Teleworking Here To Stay?

A recent article in PCWorld highlights global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ report on working situations.

The article states, “In the United States, some 3.1 million people—not including the self-employed or unpaid volunteers—considered home to be their primary place of work in 2011, Challenger noted, citing data from the Telework Research Network. That figure is up 73 percent since 2005, but it’s still just 2.5 percent of U.S. nonfarm payrolls.”

Mashable Business Lays Out Process To Start Small Business

Have you ever dreamed of taking an idea for a small business and turning it into reality? Has the “where do I start” question stopped you? Well excuses no more! Mashable Business lays out the steps to correctly start a small business in the article below:

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Whether you’re developing a mobile app or digital media consulting group, here are six steps to ensure your home-based business is legit.

1. Select Your Business Name

Even if you’re a solo business, you’ll still want to create a name and identity for your business that’s separate from yourself. Once you decide on a great business name, make sure it’s legally available, as you don’t want to find yourself on the wrong end of a trademark dispute.

Teleworking in the Forest – Day 4 of the 12 Days of zBoost

zBoost

Teleworking may not be for everyone however I love the flexibility of working from home.  Traffic in Atlanta can be brutal and unpredictable, so any time I have the chance to walk a few feet to my home office, my day begins on a high note.

Here is a testimonial from another teleworker who lives in a beautiful forest in the Snoqualmie National Forest in the state of Washington. If you have a teleworker in your family, who struggles with dropped or missed calls, a zBoost SOHO may be the perfect gift to make their work day easier.

My name is Robert and I want to tell you my story about living in a forest and cellular service. Before moving to the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State I used to live in major cities and was used to excellent (most of the time) cellular service. Since I can work out of my home I wasn’t too worried about location and I also wasn’t too concerned about cellular service since I thought all places were “equal”. Was I wrong! I moved from full phone signal strength in my old office to an astounding 0% in my new office. I found I could get reception if I stood under my dining room light. Not good for someone working from home and using cellular networks for testing products/etc. I had heard about cell boosters and decided to investigate.

After researching a number of companies and products I decided on the Wi-Ex’s zBoost SOHO  Dual Band Booster. Once it arrived I spent a day testing various locations around my house. Once I found the location and mounted the antenna my cell phone went from no bars to 3-4 bars! I couldn’t believe my eyes (or ears either). This one simple product not only allowed me to get excellent coverage in my house but also probably saved my job.

Would I recommend this company and product? I don’t think I can say YES loud enough…great company, great product, and great Customer Service.

zBoost: Featured on The Daily Buzz – Home Office Segment

The zBoost SOHO was featured on The Daily Buzz yesterday in a home office segment presented by Lifestyle expert Brian von Dedenroth.

 

Working from home is a great benefit but can be less than ideal if you don’t have a home office ready for business.  Key items to a well fitted home office is a dedicated area with plenty of work area and storage space. A window is definitely an asset and if it’s a quiet area, all the better.

At Wi-Ex we have had numerous customers call to say they have spent significant funds to set up a home office in their basement or some other area of their home only to find that they don’t receive cell service.  I had a similar experience when I set up my home office.  I have a room with a beautiful view of our backyard and was determined that my desk would be in front of that window.  Sounded great in theory, until I had to run outside to the driveway yelling, “Can you hear me now?” every time I made or received a call.  A zBoost SOHO was the next and one of the most important additions to my home office.

Please share any tips or products that have made your home office more productive.

 

Mashable: 5 Simple Web Apps For Saving Time at Work

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Much has been made of some excellent mobile and tablet apps that let users stay productive on the go. But let’s face it — the majority of your work is still done at your desk, and much of it, perhaps, in a web browser.

And despite all your settings, apps and software, there are always those little pain points that cost you time and productivity. They’re not major issues, but little tasks that could be quicker and easier.

Enter the humble web apps that, while overshadowed a bit by the smartphone revolution, are still the bread and butter bookmarks of daily workplace productivity.

We’ve highlighted five free online tools that are simple, clean, and built to knock out those cumbersome work tasks, no downloads required.

Got a few bookmarks that you can’t get through the work day without? Share the wealth in the comments.

