Member Profile

Melissa Paxton

Community Leader, Work.com
Durango, CO
Member Since: 09/18/2006
No Website Listed
About Me:
I come to Work. Com from a diverse background in conservation, environmental and outdoor education, field biology, online curriculum, community development, and small garden and landscape business ownership. As a small garden business owner, I work with local businesses and homeowners to create and maintain xeric and native species gardens throughout California and the Southwest. I also lead sea turtle conservation trips to Baja California, hold current Wilderness First Responder certification, am a fluent speaker of Spanish, a prolific vegetable gardener, and a certified sea kayak instructor.

Industry: Educational, Environmental, Gardening and Landscape Design, Paddlesports
Size of Business: 1 - 10 employees
Years in Business: 2-10 years

Affiliations:
Grupo Tortuguero,Pro Peninsula, American Horticultural Society, ACA, NAEE, CAEE, WMI, Colorado Native Plant Society

Business Interests:
Non-profits, Outdoor/Environmental Education, Gardening, Landscaping, Paddlesport/Outdoor Industry, Green Business, Sustainability

Total Guide Views

1 1 5 4
Overall Rating: N/A
Guides Written: 1
Comments Posted: 161
Comments Received: 0
Favorite Guides: 10

Guides I've Written

  1. Starting A Gardening Business


    Find online (and local) resources that can help you get your commercial garden business growing!
    Guide Rating: 9.0 out of 10. Saved by 3 people.

