Diogenes Publishing LLC
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Articles
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Free Bonuses

Easing Into Retirement: Start A Side Business Now And Take Control Of Your Future​

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
Planning for retirement typically includes saving enough to cover your expenses, reducing costs and maybe downsizing your home. All of this is done in anticipation of the day when you will finally be “free of working”! But will not working really bring you the happiness you are anticipating?

Or is what you are seeking a way to spend your time doing something that you are passionate about? Being constantly under time pressure and on the hook for various nonsense and then constantly worrying about restructuring and being laid off does create a lot of stress. This can sap the enjoyment out of life, but suddenly going from the rat race to idle time with no commitments does not seem to lead to ultimate happiness. In fact, my observations have been that suddenly having nothing you must do can lead to feelings of boredom, isolation, depression and having no purpose. I have witnessed this happening within my own family.
Family gatherings have gone from discussing:

·  How stressful work is, how bad management is, how unfair the policies are and what a bad boss they have and how they cannot wait to retire and get out.
To
·  Aches and pains, complaints about the government and society, dealing with limitations due to medical issues, losing touch with other people, regrets about opportunities not taken when they had the chance and never getting to enjoy retirement before it was too late.  

The point is, long term happiness is not as simple as ditching your job and then being totally stress free. The human mind is always active and you need something to focus your thoughts and energy on to keep you engaged and maintain your mental and physical health. This must be something compelling and meaningful to you. What we are really seeking is not to stop “working” but to spend our time “working” on something that brings us joy and satisfaction. Haven’t you heard people quoted as saying something like “do something you love and you will never work a day in your life”? The fact is that the people who are working in jobs they really enjoy don’t feel stressed and burned out, even if they are putting in many hours and lots of effort into their work. Think about people who could easily retire with the wealth they have built over many years, like Warren Buffet or Oprah Winfrey or Paul McCartney. But they keep “working” why? They choose to keep on with their work because this drives them, it is not a chore at all. And this is the one to the big keys to enjoying our “retirement years”.

How many times have you heard some say “Once I retire, I will finally have time to …………”? So the questions is – why wait to retire? Why not start now? There are many part time ventures which can be started on the side while still working a full time job, and these can be scaled up or grown as appropriate. Pick something that you enjoy doing and could make you some extra money. I have a friend who has started a side business making furniture and has set a woodworking shop. Someone else I know makes jewelry and sells it online, another person I met makes stained glass window ornaments and sells them at flea markets on her website, and another friend write fiction novels and edits movie scripts on the side…

​For me my passion project is information publishing; writing instructional ebooks, how-to guides, business plans and printable items. This satisfies my creative side while utilizing my technical experience and I can see myself continuing to do this once I “retire”. It makes me enough money to fund itself and extra to invest and enjoy on fancy dinners and weekend getaways. Who knows, it might grow to make me enough money to retire earlier that planned. This is not just a sketchy get rich quick scheme. I view my side business as an investment in my long term happiness and health, just like investing in retirement funds, I am, investing in myself. You never know where this may lead you and you never know what will happen with your current company that says they are doing so well, as I’ve learned several times the hard way. Now is the time to start! Remember, it is never too late…until you decide to give up.
0 Comments

Top 5 Reasons You Have Not Yet Started a Side Venture And How To Get Past Them

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
So you have thought about starting a side venture, maybe even investigated some ideas and done some research, and even spent some money on courses, training and start-up packages, but still have not yet gotten off the ground with any ventures. Here are the top reasons why folks are hesitant to “take the leap” and how to get past these effectively:

Problem 1: You Do Not Have a Clear Plan. This is the top #1 cause of not moving ahead. Without a clear plan of what your business / venture is what your goals are, it is like you are trying to drive somewhere without having an idea of where you specifically want to go and not having a map or GPS to indicate which direction to go.

Solution 1: Commit to investing the time and effort to first create a clear plan of what you want to accomplish based on your objectives, requirements, and some research. The plan does not need to detail out each and every step to getting set up but should include the purpose / mission of your venture and how this will be accomplished.

Problem 2: You believe you do not have the time. You believe that you are too busy and do not have the time needed to plan out, start up and maintain a side venture. So you put this off until “someday when I have more time”. The problem is that if you currently believe you have not time now, you likely will not believe you have any time later either. There will always be other responsibilities which will require your time. So this time just keeps getting pushed off and you never get around to actually starting anything. Someday
never seems to be today.

Solution 2: Time management is really about managing yourself within the time you have. The really successful people (and I’m sure you have some examples in mind) have much of the same time constraints as you do, but they have found ways to work with them and not let time work against them. Think about how much time you spend “waiting”, waiting in line, waiting for the dentist or doctor, waiting in traffic….. Is it possible that during this time you could be brainstorming ideas for businesses? Or jotting down an outline for your plan in a notebook or on your phone? Or listening to training audio in the car? Or on the train? This could add up to several hours per week.
What about the time you spend watching TV or on social media? Can you reduce this by 15 minutes per day (that’s almost 2 hours per week) and work on one task each day to set up a side business? Can you get up 15 minutes earlier or go to bed 15 minutes later? Can you be creating advertising material in between watching a youth sports game? Can you be jotting down an outline during a boring meeting? The point here is that you actually have more “free” time (meaning time that is under your control) than you realize.
Use this time to the max by fitting in tasks that match the time slots and you will find that it really adds up to significant results.

Problem 3: You feel that you are all alone and have not support network. You have lots of questions and uncertainties and folks around you either have nothing helpful to offer or worse, they tell you to give on your crazy schemes because “these never work out”, or when one plan does not work out, they are the first to say “I told you so”. And even worse that that, you believe them that there is no hope and give up.

Solution 3: Hang out with the right people. These are folks who are positive and provide you with useful feedback and instill confidence in you. These can be friends, family, people you meet through church or other networks, or you can seek out professional mentors though the small business administration (SBA). The point is you need positive feedback and reinforcement to build you up as you gain momentum on your path and you need to avoid negative energy which will drag you down to a grinding halt.

Problem 4: You try to think of and do everything at once and keep shifting your focus around many different tasks which all seem important and take up a lot of time. This overwhelms you feeds into the “I have no time” belief noted above.

Solution 4: With a good plan, you can focus on doing the most important things first and everything else in the appropriate order. By focusing on one item at a time, you will get better results, avoid overwhelm and gain confidence. See the article on first things first.

Problem 5: You have not yet experienced any significant success. If you set your expectations as “I will be successful when I make $10,000 per month and not before”, then you are setting yourself up for serious disappointment, leading to deciding to quit in the early stages of your venture. Then if you go off and try something else having the same expectations, you will experience the same thing and keep spinning your wheels until you are so exhausted with the whole process that you conclude “it’s just not worth it!”

Solution 5: Reset your expectations so that you experience success along the journey, not just at the end. There is nothing wrong with having a large end goal, but don’t ignore all the successes along the way. When you develop your plan when you set up your website, when you get your first customer, or publish your first eBook or your 10th eBook…..these are all successes, and you need to have the feeling that you are accomplishing good things leading you down the path to where you want to go. This feeling of success and
satisfaction will drive you keep on pursing the venture and result in even greater successes!
0 Comments

Why You Might Be Hesitant To Pursue A Path To Self-Employment, And How To Overcome This

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
One of the big reasons folks are very hesitant to venture into self employment is health insurance. Especially as we get on in life and have families we are responsible for, having health insurance to cover medical expenses is really important. This is one of the reasons to hold onto a job at an employer who provides group coverage at reasonable cost to you, even if you hate what you are doing this benefit often times convinces people to stick with it…..
​
The truth is that health insurance can be very expensive so you do need to deal with this questions if you venture outside of the corporate world. But this does not need to be a guilt-ridden stressful experience. Health insurance is just a line item cost you need to be aware of and plan for, just like a utility bill. The fact is that in recent times, there have been more options available to self-employed individuals under the Affordable Healthcare Act. In addition, you have the option to continue your current group coverage under COBRA for 18 months once you leave your employer. However, the entire cost will be shifted to you, so it is important to find out what this will be as you research your options, before making any moves.

Another option is Medicare, if you qualify, so this also needs to be considered into your plan depending on when you intend to retire and leave your full time employment. If you decide to go on your own as a self-employed individual, you can find information on the healthcare coverage marketplace at www.healthcare.gov . There is a special enrollment person available to folks who lose their current healthcare coverage due to loss of a job or discontinuation of employment. So, be sure check this out while you are evaluating your options.

So what are the typical costs you might be looking at for healthcare coverage as a self employed individual? Keep in mind these are just averages and vary depending on your location and specific requirements. But for quick high level estimating purposes, these are the numbers:
  • Individual Coverage: Average premium $500/month ($6,000/year), Average Deductible $4,500/year.
  • Family Coverage: Average premium $1,250/month ($15,000/year), Average Deductible $8,000/year.

These are just ballpark numbers, but important to consider. You can find more information at www.ehealthinsurance.com

​This is why it makes sense to start a venture on the side first while still working for an employer, and then make the transition to move over to working only at your side venture when you are ready (when you have enough resources to retire, when the side venture is bringing in sufficient income). Another option you have is to first transition from your current job to a lower level, less demanding type of work which includes benefits, and then focus more time on building up your side venture, before finally leaving your job. There are many options out there, so it’s important to objectively consider them all before making any decisions, and to be aware of these instead of feeling trapped in what you are currently doing.
0 Comments

How Much Income Can You Make From A Side Venture?

