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

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

Error Message's can be so cryptic?

A lot of people just don’t get Twitter and if you’re one of those people I would like to introduce you to the concept of using Twitter as a Search Engine.  Most of us have our favorite Search Engine’s Toolbar and home page somewhere nestled in our Internet Browser, but sometimes it fails us.  Recently I was greeted to the Error message that opens this post when trying to launch Microsoft Outlook, as you can see it wasn’t very informative. So I rebooted the PC and the Error still persisted even after running a repair on Microsoft Office.

I then turned to the Internet and Microsoft’s Bing search engine figuring that since this was a Microsoft program it might have an advantage over Google, but nothing specific came up.  Well that makes some sense since the error wasn’t very specific either.  I then figured out that this happened after one of the dreaded Tuesday Microsoft updates, so on a hunch I fired up TweetDeck (The Application I use to make sense of Twitter) and searched the exact message.  Well I may have been lucky, but I got a few hits and solved the problem fairly quickly.

This is what is known in the Industry as crowdsourcing which is defined as using the general public to do research or other work.  This was a relevant search considering that if my suspicion was correct and this error was caused by a Microsoft update other people would be having the same issue.  Search Engines take time to index lesser known sites, but Twitter is instantaneous, so if it is something common you can find it right away.

You don’t need a Twitter client like TweetDeck to search Twitter, just go to the website and type in your search and it will show results similar to a standard Search Engine. So even if you aren’t interested in Tweeting about your daily life you can still use Twitter to help you find quick answers to an immediate problem.  So when you can’t find the answer with a Search Engine give Twitter a shot and let us know if you were able to find it.

We are always looking for time saving tips so let us know what gets you through your day when Working From the Basement.

WFTB- Michael Lawson

I thought I would put together a little something about the upcoming TweetCrawl before it happened to entice any one that is on the fence about going.  Suzi Craig from Fathom has been putting these events together for about 6 months now and so far I haven’t been to one I didn’t like.  Tweetcrawl is not only for those of us who use Twitter, but for anyone interested in making connections through any Social Networking outlet i.e. Facebook, Linkedin etc… This is a great resource for the solo entrepreneur to leave the basement and meet other people.

The events used to be held primarily at restaurants, but now are expanding to other places, such as the current one at a Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery in Glastonbury CT.  Attendance has been growing for each event and while there are the regulars such as myself, new people come to each event.  I have met a bunch of people that I wouldn’t have run into at chamber meeting and other such groups.  Remember while you may not make a direct business connection an indirect recommendation works just as well.  One of the side benefits of a trust economy is that you can start doing business with people you actually like and get along with.  Going to a TweetCrawl lets you find the connections you need, while allowing you to  go beyond just an elevator pitch about yourself.

Top Three Reasons I like TweetCrawls:

1. A chance to meet interesting and friendly people.
2. low cost or free alcohol and great food.
3. I get to leave the basement.

Like any good social media event the signup is hosted on a social media site, so let Suzi know you are coming by registering for the next CT TweetCrawl Event on Facebook. You can also follow @CTTweetCrawl on twitter for the latest updates.  I hope to meet some new faces, so come out for the evening and hang out with the cool kids.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

This is just a quick post to end the week with on our great new website.  If you haven’t heard about Google Wave this is a quick and funny video explaining a couple of features.

From what I can tell this is very much like the way a lot of Internal Intranet sites work and similar to Facebook.  This is just one of the more easier to understand aspects of Google Wave.  New Collaborative technology products like this should be of great interest to Micro-Business and solo entrepreneurs.  Products like this when used in new and thoughtful ways can greatly increase efficiency.  Google Wave is currently in beta and it is hard to foresee if it will change the World and become a tsunami or just be another ripple in the vast Internet ocean.

Well if your working this weekend get out of the basement for some sun and to stretch your legs, otherwise go and have fun, you deserve it.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

The vision from the basement is not all storage boxes and dusty windows.  The vision is one of sharing, one where micro-businesses bound together (especially in this economy) to share what they have learned and grow from the sharing of experiences.

The only way we’re going to get through it is if we band together.