Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

CO-WORKING: A Solution for “Cabin Fever” Entrepreneurs

Rose

Up and running, but feeling a little squeezed out of space and time and human interaction working solo from the confines of a small room, basement, or kitchen table of your residence?  Are you feeling like a case of “cabin fever”? You are not alone.  An all too familiar territory for so many home-based small business operator.   But, many solo-preneurs are finding solutions to this problem by looking to the growing trend of Co-Working spaces opening up all across their cities.  Here are 8 Reasons Why Co-Working is A Solution for “Cabin Fever” Entrepreneurs:

  1.   Entrepreneurs, especially those working from home, find the sound of their own breathing quite deafening and over time can kill the level of enthusiasm and motivation required to run a business.  The isolation and silo-effect that often comes with the territory is a challenge for many.  The co-working experience can infuse much needed energy and action.  Human interaction, stepping outside of your comfort zone and embracing unplanned opportunities are sometime all that’s needed to rid that stagnant, unproductive feeling.
  2.    It’s amazing how much more you can accomplish when you are not distracted by personal phone calls, interruptions from kids and/or spouses or the clamour of visual clutter in your home settings.  Home-based entrepreneurs find this particularly challenging.  The co-working experience offers independent  business people the opportunity to gain better organizational habits, regain focus and stay organized.
  3.   Your opportunity to network and build present and future connections is now ever-present.  You have just multiplied your business presence tenfold.  Co-working environments are an excellent breeding ground for collaboration of all kinds.  It is often something nurtured by groups and sub groups of entrepreneurs that have complementary skills, experience and resource.  This can be  invaluable when you are just getting started and needing to now create your own networking circles.

GUILT FREE.  You can avoid much of the guilt that goes with spending your 8 plus hours of a workday in the mocha scented havens of your nearby coffee shop.  Although, you are offered free Wi-Fi and little pressure to “move on” so other patrons can get their “fill on”, you are often left feeling guilty for taking up so much time and space, especially when you haven’t made a purchase.  So, you feel the pressure and head to the barista to place your order of a piping hot tall one.

OFFICE OFFICIAL.  Co-working spaces vary from space to space.  But, a common theme to most is the open-concept combination of casually home but officially business, meaning there may be lounging areas, a common eating/kitchen space alongside the far more official looking a conference room and walled offices for those needing more privacy and structure.  For some of entrepreneurs, although we love the idea of working from home and have the entrepreneurial freedom to “work from anywhere” stationed in our minds, the reality is that your space may not be large enough to designate an office that is distinct from the rest of your residential quarters.  For others it may be a case that their business is mobile and allows for a lot of travel, so the co-working option gives them an official home base wherein they can forward their mail and meeting clients.

  1.  As much as we like to think that working from home gives us the comfort to roam as we will in our PJs and sweats, we are often uneasy by the discomfort of having to meet up with a client and risk appearing a little less professional we operate from the sidearm of our loveseats or kitchen tables.  A co-working space can lend some credibility to your business profile and give a far more professional image.  Now this does not mean that all businesses have to perform at the standardized level of office-desk-chair, which is what many clients are used to, but for many, having an office-type environment to welcome and engage the public is the best choice.  A neutral meeting place in no way infringes on the privacy of your home. You may need to “meet your clients where they are” meaning, they may not be as comfortable in your armchair as they might be in a chair that swivels.

COMMON GROUND.  Co-working spaces continues to be a growing trend, with spaces popping up everywhere in all major cities across Canada.  Many of these environments have catered its quarters to  -Preneurs of every kind.  There you will find people with similar businesses, common visions, and complimentary services.  Some are niche-focused, for example, co-working spaces with daycare facilities.  Look around and find some common ground.  Find a co-working organization that is tailored to your specific needs.

COMMUNITY.  The water cooler is alive and well, even in this electronic world of text messages and emails.  A great stress reliever are the benefits of not-so-mindless chit-chat and where better to do that than around the proverbial “water cooler”.  Social engagement face-to-face will never get old, whether in the lunchroom, common area, over lunch at the neighbourhood hotspot, engaging in that day’s events, latest celeb gossip, or sports scores can truly rejuvenate your creative flow, can put you in a better, more positive mood.  You can regain focus and creativity.

As an entrepreneur and owner of a home based business, I currently have an opportunity to engage with a co-working organization right here in Toronto.  Camaraderie Co-Working is a membership based organization of entrepreneurs offering office and event space, private offices, boardroom, networking, peer support, community and camaraderie.  Camaraderie (camaraderie.ca) is a member of CoworkingToronto, CoworkingOntario, and CoworkingCanada. Co-working is a solution to “Work close to home but not at home”.  Find a co-working arrangement that works for you.

