Working From The Basement

I received a Tweet this morning that stated the Micro Enterprise Resource Group of Connecticut had closed its doors after 5 years.  This really doesn’t surprise me that much because micro businesses seem to be too diverse and distracted to get any kind of political message out.  Most of us hunker down and go to a chamber meetings or small social media networking gatherings, but seldom spend much time thinking about policy and politics.  I think we all agree the micros don’t get much respect from the government, banking institutions and even our slightly larger peers.  How many times have you heard “Oh you work from home?” I think most people just think we are unemployed.

So the question remains can micro businesses come together if not physically or on a specific agenda but more philosophically in a virtual community.  Could a Facebook Fan Page or group foster some kind of community spirit that wouldn’t take much effort or more importantly time.  I don’t know but it’s just a thought, let me know your opinion.

Don’t forget to click on the MERG CT link on the left of the page the organizers left a little treat for you there.

Thanks for visiting Working from the Basement

Michael Lawson
WFTB

Well I haven’t written a Tech column in awhile, so this morning while going through some stories I noticed that AT&T wants to limit your usage of its data network.  The problem is that if you have an Iphone you already are paying a premium for data service so what gives.  It seems that 3% of the Smartphone users are using a good percentage of the bandwidth, which seems a little odd to me.  Whatever the reason is their 3g network can be slow at times just retrieving Email, Twitter and Facebook which should all use very low bandwidth.  Streaming video barely ever works reliably unless you are using it on a standard wireless (WiFi) connection. My point is that I always try and find a standard WiFi connection which means I am not using their network.  So am I getting my money’s worth? Well I think I am the Iphone is pretty much more a computer than a phone and AT&T is subsidizing it, and I don’t think most business people are abusing their network.

Another Internet speed issue I ran into lately was when one of my clients upgraded to Comcast business broadband which has speed upward of 30Mb. When I went to speedtest.net the fastest speed I could achieve was 10Mb so after calling Comcast I determined that it was an older Sonicwall Firewall causing the problem.  So if you are paying for extra speed I would recommend that you test it at speedtest.net first, and then call your Internet provider if you’re not getting the bandwidth promised.  If they say its fine you may want to see if you have any older equipment in your network that could be causing the problem.

If you are having issues make sure it is the Internet provider’s equipment or problem before calling them out otherwise you could be charged.  This being said if you think you have eliminated all the causes on your end demand that they come out and take a look.  AT&T is the worst for not sending someone out or passing the blame back to you so if you have an IT resource make sure that person is there during any appointments.  Comcast on the other hand seems to be very responsive and will come out as soon as you ask them too.

Being a small business means that you need to be in constant contact with your clients and we usually invest in technology to be able to do this more effectively.  So make sure you are getting your money’s worth and check up on your cell phone plans, and Internet providers occasionally.

AT&T considers incentives to curb heavy data usage article

WFTB – Michael Lawson

I would like to share something that happened this past week with one of my clients.  I’m working with a local family.  The wife works for a large multi-national company and the husband works as a handyman.  They became my clients this past summer and they recently asked me to research the husband’s current business insurance.

Of course, I agreed and the first thing I noticed in their current policy was that the husband was classified as a carpenter.  So I asked him…are you a carpenter?  Well guess what he’s not, because in the course of his work week he does do some light carpentry, some electrical work, and minor home repairs, etc… In fact he is a handyman!

The commercial “class code” on his policy was wrong.  This means that if he had a claim while doing something un-carpenter like he ran the risk of having the claim being denied by his insurance company and having his policy cancelled.  On the other side of the coin, his current agent (no, not me…but a LARGE state-wide chain) has a possible errors and omissions exposure.

As a quick side note-a class code is the code for a type of business.  This code is in turn associated with a rate.  Each business type has a different code which means each code has a different rate.  For example a carpenter is generally a less expensive rate than a roofer.

Sometimes an agent might misclassify a business deliberately because the rates are more favorable.  An agent that does this might lose the ability to sell insurance for that company, especially if he/she does this often. While this may save you money on your insurance it could cost you a good deal more if your business is not classified correctly.  The point is; check with your insurance agent to make sure that you are correctly covered for what you do.  When you receive your commercial policy, please review the declaration page(s) carefully to make sure the information about your business and its operations are correct.   Commercial insurance policies are very specific about what they will NOT pay for.  If you see something there that either does not make sense, or you don’t understand…ASK.