My Comments

  • Here's the latest link to the Twitter Tools Wordpress plug-in. I'm about to give it a try and will report back if I find any issues. Thanks for this motivating guide, Shara.
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  • The owners of a new restaurant here in our small, college town also used the town's population as resource by soliciting ideas, information and feedback from the student population about what kind of restaurant they'd like to eat at. It seems to have worked well, their restaurant is busy every night.
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  • Hey Geico guys, I'd like to see some information in here on renter's insurance as it applies to the small business owner renting commercial office or warehouse space. Thanks!
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  • Pesticides - 04/29/2009
    Donna, I couldn't agree more. And I own a gardening business. This is my organic lawn care manual of choice: The Organic Lawn Problem Solver.
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  • Angel Investors - 04/25/2009
    I'd like to know if/how the recession is affecting Angel Investments. Has anyone read anything relevant?
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  • Sharisa, this is a really well written, informative guide. I deal with this issue whenever I work in Mexico and Central America. For local calls within Mexico, I recently purchased a cheap TelCel phone and use rechargeable phone cards. That way I know how much I am spending up front, there are no hidden costs, and if I lose the phone somewhere it's not a big deal as it only cost $20. But, for calls back to the states it can get SUPER expensive to use a local cell. So, thanks for putting this guide together! International phone rental seems like a great idea for the future.
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  • Nice guide, Gina! I'd also suggest getting certified in multiple disciplines. For example, I surveyed a group of yoga instructors in my small mountain town (all of whom have received professional yoga certifications, and they say their in-home businesses are doing really well) despite the recession. For a list of regional yoga certification programs, check out: The Yoga Site.
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  • Daniel, I've been reading a few of the blogs on Savor the Success, the new site you reviewed on the What Works for Business blog. There are some great posts on here with tips for women starting a business.
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  • I just came across this post on the terrific What Works For Business blog, New Site Helps Women Biz Owners Promote Each Other. Talk about an awesome social networking site for (female-owned) company promotion!
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  • Sandi, Thanks so much for this guide. I think you've really identified how, why, and when social networking can work for company promotion, and what's required in order for social networking to be an effective marketing tool. Your comment, "...if you become part of the conversation and offer them something of value, whether it is your blog or simply pointing to an interesting article you read this morning, they’re much more likely trust you and participate" makes a valuable point about the "how". The rewards of building trust and becoming an active community member shouldn't be overlooked. Thanks! Melissa
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  • Thank you for addressing this incredibly valuable and important community of consumers, Matt. This is a terrific guide and your links and Tips & Tactics are excellent resources. From personal experience, I've found that marketing our Baja trips specifically to gays & lesbians (most often as separate groups) can be very financially (and culturally) rewarding. It is also true that the folks who come on these trips tend to be our most dedicated repeat customers.
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  • Akwasi, it's great to see you building upon the success of your excellent Guide to Doing Business in Ghana with this addition to doing business in another African nation. Are there any other blogs/sites/forums that you can recommend that provide first hand accounts of working or doing business in Nigeria?
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  • Jeff, this is guide very well written and super user friendly. I especially appreciate your links to learning how domains are valued, a formula I've never understood before. Thank you!
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  • This is a great guide, Jennifer, and it's exciting to read the comments you are receiving and responding to, too. Here's an article about freelance-gig websites on one of my fave blogs. I especially like that the author used the term "fancy-pants."
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  • Sending a few stamps is ingenious, Donna. I wish I had thought of that! What we are going to do is send $25.00 gift certificates in our holiday cards, along with handwritten notes asking how our customers enjoyed the items they purchased from us this past season, and telling them we look forward to seeing them again in the next year.
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  • This a nice, concise, helpful guide for the small business owner. Thank you, Linda. I really liked your examples of business-specific "thank yous", and agree that the handwritten thank-you card can really go a long way. In fact, I just received one from the customer service rep at our local bank, after opening a new business and a personal account with her. It really made me feel welcomed and appreciated as a customer, and reinforced that I had made the right choice in a bank.
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  • Betty, you are quickly becoming one of my favorite Work.com guide writers! Here is another great travel guide and an excellent reminder for all of us who travel for business to take advantage of programs like these. Though, I have to admit that recently I have been frustrated by the lack of programs offered to those of us booking Group Travel. I just booked over $10,000 in group reservations with one of the leading US carriers and when I asked if I could apply any credits to my business frequent-flyer account, they said "No!" Argh.
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  • And I am LOVING this site: Open Source Web Design.
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  • Website Development - 11/30/2007
    Nice additions to Matt's helpful guide, Eric & Shara. I like the points about developing a content inventory, and adding "how to" articles --which in my case will be "related" articles. With all the awesome guides on Work.com about web development and design, my del.icio.us bookmark page is becoming quite the valuable webdev resource.
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  • Online Stores - 11/30/2007
    Eric, nice comment about deleted products and having links to similar items that are in stock. Our e-commerce site is linked to our POS/inventory system which is great for keeping out of stock off the site--but we should also add links to other stuff so our users have a reason to keep shopping. Thank you!
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  • Nice guide, Paul. I really appreciate the article about bold and simple design as that's what I think is missing from so many e-commerce sites. I've forwarded your guide on to my boss and our web designer so they can read some of your recommendations as they put the finishing details on our new website. Do you have any other favorite sites utilizing your "9 golden rules" that you'd care to share as examples?
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  • Shara/Byon, I have the same question about Drupal. Any luck finding an answer? Thanks.
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  • Terrific guide, Betty. I had never used Mobissimo before and now I will! I also encourage foreign business travelers to buy emergency medical/evacuation insurance. My business has been using Travel Insure for all our insurance needs for years. They are incredibly helpful, and affordable.
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  • I agree with everyone below, this is an awesome list of resources. I even rated it a 10! It would be great to post this guide to the Work.com Community Blog as well ~ I'd love to see if we can get other folks to add their recommendations and keep it growing...
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  • Interior Design - 11/30/2007
    After reading your guide Matt, I am applying some of your Action Steps and Tips & Tactics to my home office design. Thanks! Our local lighting store consultants have been happy to come by our house to look at our office space and then put together packages of lighting ideas for us to consider. And by utilizing Ikea's Small Business Space Planner tool I've been able to configure a pretty functional furniture system that's fun, too.
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  • Not only do you have the #1 top rated guide this week, but this guide is rated #2. Bravo, Shara. Your guide is written well and with humour, it's loaded with excellent resources and you are obviously an online community expert. So here's a question: I am interested in providing a comment area on our developing web site for folks who participate in our sea turtle eco-tourism trips in Mexico where they can post photos and stories about their experiences. But I am not necessarily ready to build a moderated forum that would provide for communication between participants, yet. Can you recommend a list of privacy/legal protocols we should follow as we look to incorporating a simple posting area to our site? Thank you!
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  • Shara, it's great to see that YOU have the top-rated guide on Work.com. Congratulations! I use the Guide to Small Business Blogs often. I appreciate the excellent links you provided and like to have your recommendations close at hand as I build and tweak my own blog. Thank you! I also want to add a plug for the Work.com Community Blog that you edit. It's a fantastic resource for Work.com users and small business owners alike. I check it often in order to stay on top of everything happening on Work.com. And I still would like to see a more prominent link to this excellent resource on the Work.com home page.
