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Getting the Word Out

May 22, 2009 By

Getting publicity seems easy, doesn’t it? You send out an electronic news release, make follow-up calls and then writers and producers call you immediately. Those of us who’ve tried that approach know that it doesn’t work that way. There are very few guarantees in life and getting publicity is one of them. That’s why there are Public relations dynamos like Liz Bradford, president of Bradford Public Relations, Inc., to help those of us working naked as well as major corporations, get exposure.

Liz Bradford

Liz Bradford

Liz was an anchor anchor/producer/reporter for 12 years before she started her PR firm. Her clients include Ford Motor Company and Krispy Kreme Donuts (yum!) among others. She shares a home office with her account coordinator and this year she decided to rent an outside office for 16 hours a month. Her outside office gives her a place to host potential clients or her consultants (most of them work from home too) for team meetings. Liz, knowing the value of PR, was happy to answer a few questions for all of us working naked:

Lisa: What are the top three PR mistakes small business owners make?

Liz: 1) They don’t budget enough for marketing and PR and can lose momentum once they do start getting media attention. 2) They’re afraid to toot their own horn and don’t do any PR. 3) They get frustrated when they see their competitor getting publicity.

Lisa: What are three things a small business owner can do to get publicity?

Liz: 1) Always be thinking about “story ideas” that would interest newspaper reporters, trade writers, radio station hosts, influential bloggers, TV reporters. 2) Be original and be creative. This is about ways to set yourself apart from your competitors. Blog, Tweet and get a Facebook and/or MySpace page. Social media is very important in today’s media environment where some of the traditional media is losing its audience. 3) Look for small charities in your neighborhood to support and let the local media know about it. Philanthropy goes a long way, especially in this economy where charities are losing donations and need help. I don’t recommend picking a large charity because your news of making a donation will get lost.

Great advice. Time to update my media list.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life Tagged With: , , , , , ,

5 Ways to Make Meetings More Efficient

May 20, 2009 By

logo_226x83_greyI’m a closet techie nerd—I like technology almost as much as I like chocolate—so Popular Science really does it for me. In a recent issue, Pop Sci (it’s hip to be square) shared “5 things you can do to make meetings more efficient.” Some of the tips are aimed at corporate employees so all of you corporate employees who are working naked, this one’s for you. But fellow entrepreneurs, pay attention…we can use some of these tricks too.

  • Hold them online. The Web-conference software dimdim runs into your browser. It lets you present PowerPoint slides, share your desktop and shine a laser pointer on a virtual whiteboard. It also has voice and video capabilities.
  • Find a time. Turn planning a meeting over to diarised. Give the application a list of names and meeting times that work for you. It e-mails attendees and comes up with the best time for a meeting based on responses from everyone, then it follows up with a confirmed date.
  • Say you’re late. Use Oops I’m Late cell phone software to compare your clock, calendar, your phone’s GPS coordinates and the meeting place to figure out if you’re going to be there on time. If you’re going to be late, the site sends everyone who is attending the meeting an automated apology along with your new ETA.
  • Keep them short. Meeting Miser adds up the salaries of attendees to convert each minute into a dollar figure. That tends to keep meetings from dragging on too long.
  • Bail out. When you want to escape a meeting early, plan ahead and use getmooh (as in “get me out of here”) to get you out of the meeting. Before the meeting starts, figure out what time you want to leave and the service will send you what appears to be an important phone call.
Filed Under: Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Not So Big Home Office

May 18, 2009 By

You know those folks who live in a house that’s twice the size it needs to be for their family to live comfortably? I used to be one of them but I’m happy to say that my current, realistically sized house meets my family’s needs perfectly. Who needs to take care of extra square footage? I love living smaller. Simplifying my life was one of the best things I’ve ever done—aside from having two incredible sons (of course I’m extremely biased).

A new house isn't always the best option for a new home office.

A new house isn't the only option for a new home office.

Sarah Susanka, the queen of the “Not So Big” empire (she’s written eight books on the subject) has stood on her smaller house soapbox for years and tried to convince all of us to reduce our square footage. I think she was ahead of her time. When people were building McMansions, she was telling everyone to lower their obnoxiously high ceilings and create smaller, cozier spaces. She knew what she was talking about.

In her latest book, “Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live” (Taunton Press, $32), Susanka and co-author Marc Vassallo, share valid points for remodeling over buying a new house. (Although if you want a good deal on a house, it’s not a bad idea to buy now.) She provides three main solutions for remodeling your home: working within the existing footprint; designing room “bumpouts” that extend the space by a couple of feet; and doing small-scale, cost-effective room additions.

She suggests creating a clear separation between your home office and the rest of your home including making the door to your home office different from the rest of your home. That provides you with a physical reminder to get to work.

A friend recently asked me if I missed my former house. After I told her what I used to pay in utility bills, property taxes and maintenance costs, the answer was obvious: bigger isn’t always better.

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office setup Tagged With: , , , , ,

Running Out of Ink

May 14, 2009 By

Last night at 8:30 as my son was printing out a homework assignment, the black ink ran out. Crap! We have another printer but it doesn’t want to cooperate with our other computer—not a match made in heaven. So I got in my car and drove first to Staples and then to Office Depot. Did you know they close at 8? Now you do. Kinko’s was my last resort and not only were they open, they had the cartridge I needed. The best part was that the cartridge was the same price as the ones at office supply superstores. Thanks for not sticking it to me, Kinko’s.

What makes this story ironic is that I always tell my clients to have extra cartridges on hand. So much for following my own advice. This morning after my sons left for school, I ran back to Staples and stocked up on cartridges and printer paper. I’m a quick study.

What can you learn from my humbling experience? Know what supplies you own, not what you swear you bought. What matters is that you have what you need on hand when you need it.

If you plan ahead you can find good deals on office products and supplies online. One of my favorite sites to find coupons and info about sales is Brad’s Deals. Brad scours the Internet looking for discounts from office supplies to office furniture to books.

I often feel better when I find out an actress with an incredible figure is wearing Spanx. That makes her more human. Now you can feel better knowing that someone who pushes organization on an hourly basis messes up too.

Filed Under: Home office organizing Tagged With: , , , ,

Home Office Challenge: Do It Now

May 4, 2009 By

The other day when I needed to work on a project but couldn’t get motivated, I remembered a speech I heard about the “Assoonas.” You know…as soon as I buy a different house I’ll have the perfect home office. As soon as I buy a new computer I’ll have more clients. You get the idea. Sometimes it’s easier to put things off than to handle them right away. Get off your “buts” (I’ve attended way too many motivational seminars!) and follow these tips to help you jump-start your next project.

Sometimes a subtle reminder can get you started.

Sometimes a subtle reminder can get you started.

  • Use a to-do list, whether paper-based, computerized or in your handheld, to record everything you need to do. Making a list is easy. Remembering to look at your list is the hard part. If you feel yourself getting sidetracked, go back to your list.
  • Give each task on your list a priority, by listing the more important tasks at the top. Or place a number 1 next to the tasks you need to complete that day, a number 2 next to less important tasks and so on.
  • If after reviewing your list you feel you’re having trouble getting started, work on a quick number 3 or another easy task. After you complete a simple task, you’ll be ready to tackle bigger ones.
  • Reward yourself when you complete different parts of a project. A reward may be as simple as taking a walk, going out to lunch, or shopping online for ten minutes.
Filed Under: Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , , ,
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