When you receive your commercial policy and you have questions, your agent should be very willing to answer any and all your questions about it.  By the way, when shopping for commercial insurance, you may want to consider using an independent insurance agent (like me!).  They have more than one company they work with and if the rates go up with your current carrier, they can always “shop” your business with another company.

Charlie’s Info:
Hi my name is Charlie Schein and I’m an independent property/casualty insurance agent.  I’ve been in the insurance industry since 1988…but have been working “from the basement” since September.

Charlie can be reached via his contact information listed below:
(860) 513-1055
(860) 819-9810-Cell
(877) 513-6363-Fax
charlie@starschein.com
www.starschein.com

To keep up with Charlie follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cdschein
FaceBook Fan Page

WFTB – Charlie Schein

They say there is no such thing as a good decision, but unlike what the accompanying picture says Indecision can kill a business.  Being able to make quick well informed decisions is one of the benefits that entrepreneurs have over their larger competition.  If you’ve ever worked for a large corporation or on a committee you know that sometimes even small decisions can take forever.  Endless meetings, missed deadlines and misinterpretations have killed or sidelined many projects.

It’s not that larger companies can’t make decisions, it’s just that sometimes their structure and policies can get in the way. That’s not to say that longer strategic plans shouldn’t be discussed at length especially when they affect their employees and the company’s long term health.  Also just because you are small you shouldn’t make snap decisions based on no information.  Take as much time as you need and gather all the information you can, do your research, ask friends and consult your peers.

So what happens if we make the wrong decision? Well then you simply make a new one to correct it the best you can and move forward.  I always go by the formula of 50, 50, 90 which means:  you have a 50, 50 chance of making the right decision, but 90% of the time you are wrong (just kidding, sort of). Making any type of decision is better than none, because if you don’t your forward momentum and enthusiasm may be lost. Sometimes making a decision is hard especially when you are unsure of which way to go, but take the responsibility and implement the changes as you see fit.

Just to make it clear Indecision is not the key to flexibility, don’t believe everything you read on a wet nap.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

While attending the TweetCrawl in Glastonbury last month Suzi Craig and Lisa Davenport announced that they would be throwing a party to raise money for Operation Home for the Holidays (OHFH).  Which at the time seemed like it was going to be just another CT TweetCrawl event; well it didn’t turn out that way.  Along the way this was planned to be a Rave Party, Dinner Event and ended up being something even more spectacular. Now I really don’t think Suzi or Lisa actually sleep, because to pull this off with all the changes in less than a month is simply amazing.

The goal was eventually set to raise $25,000 which even in a good economy with only a month’s time frame is a tough task.  This was to be done originally through traditional large business sponsorships of the event, well that didn’t happen.  Money is really tight and trying to get even smaller donations from larger clients is harder than ever. So what happened instead, the little guys pitched in, and I think we did really well (and by “we” I mean everyone who donated or helped)!  Not only did the event go from being a traditional fund raising dinner (albeit in a warehouse), but it became kid friendly, fun and spawned these other events listed in this article here.  I also got up on stage and raised money by singing bad karaoke.

A lot of small businesses, micro-businesses and individuals donated and continue to donate without having to go through corporate hoops. (Hint: check out the sidebar on the right of this blog to donate until December 4^th, 2009.)  Dealing with the smaller donors is harder, but with the Internet and an existing Social Networking presence it is a lot easier than it used to be.  Suzi and Lisa where able to rally the troops (literally, just check out the pictures in the resources at the end of this post), and raised over $12,000 which is a pretty good amount with still over 2 weeks left to go.  It wasn’t even the money that was the most amazing thing, but the donations of time, food, auction items and raffle prizes that rolled in.  (yes I won the first raffle with no superglue this time, but I still got yelled at…) I was by no way an insider into this, and other than going to TweetCrawls, participating online and raising money I can only imagine the amount of work done to pull this off.

So to everyone who participated, I think congratulations are in order for a great fund raising effort, especially Suzi Craig, Lisa Davenport, Enza Dandeneau and The Marlborough Business Association who planned the whole thing.  The food was also excellent and was provided by Agave Grill which was one of the first TweetCrawl hosts.  The MCs where Ann Nyberg and Damon Scott who did a great job keeping the event moving along throughout the day, and announcing the winners for the auctions and raffle prizes.

