This is where the concept of having No Fixed Office can really come into it’s own. It makes it easy to keep the business running no matter where you are. However this does not mean that when you go away on holidays that you are going to be working all the time because you are just taking your business with you. No if you set the business up correctly it can be much the opposite, the business continuing with a minimal involvement from yourself.

Decrease work levels – The first thing if you are planning a holiday is to lower the work your are scheduling for that period. The last thing you want is to be working on a large project while you are suppose to be enjoying yourself on vacation. This could mean cutting back your advertising for a period leading up to your time off. Or working a little harder to get things finished before your holiday, if they are going to be due while away or not long after your return.

Ensure staff have procedures – If you employee staff, be sure they have a set framework they can work in. Even give them a little control of what they need to do. Giving them a little more control can mean less interruptions for you. For example, maybe you find that you get about 10 instances a day where a member of your staff needs to ask you what to. You could set a procedure that staff can make the decision what to do if it is going to cost the business less then $20 or take less then 15 minutes to complete. For the most part staff often know what they should do, and the time spent confirming this with you is often not needed.

Let Customers Know – Depending on your customer base just getting in touch and letting your customers know that you are going to be away on leave for a certain time. Can be enough to lower your work load for the time. You can still be available in emergencies, but it can slow down all the little things that just crop up.

Depending upon how you choose to set up your business and how you approach the leave that you want to take will be a very big factor in just how your business will survive when you take a holiday. It is often something that is not even thought about until you want to take your holiday and by that time you often find it to be quite difficult to do without spending a huge effort just to make it possible.

• The Carrybag – It seems that the carry bag which I own, that will fit pretty much all my gear in, is actually to large for carry on luggage. However all i really needed was my newest laptop (Samsung NC20) Which is no issue to fit in as carry on. However i also needed to take my Camera (Canon DSLR EOS 450D). Had to find something to fit them both into for next time, i made use of a half measure this time. More so to keep them together and minimize the chance of either getting moved around to much. But very much a to do item, to find a good in between bag which will fit both.
• Security Checks – This sort of goes along with the need for a better solution for a carry bag for traveling. As it seems that getting a laptop out of it’s carry bag, which is inside another bag, and has a camera bag on top of it inside that, is not that easy. Getting it back in means almost repacking this bag entirely. Which I have no problem with, security is the top priority, just something you learn from.
• Connectivity – Of course with maintaining blogs, having internet connectivity is important. I had thought going to the Capital of Australia, would have had better mobile reception. However I was a little wrong. While, there may be good reception in the City Center, the purpose of my trip did not bring me to the city center except for one morning. The hotel I stayed in Hawker, i was lucky to get a connection, on GPRS, and this was slow, Additionally the connections I achieved at Nicholls, was similar. While I was able to connect at 3G speeds at Latham, however this was still slower then i was used to achieving in Brisbane’s outer suburbs. Maybe I was in a bad area or who knows, not something though that it is easy to find out about before hand though. As Coverage maps can only go so far.

There were some good points however in this experience, I have a better understanding of what i personally need to make travel and a portable office work now. Additionally, I was glad to have made my acquisition of this smaller and lighter laptop (Samsung NC20) as even this with my Camera, felt a lot heavier by the time i boarded the plane. The longer battery life was also a good bonus, it meant charging was only required at night and one time during the day (on Monday when i used it a lot more).

All in all I can see that traveling and working with a mobile office is something much more then doable, it is a habit for many people (you just need to look at the number of people using their laptop sitting in the airport. But more then this it is going to be something that i will do a lot more of.

If you do have the full portable office, including a laptop, potable printer, portable projector, and extended battery’s or solar panels.  You can have quite a full carry bag. So looking for a bag that can carry all of these items, without causing you to many problems can at times be a challenge. There are a number of points to look at

• Store Everything – It is well worth knowing exactly what you are going to be taking with you before purchasing a bag. It is not a great idea to go and buy a bag to carry your laptop specifically without paying thought to the portable printer you are also going to need frequently.
• Easy to Carry – While if you do have a full featured portable office, you may not always be carrying your bag, but taking it into consideration is important. At times you may even only need to lift it out of the car or up and down stairs, but the way this is done can be an important consideration.
• Wheels – As opposed to carrying your bag for your portable office, you may prefer to be able to pull it along, on wheels of course. Take a close look at the wheels, to be sure they are going to be able to handle frequent use and in your opinion be able to last based on what you expect to be carrying around with you.
• Ability to secure – As a mobile worker, there is a chance that you are going to be traveling. Being able to secure your laptop, and other accessories when traveling is important. While you may not be able to avoid someone taking your bag, the ability to stop people from getting into your bag is something you will want to look at. Zips with the ability put in a padlock, or security seal of sorts.