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1. Zamzar

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There are few things more frustrating than receiving an important file that you can’t open. Zamzar is an online tool that can convert a wide range of file formats. Simply upload the file, choose the output format, enter an email address, and you’ll get a new version in your inbox.

Converting text documents may not seem like an incalculable feat, but Zamzar can translate many audio and video formats as well. Handy!

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2. Ge.tt

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Email attachments can be cumbersome, especially with larger files. If you’re looking for a dead-simple way to share in the cloud (especially if you’re still lamenting the death of Drop.io), give Ge.tt a go.

Two clicks will upload your images, docs, zip files, etc. and generate a tidy link that you can ping over to your coworkers. They can view certain files in their browser or download whatever they need from the package.

Ge.tt storage is temporary (unless you create an account), so use it for quick transfers, not cloud archiving.

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3. Ninite

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Setting up a new PC is a surefire way to kill your day. Connecting the cables and transferring your data is only half the battle. Then you need to hunt down all the apps you use regularly.

Ninite streamlines the process. Check off all the browsers, readers and media players you need on your new machine and download them all in one shot via an automated installer. Best of all, Ninite eliminates the extra “junk” (toolbars, add-ons) that sometimes come packaged with common applications.

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4. CopyPasteCharacter

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If you work on any legal, scientific, or multi-lingual documents throughout the day, you may have a need to add certain symbols to the text that are not immediately available on your keyboard.

You could go into the special characters map in your word processor, or if you’re feeling particularly nerdy, memorize the Alt key codes that you need.

But better yet, why not throw open a browser tab with CopyPasteCharacter.com and snag your symbols with one click? You can even copy the HTML values if you’re working in code.

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5. LucidChart

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Need a visual aide to get your point across? PowerPoint has its flaws, and Photoshop requires some requisite skills even if you’re just doing the basics.

LucidChart, on the other hand, is a drag-and-drop way to create impressive flowcharts and diagrams right in your browser. Pop your shapes onto the graph, pull down some arrows, add descriptions, colors and titles, and you’ve got a professional diagram you’d be proud to show clients.

A free LucidChart account allows two people to collaborate on a document, 25 MB of online storage, and a maximum of 60 objects per document. Inexpensive paid options offer more collaborative and storage features.

There’s also a handy Chrome browser app.

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http://mashable.com/2011/04/15/simple-web-apps-productivity/

Mashable: Is Working From Home Becoming the Norm? [SURVEY]

Working from home is becoming more common, more accepted by managers and more sought-after by employees than ever before, according to a survey conducted by Skype, one of the bastions of telecommuting technology.

As someone who regularly works from home, I find this trend hardly surprising. But it’s not just bloggers, startup types and technophiles who are making pajamas the new “business casual.” Even seasoned executive types (like my own father, for example) are logging in remotely these days.

The proliferation of online collaboration tools is one indicator that “WFH” (that’s short for “working from home,” my dad tells me) culture is blossoming. In fact, Skype and tools like it have pretty much made the necessity of a 9-to-5 physical presence behind a cubicle-bound desk obsolete.

And video capabilities are a large part of those tools. Video conferencing and desktop video are two communication technologies Skype expects to see increase in usage most over a two-year period, followed by VoIP, room-based video, mobile phones and instant messaging.

Given the widening availability, affordability and understanding of technologies such as VoIP and video, the time is right for remote working and working from home. According to Skype’s survey, which includes responses from 1,000 professionals at about 500 businesses of all sizes, flexibility on in-office presence is, indeed, becoming the norm.

Around 62% of the companies surveyed already allow employees to work remotely. Of these companies, 34% of their workforce occasionally works remotely, and of that 34%, WFH-enabled employees say they spend around 40% of their work hours at home.

Naturally, employees at WFH-friendly companies listed this area of flexibility high in their criteria for job satisfaction. But employers seemed to be fans of the WFH lifestyle, too. Of the respondents who were decision-makers and managers, 75% said working from home was becoming more acceptable, and 56% said workers-from-home were more productive.