To everyone wondering how my efforts paid off I was very close to my goal of $250 most of which was handed in at the Karaoke event. My personal thanks to everyone who showed up to watch me make a fool of myself and to anyone else who donated.  One thing I learned from this is just because your business is small doesn’t mean you can’t contribute to a larger cause and do great things, Micros Rock!  On that note I’ll leave you with a serenade…

Resources:

Suzi Craig’s The Deep End Article here:
Stephan Krauchick’s Video here:
CT TweetCrawl Page here:
Brent Robertson’s Photos here:
Seshu’s Photos here:
NEW: Order T-Shirts online here:

The photo used in this article courtesy of  Brent Robertson, his other photos of the event can be found on Facebook by using the resource link.

As I mentioned above we are still trying to raise money so please click on the ChipIn widget on the right sidebar to donate or buy a Limited Edition T-shirt for $15 (Leave a comment on this article if you want one). Also you can order prints ($10 each, 5×7) from Seshu, and 20% of the proceeds will go to Operation Home for the Holidays.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

When Diana and I started this blog it was pretty much for shits and giggles, well almost.  After attending Podcamp in Boston this year we wanted to try publishing content centered on small and micro-businesses.  Initially promoting the site just using the Social Media skills we had acquired in the past year also seemed like a good idea.  Since I already had this domain name registered it was just a matter of installing WordPress on one of my servers and setting up email.   If you ask me I don’t even remember registering this domain name, but the name fit and we where off to the races.

Our goal was to create a collaborative site; the reason for this is that both of us had gone very spotty on our independent blogs.  Writing one or two posts a week isn’t as hard as writing the three or four a week which is what I believe is the minimum you need for an independent blog site.  Still with our busy schedules it is still fairly difficult to maintain the pace, but we did it.  This will be our twentieth post in a month’s time which is right in line with what we wanted.

A funny thing happened though – I don’t think Diana and I have written very many articles from our original lists.  This is because we picked a really broad subject area to write about based on our everyday experiences and interactions from which we get fresh ideas. A lot of these ideas come from the comments left by our readers; these outnumber the articles 3 to 1, when you consider all the Social Media postings. The feedback we get when we attend networking events has also helped drive and motivate us like we never imagined.  So what started as a cathartic release on the joys and frustrations of the small business owner has became something bigger.

I included a chart at the beginning of the article to depict our traffic patterns using WordPress statistics which show some predicable results.  When we tweet and link the articles on Facebook, traffic is double or triple what it is if we don’t do anything.  Our rise in Google rankings is also helped by our frequent updates and posts linking us to other sites.  So anyone thinking of a way to drive traffic to their blog or website needs to post frequently and share the information using Social Media techniques.  Diana’s articles also usually rank higher than mine when we measure direct links back to the posts. This may be because I tend to promote Diana’s posts more than mine or she is just more popular, either way it is an interesting phenomenon.

We intend to expand the blog over the next few months to include podcasts and video to keep it fresh and interesting.  We really appreciate everyone’s feedback and comments both good and bad, and if you want to contribute please let us know.  We are particularly interested in expanding WFTB beyond Connecticut so if anyone is interested in covering events in different States please contact us.  Thanks again everyone for a great first month and for reading what Diana and I quietly refer to as the Seinfeld of blogs (it’s about nothing and everything, but it’s always entertaining).

WFTB – Michael Lawson, Diana Bartolotta

I just wanted to mention a few good events coming up over the next few weeks that might be of interest. This Friday Oct 30, 2009 Diana will be at the Middlesex Expo in Cromwell Ct from 9:00a– 8:00p at her B-Law booth, I’m sure she would be happy if you all stopped by.  Our friend Charlie Schein will also be helping Diana man her booth.

Friday October 30^th 2009
Middlesex Expo 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Cromwell, CT
9:00am – 8:00pm

The ambitious event schedule for TweetCrawl continues with fund raising efforts this time focusing on Operation Home for the Holidays.  If you haven’t been to one of these yet it would be a good time to meet new people and help a great cause.  Diana and I will be at the one on November 11^th in Middletown, we are not sure about which of the others yet.  It’s Karaoke night so stop by and see if you can get Diana on the stage to sing.

Thursday October 29^th 2009
Hot Rod’s TweetCrawl
114 Bank Street
New London, CT
5:30pm – 8:30pm

Thursday November 5^th 2009
TweetCrawl at Wadsworth Atheneum
600 Main Street
Hartford, CT
5:00pm – 8:00pm

Wednesday November 11^th 2009
Karoake TweetCrawl at Public’s in Middletown
337 Main Street
Middletown, CT
6:00pm – 9:00pm

Friday November 13^th 2009
Open Studio
555 Asylum Street
Hartford, CT
6:00pm – 8:00pm

THE FOLLOWING EVENT HAS CHANGED
Saturday November 14^th 2009
Operation Home for the Holidays TweetCrawl
The Warehouse of Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery
9 Austin Drive
Marlborough, CT
1:00pm – 5:00pm
This Event is now “Open House to Bring Them Home” party
Kid Friendly and lots of Raffles and Prizes, please RSVP on Facebook.

