The Isolated Entrepreneur

Are you using Google for all your Internet research? It is not the most effective way to find information on the web - especially if you are looking for something very specialized.

Here is a fabulous Squidoo lens called “Confessions of an Internet Researcher” which will help you learn more about Internet research.

I don’t know about you, but I have always thrown left over medicine in the toilet and flushed them.

Well, it turns out this is not the best thing to do because sometimes it pollutes our lakes and streams. The patient information sheet you receive will tell you if it is safe to flush them down the toilet.

Call your pharmacist and local city official to find out where you can drop off old prescriptions.

Source: Trash Meds Safely by RealAge.

We all have heard the court cases the entertainment industry is fighting on copyright infringement.  There is talk about updating the copyright law  now that the Internet is mainstream.  The entertainment industry wants it tightened.  The artists stand on both sides of the fence.

PBS MediaShift released a blog posting,  “Loosen Copyright Restrictions for the Internet Age” (April 2, 2007).  It summarizes the opinions of people who made comments and Dom Caristi, an Internet law expert.  Here are some suggestions from the posting.

•  Reduce the length of time an item is copyrighted.  It is currently life plus 70 years.  Patents are only protected for 20 years.
• Loosen up personal restrictions. Allow people the right to use it for personal, non-profit reasons.
• Derivative work needs more protection.  Mash-ups and remixes are an infringement today, but should be considered new creative works.
• The entertainment industry looses the most money through illegal copying in foreign countries.  There is nothing that can be done about this as it is another governments concern.  Countries like China and Mexico have other matters that are more urgent than copyright piracy.
• The orginal copyright law was meant to protect the artist, not the corporations publishing the artist’s work.  Very little money is filtered down to the artist.

Are you thinking about writing a book, but don’t know where to start.  Take a look at this Squidoo lens for books, associations, and ideas that may help you.

Don’t forget daylight savings starts this Sunday, March 11th.

There is a lunar eclipse at sunset today (5:44 PM EST).  No special glasses needed.

Details at ScientificAmerican.com.

OfficeMax has several specials this week (March 3 - 9, 2007)

• Save up to $30 Instantly on Select Shredders!
  
• Save up to 50% instantly on select HP Products!
• $100 Instant Savings on 20″ Wide StarLogic LCD Monitor!
• Buy 2 HP Ink Cartridges or 1 HP Ink Multi-pack and get a Free USB Drive!

A business model represents how you do business.  A brick and mortar store’s model is that customers come into a store to purchase goods.

With the advent of the Internet, several “virtual business” models have developed.

Michael Rappa talks about them in “Business Models on the Web.“

Not everyone is suited for running a business out of the home. For many of us, the separation between home and work life becomes blurred - especially if you have young kids.

Reasons people running a business from home are:
- Lack of self-discipline
- Isolation from co-workers
- Inability to keep work and home life in balance
- Constant interruptions from family
- Completing all tasks related to business (rather than delegating administrative ones to a VA)

Read the blog entries from Too Real Women for more on this topic.

I work only part-time, but I am available to my clients full-time. Being a home-mom with two kids under 4 years, it is very difficult to get more than a couple of hours a day to work. They are constantly around and need attention.

My son goes to pre-school 2 times a day for a couple of hours, but I am not kid free. My one-year old daughter is still with me. Besides, two hours is NOT as much time as I thought it would be. I found it more useful to spend the time running errands than working at home.

So what is this about a full-time storefront?

Well, I am open for business - meaning I take client calls 8 hours a day. I also have some evening and weekend hours when my clients can get a hold of me.

I check my email constantly throughout the day and split my billable time as follows:

• Needs to be done during business hours.
• Can be done anytime and is interruptable.
• Can be done anytime and needs my undivided attention.

A majority of my work is done early in the morning or in the evenings - especially the activities that require my undivided attention.

What it takes?

Not all businesses can operate like this. This works for me because of the type of work I do and, more importantly, the type of clients I bring on.

I am very careful as to whom I accept to do work with. My clients have to be ok with my work style. I also bring on clients whose work can mostly be done anytime and do not require a lot of calls out.

Why calls out? Well, there is only a small window of time during the business hours that I know I can make professional calls without background noises or interruptions.

How can I make calls without interruptions with toddlers around? I’ll leave that for another time. =-)