Applying a meat-ax policy of requiring all Yahoo workers to report to an office every day is a bad idea. – Paul Cohen

Have you ever heard those stories about surgeons cutting off the wrong leg, arm, or eye? It’s one thing to get the wrong tooth pulled out – you could pretend you’re a double agent being tortured for intel – but an appendage? How do you explain that away? Marissa Meyer’s ”physically being together” memo feels just as lopsided.

Marissa Meyer, Yahoo CEO

Marissa saw an empty parking lot, tallied up VPN access logs, and declared, “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices.”

I’m no Atul Gawande, but that checklist seems flawed, or at least incomplete. How many people actually require VPN access to perform their work each day? How many people use public transportation? How many carpool? Are criteria in place to measure, review, schedule, inform, etc (aka “telework policy”)?

Blogs came out swinging with telework stats, but Marissa has her mind on shareholders. Yahoo employees generate 170% less revenue than Google employees. Its grasp on online advertising keeps slipping. And let’s just say Yahoo really isn’t known for its innovation. “Yahoo!’s fundamental problem is that it is still a generalist in a tech world that is increasingly dominated by specialists,” says the Economist.

Shareholders pulled in Marissa to give them piece of mind, and hey, stocks are up. But remember back when Microsoft bid $45 billion for Yahoo? Yeah, those days are kind of gone now. CNNMoney asked Bill Gates to comment, and he just chuckled in a heard-about-Skype sort of way. Cutting telework seems less premeditated and more show pony. As Neil Cohen says, “Ending these programs is a huge Heisman to distract people from the real problems.”

Jason Fried says remote workers are being scapegoated. And Nicholas Carlson calls it “a layoff that’s not a layoff.” I’m calling it Yahoo’s new recruiting problem. One recruiter for startups says Yahoo was already viewed as a “back-up” option by his candidates. And now, just to resolve Yahoo’s talent attrition, it needs to hire almost 900 people.

#Yahoo has ~900 jobs open, but killing #telework shrank the talent pool. Change your mind, Marissa, and we’d let you post them free

— Telesaur (@telesaur) March 12, 2013

Yahoo’s remote workers consist of people from lots of departments, not just customer service. On the other hand, remote workers make up only about 1 percent of Yahoo’s employees. Will bringing that 1 percent into the office really solve Yahoo’s collaboration and innovation problems? I guess we might as well revive the US Dollar by picking up all the pennies on the street.

You know what, Marissa? Forget checklists. Come June, just hand everyone a permanent marker. Ask people to put a big X on what you can chop off next, and then lead them to the operating room. I’ve heard plenty of doctors ask, “Where does it hurt?”

But some say purging all employee trust from Yahoo is a good thing. “Adding a little more friction in a process that needs improvement can help you identify how the system is working in order to improve it,” said Brad Garlinghouse, a former Yahoo executive.

And perhaps the friction is slowly kicking in…

Patricia Sellers reported a few days ago that, “Mayer is allowing exceptions. (She and EVP Jackie Reses, who oversees HR, have been evaluating requests this past week.) Managers who want to keep high-performing telecommuters will, in certain cases, permit some work from home…”

So maybe Marissa whacked off the wrong limb. But as the Python boys would say, “It’s just a flesh wound.”

images: Wikipedia, Mike Lacon

One of Joseph's favorite photos he's taken in 2012

Long gone are the Wild West days of the Gold Rush and Silver Madness, but rich veins of treasure still run through downtown Denver– shops, restaurants, outdoor cafes, fountains, and historic buildings converted into office buildings and lofts. Champa Street intersects the 16th Street Mall, and an uncommon prospector has staked his claim from his home office: Joseph Powell.

Joseph Powell

Joseph’s photography business, Champa Street Productions, is located in a refurbished stock and investment building, built in 1890. “Denver has this amazing financial history,” said Joseph. “My neighborhood was known as the ‘Wall Street’ of the West about a century ago.” Joseph is not your typical prospector; he pans for precious life experiences and events, preserving them with his camera. It’s anything but antiquated or passé.  His approach is fresh and vibrant.

“My office is a corner of my room!” Joseph does his freelance photography, working on site and out of his home, primarily in real estate, business and event photography. His portrait and wedding business is expanding. “I meet with clients at their homes and businesses whenever it is convenient for them. I do a lot of work at Starbucks.”

Joseph Powell's home office

“I live and work on Champa Street. The thought was that my business would be more urban themed and I wanted to avoid ‘Joseph Powell Photography’ in order to make it more about the people I work with than me.” Peruse his Facebook page and you’ll see he has succeeded. People and places in grand variety. And all based in a loft that is 680 square feet.

“For me, work is at home when I’m not out shooting or meeting people. At any given time, I might be working on a collage or a photo/video project and it’s helpful for it all to be in one space. I separate it all by keeping the clutter down.” One way Joseph manages that is by going paperless. He doesn’t even own a printer. “When I need to print contracts, I typically use FedEx or have them done in the business office in my building. Model releases and credit card processing are done on an iPhone app.” And this method cuts expenses, too: “For this calendar year, I’ve spent about $30 on printing because, aside from contracts and miscellaneous stuff, most of what I do is through the internet. I don’t print photos ever. I use a vendor for that.” He has business cards, DVD sleeves and mailing labels printed, but doesn’t have the need for most other paper.

