she has removed everything from the sandwich and is just eating the bread.

It's weird having one of the kids home during the day -- a throwback to the years when they weren't in school and working from home was extremely difficult. But back then, I figured out how to work in spurts, during naps and viewings of Blue's Clues. Now, I feel a bit rusty, having been spoiled by the vastness that is the six-hour school day. So when Helena stops by my desk to see me, as she often does, to say, "Whatcha dooooin'?" it takes me a few minutes to recapture my train of thought and get back into the groove of work.

In other words, my productivity is taking a nosedive today, especially now that Helena has abandoned her sandwich and has decided to sharpen all the pencils we have in the house. Is it any surprise that the pencil sharpener is right next to my laptop?

WHY Xtra: 5 Business Plan Ground Rules

1. Know your market. Thoroughly investigate everything there is to know about your product/service, including target customers and competitors. Whether or not you plan to secure investors, you can’t know too much about your business.
2. Be realistic. We’d all like forecast ourselves as millionaires in five years, but it’s important to carefully assess your operating costs and growth potential.
3. Be accurate. Make a list of one-time and recurring costs. If you have to, get input from suppliers, advisors, partners and others who are knowledgeable about your business. You also should ask them for assistance with projecting future cash flows.
4. Get a second opinion. There are organizations that can provide valuable – and free – assistance, such as SCORE and the Small Business Administration.
5. Don’t just file your business plan away. Your business plan is a dynamic document and should reflect any changes that take place within the course of operating your company. Changing it doesn’t make it unsuccessful; it keeps it relevant.

Going Face-to-Face

I recently had a lunch with my business partner, Lucille.

You might not think that's a big deal, but for two people who have been working together on WHY for two years -- and another year or so before that -- we RARELY see one another. Although we talk constantly on the phone and chat via email and, now, Facebook, it always seems near to impossible to get our schedules to intersect for a live, in-person one-on-one.

Finally, we made it happen, as part of our new year's resolutions for 2009. And it was great. There's nothing quite like looking across a table over a BLT and seeing the reaction in someone's eyes when you suggest an idea.

Scott Monty, the social media guy for Ford, said the same thing in the social media story in our current issue of WHY: “It’s not just about online presence. Get out there and meet people face to face. That's where some of the best brainstorming and true relationship building occurs.” We agree, so we've resolved to have in-person meetings regularly -- hopefully every month -- to make sure that we're on the same page as we go forward with our little magazine.

Plus, I like seeing her and hearing her laugh. LOLs just don't cut it.

Thank You, HARO!

Totally overwhelmed by the response we got through HARO for this month's bonus story: Tips to Improve Your At-Home Work Productivity. We'd only planned on running 25 tips in the piece, but it looks as though it's going to be more. I am putting the story together right now and (fingers crossed!) it should be live tomorrow. As always, I look forward to your comments.

BTW, I managed to stay clear of Facebook all day yesterday. (Yeah for me!) But it was the first thing I rushed to this morning after grabbing a smoothie from the fridge. (Boo for me!)

No Facebook Friday

I have declared today No Facebook Friday.

I have spent so much time reminiscing with old friends on Facebook over the past few weeks -- enjoying every minute of it and laughing like I haven't laughed in years --- that I am getting absolutely nothing done. My productivity is shot. Every time I go to complete a task, I get an email from a friend on Facebook who is commenting on my status or on another person's status that I'd commented on or has completed his/her 25 Random Things About Me, and there I go off on another round of silly bantering.

It's useless to try to limit Facebook to a certain time of day, as I've heard people suggest. Once you make a few comments, the after-comments come pouring in, and I feel compelled to say "Who's there?" to every "Knock knock" for the rest of the day.

So today is a little experiment. I thought it would be super easy. But no sooner did I declare No Facebook Friday on Twitter than Martin Neumann sent me notification through Facebook that he'd completed his 25 Random Things About Me. And then my kids got out of bed and clamored to see that cute baby video that somebody posted yesterday and that we watched at least six times.

"I can't," I asserted as strongly as possible. "It's No Facebook Friday!"

Now it's after 9 a.m. The kids are gone, and Martin's presumably asleep (he lives in Australia), and the Facebook emails are few and far between -- just some stragglers commenting on things from yesterday. Should be a cakewalk from here on, although I just completed some tax forms and suddenly am feeling the urge -- the urge to chat or read at least 3 random things about somebody.

But I'm staying strong.

For now.

Productivity: Home vs. Office

A recent Twitter post from @ericabiz stated this: "Working out of Citizen Space has made me realize how completely unproductive I am at home. I'm biting the bullet and leasing an office."