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
While money is not the most important part of deciding what path you want to follow for a side venture, it certainly is something to be considered. If your objective is to be able to transition into a retirement with an established business you can scale up, you do not to be stuck in a venture which require trading a lot of your time for little money. The purpose of starting the venture is to be able to
free up more of your time to enjoy life and not be tied down to the daily grind. So lets look at a some of the most popular side ventures people are starting up and see how much money you can realistically make at these and how much time is required. With this type of evaluation, you can make better informed decisions for what you really want to do and not be influenced by all the
marketing and hype out there. If there are other ventures not listed which you want to see on this list, please feel free to submit a
request here
.

Blogger: Writing posts and articles about specific topics targeted to an audience. This can be your own
blog that you set up and manage or you can write for someone else’s blog and get paid for the content
you provide. If this is your own blog, income is generated by placing advertising on the blog or selling a
product or service to followers of the blog.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Up to $800 / week for an established blog.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $100.
  • Time to get established: 6 to 12 months to build up content and readership.
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Up to 10 hours / week to get established, flexible
  • afterwards.
  • Time leverage: Yes, continue to earn income from advertising or royalties without continual hands-on
  • work.
Book Keeper: Perform accounting tasks and keep track of cash flow (expenses / income) for clients.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $20-50 / hour.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $500 (may need some training based on current experience level).
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to establish regular clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible hours, 15 hours / week average for part time.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
Copy Editor: Read other people’s work to ensure it is correct in spelling, grammar and formatting.
Makes corrections and notes as needed.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $30 / hour for an experienced editor.
  • Cost to startup: Average $2,000 (may need new computer and software).
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6months to build up client list.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Average 10 up to 40 hours / week depending on deadlines and number of clients.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
Dog Walker / Pet Sitter: Takes care of pets while their owners are away or at work. Keeps them fed,
safe, plays with them an takes them for walks.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $10 to 15 / hour.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $199.
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up regular customers.
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): 5 to 20 hours / week.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
eBook Author: Writing, publishing and selling eBooks, reports and PDF documents on topics of interest
to specific audience groups.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $100 / month, up to $ 1,000 / month for an established author (part time).
  • Cost to startup: Less than $100.
  • Time to get established: 6 to 12 months to build up readership.
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): 5 to 20 hours / week to get established (includes research, writing and marketing), flexible afterwards.
  • Time leverage: Yes, continue to earn income from advertising or royalties once up front work is completed.
Freelance Writer: Complete writing tasks for clients to prepare articles, reports, blog posts, manuals,
advertising copy, sales material or books.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $20 to 50 / hour, depending on experience and content subject (technical subjects tend to pay more).
  • Cost to startup: Average $1,000 to 2,000 if you need to purchase a computer and software.
  • Time to get established: 0 to 6 months.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 20 hours / week part time.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
Graphic Artist: Utilize artistic and technical skills to create visual content for clients to use on websites,
apps, games, publications, blogs, etc. This includes logos and illustrations for manuals.
  • Typical range of income (part time): $15 to 20 / hour.
  • Cost to startup: Average $1,000 to 2,000 if you need to purchase a computer and software. Additional f you need training or take courses.
  • Time to get established: 0 to 6 months if you already have the skills and equipment now.* Additional time if you need training or learning new software.
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 20 hours / week part time.
  • Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if posting images and  collecting royalties.
Life Coach: Mentor clients to achieve goals and increase their overall satisfaction with the direction of
their lives.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Variable depending on experience. Typical average is $50 to 75 / hour, but some established life coaches make $300 / hour and beyond.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $500.
  • Time to get established: 6 months to a year to find clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible, typical average 5 to 10 hours / week.
  • Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if writing eBooks, or  posting online training videos and collecting royalties.
Music Teacher: Teach students to play a musical instrument and/or fine tune their skills to be able to
play more sophisticated music and/or improve their performance playing in a band or orchestra.
  • Typical range of income (part time): $15 to $35 / hour, depending on location.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $100, if you go to client’s homes to provide the lessons.
  • Time to get established: 0 to 6 months to build up clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible, typical part time is 5 to 10 hours.
  • Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if posting videos and  online lessons with subscription fees.
Notary Public: Serves as an impartial witness to verify the signatures of individuals signing documents.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Up to $25 per notarization. Can be higher, depending on the importance of the document.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $500. Requires application, filing and passing written exam. Requirements vary by location.
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months.
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical part time can be 2 to 5 hours per week.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X documents notarized.
Personal Shopper: Shop in stores or online for clients, based on their requirements and preferences, to
acquire desired items, to save time for the clients.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $18 to 35 / hour.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $100.
  • Time to get established: 0 to 3 months.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 10 hour per week part time.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
Photographer: Taking photos for clients or at events, themed photoshoots for clients (magazines,
articles, etc.) and/or creating artwork to be sold.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $18 to 50 / hour for an established blog.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $2,000. May require professional photograph equipment and software.
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Some flexibility, but may be dependent on events such as weddings, graduations etc.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked, or income = cost per job X number of jobs.
Tutor: Work with students to help them better understand specific material and improve their
performance in classes and on exams.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Typical range is $15 to 50 / hour, depending on experience level and subject.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $100.
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical part time is 3 to 5 hours per week.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.
Web Designer: Create layout and visual aspects of websites utilizing creative and technical skills.
  • Typical range of income (part time): Average $20 to 35 / hour.
  • Cost to startup: Less than $2,000. May require purchasing software or a computer.
  • Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
  • Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical is 5 to 20 hours per week. May need to work extra when deadlines approach.
  • Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked, or income = cost per job X number of jobs.
​*Service offerings can be immediately posted at no cost on sites including Fiverr, Upwork and LinkedIn.
0 Comments

Shortcut to Success From Those Who Know

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
One key principle to follow when starting up a new venture is to be very focused on the most important tasks first. It is very easy when starting out to get overwhelmed with all the “things” you need to do to get started….register a domain, set up a business, set up a website, advertise, hire an accountant, develop a business plan….. Yes these are all significant steps in building a new venture but they cannot all be done at once, certainly not done well. If you have attempted to do this, the result is typically getting overwhelmed and getting stuck with having too much to do in too little time, and then stopping before you even start. Does that sound familiar?

​Having to start a venture on the side while still working and having other responsibilities severely limits your available time and can add even more stress and pressure. But the truth is that this may actually be an advantage. You see, if you have more time or lots of time, but still not focused, the result would be that you might end up jumping around between all these tasks to the point that you filled up the time but still not getting anywhere. Haven’t you heard this – “work expands to fill the time”? That’s not a good result. You want to make the time you have be effective to the max.

So how do we approach starting a new venture?

If you follow what the most successful individuals have done to build up their businesses, they have one approach in common. They focus on the road right in front of them. If they need to get from step A to step Z starting today, they will focus today on how to get from step A to B. They will not be thinking about what happens if they get to step L, M or Q or X and then can’t get any further or something bad
may happen….. They jut focus on “How do I get from A to B”? that’s it, then when they get to B, they focus on hoe to get to C, and then so down the road.

They have the confidence to think that when they get to B, they will learn some new information (which they do not have yet) that will point them in the right direction to get to C, and then when they get to C, they will gather even more knowledge and experience to get to D. Does that make sense? One of these folks was quoted as saying that when presented with an idea that sounds good, they first say “yes” then figure out how to make it happen, not the other way around. This is a totally different mindset for those of us who are not comfortable with the unknown and are used to structured activities. But the really successful folks have built up the confidence to take
some calculated risks. You can do this too! As an Entrepretiree you have mitigated much of your risk by starting this now while you are still working, rather than jumping 100% into it.

In terms of deciding on a venture to start, the first task (step A) should be to determine if this will meet your requirements in terms of how much money it will make and how much time will be required etc. Do not get bogged down trying to figure out if you need to incorporate or file an LLC or how to set up a payment system or what your logo should look like…. First and foremost, just focus entirely on determining if this venture will meet your requirements, that’s it. Once you have determined that this a viable venture for you, then move on to the next step, and then when that is done, move onto the next, one at a time. Really resist the temptation to think too far ahead, this will only get in your way and slow you down, or worse totally derail your success.

One thing that helped a lot was consulting with a SCORE mentor. These are folks, typically retired executives, who advise small business owners on questions they have. This is a free service provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Check it out: http://www.sba.gov
0 Comments

Realistic Evaluations of Side Businesses for Entrepretirees

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
There is an endless unlimited supply of “Profitable Business” ideas and headlines about how you can make a full time income with little effort and little time. But most (almost all) are just high level headlines about someone who has made some money doing something that appears to be an easy overnight success. The idea is to convince you that you too can achieve this same success with little effort, to encourage you to click on the offer or supply an email address and then ultimately buy a product, course, package or subscription so you too can be “successful”.

In actuality, the truth is that while it is possible that you could achieve success with these systems, most of the time the folks really achieving success are the ones selling the course or product or subscription. This is much like the people who made money selling tools (shovels, picks, camping gear, etc.) during the gold rush of the 1800’s ended up seeing more success that the ones trying to find the gold. This is not to say these systems are all scams, they are not but the concern is that they do not present all the details and steps and effort needed to get from step A to step Z. A lot of these systems tend to skip steps B though Y in their sales materials. Then once you start investing in the product or system, and you realize that you do not have enough information to go any further, they try to upsell you with the next level “expert system” or “personal coaching” or “gold membership” or “example templates:” or something else that you need to buy (at significant cost) in order to make any progress towards being successful. And since you have already invested in the system, there is a lot of temptation to take it further rather than losing your initial investment and then starting over with another system.
If you actually know all the steps and efforts the creators of these went through to get the results, then you would have more realistic expectations for these and would be able to make more informed decisions on what might be right for you. No one sets up a blog today and makes $10,000 in their sleep by next month. That’s just not reality. They may be making that much today, but there were some important steps they followed and they understood the path before embarking on it.