Take a look at Skype’s full report, and in the comments, let us know what your WFH options are like. Are you a couch-bound working warrior? Or are you fairly chained to your desk at the office?

image courtesy of iStockphoto, Mari

See the full article: http://mashable.com/2011/04/05/wfh-survey/

CNN Money: “Gas prices: ‘Most expensive February ever'”

As gas prices soar, zBoost Keeps Teleworkers Connected – No More Dropped Calls or Slow Data!

Teleworking has become an even more logical choice for companies, employees and communities with the recent increase in gas prices. Cell phones are essential communication tools for teleworkers and when they don’t get signal, it makes work even more work.

CNN Money reported that “The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 5.9 cents to $3.287, motorist group AAA said Friday. That marks the third day in a row that prices have risen, and brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.”

To read the full article, click here.

11 Businesses You Can Start in Your Pajamas in 2011

http://www.inc.com/ss/11-businesses-you-can-start-in-your-pajamas-2011

When Dennis Anderson was asked if he considered himself more of an
artist or an entrepreneur, he thought for a moment and replied, “Well,
somewhere in between. I like creating things.” Anderson has achieved what so many Americans crave: he has turned his craft—organic soap making, or saponification—into a profitable business from his home. Anderson Soap Company launched in 2007 in his California apartment,
and has since moved into a rented house in Portland, Oregon, where he
lives with his fiancée and children. Anderson, who started out as an
accounting major in college, fell in love with soap making after
taking a chemistry course that taught him the process. He has sold
soaps to buyers in all 50 states and distributes internationally to
Malaysia, Singapore, France, and Sweden.

The children’s clothing industry is a multi-billion dollar market, and
a recent surge of interest for specialized kid’s gear has given companies like Monkey Toes, a Colorado-based venture run by Jenny Ford, a niche in this burgeoning market. Monkey Toes is a line of animal and insect-themed footwear for children. Ford started the company in 2002 after drawing designs on her daughter’s shoes. “I thought, ‘Oh, that’s cute,’” Ford recalls. “I fell in love with it.” She chose to keep her business at home to be able to spend more time with her two young daughters, but lack of an office hasn’t stymied the growth of the brand. Ford currently distributes in stores all over the world, and recently signed a new distribution deal that will take the product into the hands of 100 representatives around the country.

Kene Turner understands the value of building a better business. After
all, that’s his job. The mission of EpiLife is to help organizations
achieve social responsibility by implementing special project-based initiatives within their communities. Before launching EpiLife, Kene worked for the YMCA of New York, where he taught youth entrepreneurial programs. EpiLife is based out of Turner’s home in New York City, and represents his desire to give back to the community that helped him in his own childhood. “When I was a teen I lost my mom to cancer,” he
says. “I never knew my father. I was a child in transition. I had
family, but not much. The ones that really helped me were members of
the community…and it was that message that I want to implement into
a venture or business.”

Ann Whitley Wood is an attorney-turned-entrepreneur who saw a market for designer goods and collectibles on eBay nearly 10 years ago. In
what started out as a hobby, Wood now manages over 350 listings on eBay through her store Willow-Wear, and works with about 40 clients on any given day from her home in Texas. In 2010, Wood sold over 1,100 items for about $450,000—making her one of eBay’s true “powersellers.”
Though she does not keep inventory in her house, working from home has
been an integral part of her business. “I had to be able to sell on
eBay from home, in between taking care of my children and managing the
rest of life,” Wood says. To be successful as an eBay entrepreneur,
Wood says you must have an acute understanding of your product, as
well as your competition.

Wedding dresses are bought (one hopes) only once, making them one of
the most expensive purchases in a woman’s life. So Emily Newman
thought, why not buy second-hand? “I saw a need where women my age were dealing with a lot of the same things,” says Newman, the founder of the Once Wed, an online wedding community, based in Atlanta. “They didn’t have a huge budget, but they still wanted to wear a beautiful
dress.” So Newman and her husband, who works in online advertising,
teamed up to launch Once Wed, a site for brides-to-be. The site has
grown from a used dress listing service to the be-all resource for
brides, similar to TheKnot.com. Once Wed puts together inspiration
guides and a popular blog, which helps drives traffic to the site.