7:00pm – 10:00pm
$40 per person to benefit Operation Home for the Holidays.
Order your tickets here or RSVP on Facebook and pay at the door.

Another Event that I would recommend is the “Starting and Staying in Business – What it takes to survive in today’s crazy world“  seminar hosted by Rothstein & Co.  Alan is a great speaker and is very engaging, this should be a really good presentation. A donation of $10 to FOODSHARE would be appreciated, please rsvp to cpa@rothsteinco.com and let them know you read about it on WFTB. The agenda and contact information is listed below:

Job Stability is Being Self Employed
Alan Rothstein, CPA/PFS
Alan works extensively with small business owners and entrepreneurs

What can go wrong in business, and how to prevent it
Susan Busby, Attorney

New Rules on Marketing and Communications
Using Social Networking to grow your business
Darlene Susco, President Susco Visual, Inc.

November 11, 2009
Farmington Marriott
15 Farms Springs Road
Farmington, CT
7:00pm – 9:00pm
$10 per person requested donation to FOODSHARE

I want to thank all the people that got back to us about  Diana’s Thankful Friday post, it was one of our biggest days here at WFTB. It was very encouraging to hear that we are helping motivate others in their daily lives.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

If you are starting a new home business, one of the most important decisions will be where to put your home office.  Over the years mine has moved and ended up in the basement, but depending on your situation that may not work for you. Most people at first end up using a table in the kitchen, dining room or simply working from the couch and floor, when nobody is home.  It is very important though that you find a quiet place to work, especially if you need to think, write and make private phone calls.

While a corner in a room can work,  I would recommend finding a whole room or using a partition, and make sure that you keep it somewhat organized.  If you have a whole room, make sure it is big enough for some expansion, my latest space even has a spare desk.  Also consider going paperless, this one decision alone can free up a lot of space, scan what you can and keep up with your filing and shredding.

Having a space doesn’t mean you are tied to it for 8-16 hours a day either. Break up the monotony by working from  the deck, going to a coffee shop or even the library.  After all, if you are self-employed, setting your own rules is one of the benefits. I usually take a long lunch when I begin to feel cooped up and bring a laptop with me to get some work done.  This helps clear my head and get motivated. Make sure that when you do this, though, that it is something you can do while being distracted.  Don’t take a project with you that requires a lot of concentration. Your office or shared space should feel comfortable enough for you to escape to and get serious work done.  If you dread it because it is disorganized or in the wrong spot, you may want to consider other options.

In the past I have always thought that clients didn’t take you seriously if you worked from home, but with more people telecommuting I think that this perception has changed.  While this does depend on what you do for a living, and having an office outside the house can motivate you to get going in the morning.  One of the best consulting jobs I had was for GE in Avon where I was able to bike into work on nice days using the Farmington Valley Greenway.  I am just pointing this out because if you don’t pick a spot in your house or apartment on where to setup shop it may impact your work. If you really can’t work in the house or coffee shops, another option is month-to-month office facilities where they rent you a small office and a shared conference room.  This can be a great stop-gap measure, before committing to an office lease.  Other options include adding an addition on to your house, but if you plan to have employees you should check your towns zoning regulations.

The IRS used to frown on the home office and it was a big red flag, but now the rules have relaxed, and as long as you have a legitimate office, preferably one with walls it can be a great benefit.  I have always had a home office and over the years have made it a home within a home – my commute is 16 stairs in the morning.  It may take you awhile to make it comfortable, and make sure that if you don’t like something you change it as quickly as possible.  Don’t buy a lot of furniture either – people tend to crowd out their home offices – and make sure anything you buy is light-weight and can be moved easily.  Considering that I live off RT 4 in Farmington I save about 2 hours a day, so for me working from the basement works.  Make sure you name your space accordingly whether it’s a corner, a basement or a fortress of solitude make it your own and make it work for your business.

We are looking for people to Interview about how they work from home so please feel free to contact either Diana or myself if you are interested.  If you have any suggestions on what makes your home office work please feel free to comment on this post.

WFTB – Michael Lawson