My goal here is to save you from being frustrated by getting excited about a new idea, investing time and money in it, getting disappointed when the results do not happen, then repeating the process. It can feel like you are chasing your tail, constantly looking for the next “big thing” and never finding it. We do not want this to be you, and we certainly do not have time to waste on ventures which are not appropriate. Maybe when we were younger, we could afford to do this, but with retirement approaching, now is no time to be caught in an endless loop of spending and hoping “this is the one”.  
​
So how do we make realistic assessments of these ideas? In the next article, let’s take some common side venture ideas and break them down into the key metrics that we can use to match our requirements like time required, potential income, startup cost, special training needed, and scalability. 
0 Comments

Many Side Business That Are Perfect For Entrepretirees

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
Here are some side venture ideas that do not require large investments of time or money but really do bring in extra income. You can easily manage several of these at the same time. Here are some real life ventures that are currently running now:
  • Selling eBooks and print books on Amazon
  • Selling writing of business documents on Fiverr
  • Selling PDF pintables on ESTY
  • Selling physical products on eBay (stuff around the house of stuff acquired from yard sales)
  • Selling physical products on Amazon (purchased in bulk at lower cost from other vendors)
  • Selling Magazine subscriptions
  • Google ads placed on blogs
  • Affiliate selling (selling products for Amazon or other merchant sites)
  • Completing online surveys
  • Web Site Testing
These are just a few of many ideas you can embark on. These are just the one I have found for myself to fit into all the criteria I have for a side venture and they enable me to work on them simultaneously in my spare time.

Here is a book that I would highly recommend you read if you are seriously considering getting started in side ventures. This book is perfect for Entrepretirees because it gets right to the point, does not waste any of your time, is very realistic about what is possible and it keeps you on a timeline of 27 days so you see the light at the end of the tunnel and you are not left hoping that "one day something will work out". This book enable you to work with what resources and knowledge you have right now, so there is not waiting for additional training or major cost investments. I urge you to give it a try, well worth the time invested in reading this.
0 Comments

What Makes Entrepretirees Unique?

10/2/2022

0 Comments

 
​Rather than running off and starting up a side business solely focused on making a lot of money quickly (and there are tons of these “ventures” out there to chase), an Entrepretiree is seeking more of a lifestyle approach to venturing into a side business which can potentially become a main business. Simply stated “money is not everything”. Yes money is certainly important but it is more of a vehicle to help you get to where you want to go, whether that is being able to travel, move somewhere else, spend time volunteering, learn a new language or instrument, or become a full time business owner. It is important to focus first on what you want to do and then figure out the money part, and never the other way around or you risk being just as stressed in your side venture after retirement are you are in your full time career before retirement. And this is not at all where you want to be. The purpose of being proactive and starting to build your retirement venture before you retire is that you have time to test it out and make adjustments to align it with your desired future now, before you jump into it with both feet.

So what are some Entrepretiree requirements to be aware of?
​Some suggested ideas include:
  • Flexibility: You are able to work when / where / how much you want to, giving you time for leisure. You are in control of your time.
  • Sustainability: Once you get the venture started up, you can keep it going without tons of effort.
  • Aligned With Your Personality: Involves interacting with people if that drives you, or more of an online or solo type venture if you prefer quiet focused time.
  • Potential to Provide Passive Income: You don’t need to always be available or on call, the venture can run on autopilot if needed.
  • Low Risk: Starting up the venture does not require a major financial investment or leaving your current job first or taking large liability risks. This enables you to work at your own pace and make changes as needed or decide to discontinue the venture and try something else, without the stress of “losing it all”.
  • Low Investment: Part of being low risk. You need to be able to try out different ventures if necessary and find the one that works for you, rather than making a large investment up front that ties you up with something which may turn out to be a major drag that burns you out as you keep trying not to lose your investment. There are many businesses you can read about which were started with $500 or less, for real.  
  • Keeps You Engaged: The venture is exciting and motivates you, it does not feel like work. If you find something that you are motivated to do, you will never need to push yourself to do it. Money alone will not get you there in the long term. You need to avoid the daily grind that burns you out.
  • Meets Financial Goals: Last on the list you do need to think about money. Do not make money the primary driver, but be smart in evaluating the initial and ongoing costs of your venture and how well it can support you in designing the life you want.  Do not automatically dismiss it if it is something that drives you but the money is not as much as you would like. It may be that 2 or 3 smaller ventures are more appropriate for you rather than one big one that drags you down.
0 Comments

What Is An Entrepretiree And Why You Would Want To Be One

9/13/2022

0 Comments

 
An "Entrepretiree" is someone who is an entrepreneur with the intention to transition their part-time side business/hustle into their main occupation once they retire.  It is a proactive approach to planning for retirement to keep you from being caught off guard should circumstances (possibly beyond your control) make the retirement decision for you. Even if you have carefully planned out your finances and timeline and are retiring on your own terms when you want to, it is still super important to have a plan on what you will do after you retire. Everyone needs a purpose, a routine, something to give meaning to their existence and motivate them to get up every morning. Ideally this would be something you are already familiar with doing that you could just step further into. Yes, you could wait for retirement and then start thinking about what you want to do next, but by then you risk losing momentum and you may conclude that it is too late to start planning your next gig. Setting up a new venture is work and it takes time. You may actually have too much time at that point and the time may feel empty and without direction or routine as you work to get going again. There are many stories of retirees who think "once I retire you will find me on the golf course" or "on the beach all year long". But after a few months, this leisurely lifestyle loses its appeal and excitement and they seek more fulfilling activities. This not just the fate of retirees, the same stories hold for lottery winners. Agree or not, not but the fact is that people need to be engaged in meaningful productive activities to have purpose in their lives and feel good about things. The "job stress" and "daily grind" we feel leading to burnout is when you lose control over what you are doing and when our are doing it, and feel that you are forced to do things that do not align with your values or vision or deepest desires but you do not have a choice, and now life is passing you by.

But you do have a choice. That is why the time to start planning what YOU want to do is NOW! The future will be here before you realize it. Wouldn't it be great if you had a meaningful side venture set up and running that drove and excited you and when you retired (for any reason) you could just step further into this and ramp it up (as much or as little as you wanted)? This is what being an Entrepretiree is all about. The benefits of this are many. To just name a few, we have:
  • Sense of purpose
  • Increase engagement with your community and society in general
  • Stay current with events
  • Keep your mind sharp
  • Build larger social networks
  • Maintain activity to keep your body healthy
  • Feel you have control over what YOU want to be doing
  • Satisfaction of still being in the game and making valuable contributions to others
  • Financial benefits
0 Comments

Chemical Engineering 101: Optimized Extraction Of Aromatic Organic Compounds From Thermally Processed Herbal Rubiaceae Seeds (Commonly Referred To As “HOW TO MAKE GREAT COFFEE”)

