Make your business portable - Business Trips are a Company Expense.

One of the perks of traveling for business is that your company picks up the tab for almost everything.  Since you are on bona fide business for the sake of your business, being reimbursed for the costs of the trip is routine in the business world.  Now we don’t want to abuse the expense account but if you live in a reasonable fashion on the road, you can get reimbursement for most expenses of the trip.

But problem about getting reimbursed for your business travel expenses is that you have to file a report when you get back.  While it seems like a nuisance, you cannot expect the company to reimburse you for expenses if you don’t know what they are.  But this calls for a certain amount of discipline on the road so you have some documentation as you travel that you can use to compile that expense report when you return. There are some things you can do to make this process of managing that expense report less of a headache.

For starters, before you leave, make sure you are very aware of the company’s expense policy and what is covered and what is not.  Some companies use a per diem system which means that the company may allocate you a set amount each day for room and board and anything you spend above that is an expense you will cover.  If your company uses the per diem system, make sure you know it well so you know what you can expense before you run up the charge.

Keeping track of businesses expenses on a busy trip may become a nuisance as you travel.  But you don’t want to get home and not be able to document the trip.  The good news is there are some simple systems you can put in place that don’t take a lot of your time but will make keeping those business expenses tracked and ready to report for reimbursement when you return.  They include…
* Use Credit.  Your credit card statement can be a running “tale of the trip” that can serve as emergency backup should you need it.

* Receipt retention.  It is easy to lose receipts if you put them in pockets with other documents or let them float loose in your briefcase.  Maintain a daily envelope that you religiously put receipts into as soon as you get them.  That can ride comfortably in the inside pocket of your jacket or in your briefcase so you know you have that record of your spending.

* A running log.  Even if you keep receipts, you can get home and find the task of sorting through them and trying to remember details about that expense can be a challenge.  Make it a daily practice to sit down at night with a small notebook and go through your receipts and make a ledger of what you spent that day and on what.
 
* For when you don’t get a receipt.  Carry a pocket notebook and jot down when you spend cash or don’t get a receipt for an expense.  Tips or snacks needed to get through the day should be recorded in this way.

* Lock those receipts down.  Just as you kept your receipts secure during the day, put them someplace secure at night so they will be locked down until you return.  Sealed envelopes work well for this purpose.

If you want to take the system to the next level, you can actually bring an expense report form with you and fill it out each day as you go.  Then when the trip is over, you just sign it, bundle up the receipts and submit it to accounting.  For an even more secure method, you can use Microsoft Excel on your laptop or a digital version of your company expense report to update each night as you move your receipts to storage for the rest of the trip.

The important thing is to develop a system that works for you without fail as you travel.  Then make your dedication to that system a priority as you travel. It is not that hard to save money while traveling, it is just a matter of planning and good organization.

Make your business portable - Business Traveler’s Tips.

There are always those business travelers that are organized and then there are those that are always running late. The business traveler who has been at it a while figures out some insider information that not many travelers know.  These little travel secrets make the world of difference when traveling.  And you can bet they are not going to share this information with just anyone because this is the kind of information that can change the nature of your business travel forever.

Your laptop is a crucial piece of equipment as you travel.  In an airport emergency situation, your wireless laptop can be used to change reservations so you can avoid those long lines to get on the next flight out.  You can reserve a rental car or snag one of the few remaining hotel rooms in town right from the comfort of a seat at the airport.  Then the savvy business traveler can casually stroll to his or her designation as others around them panic because they knew how to leverage technology and the internet to bail themselves out of a crisis situation.

But one aspect of using your laptop to rescue yourself when the airport is in shut down is the limited power of laptops.  To see your battery go dead just when you needed it the most is like watching your ship sink as the sharks circle the lifeboat.  What not many people know is that there are open electrical outlets in airports that are there for cleaning crews if you know where they are.  Usually these outlets are just under the windows that overlook the landing strips so if you can secure a seat near these outlets, you can charge up your laptop and keep your lifeline to the world alive.

Business travelers also know how to take full advantage of resources that are made available to business travelers exclusively.  Find hotels that cater to the traveling businessperson.  These hotels will not have amenities for families nor are they trying to bring in busses of teenagers on the way to camp.  So you can find a hotel with much fewer young people making noise and being a nuisance when you are trying to focus on business.