The comment made me wonder: Am I really as productive at home as I think I am?

Granted, one of the great things about working in an office is that you are away from "your life" and the various distractions of your home -- laundry, dishes, kids. But my last full-time office job was when I was a twentysomething working with a bunch of twentysomethings, and I can remember TONS of distractions, all of them self-generated: chatting by/in the bathroom, near the fax machine (remember those?) or copy machine, in the lobby, elevators and cafeteria. I called friends from the office, my dad to see how he was doing, my husband to chat, even though I'd just seen him an hour before. But somehow I managed to get all the work done as well. (Admittedly, that was before Twitter, Facebook and all the time-sucking rest...)

Distractions are all around us, whether we work in an office or at home, whether we find them or they find us. How much you give into them ultimately determines your productivity.

What I do miss about working in an office away from my home, though -- and maybe this is what Erica is talking about -- is that you're on "office time" and have no other reason to be there than to focus on your work. When you work at home, the work/home life is forever blurred, however thick your home office door is. Personal responsibilities, instead of being a subway ride away, follow you like a cloud and hover over your shoulder, even as you try to write your latest blog post.

Expert Advice

Why social media is important for home businesses, as told to WHY magazine by Jason Baer, social media and email consulting expert of Convince & Convert:

"Social media is especially relevant for home-based businesses, because it is essentially word of mouth on steroids. No matter what line of work you're in, you can easily become a known and respected resource in that area using social media, enabling you to connect with far more customers and prospects than you could offline. The key is to focus on specific topics and outposts. Be truly helpful, and the clients will come."

WHY Xtra: 5 Super Business Card Networking Tips

1. Always ask for a business card. Even if you think you'll never be in the market for that person's product or services, you just never know.
2. Take notes on the back of each person's business card to remember things like key points of conversation or personal attributes such as "likes football" or "peanut allergy."
3. Keep your business cards nearby--in your pocket, purse, briefcase and car. Business discussions tend to spring up everywhere, from wedding reception halls to supermarkets.
4. Consider rewarding people for referrals, if they pass your business card to someone else and it results in a sale.
5. Print a coupon or discount on the back of your business card, which will encourage people to hold onto it and may spur additional business.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

The Check Is in the Mail

After sending out my first invoices using my new QuickBook system this weekend, I was told by a customer this evening that the check was in the mail.

Gosh, already, I thought.

QuickBook rocks! If I would have known that plain-looking invoices that I got for free would get this kind of result, I would have dropped the fancy-shmancy-looking, custom-made invoices long ago.

Husband Knows Best? You Be the Judge.

So what do I get for asking my husband his thoughts on the newest design in our WHY store, "Even President Barack Obama works from home"? I get a practical answer, of course:

"I like to be able to see the entire design as I'm drinking from a mug," he said.

Uh, okay.

But if there's something I've learned in 15 years of marriage, it's that it's not that unusual (at least not as unusual as I'd like it to be) for Tommy to be right, so today we unveil a variation on our President Obama design.

Let us know what you think. Is bigger better? Is smaller more tasteful? You be the judge.

A QuickBook Study

One of the hardest things about running your own home business, in my opinion, is staying on top of the bookkeeping. Tired of my old system, which I'm sure hasn't been kind to more than a few trees, I embarked on a QuickBooks tutorial this morning, as part of my New Year's Resolution to get -- and stay -- organized.

I just shipped off my first invoice under my new paperless system, and, I have to say, it feels good. I'm not sure how much invoicing time QuickBooks will save me -- at this point, it's taking twice as long as usual while I input all my customer/vendor names and company information and I spent 10 minutes on each email personalizing the form letter -- but I'm hoping that come tax time 2010 I won't find myself rummaging through random pieces of papers to figure out if I have to mail out any 1099s, as I'm doing now.

That time that would be much better spent hanging out with my kids, sipping hot chocolate and watching SpongeBob, on this frigid Saturday.

Even President Barack Obama Works from Home

The newest design in our WHY store -- "Even President Barack Obama works from home" -- pays tribute to the presidential nature of working from home. Looks like we home workers are in good company! To see this design on a variety of merchandise, including T-shirts, bags and pet products, as well as other work-at-home themes, check out our WHY store.

