workspace | Bigg Success

Tag Archive: workspace

Save Money by Sharing

Written on April 24, 2009 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Money

Our parents taught us to share. It was part of being a good little boy or girl. The economy is reminding us adults about the value of sharing.

___

Hear George & Mary-Lynn share their bigg idea for sharing on The Bigg Success Show! Click the purple player: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

___

Home for Sharing

For example, some people are now sharing living space. More and more people are accepting the idea of having a roommate again by renting out a room to help pay bills.

There are a number of people who are out-of-work and looking to save money every way they can. “Necessity is the mother of invention” as we’ve heard.

Co-working

Another popular idea is sharing workspace. Freelancers across the country are creating co-working stations in their communities where they can share office facilities and other resources.

Instead of going it alone – signing a long-term lease, paying utility bills, buying office furnishings and equipment – they pay a fee and share space with other freelancers and entrepreneurs.

The spaces are usually nice and bright. They have a conference room and maybe even a full-time receptionist.

It’s not just about money. For freelancers who are starting to feel like loners, it gives them a chance for in-person human interaction during the day.

Sharing infrequently-used items

We started thinking about other ways to share. One example is a lawn mower. We only use our mowers once or twice a week. In our area of the world, we only use it for about half of the year. Would it make sense to share a mower with a neighbor?

As long as both people don’t feel the need to mow on the same day at the same time, it would probably work. There are issues – you have to both agree to take care of the mower and those sorts of things.

___

george This makes me think of my dad. If he owned something, he took really good care of it. If he used something that someone else owned, he took really, really, really good care of it!

___

Sharing for fun

___

marylynn I had an event coming up and I didn’t know when I would find time to go shopping. I told one of my girlfriends about it. She said that she had the perfect dress. We went over to her house and, sure enough, she did!

___

george I needed a pressure washer to do some clean up around the house. I told one of my friends that I needed to go rent one. It turned out that he had one that he let me use for the weekend.

___

Just so we don’t give the wrong impression, we also share our stuff with our friends!

A fun way to share

Since we like to do everything in a bigg way, let’s ramp up this idea of sharing more. Why not organize an event with a group of your closest friends?

Hop from house to house. If you want, you can have appetizers or organize a full meal as part of the activities. You can do it all in one day or create a series – this month at our house, next month at yours.

At each house, let the host show off the wares that he or she is willing to share.

It could be a Fashion Show – from clothes to accessories. Try them on if you want. Parade around. Show them off.

Or a Home Show … from power tools to hand tools. Test them out. Complete a project together. It’s your show; do what you want.

You could have a Home Entertainment Show. Show off DVDs, books and Wii accessories.

You can all see what each person in your group has to share. Then the next time you need that certain something, you won’t have to go out and buy it – you’ll know Joe or Jane has it.

This is a fun way to spend some time with your close friends. You’ll find that it will spark a lot of fun conversation and you’ll learn more about each other.

It’s also a creative way to save some money by pooling resources. That’s a bigg idea!

What have you shared with your friends?

Please share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG or sending us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

We thank you so much for sharing some of your valuable time with us today!

___

Would you like more tips and tools to live your life on your own terms? Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE!

___

Recent research shows that, even before the recent decline in stocks and homes, the rich weren’t getting richer. Please join us next time when we discuss why.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00380-042409.mp3

Two Proven Keys to Happiness

Do You Make Your Friends Happy?

(Image in today's post by hortongrou)

0 Comments

There’s Trouble On The Homefront

Written on February 7, 2008 by admin in Bigg Solutions, Business Ownership, Challenge

HEAR THE BIGG SUCCESS SHOW: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bigg Challenge
Robin e-mailed us because she recently started a home-based business and she’s having trouble with all the distractions.

Her young children need attention, family and friends call her, the neighbor pops in periodically, and she often ends up working on a personal project instead of her business.

She wants to know how to be more productive amidst all the distractions!

Bigg Advice
Congratulations on your start-up, Robin. And don’t feel alone in your situation – a lot of people have trouble adapting to working at home. Here are 3 thoughts to make working at home work:

1st – Designate a workspace just for your business
Create a space that looks and feels like an office. Having a dedicated space puts you in the right frame of mind. Design it with productivity and comfort in mind because you will be spending a lot of time there. It should be more than the kitchen table or a card table in the guest room.

2nd – Establish a schedule
Determine your work times. Sounds like a job, doesn’t it? You’re not limiting your freedom; you’re ensuring your success!

Consider taking the kids to daycare. Isn’t that what you would do if you worked in an office?

You may be trying to keep all of your costs down, during this start-up phase. But you’ll never get out of the start-up phase if you don’t make time for work.

Maybe you decided to work at home so you could spend more time with your kids. Then dedicate a couple of hours during the day to work. Perhaps while the kids take their naps. Then really hunker down after they go to bed for the evening.

Your schedule doesn’t have to be 9 to 5. You can custom design it! Just stick to it once you’ve established it.

3rd – Communicate the boundaries.
With the adults in your life, this SHOULD be easier. Let them know that you value your time with them, but you need time to build your business. Consider setting regular times for coffee or lunch. Wouldn’t it be nice to get away now and then?

Let them know when you won’t be available – just like if you had a job working in an office! If they call during your work hours, let it go to voice mail. Check to make sure it’s not an emergency; then get back to work. And just because there’s a knock on the door doesn’t mean you have to answer it – unless it’s Publishers Clearing House!

With your kids, it may be trickier. If they’re really young, they won’t understand. Try this – plan some play time with them early in the day. Explain that you have things to do, but if they’re really good, you’ll do something fun with them later.

Thanks for sharing your bigg challenge with us, Robin. We wish you bigg success!