What's the skinny on coworking?
When you run your own business, one of the classic benefits I hear about time and time again is freedom from the traditional office. We can go take calls in our bunny slippers and sip tea on the sofa while answering email. But if you’re anything like me, you can only look at the cat so long on any given day and you find ways to get out of the house to keep your sanity.
We asked for this – freedom from the office. But sometimes we get stir-crazy. What’s the solution? Coworking!
I recently heard about coworking via one of the many blogs I read. Here’s the jist: you pay a daily or a monthly use fee and prop-up at a desk whenever you’d like! Along with the desk in many locations are various amenities like wi-fi, quiet rooms, a conference room available for client meetings, a kitchen and more. But do you want to know what I think the best part of coworking is? The community. It’s community on-demand.
On days where the cat isn’t cutting it, coworking is the ideal solution for camaraderie, and exchange of ideas in a non-digital fashion and a great environment in which to get done what it is you need to do.
You can find local coworking spaces in your area (and granted, some areas might not be hip to it just yet, so be patient!) by doing a web search for “coworking (your town).”
Here are just a few that you can look at across the country as a primer on the entre cooworking concept:
Cohere Community (Ft. Collins, CO)
Blankspaces (Loas Angeles, CA)
Independents Hall (Philadelphia, PA)
If you have a local coworking fave, share it with our audience here. The more resources we share, the more we all can be as successful as possible as entrepreneurs.
Email Etiquette in Three Simple Steps
It’s the beauty of email: fast, simple, direct and you never get someone’s voicemail. But there’s a bit more to emailing than just point-and-shoot. There’s email etiquette that’s cause for confusion and enough to make your head swim. In this day and age of digital communication, what ARE the rules for email etiquette? Do I have to respond to everyone who emails me, every time? The answers might surprise you, but here’s my take on the world of email etiquette. It doesn’t have to be a conundrum – it’s email, for Pete’s sake!
Email Etiquette Tip 1: Be Concise
Don’t fire off a lengthy prose masterpiece for your business communications. Save those for the writing contests and updating your mom. Email should be short, concise and respectful of the receiving party’s time. How do you do it?
- Ask one question per email (but don’t send six emails with one question each in rapid succession!)
- If you must ask multiple questions, use bullet points and preface the list with: “I have X questions for you.”
- If you have a deadline, provide that.
Email Etiquette Tip 2: Indicate if You Need a Reply
I get HUNDREDS of emails each day – there’s no way I can respond to everything and email communication threads have to end somewhere. Don’t feel obligated to respond to every single email in your inbox. Here’s my list of rules for what needs a reply and what doesn’t:
- When someone asks a question or asks for something
- When they’re said something really nice and I would like to thank them
- When someone has shared something with me and I found it interesting
- When I need to confirm something.
Aside from that, it’s a case-by-case basis. Use your best judgment but every “thank you” doesn’t require a “you’re welcome!”
Email Etiquette Tip 3: Say Thank You
Whether you add it to your signature line or type it in at the bottom, show your appreciation for your recipient’s time. You’re glad they’re reading your email! It’s that simple.
Now – do YOU have any email etiquette adds for this list? I’d love to hear them!
Three ways to beat the stress under pressure
Stress (defined): The dog just took your car for a joyride. Your older son caused an explosion at the local power plant. Your daughter has run off with a sheikh that lives in Missouri. Nothing is going right. At all.
So how to you unplug and beat the stress when, no matter what you do, life is giving it to you from all sides? Contrary to what you see in the picture to your right, you’re not going to find any answers under a pillow. Here are three things you can do to beat the stress and keep yourself sane when the hits just keep on coming.
Get Out – Now! When life throws it at you non-stop, just get out. Put everything down, head for the door and leave it behind. I’m not saying abandon it – I’m just saying unplug from the situation for a bit. Not only will unplugging stop the momentum of the situation – it’ll give you a much needed and blood pressure-lowering interlude to help you breathe and think clearly once again.
Get Some Help. Really, any kind of help at this juncture will HELP. Maybe it’s a housekeeper. Maybe it’s sending your teenage son to pickup his sister so you don’t have to make the run. Stress can be alleviated in many ways and sometimes it’s the little things that keep us from losing every one of our marbles. Just ask – help is waiting. Listen to your inner psychic. Sometimes we just choose to not see it.
Get a Second Opinion. Sometimes we need an ear and that’s all we really need to keep from spinning out of control. Have you ever told a friend about your crazy day and they just start to laugh?