Twitterspeak: Thoughts from a Relative Twitter Newbie

For those of us who get a kick out of trying to squeeze complete thoughts into 140 characters, Twitter is not only a great real-time communications tool, but a blast in which to engage. I also got a kick out of Grammar Girl's Strunk & Twite: An Unofficial Twitter Style Guide, which offers some linguistic tips on the best ways to Tweet. And, although they're not really grammar-related, I have some Twitter tips of my own I'd like to add:

• For the love of all things holy, enough already with letting us know you've got something great coming: "Finishing up my next blog post, you're going to love it!... Next post almost ready... Just put the last period on the last sentence of my new blog post -- it's going up soon!" Just let us know when it's there.
• And when you let us know, tell us once. Not over. And over. And over. Most of us don't have Short Term Memory Loss.
• If all your Tweets direct us to your website or blog EVERY time, it gets a little boring. As much as we all understand it, it still gets a little boring.
• When you're Tweeting a link, tell us why. Just having the link (even if it is coming from YOU) just isn't enough to get us to click with all the other tiny URLs we've got vying for our attention.
• Be patient with Twitter newbies. It takes time to figure out the lingo, like RT and those bizarre pound-sign phrases. Remember, questions, however naive or ridiculous they seem, are what open our minds and move us forward.

The Imperfect Home Office

Today, The Independent out of London has an article titled, How to Create the Perfect Home Office.

I had to laugh.

Is there such a thing as a perfect home office? Sometimes we only have a corner of the dining room table on which to work, and that's okay. Everyone's parameters for what makes for a perfect office differs, so it's important to remember that, although it's nice to have a door that closes and a fabulous skylight, some of us -- millions perhaps -- work without one just fine.

What the article does suggest is that there may be areas in your home or apartment that you've overlooked as good office space: an area behind your staircase, a closet not being used effectively. There's no sense in trying to work in an uncomfortable spot when there are alternatives at hand. A good idea for all of us right now would be to get up from our computers and take a quick walk around our living spaces. Are there any spots in your home that would be better suited to your home office than the one you're currently using? Hmmm... Just might be the perfect reason to finally clean out my bedroom closet.

WHY Xtra: 5 Thoughts on Leadership*

1. "I walk slowly, but I never walk backward. --Abraham Lincoln
2. "Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership." --Woodrow Wilson
3. "In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." --Harry S. Truman
4. "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." --John F. Kennedy
5. "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." --Barack Obama

Wherever you stand politically, today is a new day, begins a new era, in American politics. All my best to President Barack Obama who, in the face of tremendous challenges, has managed to excite a nation and provide hope to a people suffering through what is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

From the WHY Vault*

Dry Finance: Raising capital when you’re low on funds

There comes a time in the life of many small businesses when you have to make a big decision: Should I invest more money into this project? According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), there are four key sources to consider when looking for financing:

Personal savings: The primary source of capital for most new businesses comes from savings and other personal resources, such as personal lines of credit or credit cards. It’s great if you’ve got it and can spare it, but know that there’s a possibility you won’t be able to pay that money back (but, then again, there’s a possibility you will). Also, keep in mind that many credit cards carry high interest rates for partial payments and stiff penalties for late payments, so running up your personal credit accounts may not be a wise strategy.

Friends and relatives: The benefit of borrowing from friends and relatives is that often the loans you secure are interest-free or at a low-interest rate (because they love and trust you). The problem is that you may not feel so obliged to pay the loan back, since, after all, it’s your dad. For this arrangement to work, you need to treat this as a business arrangement—call your dad “Mr. So-and-So,” if you have to. And use an amortization calculator to schedule repayment of the loan and to figure out monthly payments and interest that is amenable to both parties.

Banks and credit unions: The most common source of funding, according to the SBA, banks and credit unions will provide a loan if your business proposal is sound. Terms of loans may vary from lender to lender, but SBA lists two basic types of loans: short-¬term and long¬-term. Generally, a short¬-term loan has a maturity of up to one year and includes working-¬capital loans, accounts-¬receivable loans and lines of credit. Long-term loans have maturities greater than one year, but usually less than seven years; they are used for major business expenses, such as purchasing real estate and facilities, construction, durable equipment, furniture and fixtures, vehicles, etc. Interestingly, one of the benefits of seeking the assistance of a financial institution is that writing a business proposal forces you to take a good, hard look at your company and your market. In the end, you may discover that the answer to the question of whether you should invest more money into your business is a no, and better you learn that now than after you’ve taken a chunk of change from your savings account or your dad’s.

Venture capital firms: Companies that help expanding companies grow in exchange for equity or partial ownership, if you’re willing to give that up.

--This article ran in the may/june 2008 issue of WHY, sponsored by EcoVixen.com.

