Are Gasoline Prices Eating Into Your Profits?

With the surge in gasoline prices since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, self employed people are wondering how these higher prices will effect their bottom line. Certainly you'll pay more at the pump, and if you do a lot of road travel as part of your business, this can really add up. In addition, the cost of your supplies may increase as trucking companies and shippers also get hit with higher fuel costs.

One thing you can do is shop around for the least expensive gasoline in your area. GasBuddy.com allows you to check out the prices in your area, and save up to 40 cents per gallon by just going to a different gas station. For instance, in my area, I can get gasoline in a nearby town for 2.52 per gallon, or pay a whopping 2.89 per gallon in a different town. Sometimes it's easy as going to a different gas station on a different street in the same town.

As always, try to economize by running all your errands at the same time. Better yet, try to order as much over the Internet, like office supplies and equipment, and save the trip to the store. Many online stores have free shipping, so you'll save the cost of gas PLUS the cost of your time running around to stores.

Libraries Offering Audiobooks Downloads

In a move that's a real boon for the self-employed small business owners, local libraries are signing up for a service that allows patrons to download audio books, essentially "borrowing" them from the library for a set period of time.

Self-employed people need to keep up with their education, and audiobooks are a great way to catch up on your business and self-development reading while you're in the car or exercising. Imagine: even if you only devote one hour per week to learning new skills and techniques, that's over FIFTY hours of education a year!

Check with your local library to see if they have this service, and if they don't, request it. You may find that your local branch doesn't have the service, but the main library in your city or county does. Also check out the colleges and universities to see if they have a service you can use. Many colleges allow their alumni (and, sometimes, local residents) access to the library and all its services, and since this is an internet-based service, it doesn't matter if you live near your alma mater or not.

As a person that's addicted to audiobooks and education in general, I can't wait to get my hands on this service!!!

Want to listen to interviews with successful self-employed entrepreneurs? Listen to our audio interviews here.

Online Radio - Small Business Programs

Did you know that there are a great array of online talk radio shows that focus on small business and self employment? You can listen to your hearts content, either live, or listen to their archives.

• Entrepreneur Magazine has several radio shows
• Jim Blasingame has both live and archive versions of his "Small Business Advocate" show
• Mark Deo hosts a show called "Small Business Radio"

These are great resources, whether you're just getting started in your business, or are a seasoned pro!

Do Women Small Business Owners Treat Their Employees Better?

Yes, according to an article by Aliza Pilar Sherman. For instance, some women business owners allow their employees to purchase clothing for an important client meeting and expense it to the business. Wow, wouldn't I have loved that when I worked as an employee??

And the perks keep on coming: free flu shots, time off to spend with family, breakfast and afternoon snacks. The reason? Happy employees make productive and loyal employees.

She suggests, of course, that you don't become the "business Mommy" to your employees, but rather offer them perks that genuinely help them have a good work/life balance and are meaningful to them. Whether you have employees, or hire subcontractors like a virtual assistant or website designer, ask yourself, "What small thing can I do to help this person have a better work experience while working with me?"

Who Reads Blogs? (Part Deux)

Previously, I posed the question, "Who Reads Blogs?"

After a little research, I found an article by Thomas Claburn of TechWeb entitled,"Survey: Blog Readership Skyrocketing." He says:

"A new study from online research firm comScore Networks Inc. reveals that 50 million U.S. Internet users visited blog sites in the first quarter of this year, up 45% from the first quarter of 2004. That represents about 30% of all U.S. Internet users, or a sixth of the total U.S. population."

According to Claburn, there are approximately 14.7 million blogs (wow!). However, another writer indicates that it's not the number of blogs that's important, but their influence. Steve Rubel of the Micro Persuasion blog has written a blog entry entitled, "Don't Measure Blog Readership, Measure Influence" that you might find thought-provoking.

For me, personally and professionally, it's not about readership or influence, it's about education and community. The blogs I admire most are not those blogs that spout personal opinion, but those that give me golden nuggets of information and allow me to communicate with others who are experiencing what I'm experiencing. The "comments" sections of blogs can offer some good give-and-take, as well as alternative viewpoints on the topic at hand.

Which Computer Manufacturers Offer The Best Tech Support?

With all the complaints I hear about computer manufacturers' technical support, it's interesting that Consumer Reports has now done an independent study of the quality of tech support. You can read the short online article here.

Along the same vein, they written an article about How To Outsmart Computer Viruses.

We survived the big move. It took 10 days to paint and unpack my office, hook up the computers, printers, scanners, telephones and high-speed internet, and reorganize my desks and storage closets. We moved our family, 5 cats, two home offices, 5 computers, and 140 boxes. Whew! (Thank goodness the new house comes with a hot tub!) It was an amazing process, and I've now got first-hand experience about planning and moving a home office, which I'll share with you in the September ezine.There's nothing like a "clean sweep" when it comes to your home office. It doesn't take a big move to a new location to give you that feeling of space and starting-over. Just pick one filing drawer or one bookshelf, and give it a good Spring Cleaning. Throw out anything you haven't used in a year, or if it's in good condition, donate it to a local charity. Give everything a good cleaning, re-label and re-organize so that you can put your hands on the things you need quickly. Put items that you need access to on a daily basis close to the front of drawers or shelves, and less-used items towards the back.Trust me, you'll feel SO much better if you tackle the job a little bit at a time!

We survived the big move. It took 10 days to paint and unpack my office, hook up the computers, printers, scanners, telephones and high-speed internet, and reorganize my desks and storage closets. We moved our family, 5 cats, two home offices, 5 computers, and 140 boxes. Whew! (Thank goodness the new house comes with a hot tub!) It was an amazing process, and I've now got first-hand experience about planning and moving a home office, which I'll share with you in the September ezine.

There's nothing like a "clean sweep" when it comes to your home office. It doesn't take a big move to a new location to give you that feeling of space and starting-over. Just pick one filing drawer or one bookshelf, and give it a good Spring Cleaning. Throw out anything you haven't used in a year, or if it's in good condition, donate it to a local charity. Give everything a good cleaning, re-label and re-organize so that you can put your hands on the things you need quickly. Put items that you need access to on a daily basis close to the front of drawers or shelves, and less-used items towards the back.

Trust me, you'll feel SO much better if you tackle the job a little bit at a time!