1/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​WHAT MAKES GREAT COFFEE?
When we think of great coffee, we think of a rich tasting brew with a deep color, fragrant aroma and full flavor rich in aromatics and some sweetness, with little bitterness or sourness.  We generally think of coffee which tastes as good as it smells out of the bag.
Specific qualities of great coffee are generally:
  • Aroma – The coffee smells very fragrant when we are holding the cup.
  • Flavor – The coffee tastes as good as it smells when we take a sip.
  • Body – The coffee feels smooth when it is our mouth and not astringent (does not make your mouth feel squeaky).
  • Sweetness – The coffee does not taste very bitter.
  • Clean taste - The coffee does not leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth after you drink it (such as cardboard, paper, wood, plastic, smoke or chemical flavor).
Picture
​SO WHERE DO WE START?
THE BASICS, #1 INGREDIENTS
​The first things to look at are the raw ingredients used to make coffee.   Coffee is a natural product and it contains many delicate compounds which make up its aroma, taste, flavors and mouth feel.  Some of these compounds are volatile (they can evaporate out of the coffee as it stands exposed to the air) and some will break down when they are exposed to heat, light (especially sunlight) or moisture (water, humidity in the air, or condensation).  Coffee will also pick up flavors and tastes from its surroundings.
To get the best most flavorful knock-your-socks-off cup of coffee that tastes as good as it smells, you must start with quality coffee beans and you must store them appropriately so as to maximize the delicious life of the coffee and prevent it from going stale for as long as possible.
So here are the basics for managing your coffee supply:
  • Pick coffee that you really like – smell it and evaluate all the aromas.  Imagine drinking a cup of this heavenly brew.  There are two types of coffee you should be aware of. 
  • Arabica coffee is the more flavorful, fragrant and aromatic type of coffee.  Coffee made from Arabica beans tastes smoother, more delicate and more complex without being bitter.  Arabica beans have a higher acid content than Robusta beans.  Most major brands of coffee are Arabica coffee.  Arabica coffee is more expensive than Robusta coffee.
  • Robusta coffee has a harsher flavor and tends to be more bitter than Arabica coffee.  Robusta coffee tends to have a nutty, grainy after taste and has more caffeine content.   It is easier to grow than Arabica coffee and therefore it is less expensive than Arabica coffee.   Robusta coffee is found more in packaged mass produced supermarket coffee or institutional coffee.  It is either used alone or blended with Arabica due to its lower cost.
  • Pick a roast that you like.  There are different ways to roast coffee; light, medium, dark, bold, French roast, etc.  This is a matter of taste which you prefer.  Generally, a medium roast has less bitterness than a dark roast, but has more acidity.  The flavor of a dark roast is more intense.  Dark roasts do not necessarily have more caffeine than light or medium roasts.
  • Be aware of blended versus single source coffee. Coffee can be a single source or a blend, much like wine.  There is no right or wrong choice to picking one over the other.  This is another matter of taste.  Coffee producers use blends to create unique flavor balances and ensure consistency of this natural product.  The bottom line is to purchase coffee from a reputable roaster who uses fresh quality beans to produce their blends.  You do not want to and up with a blend where stale beans are blended with good ones to reduce the cost.
  • Buy fresh coffee.  Ideally this should be from a local roaster so you know that it was roasted recently.  Coffee is in its prime for up to 7 days after it was roasted.  Whole bean coffee can be kept up to 20 days after it was roasted if you store it appropriately.  Ground coffee should be consumed within 7 days of roasting.
  • Coffee is best fresh roasted, but you can also buy it prepackaged at a store or online.  The packaged coffee should be in a sealed foil bag with all the air removed or in a sealed can.  Typically the foil bag has a plastic valve on the side.  This is where the air was sucked out of the bag.  The cans are typically purged with Nitrogen to remove the air from the headspace in the can.  This is important as paper bags and containers with air will allow the coffee to lose its flavor and degrade as it stands.  The container should also be marked with a freshness date indicating by what date you should consume the coffee.
  • It’s best to buy fresh coffee in small amounts that you can consume within a week.
  • Whole bean coffee is preferable to ground coffee because coffee starts to lose its aromas and flavors immediately after it is ground.  So it’s best to keep whole bean coffee on hand and grind the beans just before brewing.
  • Not all coffee is available as whole beans and not everyone has access to a grinder and some of us are not allowed to make loud noises grinding coffee at 5AM when they are planning to brew a morning cup before rushing out the door.  So if whole bean coffee is not a practical option for you, you can either:
  • Have your coffee ground at the roaster.
  • Buy ground coffee in sealed airtight packs (the foil ones with the air removed and the plastic valve in the side (paper bags do not preserve the coffee as they let in air and moisture).
  • Store coffee appropriately.  This means keep it in a sealed air-tight container away from heat and sunlight.  Coffee needs to be protected from moisture, contact with air, light, heat and other aromas that it can absorb.  A sealed glass jar in a dark cabinet or a coffee can with a secure lid work best.  Do not store coffee in the freezer or refrigerator.  This exposes the coffee to moisture from condensation and the coffee may pick up aromas from the freezer or refrigerator.​
THE BASICS #2, EQUIPMENT
The next thing to look at is the equipment used to make your coffee.  Everything that touches your coffee should be spotlessly clean.  Think about if you were ordering coffee at a restaurant or coffee house.  You would not want to see old stained coffee pots and coffeemakers full of scale and residue…yuck!
  • Make sure your coffee maker, coffee grinder, coffee pot, press, etc. are cleaned with soapy water every day.  Clean out the basket that holds the grounds with hot soapy water.  Coffee contains oils so you need soap to remove the residue.  Just rinsing alone will not remove it.  If you let old coffee sit in your equipment it will create a film that is very hard to get off.  This film will add bitter flavors to the next batches of coffee and the longer you leave it on, the more bitterness will cover up the delicate flavors you want on your coffee. 
  • If have residue on your coffee making equipment or cups which will not come out with soap and water, even with scrubbing, here is a quick trick:  Fill the pot with warm water and add a scoop of oxygen cleaner (like Oxyclean). Gently stir and leave it sit overnight.  The next morning you can rinse out all the cleaner and the residue will all disappear.  No scrubbing needed!!  It’s really like magic.  I’ve tried scrubbing and scrubbing with many different abrasives and cleaners and was about to give up before I discovered this trick – it made my coffee pot like brand new again and no work!
  • Depending on how hard your water is (how much mineral content it has) and how much coffee you make, you will need to descale your coffee maker and coffee pot on a regular basis.  If you notice a hard white or brown crusty film developing on the surface that is rough and you cannot scrub it off, this is scale.  It is a deposit of minerals like calcium salts and/or magnesium salts which have precipitated out of the water when the water was boiled.  You will need an acidic chemical to dissolve this, but this doesn’t mean you need a harmful chemical.  Vinegar works just fine.  Make sure you use distilled (white) vinegar, as other types of vinegar will leave a residue behind.  Every two or every three weeks, it is recommended that you do the following to descale your coffee maker and coffee pot:
  • Combine equal parts of water and white (distilled) vinegar.  Make enough for at least half the volume of your coffee maker.
  • Pour it into your coffee maker (where you normally add the water).
  • Let it stand for 10-20 minutes.
  • Run the coffee maker and let it go through into the pot until half of the water/vinegar solution is through and into the pot.
  • Turn off the coffee maker and let it sit for 1-2 hours with the water/vinegar solution in the pot.
  • Turn on the coffee maker and let the rest go through.
  • Discard the water/vinegar solution.
  • Refill the coffee maker with just water and let it run through.
  • If you use a glass jar or other reusable container for storing coffee beans or ground coffee, remember to clean this too.

Another critical piece of your brewing system which makes contact with the coffee and greatly influences its quality is the filter.  A good filter will produce a clean tasting flavorful cup of delicious coffee, while a bad filter can produce a bland cup of coffee with a cardboard like flavor.  So always use good quality filters. This means:
  • Look for paper filters which say “oxygen-bleached” or “dioxin-free”.  These are white filters which have been bleached without using harmful chemicals which you should not be drinking.
  • Even better, use unbleached filters.  These are more natural and are brown in color.  They do not have any bleaching chemicals (bleaching chemicals can add flavors to the coffee).  The unbleached filters will not add flavors to the coffee but they are brown.  Paper is naturally brown since it is made from wood pulp from trees.   Some people prefer white filters, although I could never understand why as the filter will become brown very quickly anyway once you fill it with coffee.
  • To reduce the possibility of any flavors imparted on the coffee by the filter, first wet the empty filter with hot water to saturate the filter and let the hot water drip through.  This washes out any substances that would have been released by the paper.  Then add the coffee to the filter and proceed with brewing.
  • Another option is to use a reusable filter.  These are typically gold plated metal filters, like fine screens or sieves.  These will produce brewed coffee with richer flavors, as they do not filter out any of the oils from the coffee, but they will let through sediment of finely ground coffee into the brewed coffee which some people may find objectionable.  They also need to be cleaned after each use.  But you are benefitting the environment by saving trees and using fewer chemicals.
THE BREWING PROCESS – HOW COFFEE GETS FROM THE BEANS TO YOUR CUP
Have you heard this statement before? “I like how coffee smells, but I don’t like how it tastes”

So why is it that coffee which starts out smelling heavenly out of the bag ends up not tasting so great when it’s in your cup?  What happened to all those great flavors and aromas?

The answer to this has to do with the chemistry of the coffee brewing process.  Roasted coffee beans contain many compounds (chemicals) which make up the characteristics of the qualities of the coffee.  Some of these compounds have great aromas and flavors.  Some are sweet.  Some make the coffee feel smooth when you drink it.  But others are bitter, or sour.  Some taste like cardboard and some make your teeth feel squeaky when you drink them.  And then there is caffeine which is also a compound extracted from coffee.  Caffeine tastes bitter at high concentrations, but in coffee there is not enough caffeine to add any flavor.

The balance of flavors in the cup of coffee you drink is determined by the brewing process used to extract out or dissolve out the compounds from the coffee beans and get them into your cup.  Brewing is a chemical process known as “extraction” which removes compounds from one substance (coffee beans) by using a solvent (water).  The purpose of the brewing process is to extract out the greatest amount of the good compounds (flavors, aromas, sweetness, smoothness) and leave behind as many of the bad compounds (sourness, bitterness, off flavors) as possible. 

Hot water works much faster than cold water in extracting out compounds from solid materials, especially compounds which contain oil.  Cold water will work too, but it will take a long time, just like making ice tea using a pitcher of cold water and tea bags. 
​
For brewing coffee, the typical brewing process is to grind the beans and then pass hot water over them to extract out the desired compounds.  The coffee is ground to increase its surface area.  More surface area means more contact with the hot water and that means more compounds are extracted.   The coffee/water mixture is then filtered to separate out the solid parts (the coffee grounds), and the result is the delicious cup of coffee you can drink.

It might sound like more extraction is better because it means more flavor, but this is not the case since the extraction is taking out the good and bad compounds from the coffee and dissolving them into the coffee you will drink.  More extraction means more bad compounds which can overpower the good compounds and result in a very bitter flavorless cup of coffee.  The trick is to extract out the right balance of compounds mostly good ones and a minimum of bad ones.  There is a point in the extraction process where the quality of the brewed coffee is optimized (the best you will get).  Too little or too much extraction will make less than great coffee.

In general coffee that is under extracted (too little extraction of compounds out of the coffee) has a weak flavor and tastes sour.  And coffee that is over extracted (too much extraction of compounds out of the coffee) has a strong but bitter flavor and may cause your teeth to feel squeaky.
The extraction is determined by the following factors:
  • The type of brewing method used (drip, percolator, pour-over, French press, espresso, Turkish coffee, etc.)
  • The grind of the coffee (how coarse or fine)
  • The quality of the water (tap water, filtered, bottled, etc.)
  • The temperature of the water
  • The amount of time the coffee is in contact with the water
  • The ratio of coffee to water (how much of each)

There is an optimal point for all these factors where the best coffee is produced.  All of these factors need to be considered to get to this point.  Let’s look at each one.
THE TYPE OF BREWING METHOD USED
Making coffee is a type of chemical process known as extraction where compounds in one material (ground coffee beans) are dissolved out into a liquid solvent (water).  There are different methods for doing this extraction.  Some use electronic systems to control the extraction and others are manual which allow the process to be varied but also requires someone to perform and closely monitor the process.
The most common electric coffee making systems are drip coffee makers and percolator systems.  There also espresso making systems which use a different process where hot water under pressure is forced through the coffee beans in a very short time.
​
DRIP BREWING
Drip coffee makers are the most common type of coffee making systems.  In this system, water is heated to a set temperature and then the hot water is showered over the ground coffee which is in a basket lined with either a paper filter or metal screen.  The water passes over and through the ground coffee and drips out the bottom of the basket into a coffee pot.  The coffee pot is either glass or it can be stainless steel. Coffee makers with glass coffee pots typically have a hot plate under the pot to keep the brewed coffee warm.  Stainless steel coffee pots are typically thermal type carafes which keep the brewed coffee warm through their insulating properties, much like a Thermos bottle where there are 2 walls of the bottle with air space in between to reduce the conduction of heat out of the pot.  Of the two types of coffee pots, stainless steel thermal carafes are more expensive but they are able to maintain coffee for a longer time without losing any flavor.  The heated glass pots will tend to drive off the flavors and aromas of the coffee as more heat is added after brewing.  Many restaurants use drip coffee making systems, as do coffee shops since they are reliable, consistent, economical, and easy to clean.