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY magazine articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

WHY's Tip of the Day

There's nothing wrong with taking the weekend off. Very retro. :)

Feedback

Just about all the stories for the mar/apr issue of WHY magazine, which goes live on March 1, are assigned. Whew! Remember, if you've got an article or an idea that you think our readers would find interesting -- an interview with Bono about his home office, perhaps -- please let me know via our website or Twitter or carrier pigeon, whatever's easiest. Lots of our ideas come from reader comments and suggestions. I can't tell you how much I've learned myself from researching answers to reader questions or just from reading the articles submitted by our contributing writers. So keep that feedback coming!

Celeb Talk

Working on future celebrity interviews for WHY magazine. Whom would you like to read about? Chatting with celebrities is always fun, however much you poo-poo all that stuff. Some of my most memorable interviews over the years:

• Dean Cain: So gosh-darn personable and nice and generous with his time.
• James Gandolfini: His quiet, shy manner and accent-free voice was so startlingly different from the famous character he's played.
  
• Michael Emerson: His voice is EXACTLY like his villainous character Ben Linus on Lost. As a Lost junkie, I have to admit I was a bit freaked out.
• Larry the Cable Guy: Had me in stitches the entire phone interview and then sweetly called me back after it was done to make sure it was all right. GIT-R-DONE!
• Adam Carolla: Also hysterical, but kept calling me "Gina."
• Paul Reiser: Done at the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan. I had to slap my "old reliable" tape recorder every few minutes to get it to work. I wanted to die.
• Martha Stewart: One of the first -- if not the first -- celebrity interviews I've done. She was talking from her cell phone, which kept cutting out. (Hey, it was the mid 1990s.)

I also have Kevin Bacon on the brain. I recently interviewed him for a story I'm writing for Salute magazine, a magazine I edit as a freelancer. He was so unassuming, a mixture of Hollywood veteran/regular guy. His new film for HBO, Taking Chance, the story of a fallen Marine's final journey home, is very, very touching and offers a rarely seen glimpse into what happens to the bodies of our military men and women after they make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The film airs on February 21, if you want to check it out.

It's Official: No Sponsored Posts

Really great discussion yesterday about blogger relations and sponsored content on Chris Brogan's website. It actually put some things in perspective for me.

As readers of this blog know, I've been agonizing over the question of whether or not to blog for money. Gosh, we've even written a story in WHY magazine about how to do it. There's so much money out there to be had for people to write about companies and products, a new and exciting PR stream of revenue for us starving writers. But it looks like I've decided that I want no part of it.

Gulp.

This was made clear to me after reading all the comments from people who said, "Hey, I'll write about stuff too if you want to pay me" and "Write whatever you want, I don't believe any of it anyway."

For someone who values authenticity, perhaps even naively, it all left me feeling a bit deflated. Is that how it's going to be now? Can't trust anything? anyone? Is Dr. House chugging Vicodin not because it's authentic to his character, but because the drug company is sponsoring the telecast? Does Tony Soprano really want to eat Gulden's mustard or is ConAgra strong-arming David Chase? Am I being paid to mention Vicodin and Gulden's in this blog?

As a journalist, I've been trained never to accept paid trips or gifts from people. Yes, many times I have been treated to lunch at a press conference or by a PR exec or gotten tons of swag when my publisher decided to clear out the product sample closet. Yes, sometimes I think we're all kidding ourselves with all this talk about objectivity and honesty, but however you may feel about journalism, the goal, I think, is at least to strive for objectivity. Whether or not it can be attained at all is another issue.

The goal for blogs, on the other hand, is subjectivity, the opposite. Blogs are a serialized personal essay and, really, you can do whatever you want as long as your readers are on board and that includes writing sponsored posts.

But for me, as I mentioned in the comments section of Chris' blog, sponsored posts are really no different than advertorials, which, as you know, we run in WHY as part of our sponsorship package. Advertorials are articles, often with a specific point of view, that have been paid for (many of them, unfortunately, are schlocky). It doesn't matter whether or not they are negative or positive or whether or not you would have written the same thing anyway had you not been paid. That article is there, right now, because you have been paid to put it there. Advertorials are ads, clear and simple, and, in WHY, we define them that way -- as ads in a magazine. There's no gray area. It's understood.

But as a journalist trying to write a blog, ads/advertorials/sponsored posts -- it all makes me uncomfortable. There are no real boundaries when you have sponsored content within the context of your blog. Google AdSense on the side? Yes, that makes sense. There it is. I see it. You're making money (or maybe some people are...) for your blog that way. Good for you! But writing "this is a sponsored post" on one of your entries is not really a boundary; it's an apology. It's like when my husband attended a free workshop on how to raise a gifted child and was told by the session moderators that instead there would be a discussion of a new exhibit at a local museum that might be nice to take our gifted kids to. Huh?

