Co-Working Environments Are Helping Solopreneurs

Here is a good article in the October 2009 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine about co-working.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/october/203414.html

Personally, I like my home office. I am very focussed and pretty much do not stop all day (and night sometimes!), but I understand how solo workers might need to be near other like-minded individuals. It is kind of like having an office without having to lease the building, hire the secretary, buy the copier, etc. You pay rent if you want a dedicated office space, or you can pay an hourly- or day-rate if you just need to meet a client or the kids are home and you can't get anything done in your home office.

Check it out. I think there is an excellent market for this in the New Haven or Fairfield County area of Connecticut.

Do you have a business plan?

Business Plan Pro Premier

Business Plan Pro Premier Edition creates expert business plans. Respected by banks, lenders, and the Small Business Administration, this software includes more detailed financials, advanced cash flow management tools for "what-if" scenarios, and is completely customizable for a powerful planning solution. Learn more about Business Plan Pro Premier.

Even if you are a one-person operation, business experts urge you to have a business plan. When I first decided to “get serious” and not just freelance here and there, I attended a few SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) seminars and individual meetings. One of the main points of several of their workshops was that business plans are important for every type of business, even if you are on your own. A business plan gives you, and anyone who looks at it, a clear picture of what you do and how you plan to do it. It shows a bank you are serious if you apply for a loan, you can use it for applying for grnats, and it helps you in the planning of your business and day-to-day activities. It can be as simple as one or two pages, or as involved as you prefer.

Business has been slow for everyone, so I figured I needed a little clarification if I was going to make some money. I needed to see if I was on the right track, so I started creating my plan. Because I am a writer, I thought it silly to reinvent the wheel by scouring other plans and instructions on how to write them. When I heard about the software, BusinessPlan Pro, I requested a copy of their Premiere version for review purposes. I finally sat down with it a few weeks ago and was amazed at how easy it was! I now have a business plan that tells me where I want to go and how I am going to get there.

One of the things I really liked was the examples of other business plans. I am a visual person. I need to see an example of something before I can truly understand it. With BusinessPlan Pro, users can choose a business similar to their own and use it as an example while writing their own plan. It also has buttons you can click on for an explanation as you answer each of the questions.

BusinessPlan Pro is helpful to those just starting out and creating their business, or for those who have been running it a while without any plan at all. I have been doing well for years as a freelancer, but now that my little one is in school, I want to start making some serious money again. With my business plan in hand, I am ready to face the world.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/ycgz665 to see the software that makes creating a business plan an enlightening experience rather than a chore. Get a plan and see where your ideas can take you.

Wahm Cart shopping cart

As a WAHM (Work At Home Mom – or Dad), it is difficult to find enough time to do all of the work you need to do in order to continue to do business. After all, we are trying to keep up with the Big Boys while also taking care of little ones. Many times we put in our 40 hours a week after hours when the kids are asleep and our spouse is curled up somewhere, frequently on his own. Wahmcart gives us back a little time.

Wahmcart keeps track of your mailing list, offers an array of payment options to your customers, provides an auto-responder, and delivers digital products – just to name a few of its many capabilities. To find out if it is an option for you, grab a free 2-week trial. At the end of the trial period, there is a low cost that can be paid monthly, quarterly or yearly. Wahmcart give you many options and do a great job keeping everything straight so you don’t have to.

“Wahmcart is a full featured ecommerce solution software that allows you to manage your Products, Sales, Prospects, Clients and Affiliates all in one place. – From Wahmcart’s landing page.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/y9cnd7v
if you are interested in signing up and see for yourself if this might work for your ebooks, reports and even to keep track of your newsletter subscribers. As always, I would love to hear what you think about it – good and bad – so leave me a comment here.

Home Job Stop – an excellent work at home resource

The current economy is tough with people losing jobs and having a difficult time finding a new one. As a result, many people are deciding to try to work at home. The problem is that many of the ads that claim to have work at home jobs turn out to be scams. They ask for money up front or send you to sign up for a newsletter or order a book instead of sending you to a job ad.

There is one site that I am comfortable vouching for. In fact, I have been a member for years. HomeJobStop.com is a job board that hosts no ads, carefully screens every job post, and always seems to have new opportunities every time I log in. The best part is that they offer a one-time lifetime membership for only $24.

When you become a member, you have access to honest work at home jobs for which you never pay a fee. After becoming a member, you deal directly with the employer posting the job – no commission fees to HomeJobStop.com. Many HomeJobStop.com members find work at home jobs within weeks. I have found several freelance writing gigs over the past few years, the latest a work at home job writing articles for an excellent client who is launching a series of health-related websites.

HomeJobStop.com has project work, freelance assignments and long-term work at home jobs. There is a variety of categories such as Writing, Business, Engineering and Finance jobs – all are work at home jobs.

If you want to find a work at home job, or several, check out HomeJobStop.com and investigate a lifetime membership for only $24 with discounted membership available from time to time.