PERCOLATOR BREWING
Percolators used to be the standard coffee making systems before drip became more popular but they are still used.  Usually at large gatherings you see coffee urns which are large percolating systems.  In a percolator, the coarse ground coffee is placed into a basket at the top of the coffee pot.  Water is added to the bottom.  The percolator heats water to boiling and then uses the pressure created by the steam to force the hot water up through a tube and sprays it over the basket where it comes into contact with the ground coffee.  The water is recycled many times until the desired strength of the coffee is reached.  For electric systems, the percolator will automatically turn off at a preset time.  For stove top systems, the person making the coffee must keep track of the time and turn off the stove when the coffee is done.  This method is different from drip coffee where the water passes through the coffee only one time.  Percolator systems are used for large gatherings like conventions, weddings, church events etc. because you can make a large amount of coffee quickly without needing to watch over it and the pot keeps it hot.

ESPRESSO BREWING
Espresso requires a specialized coffee making system where hot water under pressure is forced through finely ground coffee to extract out the maximum amount of flavor in a very short time.
There are also the pod type coffee makers.  These systems are fully automatic and do not allow for any variation on the brewing process beyond the settings on the user panel (i.e. some allow for “Strong” vs. “Regular”).   The coffee is contained in a sealed plastic cup with a filter at the bottom.  Therefore the amount of coffee used is set by the supplier and cannot be varied.  The water temperature and brew time are automatically controlled by the machine.  So the only part of the brewing process that the person making the coffee can control is the type of water used to make the coffee.

FRENCH PRESS
Popular manual methods for making coffee include French press and pour-over.  The French press is a cylindrical glass coffee pot with a stainless steel plunger with a screen at the bottom.  The ground coffee and hot water are added to the pot and then the plunger/screen are placed at the top of the pot.  After a set amount of time, the person making the coffee presses the plunger down and the screen slides down the pot and strains out and compresses the ground coffee at the bottom of the pot.  The brewed coffee above the screen is then poured out into a cup to drink.  People like this method because it results in a more full flavored and full bodied coffee than drip coffee.  Paper filters used in drip coffee tend to remove some of oils in coffee which contain the flavors and aromas of the coffee beans.

POUR-OVER
The Pour-over is much like a manual version of drip coffee.  The ground coffee is placed in a screen or paper or cloth filter in a funnel which is placed over the coffee pot.  The person making the coffee boils the water in a kettle and then lets it sit for a minute before pouring the hot water slowly over the ground coffee in a circular motion so as to wet all the ground coffee evenly.  The water passes over and through the ground coffee and then drips out the bottom of the funnel into the coffee pot. This method requires that the person carefully pours the hot water at a controlled rate so all of the ground coffee is in contact with the hot water for a set amount of time.  Specialty coffee shops use this method to produce very flavorful coffees.

MOKA POT
Moka pot is a two-chamber pot used on the stovetop, typically used in Europe and Latin America, for making espresso-like coffee. The Moka pot uses stem to brew the coffee by boiling water in the lower chamber and then passing the steam pressurized hot water through the coffee basket and then into the top collection chamber. 
​
This pot uses steam to pressurize the hot brewing water, which allows for higher brewing and extracting temperatures. This is similar to the espresso brewing process, however the pressure is lower than pressures used during espresso brewing. The result is a bolder more intense flavorful coffee than drip brewed coffee, somewhere between drip and espresso brew.

TURKISH & GREEK COFFEE
Turkish coffee is made by taking very finely ground coffee beans and boiling them in a special pot (with a narrow neck and a long handle) on top of the stove.  After a set amount of time, the heat is removed and the ground coffee sinks to the bottom of the pot.  The brewed coffee is poured off the top of the pot.  It still contains suspended solids after it is poured into the cup. This sinks to the bottom and laves a layer of sediment in the cup.

Each of these methods noted above requires the coffee beans to be ground to a specific size range to achieve the best results.
GRIND OF THE COFFEE
Each brewing method works best with a specific grind size.  The rule is:
  • Coarse - good for French press and percolated coffee where no filter is used
  • Medium - good for Drip or Pour-Over coffee where the coffee is filtered using a paper, screen or cloth filter
  • Fine - good for espresso where the coffee is compressed and extracted under pressure
  • Extra Fine - good for Turkish coffee where the coffee is boiled and the bold flavor and sediment are desired in the brewed coffee
Using the wrong grind for the brewing method will give you coffee that is either over extracted (grind is too fine for the brewing method) or coffee that is under extracted (coffee is too coarse for the brewing method).  This is because each brewing method results in a different contact time (time hot water is in contact with the coffee) and if the surface area is too great, the result will be too much extraction and if the surface area is too small the water will not have time to extract enough compounds from the coffee.

The finer the grind of the coffee, the greater the extraction of compounds.  If the coffee is ground too fine for the brewing method, the brewed coffee will be too strong and bitter and might make your mouth squeaky.  You will end up with ground coffee that smells great before you brew it but does not taste great after you brew it.

If the ground coffee is too coarse, the coffee will be too weak and have too little flavor, aroma and body.  Once again you will end up with ground coffee that smells great before you brew it but does not taste great after you brew it.

The method of grinding is important as it is important for all the ground coffee to be uniform in size.  If there is variation in the size of the ground coffee (some pieces are big and some are very small) then the quality of the brewed coffee will not be consistent as some of the ground coffee is over extracted, some is perfectly extracted and some is under extracted. 

BURR GRINDERS
The best way to get a grind which is uniform is size is to use what is known as a burr grinder.  This is the type of coffee grinder used in coffee shops and supermarkets.  It works by crushing the coffee beans between two disks called burrs.  The distance between the burrs is adjustable and this allows you to select the size of the grind you want.  The ground coffee that comes out of this type of coffee grinder is very uniform in size.  The problem with these types of coffee grinders is that they tend to be more expensive than the lower cost blade grinders. 

BLADE GRINDERS
Blade grinders work by breaking up the coffee beans using a spinning blade (like a food processor or blender).  These types of grinders are inexpensive but they produce ground coffee which is not uniform in size (some pieces are big and some are small).  Also, the high speed action of a blade grinder can heat up the coffee and cause it to lose some of its aroma and flavor oils.  These are less expensive but they are not perfect. 

Another problem is that you cannot select the size of the ground coffee.  You must judge this by eye as you grind it.  If you do use a blade type grinder, it is recommended that you pulse it on for a few seconds and then let the ground coffee rest for a few seconds, then tap the grinder to redistribute the coffee and then pulse again.  This increases the uniformity of the final grind and reduces the amount of heating of the ground coffee.  For drip or pour-over coffee, grind the coffee beans for a total of 15-20 seconds. For French press or percolated coffee, grind the beans for 10-12 seconds
QUALITY OF WATER
Since water is the solvent used to extract the compounds from the coffee and water is 98% of the coffee you are drinking, the quality of the water used for making coffee is very important to the quality of the coffee you make.

Not all water is the same. There are many different sources of water and each source contains different chemicals which change the flavors and qualities of the water. 
Distilled water is produced by boiling water and condensing the steam back to liquid.  Distilled water is ultra-pure and contains no dissolved chemicals. 

Tap water is what comes out of the faucet.  This water contains different minerals like calcium and magnesium, depending on where the water comes from.  It also contains added chemicals like fluoride (for the health of your teeth) and chlorine (for killing germs and bacteria). 

There is bottled water which contains minerals similar to tap water but without the chlorine and fluoride. 
And then there is treated water such as tap water you filter in your home or city water which is processed through a reverse osmosis (RO) system in a restaurant.  The filter or RO system removes sediment, bacteria, chlorine and other chemicals which give the water a bad taste.

For the purpose of making coffee, distilled water is not acceptable.  Some mineral content is needed in the water or else the coffee will taste flat and lacking in flavor. 

Tap water is generally not the best choice because the chlorine will add undesirable flavors to the coffee.  Some tap water may also contain minerals such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) which add an undesirable flavor (like sulfur – rotten eggs) to the water and to the coffee.

The best choice for water to use for making great coffee is water that tastes great to drink.  The ideal type of water to use for brewing coffee contains some mineral content but does not contain any compounds which produce bad flavors (like chlorine or rotten eggs). 

Good choices include bottled drinking water (spring water or purified drinking water, not distilled water) or tap water which has been filtered or conditioned using a purification system designed for drinking water. 

Softened water is not good for making coffee as most of the beneficial minerals such as calcium have been replaced with sodium, which will result in a duller flavor and add to your intake of sodium which many people are trying to limit.