The comment on Chris' blog that probably sealed the deal for me came from John Eich who wrote, "Whenever I'd get this slightly squeamish feeling in my stomach, even though what I was doing felt perfectly ethical, I knew there was a boundary somewhere that was being crossed. When I avoided those situations, I had internal clear skies...when I didn't, I could justify my actions, but there were clouds..."

So, long story long, no sponsored posts for me. I need all the clear skies I can get, inside and out. As I wrote to Martin Neumann of HomeOfficeVoice.com this morning: I'll be a happy, but poor idealist.

WHY Xtra: 5 Ways to Improve Your Focus, #2*

1. Make a “to-do” list. Our homes are full of distractions – laundry, TV, more laundry – and having a written outline of your daily goals can help you stay on task.
2. Declutter your desk or office. It can be difficult to concentrate with stacks of papers and walls of Post-It notes vying for your attention.
3. Play music. If the kids’ laughing (or arguing) is keeping you from concentrating, playing a little music – particularly tunes that you like and know the lyrics to -- can help filter the noise.
4. Grab a snack. Who can focus with a grumbling belly?
5. Take a break. All work and no play can dull Jack’s mind. A quick walk around the block or (gasp!) to the laundry room can change your focus briefly and make you feel refreshed once you return to your desk.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo!

WHY's Tip of the Day

Don't sit on the social media sidelines. Engage. Get involved. You might be surprised at what you have to offer.

His Way

“I don’t usually hang with men who wear earrings.”

This was said by Frank Sinatra to Bono, according to an op-ed guest column written by the U2 frontman recently in The New York Times.

The column made me smile. Frank Sinatra holds a special place in my heart. He sang the background music of my childhood -- summers spent with my grandparents in Brooklyn -- and was beloved by my Pop, who seemed to have adopted the motto, "My Way." A quiet filled the room every time the song came on the radio. Sometimes a smile. Sometimes a tear. And as I read Bono's discussion of how Sinatra's rendition of "My Way" turned from a boast in 1969 to a defeat years later, it made me think of my grandfather who I believe echoed those sentiments. He passed away early last year.

I miss him, but remember him when I drive (he taught me how), when I write (he wrote a novel after World War II that was unpublished and forgotten by everyone, but me) and when I hear Frank, who now provides the soundtrack to my work-at-home life.

Thanks to @HomeOfficeVoice who turned me on to the piece. Made my day.

Worth Fighting For

Well, the Christmas tree is down, and the snow is falling. The kids are happy and quiet somewhere in the house, and I'm using the day to gaze out the window while finishing up some loose ends -- both personal and professional. Wherever this day finds you -- in or out of your home office -- I hope you find joy in the little Saturday tasks of life, whether it's returning emails, sending invoices, doing laundry or grocery shopping. Patrick Swayze, who reportedly has been hospitalized with pneumonia and has been fighting pancreatic cancer, has got me feeling humble and gracious on this cold, January day. He is one tough and ornery dude and an inspiration to all of us that life is worth fighting for. I wish him well.

From the WHY Vault*

25 Home Office Essentials: The Must-Haves, Should-Haves and Would-Be-Nice-to-Haves you need to work more efficiently

No home office is the same. Some of us have carved out a nice little section of our living rooms in which to work, while others have a completely separate sound-proofed space replete with door, deadbolt and peephole. Some work in windowless basements; others enjoy the pleasures of shedworking with invigorating garden views.

Whatever your home-office set-up, there are gadgets, accessories and architecture that help make your work lives easier. The following 25 essentials, listed in no particular order, come from WHY staffers, experts in the field and other friends of WHY magazine and are just a few of the things out there that can help you conduct business more efficiently.

1. Door
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? One word: barrier. A door, by far, was the most cited “essential” of a productive home office environment. “During the day, the door can be closed to keep the rampaging hordes at bay on the other side of the barrier – and, hopefully, a bit of solace, solitude and quiet on the office side,” says Jeff Zbar of chiefhomeofficer.com. “Nights and weekends, it keeps the home officer from sneaking back in to check ‘just one more email.’ ”

2. WiFi/high-speed internet access
Category: Must Have
Why? Business nowadays is filled with large-file exchange, so it’s time to hang up on, not on to, dial-up connectivity. And WiFi allows for working outside, on the backporch, garden, poolside, and frees you from your office.

3. Laptop computer
Category: Should Have
Why? A laptop embodies one of the best things about working from home: mobility. “Even if you have a monitor on your desk, too, you’ll find that a laptop gives you flexibility,” says Myra McElhaney of myramcelhaney.com. “I normally work at my desk with my laptop but sometimes when working on a creative project I need a different perspective—literally. It’s amazing how you can refocus simply by moving temporarily to the sun porch or the local coffee shop to write or plan a project.”

