Blog Current: Wading Through an Endless Flow of Ideas

Why do I subscribe to blogs and news feeds?  Because subscribing is such a huge time saver, as shown in this cool little video!
 
But the prior question would be why do I read blogs at all?  Because I want to keep abreast of law practice trends.  Because I never owned a business before, and I barely know what I’m doing.  Because some days I’m scared to death!  Oh, and because it’s fun!
 
The blogs in my RSS reader fluctuate.  Being self-employed, time management is something I constantly wrestle with.  Mindful that I need to spend time on the most important things, I regularly review my subscriptions and remove blogs that I’m either – let’s face it, just not reading – or else not benefiting from any more.  But what benefits me?

Those benefits fluctuate too, as I move through different phases of my entrepreneurial pursuits, but generally, my blog subscriptions fall into three categories: law and paralegal blogs; marketing and business blogs; and what I think of as “entrepreneurial inspiration” blogs.  (There are also food/wine blogs, but that’s a topic for Sonoma Sip.)  

Here are just a few of the blogs in each category that I read regularly.
 
Legal Profession
 
LTN Law Technology News – LTN is a news feed of articles from a variety of sources focused on technology in law practice.  As technological advances have always been of great interest, but also of great importance to me as a paralegal, I find this feed extremely useful.  It also has a focus on e-discovery, which is a big interest of mine.
 
Practical Paralegalism – Lynne DeVenny is a North Carolina paralegal who writes a highly engaging blog about and for fellow paralegals.  Her posts are a mix of education, paralegal news and funny or moving anecdotes, and I always enjoy it.  Check it out!
 
Georgetown Law’s E-Discovery Law Blog - As I mentioned, I'm quite interested in e-discovery, and consequently I subscribe to a number of e-discovery blogs.  Scholarly yet very clearly written, it covers an interesting array of e-discovery related topics.
 
Marketing & Business Advice
 
Six Pixels of Separation – a marketing blog written by Mitch Joel of TwistImage.com, author of the recent book by the same name.  I enjoyed the book, and I also subscribe to Mitch’s podcast.  If there is one significant message I’ve gleaned from Six Pixels, it is to continually ask myself why.  Why should clients hire me instead of someone else, why is anyone interested in anything I have to say, why am I choosing this marketing method over another?  My strategy has to dictate my tactics; otherwise everything I do is just a distraction.(fn)   Thought-provoking stuff!
 
IttyBiz: Marketing for Businesses Without Marketing Departments – a hilariously funny yet very insightful blog written by Naomi Dunford.  I need to remember not to sip coffee or wine or any other liquid while reading Naomi’s posts lest I spew it all over my computer when I burst out laughing, and the smiles would be reason enough to read it.  But the blog is also full of marketing insights geared straight toward my very small sort of business.
 
Entrepreneurial Inspiration
 
Buon Viaggio – a blog written by Barbara Winter of JoyfullyJobless.com fame.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, her book was highly influential in my decision to start my own contract paralegal business.  Her blog continues to inspire, and encourages me to revel in the fact that despite all its challenges, becoming self-employed was the best thing I could have done in this season of my life.
 
Seth’s Blog -  I realize it’s quite unoriginal to adore Seth’s blog – it might just be the most popular blog on the planet – but I don’t care.  Seth’s posts are endlessly honest, insightful, and arresting, and I rarely if ever fail to be challenged by them.  Perhaps the two most transformative messages for me have been the importance of generosity in my life, in my relationships, in my business, and the importance of what Seth calls “shipping.”  Do it.  Get it on the market.  Start the business.  Execute the plan – not the perfect plan, just the plan I have right now.  Act, move, get it done.  I need this kick in the pants every day!
 
I could talk about many more noteworthy blogs – and perhaps I will in a follow-up post.  These blogs might not be your cup of tea – what benefits me right now might be – probably is! – different from what benefits you.  Regardless, I wholeheartedly recommend that you spend a slot of time a day or a week feeding your mind with insights from others that might hone your skills, challenge your thinking, give you new ideas, or simply provide encouragement that you’re on the right track!
 
So what are you reading?  Feel free to share it in the comments!



fn:  Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone, by Mitch Joel, at 50-51. New York: Business Plus, 2009.

Calling the IT Department! Oh Wait . . . That's Me!