When i went looking for a carry bag for my portable office, i made the move to actually look at small luggage or over night bags. Some are designed as a split laptop/overnight luggage bag, however this is easy to just use entirely for your office. So don’t think that you have to buy the carry bag that the sales guy is trying to sell you when you buy your laptop, take a look at other stores such as travel good and bag stores. You may be surprised at versatile some bags can be.

There are really two considerations when it comes to selecting a projector for your business. Cost and portability. This choice is very much dependent upon what you need to display, to how many people, and the time you have available to set up prior to a presentation. Let’s consider some of these choices for a moment though.

• Cost – Projector’s do have a very wide range of price. They can really vary anything from under $1,000 to tens of thousands of dollars. Depending on the specifications and requirements you have.
• Portability – The ability to move a projector around can be a key buying decision, there is no point in buying a very high end projector, with high level features as they will often be larger and bulkier and not really designed to be moved around. On the other hand there are a number of small and portable models which are more then suitable for many indoor situations.
• What you are displaying – Displaying a presentation using powerpoint slides, is quite different to displaying a live video, while often you may be able to display both on the same projector, it is quite possible to get better results from spending a little more for video, but this is probably going to be marginal, and will be more dependent on the next few points.
• How many people need to see – The visibility of an image from a projector over distance, can vary depending upon many factor’s aside from the projector itself. However a low end projector is probably not going to be suitable for displaying to an auditorium with thousands of people in. Where as a high end projector, may be a little to much for using in a boardroom presenting to a dozen people. So matching the needs of the projector to the audience size is a consideration.
• The Lighting Conditions – Different projector’s have different brightness ability. This is usually defined in Lumens(or ANSI). The higher the Lumen’s the better the projector will perform in even well lit environments. This can have a dramatic impact on the cost at times, so while a 1200 ANSI projector may work ok for an office or boardroom situation, it may be ineffective in a better lit environment or outdoors.
• Set-up time – This should be a consideration, if you have to spend half an hour unpacking your equipment and setting it up, with alignment, and such, this may be to much time. Sometimes half an hour is all you have to setup present and be done.

While these are all considerations that you may like to make when you are purchasing a projector. If you know that you are going to be doing a lot of indoor presenting, then you may like to take a look at a very small and very portable projector like the AIPTEK PocketCinema V10. Which is pretty much a handheld projector. It is small, light and can project up to 42″ which is well probably more then enough for business sales presentations.

So now with any luck making the decision when buying a projector may be a little easier, or at leas you may be little more informed on some of the considerations that you need to make.

To some extent being mobile and having a mobile number as your primary number can make it appear that you are more easily contactable. So it can be a benefit in that respect. However on the negative side, there is also the possibility that people will be wary of your not having a fixed business line (this could be overcome with 1800 or other type of number which is a free call or lower rate call which just directs to your mobile, if available in your area).

There are a number of options which you can choose from when it comes to a mobile phone, so lets take a look.

• Mobile Phone – A straight standard mobile phone, is the most simplest means to make contact for you. Going this route means not really worrying about any features beyond being able to accept and make phone calls. This will be a fairly minimal cost, and makes things relatively simple.
• Mobile Phone with extra features – There are a number of features that can be of benefit to you as a business owner in a mobile phone. Some can be more benefit then others. Things like a Camera, Internet Access, ability to run other applications, can make your phone a more useful tool for you.
• Smart Phone – Effectively a smart phone is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) and a Mobile Phone merged into the one device. These type of devices normally give many more features, and allow use of a wider range of programs. Many include Word and Excel or equivalent, along with a range of other useful tools.

While there are probably any number of other variation’s, these are the main options you have. Making the choice is often not hard as you often tend to make the choice by just using the mobile phone that you already own.