Most coffee shops use treated tap water.  This enables them to have control of the quality and consistency of the water they use.  Bottled drinking water is fine as well.  Or if you live in an area where the quality of the local water supply is very good (such as ground water from deep wells or aquifers) and does not need treatment with chemicals, then feel free to try this out for brewing coffee. 
​
The bottom line is that if the water does not taste good to drink by itself, then it will not make good coffee.

​Just one thing to keep in mind with ground water (such as well water) is that it tends to contain higher levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium which will leave deposits (scale) behind in your coffee making equipment at a faster rate than water with lower mineral content.  This means that you will need to clean and descale your equipment more frequently.  Soaking your equipment in a vinegar/water solution for an hour or so will generally remove the scale from the surfaces.
TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER
The temperature of the water when it comes in contact with the coffee has a big effect on the extraction.  Different compounds in coffee (and there are tons of them) are soluble at different rates depending on the temperature of the water.  As the water gets hotter, the rate at which compounds can dissolve out of the coffee and into the water gets faster (think about dissolving sugar in hot water vs. cold water).  Also as the water gets hotter, it is easier to remove more of the water resistant (oily) chemicals from the coffee.  This is why it is much faster to make coffee and tea using hot water than using cold.

The problem is that hotter is not always better.  Some of the compounds taste bitter or taste “off” (i.e. taste bad, such as tasting like cardboard) and you want to limit the dissolution of these into the water but you still want to maximize the dissolution of the good chemicals (the flavors and aromas and sweetness).  If the water is too hot, you will end up with coffee with a lot of extra flavors and bitterness which may cover up the good flavors and qualities.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.
If the water is colder, the rate of dissolution will be slower.  This means there will be less bitterness, but there will also be less flavor as some of the important compounds may not be dissolved into the water in sufficient quantities to give the coffee the qualities you want.  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

The trick is that you need to have water that is sufficiently hot but not too hot so that you will extract out the exact balance of compounds needed to give you the qualities of coffee you want; smooth, full of flavor and rich aromas with some sweetness and little bitterness.  To achieve this when brewing hot coffee, the ideal water temperature is just slightly below boiling.  This is 200-205 degrees F (93.3-96.1 degrees C).
If you are using an electric coffee maker (drip, pod or percolator), the temperature is automatically controlled for you, so you do not need to worry about this.

If you are using a manual brewing method like French press or pour-over, the best way to get the correct water temperature is to bring the water to a boil in the kettle, then turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 minute before pouring it over the coffee.
AMOUNT OF TIME THE COFFEE IS IN CONTACT WITH THE WATER
The next big factor which determines the amount of extraction of compounds from the coffee is the amount of time the water is in contact with the coffee.  Since each of the compounds can dissolve out of the coffee at different rates, some will be completely dissolved quickly and other will take longer. 
The amount of time that the water stays in contact with the coffee will determine how much of each compound is dissolved out or extracted out into the coffee.  Ideally you want the good compounds (flavors, aromas, sweetness, smoothness) to be completely dissolved out and the bad ones (sourness, bitterness, astringent quality – makes your mouth squeaky) to be left behind as much as possible.

If the coffee is in contact with the hot water for a time that is too short, not enough of the good compounds will be dissolved out and the coffee will be bland and not have the full flavor and aroma it should have.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.
If the coffee is in contact with the water for a time that is too long, too many of the bad compounds will be dissolved out and the coffee will be too bitter and may have off flavors (stale, cardboard, etc.).  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

The ideal time for the hot water to be in contact with the coffee is 4 – 5 minutes.  If you are using an electric brewing system (drip, pod or percolator) and you have the correct grind size, the brewing system will pass the water through the coffee for the correct amount of time.  If you are using a manual brewing system like French press or pour-over, you will need to manually control the amount of time the water is in contact with the coffee. For French press this means setting a timer and then removing the coffee from the pot (otherwise the extraction will continue for too long).  And for pour-over this means having a timer and controlling the rate at which you pour the water over the coffee.
THE RATIO OF COFFEE TO WATER (HOW MUCH OF EACH)
The amount of ground coffee compared to the amount of water used to brew coffee is critical for getting the right extraction.  If the amount of ground coffee is too little for the amount of water, there will be too little of the good compounds dissolved out into the brewed coffee.  The bad compounds (bitterness, off flavors and astringency – makes your mouth feel squeaky) will be more apparent in the brewed coffee.  You will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

If the amount of ground coffee is too much for the amount of water, the brewed coffee will not achieve the full flavor, but the coffee may be very bitter, as the water will not be able to completely dissolve or extract out all of the good compounds from the ground coffee in the right proportion to the bad compounds.  Once again you will get coffee that smells great but does not taste too good.

You need to have the right ratio of ground coffee to water in order to provide right balance of compounds extracted or dissolved out into the brewed coffee.  This perfect ratio is generally 2 Tablespoons of ground coffee to 6 ounces of water.  This can be varied slightly but not too much. Always read the directions on the coffee package or start with this ratio of 2 Tablespoons ground coffee to 6 ounces water when first brewing a new type of coffee and then try experimenting by changing the amounts in small quantities up and down and see what the results are.
QUICK CHECKLIST – DO’S AND DON’TS OF MAKING GREAT COFFEE
Do Make Sure You:
  • Buy fresh coffee that you plan to use within 7 days of opening.
  • Use whole bean coffee if you possibly can and grind it immediately before brewing.
  • If you buy packaged coffee make sure it is in a sealed airtight container and it has a freshness date.
  • Keep all your coffee making equipment very clean (free of residue and scaling).
  • Use filtered or bottled drinking water.
  • Use the correct ratio of coffee to water (general rule is 2 Tablespoons coffee per 6 ounces of water).
  • Make sure your water temperature is correct (200 – 205 Degrees F), if not using an automatic coffee maker.
  • Make sure you control the brewing time to be 3-4 minutes if using a manual brewing method (French press or pour over, etc.).

Don’t Make These Common Mistakes:
  • Use Dirty equipment.
  • Use Old coffee.
  • Store coffee incorrectly.
  • Use the wrong size grounds for the type of brewing method you are using.
  • Use the wrong ratio of water to coffee.
  • Use the wrong water temperature for manual brewing methods.
  • Use the wrong brewing time for manual methods
  • Use the wrong type of water.
  • Reheat coffee or keep coffee hot in a heated pot.
  • Leave French press coffee in the press after brewing is complete.
 
That’s it!  If you follow these logical steps you too can brew incredibly rich flavorful coffee without spending a lot of money on fancy equipment or taking lots of time experimenting with different recipes.
 
More information at: https://www.ibrewthebestcoffee.com/
 
© 2022 Diogenes Publishing LLC
 
0 Comments

Mediterranean Diet: The Real Deal For Eating Well, With Benefits

1/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Mediterranean Diet Logo
While other diet plans and weight loss eating plans have experienced ups and downs in popularity over the years, the Mediterranean diet has consistently been ranked in the top tier since it became publicized in the 1990’s. For the last 5 years, the Mediterranean diet has been named the best eating plan by US News & World Report.

What makes the Mediterranean diet more long-lasting in its popularity and its results is that it is not a “diet” as people have come to think of diets where you need to strictly avoid many of the foods you enjoy and you feel deprived, and as a result look to move onto another perceived less restrictive diet. The Mediterranean diet is more of a style of eating coupled with a healthy life style that real people have followed for centuries with positive results.  People who live in Mediterranean regions of the world follow this style of eating because that is their lifestyle. They are lucky to have access to many sources of fresh unprocessed food, including many flavorful and nutritious vegetables and fruits and they truly enjoy what they eat. They do not see themselves as being on a “diet”.  And if you enjoy what you are doing, it becomes effortless and you will continue to do it and enjoy it.

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet include better health as defined by Everyday Health. This includes having a more healthy body weight, without having to eat “diet products” like artificial sweeteners or synthetic fats. It also means you do not have to eliminate vital food groups from what you eat, like carbohydrates (carbs) or natural sweeteners and fats.  Beyond maintaining a healthy weight, the Mediterranean diet ensures you are getting balanced nutrition from the variety of foods you are eating, rather than having to take processed supplements and synthetic vitamins.  It is the combination of the nutrients in the proper balance which is thought to provide one of the key health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. 

The foods and meals considered to be under the umbrella of the “Mediterranean Diet” include many common, normal good-tasting choices such as olive oil, fresh fish, lean meat, bread, fresh vegetables and fruits and even some wine and don’t forget dessert! You do not need to eat any weird or nasty stuff to consume healthier food under the Mediterranean diet. Thy key is to switch to healthier alternatives, such as healthier carbohydrates, fays, sweeteners, rather than avoiding them altogether.  This is what makes the Mediterranean Diet so attractive and long-lasting. You do not need in the Mediterranean region to follow the Mediterranean Diet, you can do this too!

