23 May 08 The Whole Business
It always makes me smile when some folks think that working for yourself must be so wonderful. To a large extent it is, but on the other side of the fence, you have, at least in a small business, the tasks of being the boss, with the responsibilities that it brings, and also the worker, at the same time. Well not at exactly the same time but well, I’m sure you get my drift.
It must be great not having a boss they say. Well yes in a way it is, but in another way, you have as many bosses as you have clients, and the art is letting them all think they are #1, which is, of course, not possible at all times, so you try to become adept at prioritization.
Do I have favorites? You bet I do! Some clients are great to work with, and some are the pits. Thing is, the ones that are the pits still write a check, so you have to tend to them too.Also you never know if your favorite clients will still be here to be clients at all, particularly in the present climate, so it often pays to hold onto some of those pain in the rear ones, that in a more buoyant economic climate you might let go.
Some are willing to pay more than others, and while there is a bottom line, I don’t believe in overcharging either, even if, in some cases you can get away with it. I like to think I’m ethical about my dealings, even if some of those I deal with are not.
Anyway, it’s 9am as I write, and it’s off to do some more of the daily wheeling and dealing out there!
Tags: boss, bottom line, drift, economic climate, extent, pits, side of the fence, small business, smile, some clients suck
02 Apr 08 That Time Of Year
It ‘s getting warmer.
Now, I’m never one to complain about the heat. I’d love it to be summer all year around. I don’t care about the seasons. I don’t want crisp frosty mornings, and I’ll be a happy camper if I never see snow in real life ever again.
Having said that, I don’t like stuffy. Somehow the heat at the beach or even in main street in the middle of August is better than a hot house.
A hot house? Yes, you know, when it’s not really that hot outside but indoors it’s really sticky.
The condo here is the pits for that. It’s two levels, and while downstairs is usually fine, and can even be fairly cool in the summer, upstairs is a different story. Recently, we’ve had the regime fees hiked up to an outrageous amount to pay for much needed and long neglected repairs and maintenance.
We’ve got a new roof, which has ridge vent tiles. It’s not made one iota of difference to the temperature upstairs. Right now, I have the sun room door open, and the front bedroom windows. There’s no real breeze though. It’s only 68F outside, but it’s 82 in here at this desk. According to my little gizmo on the desk here, the humidity is only 58% too.
Well, the strange thing is, it’s been around that most of the day, but now, around bedtime, it feels really warm and sticky in here. OK, I hear you say, what’s wrong with running the air conditioning?
It uses too much electricity.
No, I’m not a tree hugger. I’m a dollar hugger. The electricity bills hover around the $100 a month mark at this time of year, but once that a/c kicks in, I know it’s going to be on until well into the fall, and that monthly bill creeps nearer to $250 then. Working mostly from home doesn’t help, as I can’t turn it off in mid-summer, but then again, with the gas prices heading up and up, I’m saving more on gas than I’m spending on the electricity.
I guess I should look for a job within walking distance, then I’d save gas and electricity. Thing is, there doesn’t seem to be many IT companies within this immediate neighborhood, and anyway, I generally like my independence.
Still, it’s time to quit computers altogether for a few hours, and go take up that horizontal book reading position for a while.
I’m still looking forward to summer.
Tags: bedroom windows, bedtime, different story, downstairs, electricity bills, frosty mornings, gas prices, gizmo, happy camper, home doesn, iota, mid summer, pits, ridge vent, strange thing, sun room, time of year, tree hugger, vent tiles, walking distance