So really the choice comes down to what you want to be able to use your phone for. If you want something that all you need to do is make phone calls, then any phone will do. If you want the additional features of a smart phone you will be spending more money, but if you will use the features this can be money well spent.

A final option that you may like to consider as opposed to a smart phone may be to make use of an existing or a new mobile phone, and purchase a PDA. This can be a benefit if you do not like to rely on a single device for everything. As with any all in one device if one function stops working and needs to be repaired you loose all functions until you get it back from repair, so it can be a benefit to split devices with different functionality.

Being able to communicate with your clients is a very important part of you business and this is one are that you should not look to avoid spending a little extra. As buying an inferior product can easily lead to your business being dramatically affected by having no way for clients to contact you.

Choosing a portable printer is in some cases a very closed decision as there is not very many options. So more of the decision comes down to if you really do need one or not. In fact the choice of printer at this point comes down to either a HP or a Canon. So What are the models

• HP Officejet H470 – This printer can print up to 22 pages per minute in black and 18 pages per minute in colour. With a weight of 2.27kg, it can add a little weight to your office, and operates on a rechargeable battery which can print up to 480pages. At time of writing this model is priced at $549.00 (Australian Dollars)**
• Canon iP100 – This printer can print up to 20 pages per minute in black and 14 pages per minute in colour. With a weight of 2.0kg, a little lighter than the HP model, and also operates on a rechargeable battery which can print up to 290pages. At time of writing this model is priced at $449.00 (Australian Dollars)**

At this point these are the only two real contenders which i have been able to find for a portable printer. So while there is only two choices for which printer to buy. The primary choice then comes down to do you need one. Well lets take a look at what you can use one for.

• Invoices – Printing invoices is possibly something that you do a lot less of now. However there are still times when a printed invoice is needed. This need can vary from business to business, so it would be worth considering if it is something that you will use enough to justify the price.
• Information - There are many times when being able to print out an information page for a client can be really handy. It can create a more professional look, then just saying you will email it. This can also be useful to help a client make a more informed decision on the spot.
• Letters – If you send letters to clients, rather then emails. You need to be able to print them somehow, and while having a printer at home can do the trick. If you need a printer for any of the other items mentioned here, why not just go for a portable printer instead.
• Quotes – There is nothing like putting together a list of requirements and recommending a product or number of product to a client and being able to print up a quote on the spot. Can be powerful to motivate the client to make a decision, without having to wait to receive the quote via email later that day.

As you can see there are a number of reasons why you may need a portable printer, and if you need the printer for any of these is primarily what your choice is going to come down to. So spend a little while and consider what you exactly are going to need to print within your business, and if this could be done easier, quicker or more efficiently with a portable printer.

While there may be some occasions where a computer is not really needed, by far the bulk of what you may need to do on a day to day basis for your business may require a computer. Choosing a laptop is not always the easiest choice to make though, there are a number of different factors which you need to take into account when making a decision.

Netbook vs laptop

Choosing a netbook or a laptop over the other can be a confusing task. There are really 2 major differences. When you are looking at netbooks the specifications (such as processor, ram and hard drive) will likely differ little. Where as with notebooks there can be quite a large difference in specifications. The other primary difference is that netbooks rarely if ever come with a CD/DVD drive, this can mean an added cost or you may find that this is not overly important.

You will find another separation between netbooks and laptops in the weight and battery life. Netbooks will often be designed for being more portable, as in lighter weight, and to operate for extended periods on battery. This can provide quite a benefit, if you are looking for the ability take them anywhere and work for longer.

Battery Life

Getting the most out of the battery is an important factor if you are planning to be working away from a fixed location often. There is not always easy access to a power point, and looking at other options can start to add quickly to the cost of your portable office and the weight that you are going to be carrying around.

Expected battery life can range anywhere from 60 minutes up to 11 hours. All dependent on the model of the laptop and the size of the battery provided. While some models give information about the expected battery life this is often not something that is easy to determine, and can vary a lot. It can be worth looking for a model that at least gives some information in regards to the battery life.

Screen Size

The screen size of a laptop can be very important for a number of reasons. First you need to establish just what you are planning to do with the laptop. There is no doubt that bigger is usually better, and for a number of different tasks, like web and graphic design, CAD, and a number of others a big screen is almost essential. Where as other uses you may be able to get away with a smaller screen size if you are happy to do so.

