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.

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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.

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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.

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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.