4. Wireless telephone headset
Category: Must Have
Why? Cradling or wedging the phone into the crook of your neck, especially during long conference calls, is the quickest way to the chiropractor. Plus, as Julie Poland of summithrd.com advises, you should find a headset “with a mute button to camouflage the inevitable ‘Mommy!’ during important business calls.”

5. Alarm clock
Category: Must Have
Why? To keep track of when to start working and when to stop.

6. Window
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? To escape? No, for inspiration and to keep that connection to the outside world. It would be great to know the local weather not just by checking The Weather Channel’s website.

7. Paper shredder
Category: Should Have
Why? As Bronagh Hanley, “chief noisemaker” of Big Noise PR puts it: For “purging the files that seem to multiply and getting rid of confidential info.” Also, Geralin Thomas, founder of Metropolitan Organizing, suggests investing in a cross-cut shredder with a drawer that pulls out to empty versus a lift lid.

8. Desktop notebook (yes, the paper-and-pen kind)
Category: Should Have
Why? To jot down itinerary or ideas. Janet Perry calls hers the “book of all knowledge.” “Studies have shown that we remember things better when we write them down,” she says. “I write down everything which happens in my business in it, changing the color of pen each day.”

9. Space heater and blanket
Category: Should Have
Why? “Now that I work from home, I spend a small fortune heating my home all day throughout the winter,” says Laura Roeder of Roeder Studios. “A small space heater by my desk lets me keep things a little cooler throughout the rest of the house and save money.”

10. A good sense of humor
Category: Must Have
Why? You won’t last long as a home worker without one.

11. FedEx or other shipping account
Category: Should Have
Why? “It’s free and will save time, hassle and money,” says Aimee Bennett, principal of Fagan Business Communications in Castle Rock, Colo. “You can provide your number to clients or others as necessary if shipping costs should be billed to you.”

12. Multifunction printer
Category: Must Have
Why? Most of us don’t necessarily need high-resolution scanning or advanced faxing features, so a multifunction printer can be ideal. Having one machine that prints, faxes, scans and copies is a great space and money saver. “Even if you use eFax, it’s nice to have a spare machine for sensitive documents and a way to receive faxes ‘directly to my desk,’ ” says Alan Guinn, managing director, The Guinn Consultancy Group. “Clients love that special treatment.”

13. Multi-line phone, for work only
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? For lots of reasons: So you have the opportunity to have more than one caller on the line, so that callers don’t go directly into voicemail while you’re on the phone, so you don’t have to deal with the abruptness and obviousness of Call Waiting beeping. Plus, a work-only line will help keep the kids from accidentally interrupting a work call.

14. Label maker
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? We don’t know about you, but we like to have everything labeled – folders, binders, staplers. Helps keep things tidy and organized.

15. Surge protection
Category: Must Have
Why? To protect your electrical devices from voltage spikes (keep in mind that not all power strips feature surge protection, so read the label).

16. Small, stocked refrigerator
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? This mention comes from Meredith Gardner, president of The Strategic Edge. Indeed, a small fridge just for your home office will help keep you from wasting time (we hope!) by wandering into the kitchen looking for food when you need a quick pick-me-up. Keep this fridge filled with lots of water and healthy snacks.

17. Comfortable, ergonomic chair
Category: Must Have
Why? Your chair is the place where you spend the most time, so it pays to invest in a proper model. A stability ball, of course, is another way to go, for all you health nuts and contemporary living aficionados.

18. Ergonomic computer accessories
Category: Should Have
Why? Jean Schiller, a certified professional ergonomist, of Tenor Design recommends keyboard trays, monitor glare guards and palm/wrist rests too, in addition to the right chair, for keeping your body happy and healthy.

19. Wastebasket
Category: Must Have
Why? You don’t want your garbage and other tossables piling up when you don’t have time to venture into another room to dispose. Thanks to Gail Sideman of PUBLISiDE Personal Publicity for bringing this oft-forgotten home accessory to our attention.

20. Calculator
Category: Must Have
Why? Because we despise using the calculator feature on our computers.

21. Safe
Category: Must Have
Why? Protect important paperwork and data from fire, theft, etc. Find a safe that’s compact enough to be stowed in a cabinet or hidden under the floorboards, or one that can be mounted to the wall or floor.

22. Vision board
Category: Should Have
Why? To have a visual reminder of your “bigger picture goals,” says Adrianne Machina, chief velocity officer for Tornado Marketing. All it takes, really, is a poster or foamboard with cut-out pictures, drawings and/or writing of the things that you want to achieve.