For more quick and easy tips on how to adopt a healthier eating style without feeling deprived, check out Mediterranean Diet Cheat Sheets

References:
Harvard School of Public Health, Diet Review: Mediterranean Diet
Everyday Health, 8 Scientific Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
Scripps Wellness & Prevention, Mediterranean Diet Is Best Diet – Once Again
0 Comments

REMOTE WORK IN THE NEW NORMAL – THAT TRAIN  HAS ALREADY LEFT THE STATION, THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW

6/8/2021

0 Comments

 
​If you ever wanted to find an opportunity to work remotely, there is no time like right now to explore your options both outside your current organization and also for where you are at now. In the past working remotely was viewed as less productive and not for those who were serious about whir jobs and careers. Since most employers in the past were not very flexible in providing opportunities for folks to try out remote work and demonstrate that this does work well, there was no real evidence to point to for justifying remote work as legitimate value-added service to the organization. And for many of us, we might not have been sure this would work since were never given the opportunity to work remotely. But all that changed since the global pandemic. For many of us, we now have over one year plus of real-world experience to justify our performance working remotely and provide hard data to show the many benefits of working remotely, either part time in a hybrid mode or full time.
And it turns out that there are just many benefits to the employers as there are to employees for working remotely.  Specifically, these relate to the bottom-line profits, which is welcome news for those who wish to justify continuing to work remotely. This really ids a win:win situation and now we can prove it.
Benefits to the Employer
So here are some data points which provide justification of the benefits to employers and organizations for supporting remote work:
  • Cost Savings: Companies are saving over $10,000 per employee per year working remotely due to reduced real estate, utilities and maintenance costs. Office space is expensive, so are utility costs for heating, cooling and costs for cleaning and maintenance services.
  • Additional Work Hours: By saving on commuting time and now being available during this time, employees have an average of two or more additional hours per day to be productive at work activities and/or actively participating in meetings. Even if the total work day is limited to 8 hours, this means employees have a larger window of availability to engage in activities outside of normal hours, such as meetings with colleagues in other time zones.
  • Attracting Workers: Recruiting is easier when remote work is an option. This is seen as a valuable benefit to job seekers. It may convince some to switch employers if they currently do not have this option.
  • Low-Cost Benefit: Working remotely, even part of the time (1 or 2 days a week and/or having a flexible schedule) is valued as a real benefit. This costs a lot less than signing bonuses, increased pay or club memberships.
  • Resource Savings: People are more likely to accept jobs with lower pay rates than they currently earn in order to enable them to be able to work remotely.  
  • Limitless Geography: Employers can attract and recruit people from diverse geographical areas without having to pay relocation costs. More job applicants will be willing to apply for jobs in other areas if they can live where they want.
  • Retaining Talent: Turnover rates are lower by more than 20% when employees have flexible work options, including remote work.
  • More Efficient Meetings: Remote meetings can be arranged to include people from different locations, there is no need to allow for travel time nor have to find an available conference room. Presentations can be shared and viewed equally by all participants (there is no one closer or farther from the projector or screen).
  • Lower Absenteeism: Employees can continue to work remotely if school is closed or children are sick or roads are unsafe to travel on due to bad weather.
  • Business Continuity Planning (BCP): Remote work provides for business continuity in the event of bad weather, local outages or limited access to the office such as fire, flood or road closures.
  • Lower Carbon Footprint: With less employees needing to travel by car or bus, this reduces fuel consumption and reduces exhaust and carbon emissions. More companies are looking to address environmental concerns and remote work is a quick, effective and less expensive alternative to purchasing carbon offsets and credits.
Benefits to the Employee
For employees working remotely, here are some of the key benefits:
  • Resolves Work-Life Issues: Having flexibility allows for managing family commitments and appointments and other life issues in tandem with meeting objectives at work ,versus having the two in conflict. This is a win:win situation rather than choosing one at the expense of the other.
  • Reduced Stress: Working in comfortable surroundings and not having to deal with traffic, crowded and delayed transportation and rushing to get out the door is more conducive to taking a calmer more logical proactive approach to work situations versus being stressed out and over reactive.
  • Greater Productivity: With a flexible schedule, some work can be done during peak productivity times, i.e., some folks do their best work in the early hours of the morning while others work well late at night.
  • More Energy Spent on Working: Less energy spent on getting ready, beating the traffic and commuting. This energy can then be focused on mor valuable endeavors such as problem solving, writing proposals, analyzing data, publishing presentations or completing budgets.
  • More Time Available for Self-Care: When time exists for exercise, meditation, medical appointments, connection with family and friends, etc., this results in greater happiness and contentment which leads to improved performance at work.
Hesitations To Overcome / Perceived Obstacles (Not Necessarily Real Ones)
In the past, remote work was seen as play-working, hanging out at home all day in pajamas and having a vacation while getting paid. Remote workers were generally viewed as less productive and less serious about their jobs than workers who came in to the office. A lot of that perception has changed since the great pandemic-induced remote working experiment of 2020, however there are still some lingering doubts and hesitations to address an overcome to change this mindset. Here are some common perceived obstacles to working remotely.
  • Lack of Focus: It is perceived that remote workers will be less productive due to the distractions of being at home, like children, household chores, personal errands, etc. Yes, this is possible however this situation also exists in an office setting as folks are on their phones or chit-chatting by the break room or taking long lunches or coming in late and leaving early. The fact is, there some people who will take advantage of the work environment no matter what or where it is located so working remotely is not really the root cause of this problem. The solution to this is good oversight and management of peoples work and holding them accountable for producing the deliverables needed at the time needed. Managers need to judge by results, not by whether someone is sitting at their desk from 8 to 5 every day. If the work is getting done well and on time, then that is what is really important regardless of where the person is.
  • Lack of Trust: Some employers just do not trust that their employees will be working unless they are physically watching them. And typically, if you expect the worst from people, they won’t disappoint you. Employees who are treated like irresponsible kids will not feel valued nor motivated to prove themselves as it will not matter to management anyway. Likewise, if you expect the best out of folks and trust them to do the right things more often than not, they will live up to your expectations. Yes, again there are always people who find ways to take advantage and once again the answer to this is good management and holding everyone accountable for their responsibilities. If work is being done well and on time, then this is what really matters. If not, then this is a performance issue to be dealt with and will likely be the same person and same issue even if they are in the office full time.  
  • Lack of Collaboration: Remote workers are viewed as working in isolation and lacking in interactions with coworkers. Interaction is key to collaborative problem solving and good teamwork.  The fact is, that when remote employees or teams need to communicate or collaborate, there are more options ad tools available for collaborating than ever before. We now have instant messaging, collaborative document editing, screen sharing, whiteboard exercises, online training, and mobile devices which enable us to be in touch any time from anywhere. Yes, there are some times when it is preferable to be at a live in-person meeting, such as for demonstrating new devices and training new employees, and these are situations where a hybrid approach, such as working at the office part of the day or week as needed.  This hybrid approach results in more focused and value-added time at the office where the important tasks requiring in person attendance get done efficiently and very little time is spent on routine tasks like reading emails or writing documents or data analysis as these can be accomplished remotely.
  • Information Security Risk: Remote workers are viewed as a security risk to the information systems and IT infrastructure as it is more challenging to enforce IT security protocols, software patches and information protection plans when people are remotely connected to company networks. This is more challenging but far from impossible. Many organizations have faced these challenges and have developed and implemented workable security solutions. Think about the banking and financial industries. Not too long ago, if you wanted to manage money (something very important to the functioning of our society) you had to physically visit a bank during “banking hours” and meet with a person and sign paper documents to ensure “security”. But now we can log into our accounts remotely online, even on our phones, and perform many banking functions even depositing checks online 24 hours a day. This was considered “insecure” until recently. Now online banking is a workable solution. When there is a will there is a way.
In conclusion, for those employees who want to work remotely, there is real business driven data which supports remote and/or hybrid flexible work arrangements as viable solutions moving forward to support business objectives and improve employee morale, without incurring significant costs. People are the most valuable assets to an organization, a win:win solution on the working environment which satisfies everyone’s needs will separate the top tier organizations attracting the best talent from the rest of the pack looking to go back to the old times. 
0 Comments

AI Augmented Creativity Is For Real

3/3/2021

0 Comments

 
How many times have you struggled with trying to come up with a good idea? An idea for a business, for the perfect gift for someone, what to make for dinner, or what craft projects will keep the kids entertained. It often feels like the more effort and focus on coming up with the idea, the more out of reach it becomes. “Wracking your brain” is what my grade school teacher used to call this process, and it never really yielded great results then or now.   

Information overload from reading through ad-laden internet posts does not usually provide ideas which inspire any confidence, as the resulting answers are random and impersonal, or may simply reflect the opinions of a few superusers of the site.

A new startup has taken ideation to the tech-age by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze prompted information supplied by the requester to generate ideas specifically tailored to each request, thereby instilling a level of confidence not possible with random searches. Artificial intelligence has been on the horizon for many years but is now reaching a level of maturity making it a valuable and legitimate tool to solve real world issues and support human decision-making endeavors.

Give it a try for FREE at https://thought-ideas.com/home

Find the perfect gift idea, what to make for dinner, what books are recommended for you to read, business ideas and now You Tube Video ideas.

Feedback is always appreciated as the site is being perfected. 
0 Comments

Learn Coding / Improve Your Health

12/29/2020

0 Comments

 
In these days of remote working and online interactions it is more important than ever to keep your mind active and engaged in something which will drive you forward. Many studies have confirmed that as we get older, it is vital to exercise our minds as well as our bodies in order to sustain our health and well-being. Continuous learning is the ley to maintain an active positive mind and continual growth of skills and confidence, even as we reach what most consider to be the tail end of our careers. The truth is that it’s not too late and yes you can teach an old dog new tricks. Keeping you mind challenged by learning something new has many immediate benefits, including: reduced stress, a more positive outlook, more confidence, a sharper mind, and even better performance at your job or possibly a new job or career altogether. 
Now is an ideal time to explore the many options of online learning and developing new skills for the new economy or just for your personal satisfaction. Isn’t there something you always wanted to learn but never had the opportunity or the time? With the shift to virtual learning and remote work, there are many more options available to you that you never had before. You now have a world where you have some extra time by not commuting and you have more courses and certification programs online that ever before.
For me what I always wished learned when I was younger is coding and programming. This is a very dynamic filed which is constantly evolving and impacts all areas of our current society and economy. I always wanted to learn how things work and become a contributor to developing better technologies, not just a user of technology. I ended up in an engineering field and while this has bene good over the years, I will have a keen interest in learning the new and latest technology skills. This stuff makes me feel like a kid again and it also helps me contribute valuable ideas in my current engineering role. Lately I have stumbled upon a series of online programs designed to be engaging, fun, challenging and efficient in developing new coding and programming skills. All at a reasonable cost, and some it free! https://stude.co/1031503/coding-and-programming  (disclosure: affiliate link). And now that I have just a bit more time…I am taking the plunge.  There are so may compelling reasons to keep on learning and developing your mind and skills. You never know where this will take you.