What about portfolios, samples and client proofs? “I have an iPhone 4S and I use it constantly to show photos,” says Joseph. For the rest, he uses his Macbook Pro. “Many times I’m working on a referral, so [clients] have seen the work that their friend or coworker has shown them and have looked at my photos online. Other times, I put together a gallery specifically for them, but it’s always digital. I store nothing, work wise, on my laptop so I don’t need much internal storage. Everything is downloaded to external drives and I work from there. When I am finished with a project, it goes on a separate drive for client files.” He burns discs to be stored securely elsewhere so he always has access to his work in the event a client would need it. “Hard drives these days are fairly small. I have a closet area that I store things in.”

View of Joseph Powell's home

Also important to this teleworking freelancer is a solid internet connection. “That isn’t negotiable for me,” says Joseph, “I use a local small business internet provider. It costs a little more, but his name is Matt and he knows who I am and he answers the phone when I call and replies when I email. It’s worth it to me to have a guy I know who can fix things when they inevitably go astray.”

Joseph gets the best pictures by getting to know his clients, their needs, and expectations. “I spend as much face-to-face time with them as I can. I’ve learned to be fairly perceptive and ask a lot of questions like ‘how do you feel about kissing your wife in front of a camera’, and I learn to respond quickly to situations on location.”

Because Joseph wants to record life as it happens, he gets that opportunity fairly often. “I recently shot a birthday party for a five year old I’d never met and she wasn’t having the ‘Sit and Smile’ thing. Even shooting her from across a room was tough because she’d turn around fast and get up and run like kids do. A few minutes in, I went up to her and asked her to growl at me. Success! She bared her teeth and growled and made these hysterical noises and every time she did it, it would turn into contagious giggles.”

Joseph Powell's coworker, Bentley

Even though space is limited in Joseph’s home and office, work and life fit comfortably together. Bentley, his dog, waits patiently for his share of time. “When you go to work elsewhere, your dog has a routine,” says Joseph, “When I started working from home, he sat there all day and wondered why the heck I’m not taking him on three-hour walks! I’ve had to make some adjustments for him. I always make time for a play break and sometimes, if I’ve made progress, I’ll just blow off work for an afternoon and take him to the park.”

Joseph has a very large family, living out of state. From parents in their 80′s, down to 11 nieces and nephews, he spends a lot of time on the phone. He also donates his time, talent and energy to the kids at PlatteForum (He was Volunteer of the Month for October!). He puts another talent to use when he cooks, too. “I have to work harder to stay on task than I did when I worked in an office, but I also have more flexibility,” says Joseph, “I love to cook, and often will be doing that all day long while I work.” One of his favorite sites is Supercook.com, which uses recipes based on ingredients you have on hand (“Can’t live without it!”).

In the middle of it all, Joseph still finds time for friends and guest blogging for Home is Where the Office Is. Joseph has more than a few gold nuggets of advice for teleworkers, and we hit the motherlode for working and living creatively in a small space. Thanks, Joseph!

Take a peak at Joseph’s visual inspiration on Pinterest

images: Champa Street Productions

JP McLaughlin, The Business Whisperer, teleworking

JP McLaughlin has been earning a living as a consultant and Business Strategist since 1991: planning and facilitating retreats, coaching and training individuals in strategic thinking skills, counseling and applying his skills in business planning. In describing his occupation, JP says, “A few years back, I worked with a dynamic marketing consultant in Portland, Oregon named Erin Donley. In part, I asked her to come up with…some way to describe how I work. She came up with The Business Whisperer®.”

The name seems like a good fit. Each consultation is based on individual observation and interactions, not from applying a basic system or format. JP describes his method of solving business challenges in this way: I show up, look around, talk to people, pay attention to a lot of intangibles, and then I begin to get a sense for what’s wrong. In the end, I can usually support those “senses” with solid busy metrics, but that’s not how I do discovery.”

JP does a good job of anticipating future challenges. And in his way of strategic thinking, it’s time for a change. “Decades ago it was enough to think about people as “hands”, or even “staff.” Now, the goals of a business are tightly linked to the goals and skills of its employees and stake-holders. There are rarely divisions between work and home–the boundaries are all but wiped out,” says JP. “Only organizations that understand this, build around this, and support their employees’ and stake-holders’ own missions and goals, can hope to succeed in the modern economy.”

Home Office of JP McLaughlin, The Business Whisperer

In support of wiping out those home and work boundaries, JP is a strong proponent of telework. “I have both a passion for advocating it throughout the workplace. Why? We all know the usual arguments (smaller offices, more flexibility, better productivity, kinder to the environment, less stress, better recruiting, etc., but my focus usually on the intangibles that add up to making a big difference. There are plenty of good studies that show that problem-solving is best handled by changing your environment—take a walk in the woods, play a game on your computer, do a menial task like chopping wood—these things make space for new ideas to surface.”

But is this an easy task? No, not even for JP. “Many, many leaders still think a worker out of site is a worker ripping them off. It’s challenging to get the old factory mentality out of the collective mind. So, to really make inroads, you have to flip the model over, get the process of evaluation and compensation looking more intently at what you contribute as opposed to when and where you show up.”  And His biggest challenge? Convincing managers that knowledge work is not like factory work. “The only measurement that makes sense is productivity…Telework is a big part of that solution.”

