Working from home has a lot going for it. What I love most is that I don’t have to join in the rush hour traffic any more. I found that my blood pressure and stress levels actually reduced significantly when I began working from home – even with all the uncertainties of running a small business!

However, there can also be challenges if you work from home, or spend most of the time on your own. The following are situations that you may have come across:

Be at work while you’re at work
If you have, or are just starting, a business that is to provide your main income then you will need some self-discipline. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is wonderful – but take care not to get carried away! You may find yourself tempted to ‘pop out’ to the supermarket, the gym, or even the golf course – because it’s quieter during the day. And those little jobs around the house start beckoning now that you see them all the time. Before you know it, big chunks of your day have disappeared in non-work activities and you’re struggling to get enough clients or sales to make your business viable.

Just as if you were working for someone else, you need to have regular working hours – but you can be a bit creative! You don’t have to be ‘at work’ from 9-5, if you work better early in the morning, you might choose 6am-2pm. Or, if you’re a night owl you might prefer 2pm-10pm. It doesn’t matter so much when you work, as long as you put the hours in and work while you’re ‘at work’.

Set a time for ‘going home’
Some people have the opposite problem and would work around the clock if they could! If this is you, then you will need to set yourself a time to stop work and ‘go home’. It can be very tempting to just do ‘one more thing’ – I know I’m guilty of researching on the internet and losing track of time. But all your efforts could be for nothing if you make yourself ill by pushing too hard.

Believe it or not, having a proper break at the end of the day will actually help you get more done. Have you ever had a problem that you spent ages trying to solve and then find that the answer comes to you the next day while you’re in the shower or brushing your teeth? That’s because your subconscious carries on working while you’re relaxing or asleep – and it actually needs you to stop thinking about the problem while it takes over! 

Set Boundaries for Family and Friends
This is a particularly sensitive and tricky area. When you work from home, friends and family will often phone for a chat or drop in for coffee – just because they can. They don’t understand that you’re trying to make a living or have deadlines to meet. So you have to tell them, and teach them about your hours of business. 

If you don’t set boundaries, you’ll end up feeling resentful and not enjoy their company so much when you are ‘off duty’. They may be a bit surprised at first but will soon get the message if you continue to stand firm. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, practise what you want to say beforehand so you’re prepared when they call. It’s OK to say that you’re busy right now and can you call them back later (at a time to suit you). 

Schedule meetings in your diary
A lot of business owners don’t like the isolation of working on their own. They miss having people around them. So, while it’s important to use your working day productively, you also need to schedule in meetings with a fellow business owner. Have coffee or lunch and bat some ideas around. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Be mutually supportive. Celebrate your wins. Commiserate and pick up the pieces if necessary. You can’t usually do this with friends and family because they don’t understand what it’s like to be in business. 

Do choose carefully who you trust with details about your business – and make sure it doesn’t turn into a mutual moaning session! The aim is to feel less isolated, not become totally depressed.

Make Room to Work
If you’re cramped in a tiny space under the stairs, or perched on the end of the dining table, you will struggle to make headway with your business. It’s important that you have enough room to work, room to keep your papers tidily and room to make and take phone calls in a business-like way. 

Turning up to client meetings with coffee rings or jam on a proposal is not professional. Keep telling your little ones to ‘be careful’ around your papers or laptop, and the result will be nervous dispositions all round. Just as you need to be able to separate work time from home time, so you need to have somewhere that is just for your business and that won’t interfere with family life. 

© Louise Barnes-Johnston, 2008 - Used with permission

Louise Barnes-Johnston is “The Business Accelerator”. She provides business coaching and mentoring for entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses. Get a copy of her FREE report “10 Ways to Boost Your Business” at http://www.frontline-results.com (http://www NULL.frontline-results NULL.com/)

Twitter, the popular social networking applet which allows users to answer ‘What are you doing now?’ in 140 characters or less has stopped sending SMS messages to UK users. Unable to find a mobile partner to offer better rates, they have been forced with escalating costs to stop the service all together. Twitter already capped the messages at 250 per month, but this still costs around £500 per user per year outside the US, India and Canada.

The following alternatives are available:

• m.twitter.com (http://m NULL.twitter NULL.com/) works on browser-enabled phones
• m.slandr.net (http://m NULL.slandr NULL.net/) works on browser-enabled phones
• TwitterMail (http://www NULL.twittermail NULL.com/) works on email-enabled phones
• Cellity (http://www NULL.cellity NULL.com/en/download NULL.html) works on java-enabled phones
• TwitterBerry (http://www NULL.orangatame NULL.com/products/twitterberry/) works on BlackBerry brand phones
• Twitterific (http://phobos NULL.apple NULL.com/WebObjects/MZStore NULL.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284540316) works on iPhones

In the meantime, you can still update your twitter status by sending an SMS to +44 7624 801 423 as many times as your credit will allow.