Weight

Like the battery life, the weight of a laptop can vary greatly. From as little as 1.3kg up to 4kg+. The actual weight of the laptop will depend a lot on the size of the screen, with smaller screen sizes generally offering lighter options, and larger screen sizes getting heavier. The reason behind this lies in the footprint of a laptop. There needs to be more consideration made to using smaller and lighter parts for smaller screens, because of the smaller amount of space, where this becomes less concerning on the larger screen sizes.

Extra Features

The additional features that you may want to look at can be of great benefit. For example looking for a laptop with Bluetooth can give you a much great range for devices to use, such as Bluetooth cordless mouse, which would not require a dongle to connect to the laptop. Things like card readers, HDMI, and other connectors can all add to the ability to use your laptop in a much more productive way then if you dont have them available.

Looks

Many vendors are making a number of different models now that have a much more interesting and unique look to them. While the looks of a laptop can go a long way towards catching you attention, this should probably not be one of the main focal points in making your decision. Especially if you are sacrificing a feature or two to be able to have a different look.

Overall you should be looking for a laptop that provides the complete range of features you need. While taking into account the time you need to use the laptop in respect to the potential battery life. Finally don’t forget the consideration for the weight. You will soon get tired of carrying around a 4kg laptop, if you did want to go for the larger screen.So make your choice wisely and hopefully a little better informed.

To help you make more sense of all the different options and technologies that you have available to you over the coming 3 to 4 weeks  i will be making available a number of articles on the topics below. Initially i will give you a base to work on what you may need and what you may not need, as well as helping you get an idea of just what is available in each category. Once we have established this base, I will start to help you get a little more in depth by taking a closer look at specific products and technologies and just how they will best suit your business.

So the question is, I suppose what area’s can you expect to see discussed in this series.

• Laptops – The most obvious choice for someone with No Fixed Office, they are portable and offer pretty much the same features as desktop computers. Things that we will look at include the base requirements, and how to differentiate the specifications you need from the ones you would like.
• Printers – While it would be nice to work with the paperless office, especially when you have No Fixed Office, however there are some things that you cannot get by without a printer. There are two questions to be answered here, Do you need one? and Which is the best option for you?
• Smart Phone/PDA – Having a device to communicate with is pretty much essential for you with No Fixed Office. However choosing the best option can be a little more challenging. Do you go with a Mobile Phone, a PDA or Smart Phone, or even multiple devices.
• Power Options – When you are on the road or away from a fixed location for any length of time, you can quickly learn just how short the life of a battery can be. However there are options to keep you up and running without having to find a power point every couple of hours. From Solar to Extended Battery’s What are your options
• Portable Projector – Making presentations to clients from a small laptop screen can be hard, however for a long time it is has not been practical to carry a data projector. However these devices are getting smaller and smaller and some even pocket size options. But which will suit your needs.
• The Carry Bag – Being able to carry all your equipment, especially if you have a Laptop, Printer, Projector and other accessories, can mean finding the right carry bag is not easy. However with any luck I may be able to help you with this.

As you can see there is a lot of information that we will cover in this series of posts, and this will only become even more when we start to expand on some of these topics later on. Please enjoy the series and share your comments or requests below.

Every industry has companies that land somewhere between great and poor customer service. It would seem that all businesses look at what sort of customer service they provide in different ways. Some will be priced higher and provide better customer service, while others will sell at low prices and provide the absolute minimum customer service that they have to.

The biggest problem that i find with companies and the customer service they provide, is often the difference between the service they promote and they claim to provide, and the actual reality is quite different. It would seem that they want to be seen as providing something, but then feel they can almost get away without providing it but still get the boost from claiming to provide it. This has started to become more visible to me, especially in how i want to work with No Fixed Office. Lets take a look at one industry that best fits here specifically, that being Cafe’s where as a mobile worker we do most of our work.

CAFE CUSTOMER SERVICE

What’s on offer – When you look at cafe’s there are a few different style’s of customer service which you will encounter. Each is dependent upon the type of establishment, and is often reflected in the prices.