As mentioned in my last post, I spent last week transitioning from my five year old PC to the new laptop I bought.  Doing this in the midst of a research and drafting project for a client posed additional challenges, but I'm happy with the result.  And it gives rise to a brief discussion of my home office, what I need and use, the software I like, etc.  So here goes.

First, a quick synopsis of the discussion I have with my Mac loving family and friends (and there are many).  The Mac lovers in my life mount compelling arguments in its favor, but in my own computer choice, the primary criterion is compatibility.  Most law offices operate on Windows PCs; hence, so will my home office.  I can’t afford to have clients complaining about my documents not working properly, and I don’t want to spend time on conversions, etc.  So it was a Windows laptop for me.

I have always been one to economize on hardware.  My family has a long tradition of handing down computers to each other, and getting by with upgrading and coddling along older hardware.  I know many will disagree with this approach, and believe it’s the best business investment to buy the very best (and consequently most expensive) hardware there is, but I believe I have a good grasp of how much computing power I need to adequately run my business, allowing for expected growth.  So, taking into consideration my still fairly meager budget, I purchased an Acer laptop (not the most expensive one), maxed out the RAM memory before taking it home, and called it good. 

Will this laptop still be serving me well five years from now?  Time will tell, but it certainly meets my needs now, and it feels light years faster than my old PC.  Moreover, when I’m working in my office, the larger LCD monitor, contoured keyboard and mouse from my old PC system are connected to it, greatly enhancing my speed and efficiency.

My laptop came loaded with Windows 7 and MS Office 2007 (a trial version, that is).  I immediately fell in love with both.  I won’t expound on all their many cool features; I just find them both very intuitive to use.

What other software do I find essential for my home office?

•    QuickBooks – I use this for all my business accounting.  It was invaluable last month when my taxes were being prepared, and I find it fairly easy to use.  I purchased this software, as the free version isn’t powerful enough for my needs.

•    Easy Time Tracking Pro – I use this for tracking my billable time.  I can create accounts for as many clients as I want, track my time for each client with a timer, and prepare detailed invoices.  There are a number of time tracking programs out there; this one meets my needs and is relatively inexpensive.  (Again, the free version isn’t powerful enough for my needs.)

•    SugarSync – I use this primarily for on-line backup of my most important data.  I have a free account, so I can’t back my entire computer onto it, but I back up everything work related.  I like the automatic nature of it.  Every time I hit “save” the document automatically backs up; there’s nothing I have to manually do.  SugarSync has file sharing capabilities, and I could in theory share documents with clients in this way, but it would require that the client have a SugarSync account as well, so I’m not using that function at this point.  (I know many people recommend DropBox for these same functions.)

•    Google Docs – I obviously didn’t have to download this, but I do use it in my business.  Google Docs allows me to set up folders through which I can share non-confidential documents with clients (I secure them so I’m not sharing them with the world), whether said clients have a Google account or not. 

•    TweetDeck – I like this platform for Twitter, and I view and respond to my LinkedIn and Facebook updates here as well.  I like the “one stop shopping” TweetDeck affords.

•    Skype – my family uses it a lot, and it is also available for use with clients if they choose.

I of course had to download and configure software and drivers for personal use as well, and transfer all my music, photos and files (Windows Easy Transfer really simplified this process, and enabled me to transfer software settings as well as documents).   All quite time consuming, but I am very close to being finished transferring my electronic life from my old PC to my new laptop.  And I managed to do so seamlessly enough that clients didn’t notice.

And now I'm looking forward to a peaceful and efficient work life in my new home office setup!

Sunday Six Word Memoir

While an interesting litigation project for a client took precedent this week, the remainder of my time was completely absorbed by a computer upgrade.  I had been intending to upgrade my computer for quite some time, as my PC was old.  However, frightening “blue screen of death” error messages – which given the age of the computer, I saw no point in trying to trouble-shoot - hastened matters.  So I took the plunge, made the purchase, and spent this week loading software, working through a few installation glitches, and getting my work space reconfigured for my new laptop. 
 
I’m a fairly proficient user of computer technology, but in the law firm, there was always an IT department to perform these kinds of set-up tasks for me.  Doing it all myself posed an interesting challenge, particularly while working to assure that no technological hang-ups prevented me from meeting my client’s deadlines.
 
So here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Add “computer geek” to job description!

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Apropos to nothing . . .

Sonoma in Spring is a pretty place.