JP McLaughlin loves teleworking on trains

JP is an avid teleworker. Although he has an office, he spends less than one-third of his time there. Where is he the rest of the time? “A coffeehouse, a pub, a park (Denver Botanic Gardens has wifi and is a great place to work)—any place that makes a pleasant environment to spend a couple of hours. These also make great places to meet clients and collaborators. I raise my productivity by listening to my body and soul. Am I feeling restless? Is the neck getting a crick from sitting in the same chair so long? When the feeling comes on, it’s time to move on. Productivity tends to stay higher this way and the mind and body get the kind of variety and breadth of stimuli that more closely resembles what we’re built for.”

In his work and travels, JP has met some very interesting, memorable characters. He recounts his favorite story– both illuminating and a little transformative:

“I was in graduate school, keeping afloat with ad hoc IT assignments from the university, and studying for a year in London, UK. I lived in Highgate and rode the Northern Line down to the Institute of Historical Research near the University of London three days a week. I often ran into a chap named Reg riding down into central London. He was the first person I recall that had made the jump into the new world. He was a generalist computer guy–he could fix hardware and software issues and was (according to Reg) a patient trainer as well.  He had a huge backpack filled with a laptop (and they were big back then), tools and parts. He rode the tube down into London every morning and hung out mostly at train stations (they are a hub of people and food and transportation in London) awaiting calls. By doing that, he was often able to respond to calls in 15-30 minutes. While waiting for calls he’d use his laptop to work on software and database development work he had. He had no office. He had no land line. In my memory his cell phone was larger than my current Macbook Air! It was 1995. Once I understood what Reg was truly accomplishing I knew just how different things were going to become.”

One of JP McLaughlin's many "offices with a view"

Meeting people like Reg plays an important part in JP’s work day. “One of the things I love about telework and traveling is meeting folks you otherwise would never run into. Teleworkers are more adventurous, more inclined to take risks, and seem much more open to the intangibles of chance encounters. I try to keep aware of things my clients are struggling with: office space, looking for the right employee, the right financial planner, the right CPA, the right tech person, the perfect receptionist, the caterer for the product launch, someone, anyone, who can still craft beautiful sentences! I didn’t pull these out of a hat—I’ve connected these people with my clients because I always keep half an ear bent toward the crowd when I’m working in a public space. To me, it feels like how things really get done these days.”

JP McLaughlin's favorite kind of office

It’s obvious that JP finds work/life balance through making connections, face-to-face. “If you can find locally owned places to hang out it’s possible to recreate the social element that’s present at the office: familiar faces, people genuinely happy to see you, other people like you living a mobile lifestyle. In the places I regularly hang out, there are other familiar faces to talk with.” He also finds balance through other interests, like his design business, Campo Design, cooking, wilderness camping and star gazing.  It’s often while in these other pursuits that solutions for his business strategies come to him. “I travel a lot. I have a rule: whenever I travel somewhere on business, I get at least a half day to explore and enjoy the place. There are times when I travel somewhere without a business case to do so. I have simply relocated myself somewhere else and went on with my life—with the added benefits of new surroundings and activities!”

Thanks, JP, for your thoughts! We love the virtual lifestyle, too!

If you're room looks like this, you may want to chat with Helen Butler and Clutter Rescue!

Paper is the bane of my existence. Where is that contract? I’ve misplaced my keys. I run from one thing to the next, but I get further behind…

Does any of this sound familiar? For those of us who struggle with organization and mountains of paperwork just ready to crash down like an avalanche, there is help. And for busy Australian Mums, there is Helen Butler, Director of Clutter Rescue.

Helen Butler of Clutter Rescue

Helen is a teleworker. Her office is currently in her home, and from there, she runs Clutter Rescue, Professional Organizers who work with busy Mums to bring calm and clarity through organizing and decluttering.

Think you can benefit? Join the conversation:

Telesaur: I imagine that as a professional organizer, you see things differently than other people do. Have you always been organized, or is this a skill that you acquired?

Helen: I used to say that I was born with the organizing gene, but quite recently I realized that wasn’t the case.  I was brought up in a family of four children, in a small rural town, with illness and injury a constant in our family.  My twin sister and I are the youngest in the family and I firmly believe that we had to learn to organize ourselves otherwise things just wouldn’t get done (like homework or school lunches).  Our life situation taught us to be organized! Because of this I firmly believe that organizing is a skill that can be learned.

Telesaur: How did you decide to get involved in this field professionally?

Helen: I worked in education for fifteen years as a teacher, educational designer and academic, so a lot of what Clutter Rescue does comes with an educational focus.  Our aim is to educate busy Mums with very practical and sustainable organizing and decluttering strategies.  If it’s not easy to set up, maintain and use we’re not interested!

I returned to work after having our baby, something I was looking forward to, but the concept of working for someone else didn’t feel right.  I had always wanted to start my own business but the concept wasn’t formed until a friend said “You’re really good at juggling lots of projects.  You should get into some sort of organizing.”  From there the seed was planted and Clutter Rescue opened its doors in 2008.

Clutter Rescue: Moving Mums from Busy to Balanced

Telesaur: Are you a one-woman act, or do you work with other Mums who are professional organizers? If so, what part do they play in your organization?