Do you know the head of any mobile network in the UK? If they are interested in becoming a saviour, and gain plenty of extra publicity, put them in touch with Twitter to get things moving again!

Twitter is used by a number of companies wishing to keep in touch with each other, one SMS to the system will forward out to all ‘followers’ keeping each other up to date with what’s going on. Business collaborations have also been using it to keep the teams updated with current developments, and Joe Public to keep in touch with friends. We’ve yet to see any paid advertising on the platform, but the potential revenue for this would be immense, especially if the SMS service could be resumed.

Besides keeping in contact with other users, strengthening relationships and promoting themselves and their brand, users can also use Twitter to keep up to date with BBC News, what’s going on in the Big Brother house and even London Underground service updates. Twitter can be used to update status’ on several other platforms like Ecademy, Facebook and can be set to update automatically using other APIs, RSS feeds from blogs etc.

Identity theft is big business! With the information sharing age upon us, should we take steps to start the information restriction age to protect our online identities from theft? More and more of our business and personal practices are online. We make payments online, transfer and recieve large quantities of money online. Our banks are online. Facebook, Linkedin, Bebo, Ecademy, Twitter users have much of their personalities online. Websites simply aren’t protecting our online identities (http://news NULL.google NULL.co NULL.uk/news?q=website%20hacked&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org NULL.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn) the way they should be, and the law doesn’t want to know, so we have to take matters into our own hands!

This is by no means a definitive list so please do add ideas into the comments if there’s anything you feel should be added.

Basic steps to protect your identity online:

Passwords:

First and easiest route for online identity theft is the human element; passwords. I can access my business bank account with a single username and password and that scares me, but it doesn’t have to. To obtain this information, an identity thief can use 3 methods:

1. Know what I like and try to guess the password based on my interests, relationships, date of birth. (all of which can be obtained through facebook!)SOLUTION: Do not choose easily guessable passwords (and no S1m0n isn’t much more secure than Simon when using real words)
2. If I use the same password for more than one service, someone gets hold of the password for one system and can access another. This can happen by signing in to an untrusted website where they’re not asking for money but you do need to register. It can happen by a legitimate website being hacked or it could even be overheard or abused when you’re in a hotel foyer, calling home directing your friend or PA into your email to get your booking details.
   
   SOLUTION: Use a different password for different websites.Alternatively use one secure password for the secure sites and lesser passwords for lesser sites. i.e. my business and personal banks have the same password. My hotmail account (used for junk only) and facebook account use another.
3. The Brute Force or dictionary attack uses random characters or known words with and without numbers to keep guessing. This is done automatically and can guess around 10,000 possible combinations in an day. If your password happens to be in a dictionary with or without numbers no matter how obscure, the password will be guessed within a few hours. If you had a long random list of numbers and letters, it could take weeks or even months. Some websites lock out after a few guesses to try and prevent it, but most don’t.SOLUTION: Choose passwords as randomly as possible but it needs to be memorable!

   One tip I’ve heard for helping to keep passwords obscure for both computers and humans is to anacronym it. For example, I could have the password: MWCFMAICFMK based on the phrase: “My wife comes from Mauritius and I come from Milton Keynes” It makes it random but memorable for someone who knows this keyphrase. Add some numbers in there to increase randomness and you’re laughing. The common way is to change similar letters and numbers. (for example the letter i becomes the number one) This can help but don’t rely on it 100%.

   Finished Password: mwcfm41cfmk (12 characters)

Forgotten Passwords

Ok my password is secure. The second route into less secure sites is hitting the ‘Forgotten password’ button. Some ask simple information (mothers maiden name, date of birth etc.) before emailing them to the account in your profile, some just email, some will allow a complete password reset and only email to confirm giving immediate but limited access. You therefore need to protect your mother’s maiden name, and your date of birth. The trouble is that this information isn’t all that hard to get hold of!

Solutions? When you’re asked for your date of birth and mother’s maiden name on non-trusted sites and where lying isn’t going to be called fraud, lie. Use a date of birth and name which means nothing realistically to you but which only you know as being your backup details. This way people who know your real DOB won’t be able to gain access.  Obviously when applying for credit, insurance etc. you have a legal obligation to provide your real details but these tend to be more secure.