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  • Commercial Doors - 11/11/2007
    Hi Selena, I agree with Scott, this is an excellent example of how an effective and helpful Work.com guide should be written. Thank you. While commercial doors are not something I think about often, my husband is a residential builder and he suggests that it pays to check with your local county or city building permits/codes department to see if they have any restrictions on what kinds of doors you can use commercially.
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  • Like Susan, I am big fan of corporate volunteerism. And I appreciate that you made suggestions for working with local organizations in your excellent guide, Eve. I think that's an important place for small businesses to focus their efforts. Here in Durango (and across Southwestern Colorado) we have a volunteer opportunity database Volunteer Central that local companies and organizations can use to find current programs that need support. Maybe your community has a similar database!
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  • I think I have mentioned this before, but it really pays to check the Most Recent Comments section of the Work.com site. Each time I do I discover a new guide that's relevant to the projects I am working on as a small business owner. This guide is the perfect example. I had no idea .travel was even an option for a domain name, and I will use your suggested sites Daniel to research whether that extension is open for my new(est) business. One questions to all of you commenters: I like what Anita posted about keeping it simple, but it can prove tricky to come up with the right acronym or abbreviation for your business's sub-domain. Does anyone have any resources or suggestions that can help folks with choosing their sub-domain name?
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  • Gmail for Work - 11/10/2007
    Brian, your printable Gmail shortcuts are terrific. So is your blog, Pajama Market. Thank you!
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  • To add to Eric and Paul's carpet comments, I'd like to find a resource or two for green/environmentally safe commercial carpets. Do you know of any, Selena?
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  • This is great guide, Jenni. Though I relate to what Scott said about business cards being sort of a necessary evil (and I really like his idea of beaming contact info to one another!) But, I took a look at Moo.com on Shara's recommendation and I really like what they are doing with printable postcards and that I can make a card of my own design using an image relevant to my business to send to new and existing customers. Thanks, Shara!
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  • This is an easy to read, concise, helpful guide! My only complaint: I am now addicted to The Sloganizer, which just suggested my business slogan be "Naughty Little Turtles." Not sure it's the "one" but it sure is catchy...
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  • It's so great to come across your guide, Carmina. Your Tips & Tactics are all excellent suggestions. I was sad to see that the link to your meet up group of 'fempreneurs' was no longer active. Are the 'mogulettes' still meeting?
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  • This guide is a great resource, Ilene. It's now posted to my de.licio.us bookmarks. I look forward to reading more guides from you in the future.
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  • I so needed this guide, Adam. I had no idea You Tube offered non-profit video hosting! These are steps I hadn't thought of as far as marketing the non-profit I am working with. And as Donna says; it's time to start marketing as though we are a for-profit company.
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  • Thank you for updating us about Virgin Money, William. This weekend I read an interesting article that speaks to P2P lending on the Wall Street Journal site, Doing Loans With Web Neighbors.
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  • I am happy to see this very important topic being addressed, thank you Gwen. Here are a couple of business ethics blogs I keep bookmarked: Business Ethics Memo Socially Responsible Business Forum The Employee Factor The Chief Happiness Officer Hidden Mojo
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  • Great points, Deborah. Do you have any recommendations for sales resources geared towards locally based businesses?
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  • After reading your guide, I went right to work looking for local online advertising options. By searching on "Durango + local events" in Google, I found a new site that's billing itself as the Durango community web site and plans to offer advertising opportunities for all local businesses. I also re-acquainted myself with our chamber of commerce website and was amazed by how many local businesses (and their websites!) are listed on it.
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  • Job Listings - 10/17/2007
    After reading Daniel Kehrer's Guide to Promoting a Local Business Online I'd also add that advertising your job listings locally would be another Action Step to include in this guide. Our small town newspaper posts daily job listings online and local folks (and those from out of town who want to move to Durango) looking for new employment check them regularly.
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  • I second Paul, this is an excellent guide Betty. It's very refreshing to read and learn about something all of us who travel for business can relate to. I am a big proponent of packing my own trip food too: a few Mojo or Luna bars from Clif, apples, carrots and almonds, and drinking as much water as possible while on layovers, in-flight and throughout meetings. (I do try to always get an aisle seat so I don't bother fellow passengers with my frequent trips to the restroom!) As I fly frequently through Denver, I occasionally splurge on a fish taco or two from Que Bueno, located on Concourse B. Delicioso!
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  • This a very useful guide, Mary, and you've covered all the bases a home-office worker would need. The main thing I am bumping up against as I try to set up my own home office is a lack of space! I've used the Ikea interactive guide you included to "create" my dream office, and I love it. But, having recently moved into a small 2 bedroom home, and with a baby on the way, I am not sure where my new office is going to live. A local realtor we know suggested we take a look at modular cottages or office spaces that we could build in our backyard and she shared this extensive list of modular companies with us. If we can figure out a way to fund it, we want to go with a Modern Cabana from San Francisco. I can just feel my creative & organizational juices flowing when I look at their beautiful and green designs.
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  • I really like your simple guide, Betsy, thank you. The owner of the retail business I work for part-time has been working at increasing his "thank-yous" in the form of bonuses, and with additional company meetings to "check-in" with all of us (with food & drinks provided.) The staff is responding well to his efforts and overall, our store has become a much happier place to work
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  • Online Stores - 10/17/2007
    Hi Matt, I agree with Anita, this is a fantastic guide. The company I work for is currently using Sidetrips Internet Services for web hosting and MIVA merchant for our shopping cart needs. We've also recently upgraded our POS to Posim and are now in the process of merging everything together: our online store, our shopping cart software and our POS. Have you had any experience working with any of these companies/products? I'll keep you posted on how it all goes for us, and will definitely keep your guide bookmarked for back-up.
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  • Hi Betty, I posted this comment to Helen Hoefele's Guide to Promotional Apparel:More Than Just T-Shirts! but I think it works well as a comment for your useful guide, too. Recently I attended the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City and I came home with the first promotional t-shirt I am keeping for myself. Reason being, it's made from a super soft Peruvian cotton/stretch blend, the color is a bright poppy pink, the graphics are interesting, and match the graphics the company is using across brand, and they run up the side and around to the back of the shirt, with the logo of the company artfully woven into the graphic design. Plus, it's super comfy to wear. I've already received lots of positive comments about the shirt (it's become part of my work "uniform")~and because it's so nicely made those comments reflect well on the company who provided it to me.
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  • Hi Greg, I took your advice and bought a keychain USB drive to use for my latest presentations and it's worked very well. Thank you! I'm lucky in that most of my presentations take place at schools, colleges and other organizations already outfitted with projectors and other AV equipment. But, I do think investing in my own microphone might be a wise idea. I checked out your link to Media College on using a microphone but didn't find much. Any other recommendations for folks needing a small, portable microphone?
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  • Chris, your guide is clear and concise and useful, thank you. It doesn't seem like you are recommending using an external hard drive for data backup in your Action Steps. Is there a specific reason? I've been looking into all the options and had been leaning towards a Western Digital My Book, as Rob suggests. Does anyone have some insight to offer on one option over the other?
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  • To add to Paul's comment, we did not pay our interns but we helped them to receive school credit by meeting and providing their professors with progress reports. We also made sure to include interns in organizational lunches, fundraising events, and end-of-season parties, where they were provided with meals and other small benefits. I, too, would like to hear from folks who have paid their interns. Did you set up specific pay structures for your interns, what did those look like, and how did they work?
