I run my small business from home, and I love it! There are advantages and disadvantages to running your small business from home. Today I’m going to focus on the advantages, because it’s more fun to think of the positive, right?

One of the biggest advantages is working in your slippers if you want to. When you’re not meeting with clients or customers you can hang out in comfortable clothes and your slippers if you want to. I do always try to get dressed for the day when I get up in the morning. I think that sets the tone for …read more

Do you run your small business from a home office? Running your small business from your home has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages and disadvantages even overlap.

Disadvantages of working from home include:

It’s easy to get distracted by family, and household chores.
It can be lonely holed up in a home office away from the rest of the world. Social media, and web cams have helped. I usually have Skype open when I’m working and have an occasional conversation with others.
It can make it difficult to separate your work from your family life. Working in a home office makes …read more

It isn’t really fair that I’m giving you advice that I myself don’t follow. Well, at least not all of the time. I’m better than I used to be. The advice in question? As a freelancer, one of the first things you should do is set up a home office…and do your work there. Why?

You have to be able to shut the door and “leave the work at the office.” If you don’t, you’ll never stop working. It’s true – just ask anyone who’s ever been my roommate. It’s better to work solidly for 8 hours than on-again-off-again for 12 …read more

It’s just past midweek—how many times have you stepped out of your home office? Have you stayed hunkered down at your desk all week, or have you made time to interact with other professionals?

Many freelancers fall into the trap of working nonstop, just in case the next project isn’t forthcoming. But if you’re practicing due diligence with your marketing and querying efforts, chances are that the next project will come in short order. And if you don’t ditch the rut and come up for air every once in a while, you can experience burnout.

So whether it’s a physical or a virtual social break, …read more

Back when I had a studio, I was drowning in paper. Guess what? Now that I’m in a two-bedroom, with one bedroom as my office, the problem hasn’t gone away… it’s just spread out more.
Back at the studio, I worked with Jennifer Hofmann of MyOrganizedBiz and Inspired Home Office She helped me solve multiple organizational problems, and one solution stood out. I had a project of my own I was working on and I kept forgetting it amidst the work I was doing for clients. The solution was a bright red file folder that would sit in my line …read more

I suspect that it seems I have my writing life pretty well together. After all, if you’re a regular reader, you know that I usually post a couple of times a day, six days a week. I talk about contracts and successes quite a bit. All of which is true.
I also have my moments. Well started on the third chapter of a ghostwriting project, I had to look up the terms of a ghostwriting contract to see when I was supposed to send an invoice. I wrote the contract so you’d think I’d know I set it up to invoice …read more