23. USB flash drive
Category: Must Have
Why? For data transfer. Luckily, newer models are being manufactured to withstand our mishaps – like leaving our drive in our pants pocket while it gets tossed around the washing machine or in our pocketbook where the contents of a “sealed” juicebox find their way onto it.

24. File cabinet
Category: Must Have
Why? Because we all need a place to put our stuff. (For ideas on organizing paperwork, see this issue’s organization article.)

25. Supportive significant other
Category: It Would Be Nice to Have
Why? Human or animal, it’s nice to have someone to rest your head on when you have a bad day (or month).

--This article ran in the september/october 2008 issue of WHY magazine, sponsored by Annie Jennings PR.

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

X, WHY and Z's

Lifehacker spilled the beans on Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret a few years back: Buy a wall calendar with big boxes and for whatever specific task you want to accomplish, put a HUGE X on the box each day you do it, and then, day after day, those big Xs will create a chain that you will feel obligated not to break, and you will be able to stay inspired.

Around that same time, we actually ran a story in the first issue of WHY magazine called Good Morning, Sunshine! that offered tricks to get you up and atom each day -- sometimes a hard thing for work-at-homers who don't have a bus to catch or a boss looming overhead to do.

I'm not sure how I feel, generally, about tricks and gadgets that promise motivation, but if Xs on your calendar or stickies on your alarm clock can help you stay on task, I'm all for it.

Banished!

Thinking about the Banished Words of 2009 as per DailyWritingTips.com, and how the English language is a living, breathing thing -- new words created, others overused and misused and then "banished," and how spelling changes and grammar changes over time, as I recently discussed with a fellow grammarphile Sheryl McGinnis. When did it become okay to start sentences with the word "and." I don't know, but I agree with Sherry that there's something about it that "feels right."

I'm actually finishing up an MA in English/Creative Writing at Hofstra University, and as part of the program took a class called "The Grammar of Language" or something like that. Anyhow, I thought the class would be a way for me to firm up my grammar and have questions answered that have always nagged me, and I looked forward to the first day of class.

Well, much to my surprise, my professor told me that not only is it okay to start sentences with "and," but we can end sentences with prepositions and split infinitives to our heart's desire! It was all part of the evolution of the English language.

By the last day of class, my head was spinning. Wow!

The following semester, I was excited to use what I'd learned and put my newly freed prose to work on a short paper. When I got my paper back, it was sliced and diced with red ink with a larger than life C+ at the top. Apparently, the professor didn't share my previous professor's love of grammatical evolution.

Still, I write for a nice cross-section of publications and websites, and starting a sentence with "and" seems to be acceptable at all of them, even newspapers, such as Newsday. And we do it in WHY magazine all the time. And in this blog.

The more I think about, starting a sentence with "and," in addition to "feeling right," makes me feel a bit rebellious -- like a "maverick," if you will -- and that's why I like doing it. Perhaps the more mainstream it becomes, the more likely I'll move onto something else new and exciting.

Boy, I need to get out more...

Day 6: So Far, So Good

Well, it's Day 6 of the new year, and my "For the Love of God, Get Organized" resolution is still going strong. How are you faring?

I have this nasty habit of falling so behind and becoming so unorganized that just the thought of attempting to sort one pile leaves me feeling exhausted. But as I dig my way out of last year's mess, I'm feeling empowered and productive. I know for a fact that I lost money in 2008 simply because I was unorganized, and that's absolutely inexcusable.

In this dreadful economy (another friend of mine got laid off yesterday), while we look for new avenues of opportunity, make sure that you're on top of the things that you CAN control. Banks are continuing to slap all kinds of fees on their accounts and credit card companies are raising rates, so now is the time to take a look at all the services you use to see 1) if you are being offered the best deal and 2) if you're getting the most out of the deal (read: not lapsing into overdraft and getting hit with $10 fees for each transgression).

If anything, this recession offers the best excuse for cleaning house -- figuratively, of course. I honestly don't know what it will take to get me to vacuum under the couch.

WHY Xtra: 5 Foolproof Follow-up Tips*

1. Handwrite your follow-up note. Emails are nice, but old-fashioned snail mail – finding a pen, buying a stamp, driving to the post office – shows initiative.
2. Be specific. Cite responsibilities or opportunities discussed during your meeting, so that you can reiterate how your skills are best able to meet them.
3. Be upbeat. Mentioning how “very excited” you are about the prospect of employment or working with someone may be blatant kissing up, but, let’s face it, we all fall for it.
4. Add a personal touch. Referring to something personal discussed, such as your mutual love of golf, can strengthen your impression.
5. Send your note immediately. Keep note cards and stamped envelopes on hand – in your purse or in your car – so that you can mail your follow-up note the same day as your meeting.

