How to Start a Woman-Owned Small Business from your Home – Part 2

Yesterday, I started this article about women starting their own home-based businesses. Today I’d like to add 5 more items to my list of things which are important and sometimes unique to women.

6. Do you know your way to San Jose? Wasn’t that a song? Seriously though, do you know your way around the computer? If you’re going to be a small business owner, you must have at least a basic knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, email and a little bit of accounting. Oh, and that all-knowing thing – the Internet. I’m not saying you have to be the next whiz kid, but you need to be comfortable with getting around on your computer, viewing and responding to emails, researching on the Internet, typing a quick document, and setting up a short little spreadsheet. This will help you immeasurably when you’re talking with prospective clients.

7. Can you easily grasp new concepts and ideas? (Are you trainable?) This one may make some people laugh, but we’ve all heard the old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That’s not you, is it? You must be receptive, open to new ideas, open to new ways of doing things. With the Internet, everything you used to think is true is no longer true. There are ways and ways and ways to connect with each other and your clients. Be open to learn constantly about how to best operate your business.

8. Do you have high speed DSL or cable? This is a must to run a business in today’s world. You don’t want to be caught on the phone with a client who says, “Did you get my email?” And you’re waiting and waiting and waiting for it to come in because it had a small JPG file with it. Be sure and spend the money to upgrade and it will be money well-spent. If you can afford it (and it’s available in your area), cable is great! It’s made such a difference in my business.

9. Do you have a banker who is familiar with you and can help you out with the “ins and outs” of starting a business? This is so important. When you get to the stage where you feel this is truly what you want to do, get your business plan written (this is a MUST – do not pass go, do not collect $200 unless you write your Business Plan), then talk to a banker who recognizes you as you walk in the door. Tell them your plan, show them your business plan, ask them their advice. They are the experts and can help you through not only the financial aspect, but maybe give you some small business tips you didn’t think of. Plus women love those relationships that extend from personal to professional.

10. Do you have an EIN (even though you have no employees)? As a sole proprietor with no employees, you do not have to have an Employer Identification Number. But, if you’re going to be working with sub-contractors quite often, if you’re going to be selling quite a bit, it’s important to keep your personal information separate from your business information. Yes, I know that as a sole proprietor, most things will be run through your personal side also. But if you have a unique identifying number, it helps in many ways. It not only shows a certain sense of professionalism, but it keeps your social security number safe and confidential.

Well, those were just 10 quick tips to think about if you’re a woman looking to start a small business. Most of the topics can be used by anyone starting a business. But I feel sometimes we, as women, have some unique needs that men don’t have.

I hope these prove helpful to you. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy your week!

Vickie

Exercising Your Body and Mind

Here’s a little tip for everyone – whether you’re a coach, a virtual assistant, a speaker, an author – this can work for you. It’s time to start exercising your body and your mind.

Since the weather has turned so pretty, I have started doing my walking outside instead of on a treadmill. I take my best friend, my dog, with me and we walk down our street, looking at the pretty trees and bushes, watching the flowers bloom, and generally having a peaceful morning. Of course, my dog has to water every bush and flower that we see also. But I also got to meet one of my neighbors who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. So it’s not the best exercise I could get. But it’s exercise!

I realized once again this morning what we all know but tend to forget. It helps us to exercise. Not only does it exercise our body, it gets our mind moving also.

I’m thinking about my day the whole time I’m walking – what appointments I have, what client work I need to complete, how much time I’m going to spend on the forums, who can I “meet” today. I start the day with an appreciation of all our world has to offer. I’m thankful I can work in a profession I love. I’m thankful I can take a walk with my dog in the morning. I come back winded, but ready for my day. I drink a bottle of water and I’m ready to go, refreshed, energized.

Think about the days we don’t get up and exercise. How’s our mindset? How’s our attitude? I know for me, my mind has trouble getting going. I can’t think of things to blog about, I don’t want to visit the forums and make any contributions. I really don’t want my day to start. I sit and drink coffee, and more coffee, and more coffee. Then it takes me forever to get myself in gear, to be able to think clearly and be prepared for my day.