In addition to using businesses that cater to the business traveler, take advantage of frequent flyer and priority clubs that many airlines and hotels offer.  If you are going to travel a lot, you can rack up some credits on those clubs, which can result in upgrades to first class, better accommodations or free services when you stay at your selected hotels.  They win because they capture your travel dollar.  You win because you get pampered for a while.

You can gain a lot of convenience and reduce your hassles by using a less popular airport to come into town.  By utilizing an airport in a smaller town near by and renting a car, you get out of the congestion of traffic and can drive to your destination without that exposure to the masses all pushing and shoving to get through the major hubs.

Extra copies of travel documents can speed things up a lot especially if you are leaving the country.  Often when you are going through customs, you must surrender your passport so the customs agent can make a copy.  So you make a copy before you get there and give it to them.  With a quick scan, they can confirm that it is a legitimate copy and have you on your way much quicker.

Don’t overlook how public transportation can bail you out of dealing with a lot of traffic in large city situations.  In Washington or New York, the subways work exceptionally well.  If you can get out of the airport area via mass transit, you can find a rental car location in town and conduct your business with less wait and without the traffic jams you would face at the airport.  Plus airport rental car sites are more expensive than those in town.

These little tips can go a long way toward making your trip less of a hassle, less expensive and more successful. Knowing what resources are available to business travelers you can save money and make your business trip hassle-free.

Making your business portable - Be well-prepared before you Leave on your Business Trip.

You want to turn up at that business meeting look as fresh as a daisy even if you have just got off a long international flight. If that was all business travel entailed, that would be challenge enough.  But to carry off a successful business trip, you have to think about your personal needs, medical needs and everything you might require.  The ability to travel light on a business trip is truly a refined skill that takes into account the ordeal you might go through at the airport, the potential for lost baggage and what you really do need once you get to your destination.

Many travelers have a firm ethic about not checking bags.  The result is you see almost a comical effort by travelers to drag huge bags onboard and jam them into overhead bins.  As a business traveler, your ability to relax and pass through the airport system with little fuss is paramount.  When you take bulky bags on board on an airplane, you exchange the time at baggage claim for a huge hassle in getting your bags on and off that airplane.

It’s best to balance what you really need at your destination with the problems of taking too much on board.  To reduce your anxiety about baggage claim, leave plenty of time between your travel plans and your business appointments at your destination.  If you have several hours or a day before you must make your business contacts, you can relax and go through the baggage claim process without anxiety.

The other problem with baggage claim is lost luggage.  So to assure you will have the basics when you get to your hotel, lost luggage or not, pack a very small bag to take on board.  In that bag, only take your basic requirements.  Include your medications, contact lens supplies, sample sizes of toiletries, underwear and one change of clothes.  Then you have what you need for one night and the next days meetings while your baggage catches up with you.

To pack light, do a good inventory of what you really do need.  There are some economies you can utilize to greatly reduce the bulk of what you are going to take without sacrificing your needs and ability to look good when you make your business contacts.

* Wear a basic outfit.  If you have a suit or other garment you know will be your anchor piece, wear it on the plane.  You can also wear a coat or jacket that you might need there and then fold it and use it for a pillow on the plane thus keeping it out of your bag.  That coat is not considered part of your carry on but it helps you reduce your baggage bulk. 

* Economy of space in your bag.  Compress what you pack and use every empty space.  Pack socks into shoes and roll your clothing rather than lay them flat to squeeze the empty air filled space out of them.  You can always iron and get pressed any outfits that get wrinkled in route once you are at your destination.

* Mix and Match.  Take outfits that can be used over again with a different pant or shirt combinations. 

* You can get it there.  Don’t take anything that won’t get guaranteed and frequent use.  If there is something you might need, remember, you can buy it there in a drugstore or nearby store.  So don’t let anxiety make you over pack.

These steps can reduce your packing problems and result in a workable travel system that will reflect that you are well organized and ready for the road. It is great to be prepared and not to have to go shoppingbecause you have forgotten something you cannot live without.

Making your business portable - Being on the Road Constantly can Wear you Down.

There is a big difference between traveling for business for a couple of day s compared to being on the road for a few months continuously. But it is a necessity of some areas of business that professionals representing that business do stay out on the road for a very long time.  These road warriors are examples of people who understand the wear and tear the road can cause on the body, mind and spirit after months of continuous travel.