NetFoliage is a web development company that creates web sites for
small businesses, entrepreneurs, and artists. It’s also one of a
growing number of web development companies that specialize in building e-commerce sites and online stores for social networking sites like Facebook. Nizam, who is originally from Istanbul, has been
based out of his Brooklyn apartment since he launched the company in
2007—and plans to stay in his home, too. “Honestly, it didn’t even
occur to me to rent an office,” he says. “I didn’t have the time or
the need to think about. I would never do it—it’s becoming a
lifestyle. I can go on vacation without worrying about anything. I
turn off my phone and the business is closed.”

You don’t need to attend a BlogHer Convention to realize that “mommy
bloggers” are a force to be reckoned with. Michelle Mitton was one of
the first “mommy bloggers” to make a name for herself and her blog Scribbit, almost six years ago. In 2008, she was selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top ten blogs about motherhood, and her
site attracts nearly 60,000 page views every month and 2,300 daily
subscribers. Mitton publishes recipes, household tips, product
reviews, and has even written a book about blogging, all from her home
in Alaska. “With so many blogs out there, you have to be the ‘purple
cow’ as Seth Godin talks about. I try to diversify my topics a bit—I
even have a few men [readers].”

Chris McCann (pictured) and Brendan McManus launched StartupDigest.com
as a resource for entrepreneurs looking to get involved in their
community and connected with other entrepreneurs. The site has seen remarkable growth; in just a little over a year, the site has grown to 100,000 subscribers and has spread to over 50 cities. And though the content reaches people all over the world, McCann and McManus rarely have to leave their house in Palo Alto, California. “When you’re on a shoestring budget, and if the deciding factor is to spend money to get
the office or spend money and do the marketing and get the product out
there, do all that stuff first,” says McCann. “An office should not be
high on your lists of priorities.”

Ann Gaffigan felt that there needed to be more mainstream media
coverage of women’s sports. So, about two years ago, she teamed up
with two co-founders to launch WomenTalkSports.com, an online network that has become one of the most thorough purveyors of women’s sports news. “We didn’t research the market for this,” Gaffigan says from her home in Kansas. “It just came from our belief that something like this really needed to happen, and we want the next generation to see positive female role models.” There are over 100 websites that link to
WomenTalkSports.com, and about 70 bloggers on the site. While the
site’s traffic varies depending on the season, the site swells when
national competitions are brought to the spotlight. During the
Vancouver Olympics, for example, the site had over a million visitors.

Who said custom designed shirts had to be expensive? Blank Label is a
Boston-based start-up that allows users to design custom dress shirts,
choosing the fabric, pattern, buttons, and size, for a modest price
under $100, depending on the extras. Blank Label was created by Danny Wong (center) and three co-founders (and classmates) in the summer of 2009. After a brief period of incubation by their college, Babson, the
team chose not to take on an office lease. “It worked better for us,”
says Wong. “We didn’t want to pay for office space.” The founders
lived together in Shanghai for several months, developing
relationships with suppliers and working out of their living room. At
one point, they were operating with members based from home in three
different time zones around the world, but Wong says it’s never been a
problem.

Stacy Blackman knows what it takes to get into one of the nation’s top
MBA programs. Blackman, a who received her own MBA at the Kellogg
Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, turned her passion for helping students gain admission into MBA programs into her full-time job after years working in private equity. “When I first started my business, I wasn’t trying to start a business; I was just doing something I really enjoyed.” Now, Stacy Blackman Consulting has turned into one of the premier MBA international consulting firms, with clients and consultants based all over the world. Blackman has
even graced the cover of Fortune, and published a book titled The MBA
Application Roadmap.

Report: 90% of Americans own a computerized gadget

From CNN.com

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/02/03/texting. photos.gahran/index.html

(CNN) — If it seems like nearly everyone you see these days, from kids to seniors, has some kind of tech gadget handy, it’s not just your imagination.

According to a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project, nearly 90% of Americans now own a cell phone, computer, MP3 player, game console, e-book reader or tablet computer.

In Generations and Their Gadgets, Pew explores how age groups in the U.S. tend to use their tech devices. It defines six generations ranging from age 18 to 75-plus.