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  • Like Susan and Scott, I've been using Google Alerts and Google Reader to receive information about things happening in Mexico, in Baja California specifically, with sea turtles worldwide, and with what other companies working in Mexico tourism are up to. But, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with managing all of the information. Thanks for including the link to your tutorial on How to Use RSS, Brian. Another news search engine I am using to keep up on "green" things E-Wire.
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  • Very useful guide, Daniel, thank you. Donna, I really appreciate your comments about entrepreneurs starting without Daniel's recommended $50,000 and finding success! In the last year I've started 2 companies, also with nowhere near that amount,. While I certainly don't expect either of my projects to become multi-million dollar companies, I hope they both become viable, long-lived businesses that support me for years to come.
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  • Thank you for this guide, Dan. It is so great to read such supportive and in-depth reasons for hiring interns. Donna, your points about intern management are right on. I recently worked with a non-profit organization that had one part time and two full time employees, so we relied heavily on interns and volunteers to get things done. At the beginning of my tenure, our interns would show up and the staff would be unprepared for them: no specific jobs organized for them to do, no work space set aside for them, no specific responsibilities. And it was so frustrating, for them and for us! By putting some real effort into creating an intern workspace, designing a specific list of ongoing intern duties, and giving these super bright, highly dedicated, energetic people ownership of some projects, things greatly improved. We also held de-brief meetings with our interns and volunteers, in order to hear from them how their internship was going; what was working for them, what could help them to be more effective and what we could do to help them get more out of the experience.
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  • Thanks for the suggestion, Matt & Paul. Looks like we have a new guide Guide to Eco-Friendly Promotional Products written by the web operations manager for a site called Far From Boring which as a small selection of eco-friendly promo products also. Since that guide seems to be mostly an ad for Far From Boring, I decided to look for some additional eco-friendly alternatives. Here are some good ones: Acess Eco EcoBranders EcoPromoGIfts
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  • In my small gardening business, we don't have a written dress code per se, but I encourage co-workers to wear closed-toe shoes, pants with multiple pockets, a sun shirt, and wide brimmed hat. They've all jumped on board and we now have a sort of company uniform, by default! I've also started ordering pants with built-in knee pads from Skillers for my main employees.
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  • Irwin, thank you for this very insightful guide. I feel much more educated about where to start my business credit card research. I think you're missing a link to the Credit Card Guide site so here it is for anyone who might be interested: CreditCardGuide.Com
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  • Sheryl, you've done a great job at including a healthy list of links to solution providers, sites to learn more and blogs & forums related to new business ideas, thanks. Now, I wish the body of your guide had even more ideas, action steps and tips & tactics!
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  • I agree, the 10 Commandments are now posted over my desk so I won't forget. Vicky, I think your guide is helpful, but it'd be great to see some links to data recovery services/articles/ideas other than those provided by your company. Thanks!
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  • Thanks for the link to Akira Hirai's article about why business plans don't get funded, Scott. I also found a couple of other helpful business plan papers at his company's website: Cayenne Consulting. It's nice to have Hirai and his partner's reminders close at hand as we try not to "overtweak" our emerging plan.
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  • Evelyn, this is a very well written guide! You've covered all the areas I would want to know more about if I was starting a food business. I especially like that you included ideas about contacting local retailers and your nearby chamber of commerce. Another idea to add: here in my small town of Durango, CO, we have a very well-attended farmer's market where lots of local food businesses have gotten their start. Find one near you at the USDA's List of Local Farmer's Markets
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  • This a excellent resource for restaurateurs, Frances. I am working at a small cafe for kids (big people too!) and while we are too small to use a restaurant POS like Aloha (the restaurant software I am most familiar with) we really could use a management tool like OCLite or CostGuard. Thank you!
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  • Frances, I just wanted to let you know that I used your #1 guide again this week, and shared it with my new business partners-in-crime. Using it together is really helping us all to stay on the same page. It's the best resource we have!
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  • The owner of our store sends out a holiday card that includes a store gift certificate for anyone who has spent over $500.00 during the year. The recipients seem to really appreciate them as we get about an 85% return rate on those gift certificates!
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  • I'd like to find a site that offers green, eco-friendly, recyclable, and/or sustainably manufactured promotional items. Anyone have a lead on one?
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  • Thank you for pushing this back up to the top of the comment pile, Deborah. I totally agree with your points and still very much want to see our Community Blog get the recognition it deserves. It will only benefit Work.com to highlight the blog prominently on the home page!
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  • Your guides are fantastic, Helen! As a gardener and a retail store employee (in Durango, CO we all have at least 5 jobs) I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of curb appeal. From my gardener's POV, my favorite clients to work with are businesses that out stock in using plants to add to their appeal: retail shops, restaurants, and other businesses. It's so satisfying to watch a drab commercial space transform into a beautiful, inviting place to spend some time. And my clients get great feedback from their customers about the planted spaces we create. As an outdoor retail store employee, I know the containers both at the front and inside the doors (that our manager has planted) really add to the outdoors-y ambiance of the whole store. Now, we have plans to do some additional planting and landscaping on our back lawn too.
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  • Hi Helen, Just wanted to add that I actually came home from Outdoor Retailer with the first promotional t-shirt I am keeping for myself. Reason being, it's made from a super soft Peruvian cotton/stretch blend, the color is a bright poppy pink, the graphics are interesting, and match the graphics the company is using across brand, and they run up the side and around to the back of the shirt, with the logo of the company artfully woven into the graphic design. Plus, it's super comfy to wear. I've already received lots of positive comments about the shirt (it's become part of my work "uniform")~and the company advertised on it.
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  • Carrie, I agree with Anitra, nice guide. I especially appreciate your upfront disclosure about who you work for, and that you've really taken us step by step through the Google posting process. Do you have any tips for using Google as a tool for listing my eco-tourism business that's based in Mexico? Thanks!
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  • I like that I am able to adapt this guide and your excellent Action Steps, Frank, to my small business. I might not be hiring for the Redsox (though it looks like whoever was did a pretty darn good job this year!) but finding and maintaining great employees is what keeps my small garden business going and growing.
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  • Open Innovation - 08/30/2007
    Jeff, your post aimed at students on the Fellowforce blog is a nice complement to the ongoing comments added to your guide here at Work.com! Have you seen any increase in your student base of open innovators?
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  • I, too, had no idea that negative keywords were such an effective tool for keeping web ads from appearing in the wrong places. You've included some excellent resources and "Tips & Tactics" for utilizing them. As we re-work our e-commerce site we will be sure to keep your guide close at hand. Thank you, Lindsey.
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  • Open Innovation - 08/15/2007
    Hi Jeff, Do you foresee your blog becoming a place where "fellows" can discuss their experiences posting innovations on Fellowforce? Or can you recommend any other blogs/sites for "innovation posters"? It'd be great to hear more about how this is all working from the innovator side...
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  • Dan, you write the best guides! These are all very salient tips, especially to "keep 'em short" and check your spelling. I've been guilty of both, as a writer and recipient, and long-winded, poorly written emails make me cringe.
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  • I jumped on reading this guide as my husband is a builder and is looking for a good residential construction management program. Did you come across any small- scale software programs you could recommend? Thanks for another great guide, Greg.