Helen: I have a number of people I work with in my business – a mix of single and married ladies and, yes, some of them have children.  The ladies who work with me who have children have either young children (under 6) or adult children.  The great thing is that I can choose the organizer to work with me depending on my client.  So if I have an older client with grown children it makes sense to take an organizer in the same situation.  Recently we worked with a lady who had three children under 3 and another bub on the say – so needless to say the organizer with young children worked with me on that job.  I also have a Virtual Assistant who lives in a separate State to me and is expecting her third child.

Telesaur: Do they also work from home? How do you stay connected with each other?

Helen: Most of these ladies work from home or, if they work with me as organizers, in our client’s home.  Technology is our saving grace when staying connected!  My Virtual Assistant and I use email to communicate, Dropbox for sharing files, and meet approximately once a month over Skype to discuss projects and future direction of the business.  Of course we also have a good chat about kids and life too!

Telesaur: With so much going on between family, home, friends and work, do you have any special pointers for teleworkers in maintaining work/life balance?

Helen: This is a tough one!  I think that technology and the speed of life makes it so much easier to contact people at all hours of the day.  I have been known to check email at 5.30am (I’m sure lots of people have!) but quite often by doing this I can get a few things done before breakfast and school drop off.

I have many ways I maintain work/life balance.  They include:

1. Creating blocks of time to get work done.  This could be 5.30-6.30am to check and reply to email followed by breakfast and school dropoff between 6.30 and 8.30am, then back to the office to write from 9am to 12 noon.  By blocking time I can get work done and am not thinking about ‘work’ when I’m doing ‘home’ tasks.
2. I schedule my to-do’s.  This is vital for me to get any work done.  On any given day I could be doing a Consultation, working hands-on with a client, writing a blog post or doing administration so I need a good system to remind me of all my to-do’s.  If I am working on a project I break the task down into smaller tasks and schedule them into the appropriate block of time.
3. I allocate tasks to certain days.  Tuesdays are a definite office day where I rarely do Consultations or hands-on work.  It’s my day to get admin and writing done.
4. I have what I call “Sacred Sundays“. This is where I completely disconnect from technology and spend time with my family.  My favorite quote is “Enjoy the little things in life for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things” (Robert Brault).  By giving myself one day to enjoy time with my family I am hoping not to miss too many little things.

Telesaur: What challenges have you experienced as a teleworker?

Helen: The thing I find most challenging about my work is the non-traditional work hours of running an organizing blog and online business.  Quite often I am online very early and very late in the day to make sure I’m on top of everything.  I do give myself ‘Sacred Sunday’ where I switch off from technology, connect with my family and do things I enjoy.

Telesaur: So what kinds of things do you enjoy when you’re not working?

Helen: Sleep!  I also love pilates and have recently become a little addicted to Yamuna body rolling.  I love spending time with my family and trying to reconnect with the child in me!

Telesaur:  Because you work from your home, you are bound to have some pointers to share with others who would like to consider teleworking. What is something every potential teleworker should know?

Helen: Take time out to form strong relationships with people in your industry.  You may be working on your own – something which can be quite lonely – however if you from strong professional relationships you will feel supported and have people you can ask questions of or refer work to.  It’s a win-win situation!

For assistance in organizing your work space—or anything from wardrobe to whole whose and everything in between—contact Helen for a Clutter Rescue Consultation. If you don’t happen to live in her area, there are Virtual Clutter Rescue Consultations available. What could be better for a disorganized teleworker?

Thanks, Helen, for taking time to talk with us!

image: GYL0

Carl Smith, founder of nGen Works and the Jellyfish Model

Carl Smith is busy sculpting a new face for the world of work. But way before that, back in 2003, Carl faced a necessary facelift of his own career. He had worked at Husk Jennings, a local advertising firm, for 14 years, and the hours were getting longer and longer. His wife, Kathie, was pregnant with their second daughter, and one rare night when he was home for dinner, she strongly encouraged him, as all child-bearing women can, to make a change. So Carl started nGen Works, an award-winning agency that works with businesses to redefine their identities and ideals.

Fast forward to 2011, add a few beers and a heavy dose of Charlie Sheen, and you get Carl’s next big moment of encouragement. And this time it was self-imposed. “I had become extremely frustrated with all the stuff I had to do,” says Carl, “Mainly things that began with the word ‘managing.’ Managing growth, managing cash flow, managing new business, managing the team.” The business of his business had taken him away from the interactions and creative processes he enjoyed most.

“I decided to quit doing things I didn’t like,” says Carl, “My lack of managing the things that bugged me didn’t hurt nGen at all. In fact, most of our problems got better the less I tried to manipulate them.”

While others gawked at Charlie Sheen’s train wreck career, Carl gleaned some valuable lessons about difficult clients, “official” proposals, honesty, and, perhaps most important, the realization that Carl and his nGeneers were more community than company.

So, in early 2012, Carl’s Sheenius led to a big, bold step he calls the Jellyfish Model: a transparent, distributed, decentralized, collaborative, adaptive, egoless organization. Yeah, that’s ambitious, but also very exciting – it’s turned nGen Works into an unconventional, results-driven team of nGeneers.

The Jellyfish Model was adopted with mixed emotions among the nGeneers. “We’ve had the office since 2003 when we started and were a located company,” says Carl, “I tried to close the office earlier this year and the entire company (20 people at the time) rallied to defend the 3 people who go to that office everyday. They said it was part of their deal, just like working from home is part of the deal for the rest of us.”

“It was funny, but also beautiful to see the team protect itself,” says Carl.