As humans, we are designed to have homes and nest.  So the life on the road runs against that natural instinct to settle in one place and rest there.  So the first challenge of traveling continuously is finding ways to replicate a “normal life” despite the constant travel.  The one factor that can help with combating road weariness is the psychological factor of familiarity.

Because business persons who travel for many weeks may not see the same people for very long and often move from city to city, the hotels and restaurants eventually begin to blur into one place and the desire for the familiar and “home” starts to make itself known.  So one way to provide that sense of sameness is routine.  Even on the road, one can establish a routine that you can look forward to each evening.  Whether that means watching the same television shows, scheduling your calls home at the same time each day or week or establishing hotel room rituals, by maintaining a “sameness” no matter where you are living at any given time gives the traveler that sense of normalcy that is missing in a life of nonstop travel.

Oddly enough, role models for living successfully on the road are some rock and roll bands who have been living such a life for years if not decades.  If you examine their approach to touring, the ones that live that life for very long learn quickly to avoid substance abuse and live a healthy lifestyle.  While the typical businessperson doesn’t have to get up and perform on stage for thousands, it is important to sleep well and see your digestive systems and regularity remain stable during the constant change of travel.

That may mean establishing an exercise regime that you simply do not break.  A morning run followed by a sauna and a light but healthy breakfast not only can get  your day off on the right foot, it can confirm your routine and that you are in charge of your lifestyle on the road, not the hotel or the circumstances around you.

Another lesson we can witness from professional musicians who travel a great deal is an intense devotion to professionalism.  For the musician, they are on the road for one and only one thing, to put on great shows for their fans.  That focus can keep them centered for long periods of time.   We can translate that focus to what we are about as we set out on a long business journey.  By focusing on what we are on the road to achieve and give that 100% of our best efforts, that will give us validation when we find success at every stop along the way.

Musicians who learn to survive the road learn to take care of each other and use a sense of family and mutual support to get through a tough tour schedule.  If you are traveling with others from your business, that same mutual support can go a long way to toward helping each you survive the experience.  Talk openly about the challenges of traveling for such lengthy periods of time.  Form an accountability structure to your professional friendships so each of you is looking out for the other.  If you can get everybody out for that morning jog, soon your ability to work as a team goes beyond just how you function during meetings but you become a mutually supportive team in getting through the rigors of an aggressive business travel schedule.

By looking at the challenge of surviving the wear and tear of the road as one of life’s great adventures, you can gain an energy and a resolve to win each and every day of your business journey. And that positive energy will radiate from you and affect the people you are traveling with to make you all feel good.

Making your business portable - Being Comfortable when Traveling Matters.

There are a lot of decisions when booking a business trip. Obviously, the important issue is your business objectives and that everything you need so the business you will do when you arrive comes off well.  So you will spend the majority of your efforts on those preparations or so you are well equipped for the trip. 

But to use the old phrase, it’s the little things that mean a lot especially when you are enduring the inconvenience of business travel.  You put up with a lot of inconvenience and having to accommodate the needs of others in airports where everybody wants to be comfortable.  Little things mean a lot on a long business flight from how well you eat to the kind of car you rent on the other end.  Just a small surprise or accommodation along the way can set put you in a good mood on the trip and that mood could even influence the outcome of the meetings you will conduct when you make your business contacts at your destination.

Some people do not have a preference where they sit during the plane flight.  But there are a number of issues that can become significant during those hours where you are essentially immobile as you fly cross-country.  Some of those are.

* If you are claustrophobic, having a window seat isn’t about sight seeing.  It can be a sanity saving necessity to keep you from focusing on the enclosed airplane space.

* If you wish to work, you need some space to spread out.
* Some medical needs might require easy access to the privacy of the laboratory, if for no other reason than to take medicine without being observed.

* If you have close connections and are on a tight deadline, sitting near the front of the plane helps with getting off quickly.

To get some control over the variable of where you are sit en route to or from your business trip, put some thought into the issue up front and see if you can reserve the seat that suits your purposes before you ever get to the airport.  If you use online reservations, you can get a map of the plane, which will show you which seats are open.  This gives you excellent ability to move your seat so you can sit just where you want before you go to the airport.

Some factors to take into consideration are the room you need and whether you need to recline your seat or not.  The seats on the exit row are almost always more roomy.  In exchange for being willing to open the door in an emergency, you can gain twice as much room as you might have had which pays off when you want to work during the flight.