Post-it Notes

One of the biggest no-goes in the history of computers! Never, under any circumstances, at all, ever write down your passwords on a post-it note and stick it to your monitor! The back of your desk diary is the second most common place to write it. This can be as helpful as sending a mass email with all your passwords to your friends, IT repairman, next door neighbour’s son who helps you every time you get a virus etc etc etc…

If you need to write your access details down at any point, you need to keep this as secure as the original information. Don’t label it ‘Passwords’ don’t leave it within easy and obvious access from the PC. write the actual password element backwards. Anyone who tried it the normal way will assume it’s out of date and give up. My sheet with the password above would read:

Hotmail:
simon@hotmail.com
kmfc14mfcwm

The Computer :

While we’re working in the office, the next thing to keep secure is the computer. Make sure you have a good anti-virus. AVG is one of the best I’ve ever used in the last 10 years, and they do have a free version for domestic use (http://free.avg.com/) How will this help?

Some of the worse virus’ and programs you can have on your PC are the ones that don’t do anything visibly. Some can sit there logging everything you type (usernames, letters, passwords, emails, credit card numbers) and send them off to the originator to decode. A good virus scan should keep these out and keep you safe.

Some people also recommend lavasoft’s adaware too to run every so often. This helps catch things which aren’t specifically classed as virus’s but can be damaging. Don’t be alarmed when you see the number of things it will find, to be on the safe side, it removes everything which could track what you’re doing including internet cookies which are very limited and don’t really do anything bad besides help record that you’re logged into a site but doesn’t give away passwords. Their free version is here: http://lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

The websites

The websites themselves can also be quite weak. When you sign up with a site or make a payment, it’s illegal for the website owner to store your credit card details and certain others without a minimum level of security… but who enforces laws on the internet? Only use trusted websites with a proven track record to give your more private details to.  If you don’t trust them or there’s doubt, signup for a free hotmail or yahoo email address and use that for these sites only. If you’re likely to get one email and nothing more, consider using Temporary Inbox (http://www NULL.temporaryinbox NULL.com/)

Facebook

Facebook and other social networking sites can cause a real threat. Just this week, a security threat lead to users details being exposed. (read about the latest facebook security hole here (http://www NULL.nzherald NULL.co NULL.nz/section/story NULL.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10522098))

The truth is that most data handed out has to have been given in the first place. Try using your secondary date of birth, mother’s maiden name etc. and ONLY put information on the world wide web which you want everyone on the world wide web to see! It doesn’t matter that people can or can’t see your date of birth as all someone has to do is scan through your wall or public messages and look for the abundance of ‘Happy Birthday’ messages from your friends and family and look at the date of posting!

Scam and Spam

Occasionally you will probably receive notifications of account closures or emails requesting you to click a link and log in. DON’T! If there is a doubt, go to the website in question manually, do not use the links provided if you then have to insert your password details. This is known as Phishing. They can divert you to their own website made to look like your bank, paypal etc encouraging you to log in. If you get an email from Natwest requesting that you log in, open your browser, go to www.natwest.com and log in there. According to Sophos, only 1 in 28 emails are actually legitimite. (http://it NULL.tmcnet NULL.com/topics/it/articles/34277-only-one-28-emails-legitimate-sophos-report-reveals NULL.htm)

Making Payments

Many of my clients want to take payments online and always scoff at the idea of offering paypal payments. Paypal is a good system with the buyer in mind.They do have higher than average charges but personally I feel you get value for money. They are at the end of the day, just another website, but they are big enough and their whole purpose of being is around security. Without that, the whole business would collapse overnight!

As I said at the beginning, this is not a definitive list but contains all the most relevent and basic things to know about putting your information online. It’s a lawless society which is slowly dominating our lives and should be treated with care!

If you didn’t get Twitter, you may be interested to learn of another company offering something similar but more complete.

Gypsii (http://www NULL.gypsii NULL.com/) works specifically from a mobile phone as more people travel with mobiles than with laptops. It allows sending of images, ratings, text etc. With a local search feature you can not only find the nearest restaurants and shops, but you can also see what your friends and other Gypsii users have said about them.

Scored the ultimate pool or golf shot? now you can capture all who did witness it to show you’re the champ to people who didn’t.

Interesting idea? Before anyone starts on at me about it being invasive, remember that people only see what you decide to tell them. Anyone using it already? Let me (us) know how you’re getting on with it.

A new client, contact and friend, Simon Ellinas (http://www NULL.ecademy NULL.com/account NULL.php?id=65536&xref=217922), whom I met through Ecademy (http://www NULL.ecademy NULL.com/account NULL.php?id=65536&xref=217922) presented me this afternoon with my very own caricature. (He managed to sneak in my wife as well) I’m going to be chuckling all weekend.

Simon has made numerous TV appearances and ran cartoon businesses and companies for many many years. He can create caricatures by email (http://www NULL.caricatures NULL.org NULL.uk/instant_caricatures NULL.htm) for as little as £30! Forget all the hassle fiddling with Paintshop or Photoshop buttons, don’t even try that damned watercolour effect and get it done properly and professionally by someone who knows how to add character, flair and imagination into your caricature. Why not have a specially hand-drawn picture instead of your normal boring wedding, birthday or Christmas cards?