The team referred to the transition as “democrazy” times. Younger nGeneers completely embraced the decentralized concept, but seasoned nGeneers had been around long enough to want someone designated to make tough decisions for the company as a whole.

“It actually got to a point where there were back channels lighting up discussing things that weren’t fair. Ultimately I would do all of that again. It showed us who we are as individuals, and allowed us to get to a new place as a team. The conclusion was when I defined the Jellyfish Model as being how the work was selected and managed, but stated that I would still make the decisions as far as how the company itself was run. In that sense were a hybrid centralized/decentralized team,” says Carl.

Looking back at nGen Works’ beginning, Carl says they initially had a Jellyfish Model because the team consisted of four equal partners, but he hesitates to suggest the full model would have worked from the very start. “The difficulty was we were always struggling to get financially sound,” says Carl, “If you’re not financially sound you have to make decisions about staying alive, and that can make being at choice difficult.”

Today, Carl’s jellyfish is thriving, especially when it comes to remote working. “I live in the town where our corporate office is, but I never go in there,” says Carl, “I learned early on that as the person driving the business it’s important that I’m distributed too.”

Carl Smith and the nGeneers using Google Hangouts

Carl’s team stays connected through Skype, Google Hangouts, Basecamp, and Harvest. And even though there’s no business use for it, the team uses Rdio too. “You gotta have music,” says Carl, “Plus it helps me understand what the team is into.”

Carl uses Vimeo to share messages with the team. “Basically I record videos, upload them to Vimeo and then embed them in Basecamp,” says Carl, “There is something about good quality video of someone actually telling you what’s going on that seems to give a certain comfort level to everyone.”

“The videos are between 5 and 15 minutes long and really drive home the big picture of the company. Knowing what’s going on helps distributed teams feel a part of something larger than themselves. Seeing people instead of pixels helps them associate and commit to individuals that are real, not just flashing letters on a screen.”

Carl Smith's back porch office

Carl’s Jellyfish Model compliments his lifestyle. He’s a runner and loves being outdoors. “I can’t work indoors,” says Carl, “I spend most of my time hanging out on the deck in my backyard. When I’m inside I feel like I’m wasting my life.”

As a father of two daughters, he’s always on the go with school events, dance recitals, and competitions. But he manages it all with ability to get work done anywhere. “I once closed an $80,000 deal while at my daughters 4th grade open house,” says Carl, “Thank the universe for iPhones!”

Beyond his iPhone, Carl isn’t pressed to keep up with the latest gadgets. “I rarely upgrade and feel most comfortable one generation behind,” says Carl.

More of Carl’s inspiration comes from books than technology. While he used to focus his reading on business books, he now studies biographies, history, and nature. When it comes to distributed teams, he has a favorite book. “Without a doubt it’s The Starfish and the Spider,” says Carl, “It shares the history of centralized and decentralized organizations and shows the successes of flat hierarchies in nature and history. I strongly recommend it.”

Carl’s focuses on his needs and the needs of the people around him. We need work methods that adapt to our lives, our goals, and our dreams. His Jellyfish Model is a work in progress, but aren’t we all?

“I think the ultimate goal for all of us is to be at choice,” says Carl, “If you can provide everyone you meet with the ability to choose their way then you will have a very warm and wonderful life.”

Catch up with Carl on Twitter: @carlsmith

Larry Lewis on his "never-ending quest to join the heavyweight division"

“We have technology around us that makes our lives easier and helps impossible tasks become possible. But we need to trust the people that are around the technology as well…We’re all flying blind; but if we build enough trust in each other, at least we can fly blind together and maybe guide each other home.”

- Danny Brown

Larry L. Lewis, owner of Flying Blind, LLC, is a most interesting teleworker. He has been working from a home office for more than thirteen years. For the past six years, he has owned and operated Flying Blind, helping manufacturers bring their products to market within North America. Larry provides professional development and training through his company, as well as offering new and used adaptive technologies. He is blind, but definitely not flying blind. Larry’s knowledge of technology gives him a clear picture of his clients, their needs. He opens opportunities to them and their employers.

Larry Lewis, of Flying Blind, demonstrating the BraillePen

Like many of his sighted peers, Larry uses Outlook for email, calendar and contact management; Dropbox for file sharing; Skype for text, voice and video calls, and lots of iOS apps as well. With a few adaptive tools like Abisee’s Zoomex camera and software to meet his OCR needs, and an iPad 3 in conjunction with a BraillePen 12 refreshable Braille terminal or Brailliant Bi 32 cell display, Larry operates his business and helps many other clients function in the world of business as well.

Larry is an effective presenter and has extensive experience with adaptive technologies. He’s always had an interest in public speaking. “In high school, I competed in individual speaking competitions and did fairly well. I took a few public speaking courses in college which has also helped me. It also helps that I’m not shy, and always have a great deal that I want to say!”

Telesaur: I watched the YouTube video above where you demonstrate the Alpha Braille Controller. What an amazing device. How can potential employees who have visual impairment benefit by taking advantage of today’s technology? Can these technologies be used in a telework situation?

Larry: These devices have transformed how I do business. Now, I can tactually access my PC, iPad, or Smartphone to produce results comparable to those of my sighted peers. Such devices make teleworking a definite option for vision impaired employees who are willing to take the time to obtain the Braille and computer skills to fully, efficiently use them.