The last row of the airplane does not recline.  The upside of that row is that you don’t have anyone behind you to kick your seat back or bounce the tray table as they do whatever it is they are doing back there.  By the same token, the first set in the section does not have seats in front of it so it can be roomier.  But you may not have a tray table to use to set your laptop on for work.  These are trade offs worth thinking through in advance.

You can have your travel agent know your preferences when they book your flight.  But don’t miss the chance to make changes as late as the day of the flight.  You might spot a row that is not full and be able to grab a seat and have the row to yourself. And believe you me that can be a rare treat indeed. 

Making your business portable - Doing Business in Dangerous Countries.

With the turmoil many countries of the world are in there may be times where you are faced with danger when traveling on business. But in some cases, there may be some real travel threats on your route to your business destination.  This is especially true today in the age of terrorism where a trip to Europe or the Middle East can mean some very real danger may loom as you travel.

It is our job as responsible adults to think about the dangers that could happen on an upcoming business trip and assess that danger and either approach the business objective differently or prepare accordingly.  The first step if you suspect that your next business trip may be hazardous either from political unrest, bad weather or other reasons, is to do an honest review of the importance of this trip.  If you can accomplish he goals of the trip without putting yourself or your business associates in harms way, that would be preferable to a potential disaster on the road.

If it looks like the trip is still a go, be sure you learn all you can about your destination, recommended safety precautions and the nature of the potential danger.  The US State Department keeps their web site up to date on the nature of potential security risks at http://www.travel.state.gov. 

The next step for preparing for a business trip that may be hazardous is to double and triple secure your documentation.  You can make copies and scanned images of your important personal documents such as your passport, visa, driver’s license and other crucial identification cards that you must have overseas.   By leaving copies of these at home where a contact person can access them and uploading digital copies to a public folder that you can access anywhere you can find the internet, you give yourself a safety net should those documents disappear.  Also review the status of your travel documents and get y our renewals done now if there is any chance one of them will expire as you are out on the road.

If you are traveling to one or many foreign countries, make yourself familiar with the location and phone numbers of the US embassies in those countries.  By having that information on your person as you move from country to country, you are ready to move swiftly should you need to call on them to help you out of a jam. 

If you do encounter trouble and require medical help, you should have on your person your crucial personal data that can be used to quickly get you help.  You can print up a card with your name, names of who to contact in an emergency, blood type, medical details such as allergies that should be noted, important medicines that you may have that can help you if you are in physical need and anything else a lay person might need if you are in a far away place in critical need.  For even more security that this card is able to communicate your critical data, you can have it translated into the language of the country you are visiting so there is no delay as local health or public service persons work to get you help.

The more you do to prepare for your trip, the better prepared you will be to respond to trouble or even avoid trouble entirely if it occurs.  By understanding the local customs and what to do in an emergency situation overseas, you can respond calmly and quickly to crisis and secure yourself, your business associates and property early and quickly.  Being prepared is always good because you never know when you may need to react quickly when traveling in foreign countries.

Making Money with Articles: How to Choose a Web Designer.

There are two important things to remember when looking for a web designer:




First, it is important to go with a freelancer if you are looking for a small and simple site. You can probably get one done for $30 to $50. There are many freelancing companies on the web that you can tap into to find the designer for you.



Second, it is important that you ask to see a few sample sites that the web designer has done and that you check any ratings that may be available for the designer. This may keep you from getting wrapped up in a project with someone who will not finish or cannot do the type of job that they claim they can do.



If you cannot put together your own website to host your articles on and you don’t want to pay the extra $7 to $12 dollars per month that it may cost to get a host that offers a What You See Is What You Get website builder, then your only other option is to hire a web designer. The good thing is that, if you are looking for a very basic 2-5 page site and you hire a freelancer rather than going with a web design company, then it will be relatively easy on your wallet.

Blog Marketing and Scams

Blog marketing is something that has really peaked an interest in the online world. Many people across the interent are blogging, and have blogs. A blog is also known as a web log. But you will hear the term blog more often than the term web log. It basically is just an online journal that you can use and publish for the world to read. Whether you choose to write about personal things, or business. Maybe you want to use it to promote products or services. The way you use your blog is totally up to you. However, you should be aware of the scams that are out there, and what to avoid while you are trying to market your blog.




