JAN'S IDEAS for Internet Entrepreneurs » Free Stuff

Entrepreneur Working Here, There, and Everywhere

Jan — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:59:19 +0000

I usually have my laptop at the barn and when I do overnights at group homes. I usually write everywhere and it is hard not to have that option. My laptop isn’t working right now . I feel as though I am slacking because I have to be at the barn with my daughter while she takes care of her horse and rides, but can’t work at all during that time. Later today I will take it to Best Buy’s Geek Squad because they can check to see if it is my computer or the power cord for free. One day I was at the barn I just relaxed, walked around with the dog, and watched my daughter ride. It was a nice break, but it is not something that I can do everyday. I have turned down some hours at group homes because I couldn’t write while I was there.

I did have to figure something else out because I couldn’t get the laptop to get checked, so I have resorted to “old fashion” methods of working. I have done the following:

Print out articles with double spacing and hand write the editing
Take a notebook and write ideas
Take photos for my photo library

I hope that it is an easy, inexpensive fix for the computer. I really need to maximize the time I have available to write to take my article writing business to the next level. Plus my daughter and I are now sharing my desktop computer, since she is home schooled, we really need two computers.

Well, the weather has cooled off and I have been gaining weight, so today I will go run for the first time in a couple months and then continue with my day off from wage earning and continue with my article writing.

Open Office for Entrepreneurs

Jan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:23:18 +0000

Even if you are not just starting out, it is always nice to get something for FREE!! Open Office is useful and it is free. They accept donations, so you can help them out if you want, but don’t have to. It does a lot of stuff that Microsoft Word and Office does without the cost. It is available in many languages and is free for private use and business use. It is compatible with many document programs. Who ever you are sharing information with, can also download it for free. It is great for people who have more than one computer in their house. With Open Office you can do the following:

Write documents
Make charts
Draw
Spread Sheets
Calculate

Check out their Open Office website to find out more and to download it for free.

Preparing Writing Services for Growth

Jan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:40:28 +0000

Jan’s Writing Services is going really great. I have 3 writers and each of them are able to take on work as Jan’s Writing Services grows.

Some of the ways I’m preparing for growth:

I keep us organized using 37 Signal’s Basecamp (it’s free version). I plan to go to one of the paid plans this summer
Each writer has assigned topics, weekly delivery day, and weekly payday
I’ve got a laptop so I can work anywhere, including at the barn during my daughter’s lessons
Got a flash drive so it is easy to work from my desktop or laptop
My friend set it up at his house so I have a place there to work
I work 4 days at my wage earning job at Walmart

Right now my goal is getting out all the articles jobs that are ordered each week…I am almost there!

I surpassed my highest income month from before I had some personal challenges that kept me from writing for pay for nearly a year. It took a few months to build the business back up. Since I began writing again this past May, there has been a steady increase in income from writing. This month looks like another record breaking month, even after I pay my writers!

Goals for the future:

Add more orders
Increase orders to my writers
Upgrade my Basecamp ** account
Fine tune writer’s orders, delivery, and payment

2010 is off to a great start for me and for my business. I turn 50 this year and it looks like this will be among my best years ever!

**the FREE Basecamp link is very small under the “Max” and “Premium” plan.

Ad-Aware Help

Jan — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:10:42 +0000

When using the free version of Lavasoft Ad-Aware, be sure to update regularly. My “ignore” list was growing and I wasn’t adding to it! Once I updated and rescanned I was able to remove tracking cookies that I couldn’t before the update.

I also found that when scanning during the day it would often get “stuck”. I don’t have that problem when I start a scan before I go to bed (usually around midnight).

I have been very happy with the free version. If I had the funds available I would pay for an upgrade with scheduled scanning.

Free Computer Protection

Jan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:03:13 +0000

When I got a new computer a few months ago, I didn’t add any protection. I barely had time to get my programs reloaded for things like my camera. Well, I paid later for not taking the time because I ended up with some annoying stuff on my computer.

Here are two links for free, effective, and quick protection from ads and viruses. Of course there are paid upgrades available from both. This fixed my problems right away and gave me time to look into other options for computer protection.

Ad-Aware for ads (it got rid of excessive and annoying pop-ups) and AVG for virus protection.