Telesaur: Can you offer suggestions for potential employers to help them understand how adaptive technology can be used in business settings?

Larry: There’s an ever-growing shift towards accessing mainstream technology within the adaptive tech industry. The days where manufacturers touted self-contained proprietary solutions are becoming virtually either non-existent or irrelevant. Now, employers can count on manufacturers crafting speech, Braille, and low vision adaptive tech solutions designed to access the hardware and software applications that they use in their workplace rather than expecting the vision impaired individual to operate within a self-contained techno-ghetto to get their work done.

Telesaur: So what would you say to every potential teleworker?

Larry Lewis and Little Leroy at Patterson's Apple Orchard

Larry:  Stick to a routine. Get up, shower, get dressed, and go to a specific place in your house that is designed for work. Don’t allow things like the television, radio, or refrigerator to distract you from the tasks that are at hand. I’m very routine oriented, and I try to map out my day with short-term goals that I need to accomplish. If I don’t stick to a routine to get things done, or if I try to get work done outside of my designated workspace, it’s easy for the day to get away from me.

Work-life balance is important to Larry as well. He is an avid hiker and loves to go out with his wife and two dogs in the woods. He is also a fairly serious martial artist. Larry Lewis is ready to fly. And he’s willing to guide the rest of us. Thanks, Larry!

The Lodestar Group helps create and manage military events.

Today I’m catching up with Jeanne Eury (JEM), a 40-something business executive who has worked herself up to the corner office…in the basement! Her title is Executive Vice President (Marketing and Sponsorship) and she’s co-founder of the Lodestar Group. It’s been an interesting visit with a lot to learn.

Telesaur: Introduce yourself. Tell us about your work.

Jeanne Eury

JEM: I am the mother of two college-aged sons who misses her home state of NC but is still a rabid NC State University sports fan. I started the Lodestar Group in the fall of 2005 with 2 friends with my home in Raleigh NC as our headquarters. We create, produce and manage events. In addition to having 7 proprietary events that we wholly own and operate, we also manage and produce events for primarily government and defense clients.  We have expanded obviously since 2005 and have a ‘real’ office but we (the founders) all work from our home offices.

I am ‘the talker’ in the company. I manage our business development, public relations, most event marketing, and our relationship management. I also develop and sell our sponsorships and event partnerships. I enjoy my work so much…from the brainstorming of new event development to the research and relationships that eventually culminate in opening the doors on show day. I travel 5-6 times a year.

Telesaur: Can you share any challenging or funny situations you’ve experienced as a teleworker?

JEM: My biggest challenges in the beginning were centered around organization and time-management. Sales people/creative types aren’t always known for being the most organized and detail oriented. Often I found myself working and realizing that it was dark outside. I started too early and worked far too late sometimes without the opening and closing schedule of a office. I definitely work more from home than I ever did from an office. I also had to force myself to get up, shower, put on make-up and dress in matching non-PJ clothing each day early on. My husband was always excited to hear I had an appointment outside of ‘the office’ because he knew I’d be wearing something other than what I slept in when he came home on those days.

Jeanne Eury's cat, James, helping her telework

Now my challenges are finding ways to get out of the house more so I don’t get too lonely and I don’t lose track of the constant innovations in our business. I also have a cat who is aging with the business and who loves nothing more than stretching out across my keyboard as I’m trying to work. Finding ways to lock him far enough away from the phone so his wailing isn’t heard on client calls and webinars is interesting…

Telesaur: If your sons are college age now, that means when you started your business, they were young teenagers. What kinds of difficulties did that present for you, working from home? Did it provide benefits as well?

JEM:  It was very beneficial to me in terms of supervising my boys. They weren’t able to come home and get into trouble because I was always there. It was also difficult because they were never able to come home and get into trouble-they felt like they never had any time to themselves. After my oldest went to college and my youngest was there alone, he would often yell up to my office at 6 or 7 “Mom, are we going out to dinner again?” and I’d realize I had been lost in work and neglected to plan dinner.

Jeanne Eury's home office

I do think it was a benefit to the boys to see how hard I worked…to see how difficult, thrilling, inconsistent being an entrepreneur is and the effort it takes to start a business. And even though the boys didn’t come into my office regularly, I think it was helpful for them to see how hard I worked to support us. They understand the necessity of hard work and they both have great work ethics and I’m going to let myself think that perhaps I had some influence on that.

Telesaur: How did you get started doing conference, event and workshop planning? Did you and your two friends provide all the services you do currently, or have your services grown with your business?

JEM: My background was in advertising, sales, promotions, sponsorships, marketing…those things. One of my partners came from the exhibits management side and the third was retired military/government. We added a fourth partner a few months after we started and he had a sales and logistics background. We have two other folks who work for the four of us now exclusively, a registration manager/jill of all trades for us and an assistant for our exhibits manager. We end up with 10-12 people working on each event between our graphics, web, registration, etc.

The first event we created and produced was the first non-classified event of its kind.  That led to us being approached by some of our vendors with ideas of where they would like to see us place shows. We also started having attendees seek us out  to ask if we could help with their events. So even though the skills are certainly transferable and we do consulting in other market segments, we have become known as a group that specialize in events within the government/military/LE sector.

Jeanne Eury's backyard view

Telesaur: Working from home still works for you and the other founders. How often do you need to go to the “real” office? How do you stay in touch with the real office when you are working remotely? As an employer, do you hire any teleworkers?