 

Rose Nixon, is Your “Anything” Organizer, Chief Professional Organizer and Principal Owner of ReallyOrganizedNow(RON), A Professional organizing company that brings Mindful Solutions for Stress-Less Living.  Rose knows that Life can be stressful enough without having the added burden of Disorganization.  Rose also knows that when you’re Organized you Smile more.  You are more pleasant to be around.  You enjoy people, places and things with greater ease, comfort and focus.  Rose helps active women and families find solutions and support to Stress-Less and Live More. She helps them BE ReallyOrganizedNow. Are you ReallyOrganizeNow?  Rose Nixon is the is an active volunteer in her community, offering support to several causes and organizations.  She is a business owner, aspiring blogger and author, and an ambassador of creative expression. 

Contact Rose on social media

https://www.facebook.com/reallyorganizednow

https://twitter.com/roseKNOWSron

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReallyOrganizedNow/videos 

http://about.me/reallyorganizednow

Rose Nixon – Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of April 2014

ROSE

“An organized space is a smiling face” is a truth that Rose Nixon holds firmly to. As the Chief Organizer and Principal Owner of ReallyOrganizedNow(RON), a Professional Organizing company, Rose knows firsthand the value of an organized space and the power of a smile. “Helping active women and families become more organized in their daily lives is my mission. Life can be stressful enough without having the added burden of disorganization,” reinforces Rose. Known as Your “Anything” Organizer and the recently named 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year (which she will be awarded at the upcoming Microskills Gala Event on May 29th), Rose shares her knowledge, techniques, tips and mindful solutions with her clients and community. Her services focus on de-cluttering, organizing and staging clients’ home, office and small business spaces for renewed clarity and function making it far more welcoming. Rose also knows that when people are organized they smile more.  They are far more pleasant to be around.  They enjoy their lives with greater ease and comfort. They become much more focused on what’s important.

“Stress-less, live more” is an ideology that Rose believes everyone should aim to do more of. Two and a half years ago Rose was faced with a life-threatening health concern that pushed this ideology to the forefront of her life. “I’ve been working since I’m 19 years old and haven’t stopped. Even when I became a mother, I never stopped. When I was rushed to the ER as a result of much discomfort for several days prior, the news that I had an accumulation of more than a litre of fluid around my heart, was astounding and a huge wake-up call to me. I was lucky to have arrived at the hospital on the day that I did”, Rose recounts. She was lucky to be alive and thankful to have another chance to live life differently. She really had to seriously evaluate what that difference looked like.

Choosing to live her life as simply as possible, Rose began to refocused more on the quality not quantity of her life. So, she began by de-cluttering some of the excesses in her life—people, places, things, thoughts and mindset. Stress is a silent killer. With the increasing demands of work and lifestyle, a growing majority of people, particularly women, are on the receiving end of risky health problems and mental disorders. Rose knew that she had to continue to remain relaxed and really organized in order to maintain her overall health.

A mother of two, now teenaged, boys, Rose had to readjust her focus and align her personal vision with what was truly in her heart—to do something significant with her time and her life. Not wanting to re-enter the world of Payroll, Rose decided to explore some of her other interests and passions. Entrepreneurship was always looming and the time had come to explore it with much more vigor.

Combining her innate abilities in domesticated and corporate office management, her sensibilities in restoring order, educational background in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, and her organizational skills was now taking shape in her new endeavor. She enrolled herself in a business plan development program specifically designed for women with entrepreneurial designs, there she reconfirmed that her ideas for ReallyOrganizedNow was viable as a business. Rose Nixon has the desire to chart herself a new course to success and live a life with purpose.

Rose Nixon is an active volunteer in her community, offering support to several causes and organizations. She is a business owner, newbie blogger and aspiring published author, an ambassador of creative expression and a keen supporter of women in small business.

 

Our Q & A with Rose Nixon

What inspires you?

Inspiration comes to me from many different sources. As a woman, I am inspired by other women who simply make things happen. They push for change. They use their creativity and ingenuity to provoke innovation that improves the quality and well being humanity. As an entrepreneur I am inspired by women and men that took NO and turned it into YES through sheer determination and belief that all things are possible. As a person, I am inspired by my children. My life’s interaction with them teaches me that I am capable of far more than I realize.