*Remember, you can join the WHY magazine mailing list and have each week's Xtra emailed to you every Monday in pretty colors -- and with a photo! Ooh... Ahh...!

Teach. Cheer. Share. Help.

Recently, Galesburg.com, home of The Register-Mail, a Galesburg, Ill., newspaper, featured an article on how all home businesses need a plan.

It wasn't an especially enlightening idea, although it is very true. Like anything you do, having a plan makes you more efficient and more likely to be successful.

However, what struck me about this particular article was the writer's appeal to home-based businesses to get in touch with him and/or the newspaper as a way to jumpstart their marketing. "If you’ve started a new small or home-based business, call or send an e-mail. It may interest us enough that we’ll write a story, which will be read by thousands of people," he wrote.

It's one thing -- admirable even -- to write informational or how-to stories in an effort to help at-home companies grow or manage their business. But in my opinion, the writer, Mr. Pulliam, went a step beyond when he said, Hey, we can help you. Write to us. Use us. "Take advantage of the newspaper's free, new business listing." Great idea. And he tells you how. "A form can even be ordered online."

Mr. Pulliam has taken what could have been a run-of-the-mill story about home business and created something more. He involved himself and made the reader feel not like she was reading an article, but getting advice from someone who knows and cares. I'm not sure what old-school journalism professors would think of his efforts, but, for me, the article connects with readers/aspiring home workers on a variety of levels -- as a how-to manual, a pat on the back, a classroom, a life preserver -- and reflects the kinds of things we try to do with WHY magazine.

Teach. Cheer. Share. Help.

I can't think of a better mission statement for a new year.

New Year, New Issue

Putting out a magazine is kind of like having contractions during labor: There's this eerie feeling of calm, and then suddenly the pressure starts mounting until you don't think you can bear it any longer, and then WHAM-O!... The pain is gone, you're breathing a sigh of relief, and then you immediately start worrying about the next contraction -- or in this case, issue deadline.

For those who don't already know (and why don't you? sign up on our mailing list, silly!), the Jan/Feb Issue of WHY magazine is live and features all new stories written exclusively for people who work out of their homes, including:

• 10 tasks you can farm out to a VA right now;
• 4 ways to pull yourself out of a creative slump;
• 7 cheap ways to get folks to find your website;
• 4 tips to haul the dead weight out of your inbox;
• 6 reasons why social media can rock your business world.

As always, a special thanks goes to this issue's sponsor, TheWebServant.com, which offers design and coaching for service professionals and growing companies.

I'm not sure how I'm going to celebrate this post-issue calm. Do a few loads of laundry? Clean out my bedroom closet? Pay my (gulp) bills?

Maybe I'll just start working on the next issue...

Cheer up, Johnny Rzeznik!

I saw The Goo Goo Dolls on New Year's Eve at the House of Blues in Atlantic City.

I've seen them five or six times before. Always a great night out.

Still, while the band sounded terrific, it didn't seem like lead singer John Resnik was on his game.

My husband would probably disagree (in fact, I know he would -- he always does), but I got the feeling that night -- as I've gotten many times -- that Rzeznik gets dragged down by his own success. He's sooo conflicted by it. Once the band left the garage, there was no turning back for them, and I think their early fans never let them forget it -- and that seems to weigh on him. He talks about it at all his concerts, but this time I really felt like going up there and giving him a hug.

He should take a cue from Jon Bon Jovi, who receives similar criticisms. I've heard Bon Jovi say that he's decided he doesn't give a damn what people say about him and his band and his music. He just does his thing. In fact, we can all learn that lesson. People say things all the time to try to deflate our enthusiasm and success. It's a fact of life. Just do your thing. Be happy. Be yourself.

Rzeznik ended the concert by saying that his New Year's resolution was to live in the now. "I think about the past and the future so often that I forget to enjoy the present," he said.

Total page out of the Oprah handbook -- but so true.

Cheer up, Johnny Rzeznik! There's nothing wrong with people wanting your song to be their wedding song or if your music appears on the soundtracks of mushy films and if people want to propose at your concerts (one did on New Year's Eve). Don't make us want to forget "Iris" to satisfy a bunch of knuckleheads who get off on writing letters to rock bands just to tell them that they suck.

Close the garage door for good, and enjoy the fresh air.

Happy New Year!

From our WHY magazine family to yours: All our best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009!