JEM: Our ‘real’ office is mainly for the security of our documents and our files and archives. The core four of us get together ‘face to face’ quarterly at the least because it is important for us to sit and talk through strategy and review progress to date in person. Since we’re all remote, we all have developed an understanding of each other’s work style, we ‘get’ each other’s email voice, etc. Because of the cycle of many of our shows, we hire contractors to work on our graphics, our website, and some other expert seasonal assistance. Several of these are folks we don’t meet with on a regular basis at all. We totally believe in the extraordinary benefits of working from home and use teleworkers almost exclusively.

Telesaur: What websites are you addicted to?

JEM: I really enjoy WorkingNaked.com.  Her sense of style is amazing and I go there to covet other people’s home offices. I also enjoy Carrie Wilkerson’s sites…barefoot executive and her personal site. I try to read Time Management Ninja when I can manage my time to do it And I try to check in on CNN.com periodically so I know what is going on in the world outside my basement.

Telesaur: What do you do when you’re not working?

JEM: I try to read both fiction and non-fiction and I’m writing some short stories for an eventual collection. My husband and I take lots of weekend road-trips. And I love football so we plan our activities in the fall around our favorite college teams’ schedules. I’m trying to learn to cook for two instead of four which isn’t nearly as much fun.

Telesaur: What is something every potential teleworker should know?

JEM: My advice is always based on those things that were challenges to me. First and most importantly I believe that a teleworker HAS to have an office that is only used for that purpose. It can be a corner of another room if there is absolutely no other alternative but for me, having an ‘office’ that was only for work was crucial. It helps people respect your time, it puts you mentally in the zone and will save you from other household distractions.

Secondly, I would say that even though you’re working from home, incorporate a routine that mimics the one you had when you worked away from home. It is too easy to end up wearing the PJs all day. I get up, take a shower, have my caffeine, watch a little of the Today Show, and get dressed. I ‘go to work’ and it makes all of the difference to me in terms of focus and productivity.

Telesaur: Thanks, Jeanne! This has been great!

Find Jeanne Eury here: @JOEury, @basementcoffice
Company URLs: www.basementcorneroffice.com, www.lodestar-group.com

A bag lady, Olympics Games Maker, and thermal blind maker - all teleworking!

What do a bag lady, the 2012 London Olympics Games Maker, and a thermal blind maker have to do with telework? Everything! Just ask Judy Heminsley, author of the book Work From Home and of the website workfromhomewisdom.com. These are just a few of the unusual home workers Judy has interviewed for her blog.

Judy Heminsley

If anyone wants to know about teleworking, it would seem wise to listen to Judy. A seasoned 20 year veteran of working from home, Judy has collected and gleaned tips and tools for teleworkers. She put them together in book format about three years ago, and started her blog about the same time her book was published.  “It seemed a good way to keep updating readers with news about home and mobile working,” says Judy. “And what a lot has happened – coworking spaces have mushroomed in the UK, Jelly has taken off in a big way, and home working has been in the news lately due to the Olympics in London and commuters being advised to work from home for the duration.”

Her blog is full of valuable tools, tips and more for both long-timers and new-comers to the world of working from home. Judy draws from her own experience, but also includes things learned from teleworkers from all over. “The unusual home working jobs series started when a garden office supplier told a client about my site and suggested she get in touch. She is a bookbinder, which made me think there must be other people out there doing jobs you don’t immediately associate with home working.” And Judy was right about that. “I was expecting it to be an occasional series, but I’ve been running it weekly ever since!”

Judy Heminsley's Home Office

More than three years ago, Judy published her book, covering how-to topics from start-up through work/life balance. She stays current by staying connected. “The big challenge is to stay sufficiently connected to the outside world to keep inspiration flowing in,” she says, “so I have to make it a point of getting out regularly. It’s always worth taking the time – especially at the times you feel you can’t afford it!”

One of the ways Judy stays connected is through her participation in Jelly. “Jelly has grown from a couple of groups here in the SW of England to regular groups all over the UK. It has been hugely beneficial to many home workers and freelancers, getting them out of the house and putting them in contact with new people.” Judy encourages Jelly participation, both for personal growth and to assist others in their business efforts. “All kinds of little problems get solved at Jelly, recommendations are made, relationships forged, and new partnerships and clients found.” One of Judy’s contacts was Jan Minihane, founder of the Shropshire Jelly.

Judy Heminsley enjoying her home office without walls

Together with other Jelly friends, they were instrumental in organizing the BIGJelly, the first of its kind, national coworking event for teleworkers and micro-business owners. Held on March 25, 2011, BIG Jelly brought home workers, freelancers, entrepreneurs , micro business owners and business leaders together from all over the UK. It was a day filled with keynote speakers, an expo of tailored products and services for teleworkers and micro-businesses, breakout sessions and panel discussions. What did attendees have to say about BIG Jelly? “BIG Jelly was fantastic. Will report back soon! Masses of fab stuff & inspiring folks. My brain hurts!” said professional organizer Cassie Tillett, Working Order, of Norwich, UK. Sounds like it was a resounding success!  Jellies continue to be organized nationwide, and Judy is quick to promote them all.

