Internet Entrepreneur – Top 4 Tips When Traveling

Julie Barnes — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:36:22 +0000

The rise of the internet has brought with it a whole new way of working. You now see entrepreneurs running multi-million dollar businesses from coffee houses – Perez Hilton is a great example of this. People are now building business out of their homes and while traveling the world. As a traveling entrepreneur myself, here are the top four things that I do when I land in a new location.

1. Internet – Locate a backup internet source. Although I have a fabulous internet carrier that works in most locations, there are times when I might be out of my coverage area or on the edge of my coverage area which causes the internet to run slow. *bangs head on table* My favorite places are the book stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble. They offer free internet and a quiet place to work and grab a coffee.

Tip: Most coffee houses also offer free internet.

2. Office Supplies – You can pick up most of your office supplies, like printer ink and printing paper at Wal-Mart, but for more services and a better selection you’ll want to search for an Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples.

Tip: I have found some great “mom and pop” office supply stores in some locations.

3. Art Supplies – An art supply store is a must for a creative person. Stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby offer a great selection of supplies for all artist.

Tip: Ask around to find out any great local art supply stores.

4. UPS – Whether you need to ship or receive shipments, UPS is a great resource. You can find a UPS Store on almost every corner now. You can also pickup stamps and send out your mail.

Tip: Most entrepreneurs utilize a web based fax service like MyFax for their mobile office, but when you need a backup, UPS offers faxing services.

Bonus Tip: Utilize your smart phone when possible. I have the Motorola Droid. *love* I downloaded the Places app. I use it to search for and read reviews of business services that I need. It also provides navigation to the business. It saves so much time.

You can make your traveling easier as an entrepreneur by following these four easy tips. Try them the next time YOU arrive in a new location.

Julie Barnes is the author of this post. Julie is a freelance writer traveling the great USA with her hubby, Ron and sassy cat, Sammy, in their 42 foot RV. Need an article written? Julie writes high quality, keyword-rich articles. To read more samples of Julie’s writing visit http://www.julieabarnes.com/portfolio/ .

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Julie Barnes

How to Organize Your Life and Business NOW!

Julie Barnes — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:24:27 +0000

And we’re off with a start of another fabulous new year. What better time to get organized and streamline your life and business. The internet offers some great tools, that once you get them set up, will not only keep you organized, but will save you time as well.

Here are my top 5 web-based tools to get organized NOW!

1. GMAIL (https://mail.google.com/)– I’ve been using Gmail (Google Mail) for about three years now. I’d have to admit that it took awhile for me to convert, since I was so used to my corporate days of using Microsoft Outlook.

While preparing for this article, I took note of how many emails I received in three days and the number was…195. Wow, you can easily understand how overwhelming something as simple as email can become if you’re not organized.

When you take into account all the newsletters you signed up for, the weekly sale ads you receive from your favorite retailer, school, family emails and the upmost important – client emails – you can see how fast your email box can fill up and get out of control.

So, here’s how I organize my Gmail account.

1. I create color coded folders. These include folders for Clients, Family, Design, Writing, Banking, Art, School, etc. You get the idea. I create folders for every email that comes into my email box.

2. I create filters for each email. I set up the email address to filter pass my inbox and go directly to the folder I created for it.

3. Now that I have my email box organized, all I have to do is check each folder for new emails. This keeps my inbox clean. Now, any new email is easy to see.

This will take you about an hour or so to organize.

2. Google Calendar (https://www.google.com/calendar/) – Although I still like using a paper calendar, I’ve started using Google’s Calendar. It syncs with your Google email address, making it very easy to set up and use. You can create multiple calendars for home, business, school, charity, etc. My favorite part about the calendar is that it sends you a reminder before the scheduled event. You can also add business partners and family members so they also get an email reminder for an upcoming event.

Take thirty minutes to plan out your week and load your schedule into your Google Calendar.

3. Google Reader (https://www.google.com/reader/)– I’m most likely the last person on earth to utilize Google Reader. As a writer and designer, I’m always reading about the latest trends. I had so many blogs stored in Favorites. Frankly, it was a mess and I didn’t enjoy my blog reading time. I took the time to add all of the blogs that I read to my Google Reader account. Now, I just go to one place to catch up on my reading. When I run across a new blog I want to stay on top of, I immediately add it to my Google Reader.

Depending on how many blogs you read, this will take you about 30 – 45 minutes.

4. Mint – (http://www.mint.com/) Mint.com is a FREE money management tool that allows you to stay on top of your personal and business budgets. You can track the amount you’re spending on everything from office supplies, gas, to food for the family. It also emails you at the end of the week with your weekly income and expense totals. This took me about 10 – 15 minutes to setup. Mint has the majority of the categories setup, I just had to reclassify a few and add a couple more to fit my budget.

Plan on spending about 30 minutes tops for you to set up.

5. Motorola Droid (http://www.motorola.com/)– I’ve had a smart phone for the last five years, but the Droid is by far the best I’ve ever had. My smart phone plays a big part in keeping me organized. And yes, I have an app for that! I have apps on my phone for Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, and Mint. I also use recipe apps to help plan my weekly dinner menu. The NY Times app to catch up on world news and the Barnes and Noble Nook app, that syncs with my Color Nook, so I always have a book with me to read. A smart phone can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you learn how to use one, you’ll never go back.

Plan about 30 minutes searching for and downloading apps to your phone.

I spent about 3 hours total and now I’m organized for the rest of the year.

How do you organize your life and business?