Simon is also available for hire at events whether business or pleasure to do on-the-spot caricatures for guests. I also found out that Simon can draw on whiteboards and flipcharts to bring life and humour to otherwise drole business presentations! I’m sure Northern Rock would have loved to hire him at their shareholder’s meeting.

Anyway, visit his website, read his blog, give him a call and most importantly, pay him to do something!

The London Caricaturist
Simon Ellinas’ Blog (http://caricaturelondon NULL.wordpress NULL.com/)

Call: 0208 449 1368

Don’t be put off by the word ‘soup’, it’s filling and quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms (Enough to fill the soup bowls of each sitter)
Garlic (One clove per person)
Flour (One tablespoon per person)
Onion (One medium per person)
Chicken Stock (One per person)
1 pint of water per person.
Pepper to taste.

—-

On the hob, heat the onion and crushed garlic with the butter until soft (not brown)
Chop the mushrooms thinly and add to mixture for 3 minutes
Dissolve the chicken stock in the boiled water in a separate bowl
Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms ensuring everything is evenly coated
Pour in the stock and stir well adding as much pepper as you like
(I like lots! Yovina has left me addicted to chillis so I need that constant burning)
Put the whole lot through a food processor and return to the heat.

You can add cream at this stage but I like my arteries so tend to keep it out.

Serve with a warm crusty loaf and watch the faces of your guests.

As your guests oooh and aah over your soup, feel free to inform them that the guy who shared this recipe is also a very good web designer should they have any internet marketing enquiries. Zakomedia.com

My sister is moving house today. I wanted to help but as I have no car at the moment, and she has lots of male friends with, I’d effectively be dead weight. Instead I did something completely out of character and offered to babysit her two month old baby Ethan. My intentions were that I could do all the necessary stuff and leave him quietly playing or sleeping while I catch up on some work.

Ethan was delivered this morning along with:

• 1 pram
• 1 carry seat
• 1 baby bouncer
• 6 clean nappies
• 3 changes of clothes
• 3 bottles of pre-prepared formula
• 1 small tub of formula with measuring spoon just in case
• 2 sterilised dummies
• 1 plastic changing mat
• 1 pack of babywipes
• 1 small tub of Sudocrem
• 1 pack of unscented pocket tissues
• 1 blanket
• 1 coat, one woolly hat
• 1 bottle of Colic medicine with applicator.

He’s coming here for a few hours! I’d hate to see his overnight bag! No wonder my sister needs to move!

I carefully positioned Ethan’s bouncer on my bed, central so the vibrating/bouncing electronic functions had no chance of slowly dropping him off the edge. We moved Ethan from car seat to bouncer and there he sat, quiet, staring, watching. We caught each other’s gaze, he stared, I stared. As if from a distance I heard some instructions about nappy changing, feeding schedules, medicine and bottle warming, but all I could do was watch his eyes narrow and face screw up as she left.

I think we managed about 2 minutes of silence before it started. The ground swelled, the walls curved inwards and the noise… oh the noise! I rocked him, I cuddled him, I swaddled him, I turned on rock music, classical music, Jazz, Easy listening (I have eclectic tastes) and nothing was working. A very short amount of silence followed, during which time Ethan just stared, his face turned red, his tongue poking slightly through his thin lips… This could only mean one thing.

I pulled out the cold plastic changing mat and placed this monster on it. Carefully undid his buttons and removed the lower half of his clothes to reveal the guardians. Those cute blue bears on nappies designed to give false hope to those who venture within. I removed around 3 pounds of yellowy sludge holding down my own potential contribution in the process and cleaned away all evidence that he was ever hiding toxic waste about his person.

And then silence…

He stopped crying, I could hear birds and dear and antelope again, which I found weird living in the centre of Watford. He looked at me and almost smiled. And then he did what only males can do. Managed a nice clean stream of urine right over the edge of the changing mat and soaked my duvet. Despite my frustration, I was quite impressed.

But that is why my house smells, I don’t think I can ever remove the smell of baby poo from my nostrils, clothing, furnishings or anything else. After reading a story from the only book I had to hand (Advanced PHP Programming) he got bored and went to sleep. He’s due to be fed in 30 minutes… I’m enjoying the peace… Only another 5 hours to go before he is taken away by his mother, someone who has the strength and patience to do this every day, all day.

As I finish this off, he’s stirring, stretching, preparing for another onslaught… I have bottles on standby, two holsters and cowboy hat. I’m ready for you Ethan, This time I’m ready!

Mothers day is coming up in March, this year I won’t forget.

I “Borrowed” the following from a geneology web site regarding my surname. (Not the rarest of surnames I’ll admit, but one I’m proud to own)

It’s a vague but interesting history, and one I’d like to share.