It’s great to realize that your life is funny again and not the apocalypse you thought. Pick up that phone, dial a friend and become a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? instead of The Biggest Loser.
It's time to turn Oprah off!
There’s no doubt that Oprah’s become the icon of women and influence. We can’t argue with that, can we? Riveting guests, great stories, attention drawn to phenomenal causes and a shining example of a woman who stands on her own, she’s paved a way in history for the influential woman. Want to know a secret, though?
I think I need to stop watching her show.
Working for myself offers me the blessing of flexibility and access to a television each day when “Oprah’s on!” It’s been a regular thing that I tune in for an hour and offer myself a reprieve from the day when Oprah’s on. It’s been my little break. I’m sharing with you today why that’s going to stop – and it’s got little to do with Oprah herself!
Reason #1 I’m Turning Oprah Off: Because I’ve been spending an hour tuning into to someone else’s thoughts other than my own. If I took that hour and went for a walk, meditated, called a friend…whatever I choose, that hour would better enrich my life because I’m tuning in to ME.
Reason #2 I’m Turning Oprah Off: Whatever she or her guests can do, I can do, too. And in many cases, I already do. I volunteer in the community, I’ve written a book and I have a career that helps people build a fulfilling life. The difference between Oprah and me? I have less press 
And that’s OK. I think I’d like to continue doing what I’m doing and with whom I’m doing it and skip the prime time coverage!
Reason # 3 I’m Turning Oprah Off: Mobility. If I’m stuck in front of the TV or within earshot, how can I really give myself the freedom to do what I want or need to do at any given time during the day? By untethering myself from the tube, I can go anywhere, talk to anyone, send emails, prepare presentations and (gasp) even run to the grocery store. Life is boundless if I unplug from the gleaming glass screen.
Reason #4 I’m Turning Oprah Off: My clients. They inspire me each and every day in more ways than any TV show could. Their stories, hopes, dreams and desires are fuel enough for me to know I’ve chosen the right path in life. While Oprah’s stories are great, yours are better.
So there you go! I hate to say farewell to Oprah and I’m sure I’ll catch her every now and then, but I’m happy with my decision. Women and influence – it begins with US. We don’t need to tune in to a TV show to see it and live it. I’m glad to live a life devoted to women and influence, and even happier that my electric bill might be a little lighter after taking out 20 hours a month! Now, I love being wrong, but I think I’m pretty spot-on about this one…
Fairy tales. As we get older and life shows us what it truly holds around each bend, we begin to lose our faith that somewhere, sometime, there’s a fairy tale waiting for us.
Princes and princesses disappear and we see the monsters in the moat, the fire-breathing dragons. Well, we see everything that keeps us from getting where we need to go.
You know what I love about fairy tales? Everything. The beginning, middle and end, every trial and tribulation in between! Aside from imagining myself all dressed-up in corseted gowns and waving to my prince from a tower’s window, I think fairy tales have quite a bit to teach us about business. If only we’d listen.
I want to share three things that I’ve learned about being a woman in business from all those fairy tales of my childhood. Now, this doesn’t mean that the guys can’t share in these thoughts, but I’m a girl and I’m talking to my fellow princesses today!
Hire a Contractor: Remember the Three Little Pigs? That nasty wolf kept huffing and puffing and blowing their house down. This goes to show that do-it-yourself isn’t necessarily the best defense against the things you want to keep at bay in your business. Whether competition or an afternoon rainstorm, team up with those who know how to build what you need – and it’s most likely not one of the other two little piggies under your roof! (Tip: search for woman-owned general contractors and businesses if you want to keep it with the sisterhood!)
Watch What You Eat: If you want to end up in an oven like Hansel and Gretel, go ahead an gobble-up anything that’s put in front of you just because it looks tasty. There are a lot of people in the business world that prey on your desire to grow and prosper and they’ll sell you a bill of goods because you’re hungry. Do your homework, read the fine print and get referrals for those business snacks you’re about to eat. It doesn’t all taste as good as it looks!
Dreams Can Come True: Your glass slipper, your happily ever after – it’s all possible as a woman in business. There’s no “man” keeping you down and to be quite honest, if you find a fire-breathing dragon keeping you from your goals, I want you to email me a picture. Whatever you aspire to can become your day to day. Grab a white horse and a killer dress and go get that new client, small business loan or fantastic new logo design. You deserve it and if you envision it, you can have it.