Blog marketing or really any kind of marketing has scams. Just like everything else you are going to come around. There is always someone that is wanting to scam someone else and take money from the ones that do not know better. So what can you do to protect yourself? The best way to protect yourself from blog marketing scams is to become familiar with them, and know what they are. While this can also be hard to do because the scams change as much as you change your clothes, just stay on top of them, and know what to be looking out for.



Many times when a blog marketing scam surfaces, you will find that someone is going to write about it. They are going to try and warn others before they can fall into it. So, just make sure that you read and know what you are getting into. Do your research when you are marketing your blog. Ask others if they have heard about something that you are interested in doing. Chances are, if you are wanting to pay for some marketing of your blog, that you will find someone else that has used every company out there. Get feedback from your fellow marketers for the best results. Ask them if they have recommendations, or know of places that are legitimate.



If you have been scammed, chances are there is not much that you can do other than get the word out about it. However, just remember, if you have paid someone through something like paypal that protects you, then you have a time limit to get your money back and freeze the scammers account. But, that does not always work. Most of the time the scammers are all ready aware of things like that, and they work fast to move to not be caught. If that is the case, you really can not do much else about it other than alert the proper authorities and count your losses.



While there are many that will scam you with blog marketing, there are also many that will not. There are just so many legitimate resources that you are going to find that you can use and trust. The best thing to do if you are new to the blog marketing world is to ask around and find out who is the best for the marketing that you are trying to do. Doing so will often keep you from falling into a scam, and throwing your hard earned money away.



Unfortunately, you are going to come across those that have no regrets what so ever about scamming others. The only thing that you can do is your research at times to make sure that you are using a service or person that you can trust. Ask for references, and make sure that you will be getting the best that you can afford. You will not regret it in the long run, and it will pay off to check someone or a service out before you go and invest your hard earned cash. Actually contact the services or person’s references to make sure that they are who they say, and that they can deliver what it is that you are looking for. It only takes time.

Blog Marketing and Home Businesses

Blog marketing is something that all blog owners do. They market their blog so that they can get readers, and make a profit from their blogs. Marketing their blog means to get it out there so that others that are interested in it can find it and read it. It is also a great way to sell things by using affiliate links and programs. Blog marketing can very well become a home business if that is something that you are interested in.




Having a home business by blog marketing would definitely entail that you have more than one blog. If this is something that you are considering, you will want to make a list of markets that your blogs can cover. You will find that your blogs will do best when you only have one market per blog. For example, if you have a blog about cats, you will not want to include anything on the blog about kitchen appliances. This is because the readers that read your blog and visit your blog to learn more about cats and what you have to say about them will not be interested in learning anything about kitchen appliances. Once you have overcome the relevancy issue, you will be ok. You can however, have a blog about pets, and then blog about all of the many pets that you want to include.



In order to make a living by blog marketing, you need to know every aspect of it. You need to know what needs to be done to get readers to your blog, how to write about the things that you are promoting and how to get it up in search engine rankings. Doing so will lead to successful blog marketing and making a home business income with it.



One big aspect of blog marketing is SEO. SEO is search engine optimization and it consists of optimizing your blog so that the search engines will find it and rank it as high as possible. Which also leads to more traffic and leads from your blog. If you do not have time to learn SEO, and apply it to all of your blogs, hiring someone to do this for you might be something that you want to consider. Especially if time is an issue.



Outsourcing much of your work is something that you will need to get used to if you plan on making a substantial amount of money with your blogs. You may want to hire bloggers or writers that can write the content for your blogs, and someone else that can leave comments on other blogs with a link back to yours. Spread out all of the duties on a spread sheet and decide how often each thing needs to be done for each blog. Doing so will help you to be more organized and know what you need to do when, as well as prioritize. Using a spread sheet will also help you to keep track of who is doing what, and keep you from asking more than one person to get one job done.



Blog marketing for a home business is not much different from any other home business. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. If you only put in a couple of hours a week into your blogs, you can not expect to make a full time income with them. However, being consistent and working on your blogs every chance that you get will pay off in the long run. You will also discover that there is no better feeling in the world than owning your own home business, and working for yourself.



Just remember to start small, and work hard. That is all you need to become successful at blog marketing and make the income that you are dreaming of. All of your hard work will pay off if you are persistent and keep it up.