Work/life balance is an important issue for Judy. Living outside a small town in South West England, her home is part of a converted sawmill. “My home office is in one of the bedrooms, overlooking the river and all kinds of bird life from herons and kingfishers to egrets and ducks.” Sounds idyllic, but she finds “it’s essential to go away regularly for short breaks, to have a change of scene and get re-energized.” Connecting with people, and sharing what she learns is an important part of her life, and Judy Heminsley certainly has touched the lives of countless other teleworkers.

Hope Helms, freelance photographer

Point and Shoot

Hope Helms started out in her preteens with a love of scrapbooking, which went hand in hand with photography. With her first digital camera, she moved from hands-on scrapping to the digital format. Point, shoot, crop, cut, paste — fun! Starting out with Gimp, a free but limited photo editing program, she has advanced to the “real thing” on her iMac. “It’s a 27 inch 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 with a 1 TB hard drive,” says Hope. “I love it! I think my favorite thing about it is the large screen…it is perfect for all of the photo editing I do.”

Hope Helms' iMac is critical to her freelance photography operation

Practice

With all this point and shoot picture taking, Hope developed a strong interest in design. Combined with her photography, she landed an internship in the Communications Department of  Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. There she was trained to manually shoot a DSLR camera. “It was an extremely valuable and profitable time for me,” says Hope. When the recession hit, her position ended. She bought her own camera equipment and went free-lance.

Hope Helms, working on-site at a wedding

Portraits

“I realized pretty quickly as I got into my photography career that the reason I loved it so much, was because of the people I got to photograph and helping them make and save memories.” The natural course of things was to focus on portraits and weddings. “I think it is awesome to walk alongside a bride through all those moments.”

Hope Helms' productivity corner

Planning and Preparation

The challenges of working both from home and on location requires plenty of planning. Hope says there’s an app for that, too. “I use a great app on my iPad similar to this one that tells me when the sun sets on any given day in the future so I can properly schedule the time of the photoshoot to have the best light.” She doesn’t need lots of specialized equipment for her natural light portraits, so she can just pick up her favorite gear and go. For special events, like weddings, it’s a little more complicated. “I keep a special bag packed with the gear I tend to use more at weddings…and a short checklist of things I need for bigger events, and I just run through it before I leave to make sure I have everything.”

Poses

Natural light photography often comes across as “natural”…that is, unposed. Hope does keep some basic poses or something new she wants to try in mind in the event she’s lacking inspiration in a given moment. Good idea for all professionals!

People

Not only does Hope enjoy creating portraits of people, she also enjoys getting to know other professionals in her field. She has done some interesting interviews of her own with other photographers, and shares them on her blog. Talking with other photographers influences her work in positive ways. “A lot of times I can find inspiration from a little nugget the photographers say in their interviews, or they might share a helpful resource I haven’t heard of,” says Hope. And she’s quick to share that telework isn’t easy. She gets a lift from others who share differing points of view and creativity. “It can be a little hard at times not to be in an office with other creatives to bounce ideas off of and critique your work. Hanging out with other creative business owners while I work really keeps my creative juices flowing. Since that isn’t an option very often, Facebook groups come in handy!”

Pinterest

Plain and simple, pinning helps Hope stay current! Check out Hope’s Pinterest boards! Pinterest is great for finding inspiration for your work – and there’s no end to home office ideas on Pinterest either!

Parenting and Pampers

With a baby at home, Hope has put some of her other free-time activities on hold for now. Prior to her son’s birth, she spent time on home improvement, DIY, organization, reading and doing things with her husband. “Right now, my life is pretty full of all things baby!” she says. And the way little ones fill everyone’s hearts, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more infant and baby photography on Hope’s website.

Hope Helms' home office

Pointers

Working from home and on location, as well as having a flexible schedule to meet the demands of her clients, Hope knows how tricky teleworking can be. Structure is important in keeping work/life balance. “Set boundaries and a schedule you can stick to so you can maximize your productivity and reduce your stress so as to prevent burn-out.”

Perfection

Just as Hope edits each portrait she creates to bring out its best features, she seems to have focused and balanced the perfect creative design for her telework career. Outstanding portraits, Hope!

We partnered with DBCDE for Australia's first National Telework Week!

We’re proud to announce our partnership with Australia’s Department of Broadband, Communications and Economy (DBCDE) to kick of Australia’s first National Telework Week (Nov 12 – 16). Stephen Conroy, the DBCDE Minister, has united more than 100 organizations in support of this big week. The purpose will be to encourage as many employers and employees as possible to trial teleworking.

Stephen Conroy

The DBCDE states that telework “is proving a key feature of the workplace of the future and is expected to make a major contribution to increasing workforce participation opportunities for women with family responsibilities, particularly for those living in affordable housing areas in the outer suburbs and peri urban areas of our major cities.”

Stephen Conroy, the Minister for DBCDE sees telework as cost-saving and productivity tools that can expand the existing skilled labor supply. “An increase in telework can lead to benefits across the economy and community, from big business through to individual workers and families as well as the environment,” Conroy says.

National Telework Week will be packed with events, including:

• Telework Congress with industry leaders speaking on the workforce of the future
• Click Digital Expo, to help local businesses and non-profit organisations ‘survive and thrive’ in the digital economy
• Kick-off of the Anywhere Working Research Network (AWRNA)
• Seminars, workshops, and more!

We love seeing initiatives like this. We know that teleworking in Australia is not unheard of, but it’s exciting to see the government, partner organizations, and so many people come together to support work done anywhere.