 

As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

My proudest achievements thus far are first and foremost that I have embarked on this adventure and still holding true my vision that organized living is a change maker in living better. My nomination of Microskills 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Award is another. It is an honour to be considered but it is also an honour to be an award recipient. My appearance on DayTime Toronto highlighting the Basics of Organizing; My The presence of my business on social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin; The growth of my networking community; and my valuable volunteer participation in many community organizations—YWCA, Luminato, CSBW. All of these interactions are motivation to keep active in my pursuit to establishing ReallyOrganizedNow as a well-respected business.

 What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

My advice to aspiring small business owners: Go for it! Be patient. Enjoy the process. Keeponsmilin’!

 What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

In the upcoming year, I’m looking to continue taking my business to the next level. I am currently working on a fully functioning website, the development of a radio/TV blog show, becoming an event sponsor, establishing some B2B partnerships, more media exposure, hosting a variety of self-help workshops focused on the principals of organizing and mindful solutions for our living spaces and continuing to involvement in volunteer projects within the community.

 

BUSINESS IN THE FRONT, PARTY IN THE BACK: How to Organize a Booming Back Room

Rose

Is your storefront is a business fail in the front, but a big whopping party in the back?  It is most likely in need of some organization.  Your storefront is probably suffering from “back pain” because there is way too much going on in your back room.  It’s the kind of pain that is crippling your bottom line and driving away customers.  If this is the case, you should seriously consider getting the assistance of a professional organizer.

A common problem in retail environment is that 99% of the effort in setup goes into the design, layout, merchandising and window dressing of the store front. The Back Room (or store room) on the other hand, is far too often neglected and treated like the “red-headed-stepchild”– receiving no love but carrying the chores of housing all the excess merchandise, visual displays, company directives, and files, along with acting as a business office and lunchroom.

A well-organized backroom is essential to effectively ordering, processing, storing and transitioning merchandise into sales.  A well-organized backroom will turn your business into a well-oil machine with few aches and very little pain.   Your store’s backroom is basically the nerve-center of your operations, so it should receive as much or even more attention.  Too much time is wasted trying to find things.  Too much time is lost in unproductive hours resulting in a weakened bottom line.

Professional organizing services often cater specifically to independent and small businesses with a focus on areas of storage, function, process and flow.  Here are some tips and techniques that you should consider when organizing your backroom space:

  1. PLAN MAPPING—Create a plan of action by assessing the space usage, and dimensions. Design a floor plan that will maximize storage and accommodate the various types and sizes of items and boxes to be stored.  Think “seasonally”.   Store merchandise to move quickly and efficiently throughout the seasons and holidays.  Purge merchandise every 6-12 months.  Display a floor plan indicating the layout areas and inventory.  Orientate your staff with the layout.  Update as back room plans change.
  2.  SPACE STORAGE—Build space that adds flexibility with adjustable, movable fixtures to accommodate space as you need it.  Utilize wall space.  Build upwards, while keeping in mind your employees who may need certain items accessible.  Free standing shelving units as best back to back forming a center aisle in larger back rooms.  Identify if an item actually needs to be stored in the back room or whether the item needs to be stored off-site.
  3. PROCESS FLOW—Your back room should be organized to flow easily and efficiently.  The user-friendly backroom will allow incoming merchandise and paperwork.  Refine your paper process designating areas for filing and incoming invoicing etc. Ensure adequate open area for assembly, packaging and unpacking.  Discard unnecessary and excess packaging and paper right away or by end of day.  Create a listing of fast-moving merchandise and moving the items closer to the entranceway for easier access and shorter travel time.
  4. FUNCTION FLEXIBILITY—An essential element of organizing backroom space is functionality and flexibility.  The space should focus on distinct usage with a regulated flow and flexibility in movement as well as usage.  Clearly identifying and labelling areas will offer consistency and fluency in the space.  Incorporating solid storage capacities such as filing trays, locked cabinets, wire/plastic bins for loose items and dry goods.  Group like items together and by category.
  5. MEET GREET EAT—A store’s back room often serves as a meeting room, a business office and a kitchen.  The space should be a clean, organized space that is a welcoming host for staff quiet time, making phone calls, computer communication, vendor appointments, writing and manager/staff meetings.

 

A store’s Back Room needs to be a supporting partner in your small business.  It should help not hinder its growth or success.  Promoting a prideful space that is bright and energetic will motivate and boost morale among staff.  Decorate your Back Room with color, sales training postings and inspirational posters.