So do something that helps not only you physically, but your business as well. Make a goal, just like business goals, to exercise every day. But don’t just make it a goal – make it a priority. Schedule it just as you would other appointments. Exercise your body and your mind. Then you’ll be ready for anything. And after all, I don’t know about you, but VAs have to be ready for anything!

AirSet – A Survival Kit for Busy People

If you have been looking for a way to organize your home, your business, your life – look no further than AirSet (www.airset.com).

I have been using AirSet now for about three months and it is an amazing program! AirSet is a free, open source program that allows you to share calendars, contacts, files and lists with your team; coordinate work & home from one place and can sync with Microsoft Outlook, Palm or your mobile phone. Here’s a little information about each component of AirSet.

Calendar – You can add as many “groups” as you wish and color-code them. These could include Personal, Business, Family, Soccer, Church, etc. You are also able to share these with others who you specify as members of each group. It allows single events and recurring events and you can set two separate reminders for each event. You can share the calendar by either emailing it to the members or they can just log in on their own computer and see the calendars. You can set preferences as to who can make changes and updates. You can choose to view the calendar in Daily view, Weekly view, Monthly view, Yearly view or Organizer view. You can also set it up to send your daily Organizer to your email each morning so you can see at a glance all appointments and To-Dos and better prepare for your day.

To-Do Lists – You can make To-Do Lists for each group. You can set up tasks for each of your projects and set due dates, status, priorities, notes and even sort to your own preference.

Contacts – These too can be sorted into groups and color-coded. There are fields for contact info, special info, email addresses and they can be set for certain categories.

Blog – You can add a blog to keep the members informed of project updates and changes. Or maybe you just want to keep your soccer players up-to-date on who’s headed for the play-offs. You decide what you’d like on your blog and who can view it.

Links – There’s a place to add all your favorite links, whether they be personal or business.

Sync – All of this information can be shared, emailed or synced with Microsoft Outlook, Palm and your mobile phone (for a small monthly fee).

This is an amazing, free program. It is simple enough for the novice user but has all the bells and whistles needed for large businesses. I would definitely recommend this software for your organizing needs.

 

Vickie

Daylight Savings Time Could Greatly Affect your Calendaring Soon

Did you know that daylight savings time is changing at a different time this year? Normally, you “spring forward” on the first Sunday in April and “fall back” on the last Sunday in October. But because of a Congressional Act passed in 2005, you will “spring forward” on March 11 and “fall back” on November 4 this year. And this could cause major issues for those of you who are responsible for calendaring management for your clients, especially between March 11 and April 1 (the old and new starting DST dates) and between October 28 and November 4 (the old and new ending DST dates).

If you or your clients have Windows Vista, you will not be affected by this change. If you or your clients use Microsoft Outlook 2003 or older, there is an update tool you can download that will automatically update a person’s calendar to the new daylight savings time rules.

If you choose not to install the Windows updates and run the Time Zone Data Update Tool, then during the extended DST period (the dates between the old beginning and ending dates and the new beginning and ending dates), your Outlook appointments and reminders will appear one hour off. Any all-day events will shift and span two days because these events are associated with 24 specific hours rather than an individual date.

Microsoft suggests that you run the Update tool manually anytime after the Windows time zone definitions have been updated. It is says it’s preferable to run the Outlook/Exchange tool as close as possible to the time at which the Windows time zone patch is applied (to all computers) since that will minimize the likelihood of having single-instance calendar items that were created after the Windows time zone update was applied, but before the Outlook/Exchange tool was run.

Don’t take a chance of being responsible for your clients or yourself to miss appointments. Be sure to run this tool as suggested. Go to the Microsoft Office web site for specific instructions and for a link to the Download tool. The link is http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102086071033.aspx

Vickie