• Counter Service only – In reality these are not really Cafe’s however there are a number of different businesses that could be seen in this category. They mostly offer Coffee and Cake take away options without seating (or very little) and is usually reflective in the price.
• Counter/Table Service – This is similar to the above however you place your order and it is served at the table. Pricing is entirely relative, you pay a little more for being able to sit down and have the order brought to your table. Dependent upon the cafe though you may still need to wait for your order at the counter and take it to the table yourself.
• Full Table Service – Just as the name suggests this is where you are fully served at the table. In other words you can walk in and sit down, have a menu brought to you, have your order taken at the table, and served to you at the table. Of course this service is a little going to cost a little more in the price of food and drinks, however it can often make it easier.

What to expect – As you may see there can be a big difference and there is certainly a different in the pricing as well. The difference can be anywhere up to 30-50% more for table service. Which is maybe rightfully so. There are definitely more cost associated with providing full table service in leasing of space, additional staff, costs of furniture and reusable cups and glasses, and a need to wash it all up.

Why this post – Well maybe you are asking why this post and why the focus on Cafe’s particularly. Well as a mobile worker we rely on cafe’s often as a quick place to work and easy to get a cup of coffee or something to eat or drink. For many people, but i know for myself especially i choose where i go for the level of service.

I choose the cafe that i go to because of the fact they offer Full Table Service. I also am happy to pay the little bit extra for that service. What i cannot stand though are cafe’s that claim full table service that do not really provide it. Now with table service you have to be willing to accept a little variance in time to take the order and getting that order to your table, and the busier the cafe the longer this might take. Which i can completely understand.

However I have been becoming more aware of a drop in service at the cafe that i am very much a regular at. Where for quite some time the level of service often saw me with a coffee in less then 5 minutes. However more recently this has been more like 10-15 minutes to take my order, and on occasion anything up to 30 minutes before getting a drink at the table. While on occasion this has not been much of an issue for me, as i always have something to do on the laptop. With it becoming more frequent and longer wait time, it just becoming more and more obvious to me, that the extra I end up paying for the table service, is not worth the extra.

Whats the morale – The first part of the morale starts with the fact that due to the service getting worse there is a good chance that i will be making a change in the cafe that i visit often. This leads to the second part, you need to ensure that your business can live up to the claim of the service that it is going to claim to provide. If as a Cafe you want to offer Full Table Service, then you need to be sure that is what you are able to offer, not just in the respect of eventually, but in a reasonable time frame that the customer is going to be happy with.

So take a look at your customer service level, even find someone that can test the level of service provided by your business, and be sure that the service provided when you are there is the same as the service provided when you are not.

But they are often not really that accurate. There are always things that seem to push one to take up another. Things like commuting to work, gets taken away from the time for ourselves. Sleep gets cut back when something comes up. The more that comes up the more that gets taken away from personal time and sleep.

This is really where having No Fixed Office, can come into it’s own. When you are working for yourself, (or even to some extent for someone else) and you are not restrained to a set office, with set office hours, you have a lot more freedom to work, when, where and how you like.

Working can start to take on a new and more exciting point of view. As before you often would be stuck working from 9-5 in a fixed place, where you often may have been stuck to your office or cubicle. Once you can break this you can be much more freely able to work when it is easier for you to work.Maybe the following scenario might strike a chord for you;

Imagine waking up a little late, maybe 8am, taking a walk, before enjoying breakfast. Around 9.30 sitting down with your laptop, to check your email, complete a few quotes, and call a client or two. Followed by a little bit longer lunch break. The Afternoon finds you sitting at the local coffee shop with your laptop working on some projects for your clients, for a couple of hours. You get home and prepare a home cooked meal.

You Spend the evening working on one of your favorite hobbies. Then you realize, you only spent about 5 hours working today, and managed to get about twice as much done as when you used to work in an office, and did it feeling more relaxed and with not surprisingly more time to the things you enjoy.

Maybe that is not everyone’s idea of the perfect work day, but you change some times around, and change what you are doing at different times, and the same can be adapted to fit almost anyone’s perfect workday.

While you may be thinking no workday can be perfect because i have to work. Well this is something that does not become a problem when you are working in a way that you have more free time and get more done. Which is the whole reason i see having No Fixed Office is good. You are anabling yourself to have more control and to approach the day in a way that you are more comfortable with. Which you would hope could only be a good thing.