Remember that maintaining the back room is everyone’s responsibility.  As an owner delegate, assign and review tasks focusing on staff strengths.  An organized retail space can really be a big pay-off for your business providing an easy and stress-less environments.

Organized and booming, your store’s Back Room will be less of a clutter party with more business both in the front and the back.  Today is a good day to be ReallyOrganizedNow!

Rose Nixon, is Your “Anything” Organizer, Chief Professional Organizer and Principal Owner of ReallyOrganizedNow(RON), A Professional organizing company that brings Mindful Solutions for Stress-Less Living.  Rose knows that Life can be stressful enough without having the added burden of Disorganization.  Rose also knows that when you’re Organized you Smile more.  You are more pleasant to be around.  You enjoy people, places and things with greater ease, comfort and focus.  Rose helps active women and families find solutions and support to Stress-Less and Live More. She helps them BE ReallyOrganizedNow. Are you ReallyOrganizeNow?  Rose Nixon is the is an active volunteer in her community, offering support to several causes and organizations.  She is a business owner, aspiring blogger and author, and an ambassador of creative expression. 

Contact Rose on social media

https://www.facebook.com/reallyorganizednow

https://twitter.com/roseKNOWSron

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReallyOrganizedNow/videos 

http://about.me/reallyorganizednow

Mind Your Own Business. The Best Advice You Will Ever Get.

Rose

I know, it sounds a little rude and at times somewhat arrogant.  I’m sure you’ve had it said to you or overheard it in conversations in earshot. “Mind your own business” If you’re like me, you probably responded or thought, “Excuse me?” The statement has a sting to it that truly takes a bite at your ego and may cause you to act negatively towards the person delivering it.

But if you take a step back, and remove it from the personal arena,” Mind your Own Business” is one of the most valuable piece of advice you will ever receive, especially in business.  If you think about it, you are in business, your business.  Shouldn’t you be minding it?  Putting all your focus and energy into it?

It’s actually a positive rather than a negative. Too often, small business owners like you and I are so caught up looking into the competition that we lose sight of our own.  It’s one thing to research to understand your competition.  I mean, you have to know what they are doing in order to formulate your strategies to corner your place in the market, but you have to avoid getting blindsided.  Nothing requires more attention than your business.   To ensure you put this advice to good use follow these simple rules:

  1. Be Organized—is essential to everything.  Put things in perspective. Keep things in order. Know who the players are. Know where you need to be.  Keep a master TO DO list. Delegate. Designate.
  2. Keep Focused—your business is your focus.  Everything you do and say and breath is your business.  Don’t allow distractions (especially negative ones) at home, in business, or at play.
  3. Stick to the Plan—go to your business plan often, as a reminder, as a check-point, as a gauge.  Pinpoint where you are at and where you a going.  Update regularly as business develops.
  4. Follow Up—with leads, opportunities, people, places and things.
  5. Network Outside your Industry—so important.  Some of your best contact and creative ideas may very well be just outside your industry.  Take your observations and knowledge and bring it back to your business to see how you can enhance and improve.
  6. Learn to say NO—don’t be a “yes-preneur”. Being able to say NO allows you to weed out people, place and things that may lead you away from your business.
  7. Remember Why—Remember why you started your business. Your vision. Your mission. Your goals. Your Life.
  8. Ask for help—you cannot do this alone because entrepreneurship can be lonely.  Gather the troops and ask for their help and support.
  9. Grow with It—your business is not what it was the day you started it. As your business grows you have to grow with it.  Learn what works and what doesn’t and understand why.
  10. Go with your Gut—it rarely fails. It’s usually right. It keeps you accountable and responsible. Your head and your heart can often lie, but your gut never lies.

The next time someone tells you  to “Mind your own business”, simply reply “Thanks, I think I will”.

 

Rose Nixon, is Your “Anything” Organizer, Chief Professional Organizer and Principal Owner of ReallyOrganizedNow(RON), A Professional organizing company that brings Mindful Solutions for Stress-Less Living.  Rose knows that Life can be stressful enough without having the added burden of Disorganization.  Rose also knows that when you’re Organized you Smile more.  You are more pleasant to be around.  You enjoy people, places and things with greater ease, comfort and focus.  Rose helps active women and families find solutions and support to Stress-Less and Live More. She helps them BE ReallyOrganizedNow. Are you ReallyOrganizeNow? 

Contact Rose on social media

https://www.facebook.com/reallyorganizednow

https://twitter.com/roseKNOWSron

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReallyOrganizedNow/videos 

http://about.me/reallyorganizednow

 

 

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