Froodee

Living. Blogging.

Communication At Its Finest: How Technology Has Changed The Way Businesses Communicate

By

The exponential expansion and change in the way the world does business can largely be attributed to the changes in technology and the way in which professionals communicate. Between email chains, social media messaging, texting, and video chatting, much of the world’s business communications are done through some sort of technology, as opposed to face-to-face.

Though the shift towards technology has made business communication a bit more challenging in some ways, the majority of its effects are wholly positive. Take a moment to read over a short summary highlighting the ways in which technology has changed the way businesses communicate. [Read more…]

3 Tips For Getting The Help You Need From Customer Support Representatives

By

Whether you work for a business or you’re working with a business, the chances that you’ll have to communicate with a customer service representative are pretty high. But sadly for those customer service reps, most people aren’t calling or making contact to tell them they’re doing a great job. The majority of calls received by CSRs are regarding problems with functionality, billing, or other areas of the product or service received. So whether you’re stopping in at your local market to exchange a product or calling into a software company for business assistance, here are three tips for getting the help you need from customer support representatives. [Read more…]

Working from Home: Your Home Office Setup

By

If you’re like me, you would be quite averse to the usual corporate setup. I used to work the corporate grind, getting up early in the morning to drive or take a cab, bus or train to the office miles away, work for eight or more hours, and then go home at night feeling tired and weary.

Work is great and the people are okay, too, except for my disdain with office politics. But it’s the travel time that usually leaves me exhausted each day. Imaging wasting your time in hours of travel just to get from point A to point B, and back to point A again. Sure, traveling could be fun. But if it’s an everyday adventure in traffic, fighting for space on the subway or the parking lot, it’s not as exciting and leisurely anymore.

So I decided to quit and start working from home full-time. I started out as a freelance blogger, and then moved on to full-time network blogging. I now help manage Splashpress Media, the company that owns Froodee. All this I do from home, or anywhere with a decent Internet connection.

Running a telecommute setup or a home office can be as simple or it can be as complicated as you want it to be. For starters, you would need a decent broadband connection and a computer, and you’re good to go. I started out with a very slow pre-owned laptop that I used to use at work. Thankfully it had WiFi, so I set-up our home DSL connection with a wireless router so I can work from anywhere.

I then bought a brand new PC laptop, and then a used Mac PowerBook. Having separate machines help me work on more things at a time.

But then I didn’t have a dedicated spot at home to work in, so I usually just used the dining table as my desk, clearing up the space when we needed to eat already.

Thankfully, a few months after I started working from home, my wife and I decided to move to a bigger place. So I was able to have an entire room as my home office. I didn’t have a dedicated desk yet, but I was able to convert our old dining table (a small-sized one) for the meantime.

Then I built up on my home office assets one by one. I bought a desk, then an armchair (that swivels and reclines!), then I replaced my big old Powerbook with an ultraportable (for when I need to work out of home).

My latest additions are a pre-owned Mac Mini and a large widescreen LCD, which now serves as my main work machine.

The Samsung SyncMaster 940BW

Working from home can be fun. But because you don’t get to enjoy office-bought equipment, supplies and services, you would have to shell out for these on your own. As for me, I can proudly say that since I started to run my office on my own, I’ve tripled and even quadrupled my income from the corporate world. So even if I had to shell out for my own expenses, I still net more (and still own the stuff).

Next: Pros and cons of running a home office, and Telecommuting in a wireless world.

Why You Need To Rest Part 2: Tips for staying in tip-top performance

By

Just this Monday, I posted on why we all need to rest. Now my tips for staying at peak performance include:

Have a rest day. Whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, Baha’i, Agnostic, or an Atheist, set a rest day where you can recharge and renew your energies. On that day, turn off your computer. Set aside everything that resembles your paperwork, even post-its. Grab a non-business or work-related book, a feel-good book, a feel-good DVD that doesn’t require you to think, and just relax. [Read more…]

Why You Need To Rest Part 1: Intro

By

Finally, I’m starting my workweek!

After an entire week of downtime, virtually doing NOTHING and feeling worthless, I’m only too glad to be making money err, working again.

Speaking of feeling worthless and for what it’s worth for women who love to multi-task, I’m listing here what I think I should do, and what I believe are essential for staying in tip-top shape, productivity-wise.

I believe that productivity is not a matter of pushing yourself to the limit. Rather, it’s a matter of getting that work-life balance thing down pat. [Read more…]