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  • I love to see older guides receiving new comments and being revived! Donna, your point is so valid and speaks to a similar program we are starting at the rafting/kayak store 4 Corners Riversports that I work at here in Durango. When folks spend a bundle on rafting, canoeing or kayaking gear we're sending out thank you cards with gift certificates for the store or the paddle school and now we're also following up with a phone call to see how their new equipment is working for them. The response has been fantastic!
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  • Thanks for writing such an informative and usable (or as Scott said, Actionable) guide, Helen. In a couple of days I am heading to Outdoor Retailer and I will collect numerous t-shirts from all kinds of vendors to bring home to the rest of our store employees. Those t-shirts (especially the ones with cool graphics) will be worn daily by our staff of 20ish men and women and really will help to advertise products.
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  • A Greener Office - 07/31/2007
    Thanks for the link to GreenPrint, Donna. Their products make so much sense. In our office, we're double-side printing, using recycled paper, and recycling all our paper waste, and we still use more paper than I am comfortable with, so I know we can do better!
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  • It's nice to find a guide written by someone in small business marketing that lists multiple resources, not just the author's own company! Thank you, Caroline, for the great information about small business SEO and especially for the link to The Open Directory Project.
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  • This is a very well written and super helpful guide, Jenni. I am so grateful for the link to the Geek Girls' database tutorial.
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  • Hi Dawn, I've bookmarked a number of guides and articles about time management and productivity, but yours is the most concise and clear that I have read. I especially liked your section on taking charge of your space. We just moved into a new house and my office has been coming together very slowly. Your guide provided a new kick start, thank you!
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  • Yay, yay, yay for you and for this great guide, Daniel. I have been buried so deep in gardening season (which reminds me that I should write a companion guide to Guide to Starting a Gardening Business now that I am in my second year) that I haven't had time to investigate the resources out there for finding freelance winter work. Now, I feel better prepared to start looking and I really enjoy Freelance Switch. Thank you!
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  • Great points and clarity, Shara. I really like how the comments that have been added here (and all of comments posted to Work.com guides) helped to increase the value and resourcefulness of this guide. This is a great reminder to Work.com users to be sure to read the comments section of every guide they find interesting! And don't forget to check out the Community Blog for additional links, articles and loads of useful info.
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  • Hard Drives - 05/22/2007
    Greg, Your guide has all the links I was looking for to help me make my external hard drive purchasing decision, thanks. Do you have any personal recommendations for my Dell laptop?
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  • Thank you, Shara. I have been trying to learn more about rain gardens lately (and this blog has a GREAT article) as we live on the desert-y edge of the Rockies of Southwestern Colorado, and our rainfall is highly inconsistent.
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  • Once again, ask and you shall receive on Work.com! I have been wanting to learn more about VoIP services, and Daniel you've pulled it all together beautifully, thank you. Any thoughts/opinions on the best, affordable headset option for using Skype on a Dell PC?
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  • I so agree with you, Scott, that focusing on your processes is very important. And thanks for all these great ideas and resources for growth management, Donna. (They're all just what I need to be paying attention to as I really have been seat-of-my-pants-ing so far and this garden business is taking off!) Recent feedback I've been hearing from my clients is that regular communications, either by phone or email, are really valuable and so I am concentrating on tracking those.
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  • I want to add a few non-computer but work related stress syndrome comments to your excellent guide, Greg. As a gardener I find myself dealing with RSS in my hands (from pruning/clipping) and in my back (from lifting/digging/bending over to weed.) If I remember to stretch in between activities, change hands or positions, and mix-up my jobs during the day (weed at one location and then plant at the next , then go back to weeding at another location) I am much better off. I would love to have a set of reminders with me out in the field!
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  • Hi Eric, Nice guide. I bet John Jantsch's Blog, Duct Tape Marketing, has been linked to a bunch in the guides, but it sure is a valuable marketing news resource to add.
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  • Daniel, I am so excited to learn about SCORE. Thank you! Unfortunately, the closest SCORE location to Durango is 3.5 hours away in Santa Fe, but it sounds like it might be worth it to take a trip down there to participate in one of their workshops or meet with some of their counselors. Poking around on the SCORE site, I found this helpful checklist for managing small business finances in the SCORE newsletter, something I definitely need to stay on top of. It also seems like Work.com and SCORE are a good match. The Work.com Small Business Community Blog should be a feature in one of their newsletters.
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  • Matt, this is a great guide. It's awesome to be reminded that internet jobs and services still exist! Being the small town girl that I am, I always wonder if there are local or state resources for finding jobs. Can you point me towards any regionally specific job sites you come across?
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  • Susan, there's an article about qualified engineers and outsourcing on NP's Morning Edition today (4/30/07). It discusses some of the points you've brought up here.
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  • Greg, this is another extremely useful guide, thanks! We should add a link to it from Matt Alderton's Guide to Staring a Bar or Nightclub and Amy Gesenhues' Guide to Opening a Restaurant. One idea to throw in to your tips about finding Local Independent Brokers: Check with your area farmer's markets to see if you might be able to set up a relationship with a local produce grower who can supply your restaurant with fresh, organic veggies in season!
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  • Elaine, I agree with Susan, this a really big topic to cover! And I think you've done a great job, but it would be cool to see a few more guides dissecting some of this information even further. One blog I'd add to your list: D. Keith Robinson's Asterisk as he posts loads of interesting ideas on Web design, content and management...and he's fun to read!
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  • Shara, as you know I think the Work.com Small Business Community blog is a totally awesome resource for guide writers and Work.com experts. But I also think the community blog could be a great place to drum up additional interest in Work.com from the small business community at large, and provide an intro for all kinds of entrepreneurs who might be wanting to write about what they know! Can we please try to get a more obvious & visible link to the blog from the Work.com home page? It shouldn't be getting lost down there in the footer, it's too valuable!
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  • Great guide, Shara! So glad to see more links to the Work.com Small Business Community Blog and learn more ways to get our guides seen. Thank you.
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  • Matt, more often than I probably care to admit, I think about how much fun (despite the hard work!) it would be to open a little bar in my new town of Durango, CO. We've got some good ones here, but none that have the same atmosphere as my faves in the Bay Area. I am so keeping your guide saved, in case I can't fight the urge any longer! Thanks for keeping my dream alive, Melissa
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  • Hi Greg, thanks for this excellent guide! Donna, I feel like I might be in the dark ages here, but I'd love to find some more information (or maybe someone should write a Work.com guide!) about using Skype. I am trying to figure out what the best communication/long distance tool is for running my business in Mexico. Have you used Skype yourself and do you have any feedback? Thanks! Melissa
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  • Virtual PBX - 03/20/2007
    Hi Greg, I recently worked with a non-profit organization that chose to use virtual PBX as a complement to staffer's cell phones. While I think some of our callers missed the personal touch of hearing a staff member's voice in the message system, PBX really made life easy for the staff. But here's one piece of feedback about the online system we were using, Virtual PBX. The delay that happened between our cell phones and the PBX system was rather disconcerting and we had a lot of dropped a lot of calls due to our caller's confusion. I'd recommend that PBX /cell users discuss issue with the representative of whatever PBX company they choose to use.
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  • These are important points for increasing customer retention, Frances. And I think you are so right about word-of-mouth being one of the best ways to retain and attract new customers. I am trying (in both my gardening and my eco-tourism business) to find a way to increase or leverage word-of-mouth marketing opportunities...what do you think about offering some sort of a "bonus" to customers for referring their friends to my services or trips?
