When I worked for a government affiliated agency, my hours were 9:00 to 5:00, although my time there was actually more like 8:00 - 6:30. They were long, hard days punctuated by an occasional day off.  When I was off work, it always struck me how many cars were out and about and I wondered, “Doesn’t anybody have a job?”

So when Steve titled a post with this exact question, I had to laugh.

If you go to Costco or Bloom (a grocery store) during the day, there are a lot of people there.  There are cars on the road.  There are people out and about all day long, and I always wonder – are these people who don’t work, or who work irregular hours, or who work at home?  How can there be so many people out and about from 9 to 5?

While he doesn’t have an answer to that question, I think part of the reason is there are a lot of people who work different shifts.  I also really wonder about how many live on the government dollar - welfare, social security, disability, etc.

Steve also provides a link with tips on finding a job, including:

Sincerity is important when networking, as is helping others. You are looking for help from others, so you should be prepared to help others. If you can introduce people who might work out for each other, do so. You can also answer questions and mentor.

Very true.  They say most jobs can’t be found in the newspaper or on job boards, but form knowing people. Good luck!

You know that little thing called “social media”?  Use it!  My pal Les linked to this great story about how to build a fan base on facebook for your business.  The first rule? Ask people to like you:

Give them a reason why. In our case, Weekly World News has plenty of entertaining content about aliens, Michael Jackson, Elvis, you name it. We tried capitalizing the word “LIKE”, writing short versus long copy, testing dozens of images, and trying out different interest targets. Don’t make it complex– keep the language casual, as if a friend was telling you about something cool.

Read the whole article! Great advice!

From I Can Haz Cheeseburger,

If all commercials were this honest, I probably wouldn’t mute all of them!

If I worked at home all the time, the distraction caused by my sometimes cluttered house would be too much for me to concentrate.  I’m thankful to have an office to escape to on most days!  However, if you had no choice, perhaps these tips from Brip Blap will help you de-clutter.

• Stuff packed away in boxes is not sentimental. I have a couple of keepsakes, knickknacks, doodads, etc. I have my Star Wars baseball-style cards from my childhood. They are in a box in the garage.
• Take pictures. If there’s something you don’t need, but you want to remember it, take a picture. Put it in a screensaver. You’ll see it, the memory will trigger but you’ll still have less clutter.

Steve has lots more great tips, so go pay him a visit.

Photo from where I brutally went through my oldest daughter’s room
after she moved into the dorm last Fall. I was on a cleaning binge.

I think I’ll start my own series of posts entitled “Maddening Monday”.  Lately, I’ve had plenty of those.  We’re in the middle of a huge move, which is very difficult with no paid vacation days or PTO.  But when you’re self-employed, that’s what you have to deal with. 

Yesterday Patrick scheduled a job for after 3pm today, at the customer’s request.  That was convenient, as we figured we could get a lot done while our daughter was at school.  This morning the customer called, and told him that he could come anytime because his wife would now be home all day.  Patrick drops everything here, runs to Nashville to pick up the glass, and heads their way…because customers come first.  On his way, he receives a phone call from a woman saying she needed to cancel the job.  When he asked if she wanted to reschedule, she replied that they had called two companies, and they went with the company who arrived first!  Patrick just called to tell me that he was on his way home, after wasting most of the day and quite a bit of gas. 

99% of our customers are AWESOME…but it’s days like today that I long for some kind of mandatory “stupid charge” when we get screwed over!  Here’s to a better day (and smarter people) tomorrow!

Photo by boulter via Flickr Creative Commons.

Okay, I have to come clean.  I’m partial to the laptop. 

Two years ago, we purchased the laptop for my husband to use while he’s mobile.  That never really happened, so we’ve had two home computers, the desktop and the laptop.  I’ve remained fairly partial to my trusty desktop until it’s recent virus. 

I’ve used the laptop for a few weeks now.  Saturday, my two-year-old decided to see what would happen when his fruit drink was poured into the expensive “toy”.  The hard drive is fried.  So, until we locate the system setup disc, we’re back to the desktop.  And I am realizing how much I took advantage of the convenience of my laptop friend!  Here I sit, facing the wall, working…while my husband is watching television, and talking on the phone.  I feel like I’m in time out!  At one point during our solitary laptop use, I was working in the passenger seat of the car while my husband was driving! 

So, while my desktop remains my friend (my only one right now), I do see myself converting sometime in the near future.  It’s all about the convenience.  And I miss it!

Photo by Arbron via Flickr Creative Commons.

Perhaps the reason I still have my very UNcomplicated cheapo flip phone!!!

One of the most difficult aspects of owning your own business is committing to a schedule.  This can mean many things, depending on the nature of your business.  But, for all of us, there comes a time when our “normal”, money making tasks are slowed, and we witness some “down time”.  Frequently, this times goes to waste, and not much is accomplished.  But as time has passed, we’ve learned to use this time to our advantage. 

My husband’s business is 100% mobile, and his work is done outdoors.  So obviously, rainy, drizzly, or snowy days are slow.  Use of this time has become essential in keeping up the “paper” side of the company.  Patrick uses these days to catch up his books, make deposits, make follow-up phone calls, and set appointments.  We try to use our unusually slow days to brainstorm marketing strategies, as well. 

These days won’t always fall into your perfect schedule, and you’ll probably have to take a few “regular” days to do some of this, as well.  But don’t look negatively at your down days.  Look at them as opportunities. You never know what’s at the end of that rainbow!

Photo by Peter Kaminski via Flickr Creative Commons.