A few highlights about how Americans of different ages use mobile devices:

Cell phones

Eighty-five percent of Americans currently own cell phones, making it the single most popular type of tech gadget. Slightly more Americans use their cell phones to take pictures (76%) than to send or receive text messages (72%) — but across all age groups, those two non-voice call activities are the most popular.

Among the 15% of Americans who do not own a cell phone, one-third live in a household with at least one working cell phone. So, overall, “90% of all adults (including 62% of those age 75 and older) live in a household with at least one working cell phone,” the survey finds.

Also, Pew notes that as of June, about a quarter of all U.S. households had gone mobile-only, ditching their traditional “landline” phone connections.

This includes more than half of all adults ages 25 to 29, and it indicates how crucial it is to update the U.S. 911 emergency calling system to be more friendly to cell phones, as well as to accommodate more types of communication than voice calls.

Even though more people are getting smartphones (30 percent of U.S. cell phone owners, by most estimates), only Americans ages 18 to 34 are especially likely to use their phones for several purposes: internet access, e-mail, games, getting or playing music, sending or receiving photos, recording video, etc.

The only widely popular activities across all age groups are taking pictures and text messaging, which may explain why 70% of Americans still rely on non-smart “feature phones,” which have fewer bells and whistles.

MP3 players

As tech gadgets go, MP3 players are relatively limited devices. So it’s a bit surprising that the youngest and most tech-savvy age group Pew studied is by far the most likely to own an MP3 player.

Three-quarters of Americans ages 18 to 34 own an MP3 player, but only 56% of the next oldest group (35 to 46) do.

Tablets

As of September, 5% of U.S. adults owned tablet computers such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab, up from 3% in May. (Apple’s popular iPad hit U.S. stores in April.)

With the launch of several Android-based iPad competitors, expect this kind of device to become much more popular in the next year. It’ll be interesting to see whether tablet ownership starts to displace some ownership of laptop computers.

E-readers

Currently, 5% of Americans own e-reader devices such as the Kindle or Nook, but this vastly underestimates the total number of people who read e-books.

Many people read e-books on their smartphones, tablets, and desktop or laptop computers. E-reader devices are most popular among Americans ages 47 to 56.

I suspect that in the next year, tablets will shake up all kinds of patterns of mobile device ownership and use in the U.S.

If tablet prices start to drop and more options for size and connectivity emerge (especially likely for Android models), it’s possible that that many people who rely primarily on feature phones might choose to invest in a Wi-Fi-enabled tablet (a one-time expense) rather than upgrading to a full smartphone (with higher monthly bills and often unexpected charges).

The opinions expressed in this story are solely those of Amy Gahran.

See the whole article here.

Wi-Ex Expands Corporate Program to Meet Growing Demand

Slow data or lost calls? zBoost line of cell phone signal boosters can increase data speeds by as much as 180% – three times as fast.  

http://www.wi-ex.com/IDCSpotlight.aspx

announced today an expansion of its Corporate Program. The Corporate Program will continue to focus on providing zBoost solutions to maximize in-door cell phone coverage for the enterprise – from small businesses to large corporations. The zBoost Corporate Program provides IT and telecom departments with the essential enterprise smartphone support to maximize their mobile devices. The zBoost line allows users to take full advantage of data, voice and Internet services on their iPhones, BlackBerry, DROID, connected devices, smartphones and other mobile phones including 3G high-speed data and video, instant messaging, pictures and more – at home, in their personal workspace or in a corporate office, both in the U.S. and abroad.

“The expansion of our Corporate Program is in direct response to our customers and the changes in the industry,” said Lloyd R. Meese, CEO of Wi-Ex. “The rapid adoption of smartphones including iPhones and BlackBerry, tablets and other connected devices by the enterprise has caused a shift in the way we work. Employees now have the flexibility to take their office with them; however having a strong signal is key to actually working and using the phone for the mobile worker.”

The IDC’s 2010 SMB Mobility IT Decision-Maker Survey found that while 94 percent of SMBs in the United States place high importance on their network availability/reliability in selecting a mobile operator only 84 percent of SMBs reported being satisfied with their network’s reliability and 25 percent report insufficient network speeds as a barrier to mobile data adoption.

To read the whole release, click here.