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  • And to get even MORE out of your Work.com experience, join the Work.com Community Blog!
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  • This is a terrific guide, Elaine. I have been looking for a collaboration tool that would provide structure for the project I am working on with our team in Mexico, and it looks like Basecamp might be perfect.
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  • Thank, Scott. I, too, am really looking forward to reading any suggestions you might have for following-up with the contacts made at networking events. It's so important to continue the connection, but it sometimes feels a bit awkward to take that first step...
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  • Hi Sheila, Nice guide! Besides being a Chamber of Commerce member, I am also a member of our local Green Business Roundtable. Once a month, community members involved in green or sustainable businesses get together to share lunch, listen to different speakers, and have a chance to network with each other. It's been a great resource for my business and I found out about the group through our local chamber.
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  • Thanks for the awesome advice, Phillip. I *think* I am going to go with a simple Spanish name for our Mexican/US company in order to honor our Mexican partners and share the meaning of our company to our US clients (ikind of like you did with Sabio, which is a really good name BTW). Again, your guide--and all the great comments you've been getting from other users--has been really helpful!
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  • Needing inspiration today to get going on a new business plan, I read through my saved guides list. And of course I went straight to this guide about small business blogs, and on to Escape from Cubicle Nation where I immediately read the top article "Don't commit these mailing list mistakes" which was perfectly relevant to what I am working on. And that led to reading Pam's business site Ganas Consulting which had lots of Free Stuff and other information about kickstarting yourself into getting excited about your work. Yay for small biz blogs, yay!
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  • Greg, can you recommend a source for researching insurance (specifically liability insurance) requirements for companies doing business both in the U.S. and in Mexico?
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  • Greg, I really appreciate all of your guides regarding doing business in Latin America, thank you. Can you recommend a source for researching insurance requirements for companies doing business both in the U.S. and in Latin America?
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  • Greg, I really appreciate all of your guides regarding doing business in Latin America, thank you. Can you recommend a source for researching insurance requirements for companies doing business both in the U.S. and in Central America?
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  • Jenni, your guides cover so many important issues and areas. Thank you! I'd like to make a sponsorship comment from the non-profit point-of-view. We've found that local businesses are much more apt to offer sponsorships in the form of in-kind, product and service, donations. And that's been incredibly helpful! If you are planning to host an event requiring food, beverages, or giveaway items, put together a proposal requesting those items at a specific dollar amount, and present your proposal to a local business or organization.
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  • Google Reader - 02/28/2007
    Excellent--and very useful--guide, Shara. Thank you! Here's something else to add, the Official Google Reader Blog is a hoot to read and also has lots of helpful posts.
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  • Awesome guide, Phil! So nice to see the mistakes to avoid included here. I so need to come up with a name for my new business, and was thinking I should start a contest amongst my constituents and partners, but after reading your guide, I realize that might be right up there in Mistake #1. Any advice on finding a name that works in two languages, and has a catchy acronym in both Spanish and English? See, this naming thing is TOUGH!
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  • Glad to see that you included asking employees what works best for them! Everyone has their own working style and hence, all of us have environments that we work best in.
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  • Another idea for drumming up local business, start a customer email list and use it. The small retail shop I work for in Colorado has begun sending out monthly emails highlighting new merchandise and upcoming events. We also include little stories relevant to our shop and our locale. We have received great feedback about these emails and have really found they really draw people into the store!
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  • This is all so important to remember, William. Especially tip #10!
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  • Thanks, Matthew. You covered all the right bases. Another organization I'd recommend for small tech industry business women in Utah: Utah Women in Technology. And the online version of Utah Business Magazine is great!
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  • My husband often refers to my side of the desk as a study in chaos theory, but if he ever wants to see the latest utility bill or a copy of his 2004 taxes, I can whip it right out. "One woman's mess..."
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  • Hi Mark, Thank you for this very thorough guide to Kansas small business resources! As a small business owner in Colorado hoping to expand across state boundaries, I have found these regional guides to be a very valuable resource. One idea to expand upon your SBCD recommendation: in my county, we have a community leadership program started by our local Chamber of Commerce. Known as the Leadership La Plata program, it provides excellent community education, leadership skill building, and networking opportunities to its participants. You can check your local Chamber of Commerce website to see if they offer a similar version.
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  • Hi Carla, Thank you for this very thorough guide to NM business resources! As a small business owner in Colorado hoping to expand across state boundaries, I have found these regional guides to be a very valuable resource. One idea to expand upon your Chamber of Commerce recommendation: in my county, we have a community leadership program started by our local Chamber of Commerce. Known as the Leadership La Plata program, it provides excellent community education, leadership skill building, and networking opportunities to its participants. If you don’t live in New Mexico, you can check your local Chamber of Commerce website to see if they offer a similar version.
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  • Thanks, Matthew! As a small business owner hoping to expand across state boundaries, I have found these regional guides to be a very valuable resource. One idea to add: in my county, we have a community leadership program started by our local Chamber of Commerce. Known as the Leadership program, it provides excellent community education, leadership skills building, and networking opportunities to its participants. Check your local Chamber of Commerce website to see if they offer a similar version.
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  • As a small business owner hoping to expand my horizons across state boundaries, I have found these regional guides to be a very valuable resource, and I refer to them often. One idea to add: in my county, we have a community leadership program started by our local Chamber of Commerce. Known as the Leadership program, it provides excellent community education, leadership skill building, and networking opportunities to its participants. Check your local Chamber of Commerce website to see if they offer a similar version.
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  • Hi Lisa, I fully enjoyed your guide and found it to be incredibly motivating. I happen to live in a town that prides itself on the amount of art galleries we have -- however, none of them has a true community feel. Thank you for the ideas and I look forward to reading future guides from you!
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  • Wow, Greg. I wish I'd had your guide a few months ago. Last week, I volunteered at a conference in Mexico for a sea turtle conservation network in Baja California Sur (see GrupoTortuguero ) and ended up doing a load of translating myself! Thanks for all this great information. I know we'll use it in the future.
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  • Hi Matt, My husband and I are currently registering our businesses in Colorado and our state requires that any one doing business that isn't using their first and last name to file a DBA. If we're just small, local businesses, do you recommend that we also file for a trademark? Thanks, Melissa
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  • Glad to see a guide that's tackling one of the more uncomfortable sides of business ownership. I really appreciated the link to the Cash Flow Budget Worksheet. It's been downloaded to my desktop!
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  • All of these are important points to remember and to act upon, thank you Jackie. Here's another article I've found useful to refer to when things feel out of balance, and it comes from the Mayo Clinic: Work-life balance: Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress.
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  • Here's one of the reasons why I LOVE being a member of Work.com: I own a small gardening business, and I realize I need to start using more effective invoices. So I check out Work.com to see if there might be a guide to creating invoices and voilà! Thank you, Deborah. This will definitely be a guide I use and save to my favorites.
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  • Your guide helped to answer many of our postage questions, Frances. Thank you! I've found the Business.com Direct Mail Information page to be useful in finding additional companies that design and print direct mailing pieces. It was eye-opening to realize the USPS actually provides that service through NetPost, and some of their designs are quite lovely.
