Are you a Nomad?
Most of us who work from home are ready to go on a moment’s notice…we have our laptop and cell phone safely plugged in so the batteries are always topped off. But how often do we really go out and relish the freedom that we have as home business owners? Do we go to the coffee shop, use the wireless internet and make calls on our cell phones daily? No. We probably don’t even do it monthly. The fact is that we are just too comfortable at home…which is pretty cool in and of itself.
My point is this: let’s not fool ourselves. Most of us are just as tethered to our offices as anyone in a 50 story sky scraper. Sure we don’t have to shower, get dressed for work (unless you count PJs) or run the daily gauntlet of a commute. But isn’t there a little sliver of aggravation in you when you’ve got all the tools and don’t use them to their potential? If you’re like me, you want to be as efficient as possible…and with the tools that we have available to us these days, sometimes we trip over ourselves trying to be more efficient and end up with egg on our face. For those of you who resemble these remarks, fear not. There is an alternative.
Become a Nomad.
Of course you may have to buy another gadget first (like an iPhone or a Blakberry)…but once you do, you’ll be truly free to roam the earth in search of worthy projects to accomplish. I promise.
With the advent of web 2.0 many people are utilizing online document storage. Google Docs, for instance allows you a quadgillion gigs of storage space for all kinds of documents. All you need is an internet connection and your password and you’re flying high.
Picture this: you’re traveling ‘on business’ in Dublin and you ‘forgot’ your laptop at home (if nomads even have homes). Luckily for Billy back at the office in the San Jose Tech Park you remembered your iPhone (and its charger). Billy has an emergency that only you can handle and is calling you bright and early on Tuesday morning PST. He frantically explains the scenario as you mute your end to drown out the Guinness glasses clinking in the local web pub you happen to find yourself in. As you calm him down, you make your move from the bar to a public computer terminal, being careful not to spill any of that precious liquid. You log into Google Docs make a few brisk keystrokes and within minutes Billy is singing the praises of his mentor and idol: the only guy in the office that gets to work from home. That Guinness never tasted so good.
Of course, you could have made those changes via your iPhone. But for in depth work no hand-held device is going to fit the bill just yet…besides, this story wouldn’t have been complete without the use of a random public computer. To get the full scoop on this new culture of nomadic folks and how they work, check out this recent article in The Economist.
Who knows, maybe your home based business will become a thing of the past…become a nomad and you won’t have to worry about all that overhead. Our official advice: don’t skimp on the storage unit if you go this route.