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  • Great guide, Greg, and excellent comments Greg and Scott. I'd advocate for taking a Spanish course actually in Mexico. First Step World is an excellent resource for classes across Mexico.
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  • I will definitely keep this helpful guide bookmarked and saved in my favorites, Matt.
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  • Hi Jo, Nice guide! Another idea to add to the party mix: Our small non-profit recently held a holiday party at the lovely home of a board member. We were able to stay within budget by asking local bakeries, breweries and wine merchants to donate some items and the rest of the board and staff each made a few of our favorite holiday dishes. We rented dishes, glasses and flatware and asked a few staff member’s teenaged kids to help serve. It was a huge success and we were able to host over 100 guests in style!
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  • This is really helpful POS information, Daniel. One of the businesses I work with is using a Posim POS specific to MACs, and after helping them get Posim up and running, I'd definitely recommend that folks research the company’s tech support options before purchasing a POS system.
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  • That's a good question, Shara and one that I can honestly answer with a resounding YES! Despite the dirt, grime, sweat, sore arms, legs and back I suffer from at the end of each day, gardening is the most fun and rewarding job I've ever had.
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  • This guide is my new favorite, Frances! As a female business owner in the State of Colorado I've found our state's Office of Economic Development to be very supportive as well
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  • Thanks for the NAFTA clarity, Greg! I've also often referred to this site for answers to basic questions: Mexico Connect.
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  • Great tools and reminders, Linda, thank you. I'll be keeping your guide bookmarked, and will refer to it often. We've also found Angela Booth's Writing Blog to be one our favorite copywriting blogs.
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  • We're using Survey Monkey to create opportunities for our constituents (elementary school teachers) to provide feedback and evaluations of our programs. So far so good. It's easy to use, and provides busy teachers with the time and flexibility they need to get things done!
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  • Barbara, I am currently creating a blog for my non-profit organization and your guide has been a really useful tool. I found this article Five Tips for Making the Most of Blogs to be helpful, too. It's geared more towards non-profits than corporations, but full of good reminders.
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  • Cherie, you've included some very helpful links in this guide, thank you. I just read and listened to the Securing an SBA Loan podcast on StartUpNation. It proved to be worthy use of my time!
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  • This guide is really useful, Daniel, thank you. I've passed it on to some colleagues here in Southwestern Colorado who are living and working in fairly remote locations. In reference to Shara's question and your response, I'd love to see a guide on finding/creating reliable broadband access in Mexico. (Oh, to be able to work from the beach in Yalapa...)
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  • Thanks Donna, your guides are always informative and easy to follow and use! I've probably mentioned this in other comments around the Work.com site, but our organization is using the new Salesforce CRM system for non-profits, Nonprofitforce, and we are continually impressed by its usability and the high level of technical support we are receiving as we begin to implement it.
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  • This might be off topic, but can you recommend a reliable option for helping to recover and transfer data if your USB port has been damaged? Thanks! (Recently found this to be one of the apparent risks of flying with a laptop...)
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  • Hi Inna, our company is Mac based and so we are using the Mac version of Outlook, Entourage. I am finding it difficult to find a hosting solution that will work with Entourage. Any suggestions?
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  • A Greener Office - 10/24/2006
    Ian, nice information. You're right, The Conservation Value Savings Guide is an excellent resource for individuals and businesses trying to go greener. At our organization, we’ve also found the Colorado Green Business Directory to be useful in finding other green companies in Colorado to do business with.
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  • Great guide to going green, Julianne! I know that NY State offers non-profit and private organizations, public and private institutions, and other businesses the opportunity to register for low-cost energy audits. See the NYSERDA website if your company is based in New York. For energy audits in other states, I'd recommend searching your state government website.
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  • Patrick, I'd also like to fjnd a resource for comparing business mobile phone plans and a discussion about them (is there a business cell plan blog I can read?) We're finding it difficult to find a business mobile phone plan that will work in our region of the US and with our small number of employees.
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  • LockerGnome is our go-to site for any and all Windows issues. For FTP, we're using SmartFTP and so far it's been flawless and it too is FREE!
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  • Computer Schools - 10/15/2006
    Shara, I agree with your comment. Jim, maybe this guide should focus on specific or regional certification programs and your other guide could explain IT training programs in depth.
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  • Our local small business development center also offers help in finding and funding inexpensive office space for new business owners.
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  • Hi Lisa, This is an excellent guide! Like many other small businesses, we've just started using Salesforce.com for all our constituent management needs. Do you know if there is an electronic check processing system that can be integrated into a CRM system like Salesforce?
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  • Our small non-profit organization is planning to offer a similar program for our members, in order to make it easier for them to donate on a recurring basis, or to spread out their donation over a year. We are considering working with our local bank (also a funder of our organization) to create a monthly electronic payment plan. Is there another program you'd recommend we take a look at?
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  • I'd also like to see a discussion of Point-of-Sale systems specific to PC and/or MAC.
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  • Marketing by Email - 10/10/2006
    Thanks, Jennifer, this is an excellent resource. We're looking into integrating an email client into our Salesforce.com account to help manage donor and constituent emails. Can anyone offer input on VerticalResponse?
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  • We use Go to Meeting at my company and it's proven to be an awesome tool for online training. It was really helpful for us to be able to play around with their free trial for a few days, to be sure it was the right conferencing option for us.
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  • As a small business owner, and now the development coordinator for a non-profit organization, I know how important and how difficult it is to try to attain a healthy work/life balance. When I am feeling like the work side of things is taking over the life side, I make myself move away from the computer--or whatever task I am working on--every hour. Walking around the block, for even 10 minutes or so, helps me re-focus on life outside the office and it gets the blood flowing and my heart pumping! On really long days, I ride my bike straight to yoga after work without stopping at home to avoid distraction. It's a great way to let go of any of the stress, and exercise both my body and mind!
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  • Managing an LLC - 09/25/2006
    Great information, Matt. Can you recommend a good resource for comparing an LLC with an S-CORP?
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  • I check out Webshots.com when looking for digital photo inspiration.
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  • As a small business owner in Colorado, I found this guide to be a very valuable resource, and one that I will refer to again and again. One idea to add: in my Southwestern Colorado county, we have a community leadership program started by our local Chamber of Commerce. The program, known as Leadership La Plata, provides excellent community education, leadership skills building, and networking opportunities to its participants.
    Read More
  • Thank you, Shara. This is the most concise blogging "tutorial" I've found. Now I know I have no excuse not to get my blog up and running! In the meantime here's a gardening blog I find incredibly informative, and fun!
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  • Great guide, Frances. We're using Salesforce.com at my company to manage our databases and it's very user-friendly and affordable.
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  • This guide is an incredibly useful tool for the small business owner. It includes an excellent list of online legal resources, including self-help guides and a reminder for all of us about the expertise legal advice available through the SBA. I have found my local online county bar association’s attorney referral service to be incredibly helpful as well.
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My Favorite Guides

  1. Low-Cost Franchises - 02/19/2007


    You don’t have to break the bank to be a successful franchisee
    Matt Alderton

  2. Do-it-Yourself Legal Help - 09/15/2006


    Lawyers are vital, but expensive. Self-help options abound for everyday legal matters.
    Daniel Kehrer

  3. Creating Invoices That Get Paid - 09/15/2006


    How to Avoid Working for Free
    Deborah Kurfiss

  4. Filling a Cash Flow Shortage - 09/15/2006


    How to put more ready cash at your disposal
    Daniel Kehrer

  5. Small Business Blogs - 09/15/2006


    Discover trends, get advice and find out what other businesses are doing
    Shara Karasic, Work.com Community Manager

  6. Marketing Your Business With a Blog - 09/21/2006


    Use a blog to create relationships with your customers and generate sales
    Brian Brown

  7. Protecting a Business Name - 09/15/2006


    Register your intellectual property in order to keep it safe
    Matt Alderton

  8. Using SCORE Counseling Services - 09/15/2006


    SCORE offers free online and in-person help to start or grow a business
    Daniel Kehrer

  9. Managing an LLC - 09/15/2006


    Try this highly flexible legal structure for your small business
    Matt Alderton

  10. SBA Loan Pre-Qualification - 09/15/2006


    Getting the SBA's early stamp of approval can speed your loan process
    Irwin Speizer
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