Until next time...
banner image
0 Comments

So You Want To Start A Side Business, But You Have Hardly Any Time……

11/19/2020

0 Comments

 
There are many options for side income streams that can  supplement your current income or provide a platform for a part-time side business that you cold eventually grow into a full-time venture (i.e. quit your day job).  You must have seen many ads and webinars for “Affiliate Marketing”, “Taking Surveys”, “Franchising”, “Freelancing”, “Day Trading”, and the list goes on… All of these have the potential to make you some money but they do require an investment and commitment of time and/or money.  If you are currently holding a fulltime job, and need it to pay for things like housing, health insurance, college, groceries, utilities etc., you likely do not have much of either of these to spare on a business venture that might or might not work. So what do you do?

First, you must decide on your life’s priorities. For me, yes I could spend all my non-working hours working on a side business, and I started out this way years ago, but soon realized that this would lead to giving up on things that were more important to me, like getting married and stating a family.

So the second step is to define just how much time you have available for a side business, and when you actually write it all down, it is more than you might think. You need to think of time outside the box of large dedicated hours and hours. For busy working adults, this time is more spread out; think about how I am writing this post now while waiting for the dentist. If someone asked me “you should think about starting a blog”, I would probably reply “I don’t have the time needed for that”. But somehow I do. Last weekend I reworked the website while waiting for 6 hours at DMV to get my license renewed. I have also gotten up just 20 minutes early to follow up on orders of my online products and hired writers to help with book manuscripts. Maybe free time is available during the commercials, or skipping a TV show now and then, it’s different for everyone but its within your control to identify and focus on the time you do have.

The third step is to define how much money you are willing to invest. If you are going for a franchise, you might need $200,000+. If you need specialized training or a certification you might need $5,000+. If you are starting a freelance writing business or blog you might need $50. It’s all up to you, but be clear up front so you don’t end up pouring more and more money into one idea when it might be better to reevaluate and change direction. For me, the time limitation dictated the money limitation. There was no way I would invest over $5000 in a business that I could only afford to spend a few hours a month on. I would surely end up losing this investment.

Last, you need to define a business that you will enjoy doing or one that gives you a purpose, something that drives you forward. If you start a side business that is pure drudgery, you will reach a point where it’s just not worth it to continue, even if you are making some money it will just not be worth the pain to push harder to grow it. More likely you will drop it or let is tail off.

​So given all those considerations what types of side business will work? It will be different for each person and situation, but for me it became clear that producing a product which I had control over and selling it on an established marketplace was the right place to start. My product of choice was information products, namely eBooks, Print Books, Manuals and Business Templates. I took a few online courses to learn about this business and then hit the ground running. I create these products myself and I sell them on the following marketplaces, check these out:
  • Amazon
  • ETSY 
  • Fiverr 
  • Smashwords 
It is definitely possible to startup and run a side business, even when “responsibilities” limit your time, funding and flexibility. It only become impossible when you give up or when you believe it impossible. Never give ever ever up!

Until next time.
All the best,

​Erik
0 Comments

Have you ever thought about starting a “side business” or tried starting one (or more than one)?

11/5/2020

0 Comments

 
​We are starting a forum for folks thinking about or running a side business. Check out our LinkedIn survey here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6729871963050921984
There are endless programs and courses out there which claim to make you tons of money. You’ve seen headlines like this right? “In fact, I earned over $20k in royalties in a single day”, “…pushing a button, and watching earnings simply pour into your account…”, or “no experience, no selling, no website, no investment needed…”. 
​I have tried some of these myself (more than I care to admit) and while they do contain some valuable insights, none have lived up to the claims presented in the marketing ads. Has that discouraged me from continuing down the path of part-time entrepreneurship? Not at all. In fact what I have learned from this journey is that the reasons for having a side business are more than just making tons of money, and the reasons that most of these programs fall short is that they do not address the key requirements needed to be successful, and these are different for each of us and every situation is different, so there is no “one size fits all” program that works for anyone. But that should not stop nor discourage you from exploring and burning desire you have to make a side business work, which you just can’t shake. There are many good reasons for having a side business, besides getting rich, which are of different relative importance for each of us. Here are a few:
  • Diversification of income, not putting all your eggs in one basket.
  • Builds self confidence to be able to create and manage a business without having the safety network of an employer.  
  • Control of your time and efforts, not being directed by a boss or dealing with organizational politics.
  • Learning new skills that motivate you and keep your mind active (very important as you get older).
  • Provides options to stay active and engaged after retirement, or when between jobs.
  • Possibility of making this a full-time occupation, when you are ready.
  • Gives you an opportunity to solve a problem that is meaningful to you and help people overcome this.
  • Provides work for others, can hire employees or enlist the service of others.
  • Creates a value-added entity that you can pass along to your children / heirs etc. or sell.
Now, as for reasons for being hesitant and/or not moving ahead with starting and/or growing a side business, be aware of these but DO NOT feel like having these concerns = failure, absolutely not! Use these concerns to help guide you in making more informed decisions. Keep forging ahead, you have more expertise, insights and good sense that you likely give yourself credit for. Don’t get discouraged by the disappointing get-rich plans that have not worked out in the past.
More to come on this topic – until next time.
All the best,
Erik

0 Comments

Therapeutic Baking

9/11/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Interest in baking is seeing a resurgence not seen since 100 years ago, when modern style cookbooks, specialized kitchen utensils and quality ingredients become widely available to many home bakers

​Baking requires complete focus and concentration and this can pull the mind away from stressful and/or depressive thoughts. These are the experiences missing from the fast-paced reactionistic expectations of modern existence and precisely the type of experience people are longing for when they talk about slowing down and de-stressing. ​ 
​
We have come full circle. Now that we have all the modern conveniences and packaged process food available to us, we have come to more fully appreciate the art and craft of baking bread and cakes ourselves and the mindfulness experience and satisfaction it brings, even in uncertain times. 
​
100 years ago, there were many uncertainties being faced, including World War I, food rationing and the flu pandemic of 1918.  Baking was an essential part of providing food for families and also a means of finding some escape from the daily stresses and comfort in a familiar and predictable experience.  Baking today still provides the satisfaction and provokes healthy mindfulness that is very much needed now as it was then.  Many of the favorite recipes we still enjoy today were first introduced to home bakers over 100 years ago. Over 200 recipes are included here.  

Here are some old favorites that are still enjoyed today -

POTATO ROLLS  
Very palatable rolls can be made from a similar mixture of boiled potatoes and flour by adding fat and sugar. The following proportions will yield about 1 dozen small rolls:

  • 8 ounces boiled and peeled potatoes. 
  • 6 ounces or 1 ½ cups sifted flour. 
  • 1/3 cake compressed yeast, 
  • 3/4 level teaspoon salt. 
  • 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, milk, or cream. 
  • 2 tablespoons sugar. 
  • 2 tablespoons butter. 

​Boil, peel, and mash the potatoes as directed for bread making.  
Add to this the salt, the yeast rubbed smooth and mixed with the water, or other liquid, and lastly 2 tablespoons flour. Set this mixture to rise at about 86 °F and allow it to rise until a touch will cause it to fall. Add to this sponge the butter, the sugar, and the remainder of the flour, and, if necessary, enough more flour to make a very stiff dough.

​Knead thoroughly until a smooth dough has been formed which is no longer sticky. Set back to rise again, and when the dough has trebled (tripled) in volume knead lightly, form into small balls, and place, not too close together, in greased pans. Let rise until double in volume and bake 20 minutes in a moderately hot oven (about 400° F).  

SELF-RISING BREAD 
​(type of sourdough, handy when yeast is in short supply)
This bread, which is commonly called by the misleading name of “salt-rising bread," has been known in one form or another for generations. It has been a particular favorite when and where it was difficult to get satisfactory yeast.  
  • 1 cup milk.  
  • 2 tablespoons white corn meal.  
  • 1 teaspoon salt.  
  • 1 tablespoon sugar.  
  • Butter (if used), 1 tablespoon.  
  • Flour (as needed – see below).  
 
Scald the milk. Allow it to cool until it is lukewarm; then add the salt, sugar, and corn meal. Place in a fruit can or a heavy crock or pitcher and surround by water at about 120° F. Water at this temperature is the hottest in which the hand can be held without inconvenience, and can be secured by mixing nearly equal parts of boiling water and tap water (unless the tap water is unusually warm). Allow the mixture to stand for 6 or 7 hours, or until it shows signs of fermentation. If it has fermented sufficiently, the gas can be heard as it escapes.

This leaven contains enough liquid for one loaf. If more loaves are needed, add 1 cupful of water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, and 1 table-spoonful of butter for each additional loaf. Make a soft sponge by adding a cupful of flour for each loaf to be made. Beat thoroughly and put the sponge again at the temperature of about 120° F.

When it is very light, add more flour gradually until the dough is so stifle that it can be kneaded without sticking to the hands or to the board.  Knead 10 or 15 minutes, put at once into the pans, allow to rise until about two and one-half times its original bulk, and bake.  Self -rising bread is never so light as the bread raised with yeast. A loaf made with one cupful of liquid therefore will come not quite up to the top of a pan of standard size.
0 Comments

How To Stay Motivated - Staying On Track When Your Work and Home Lives Converge

4/28/2020

0 Comments

 
Face it, It’s a real challenge to get into a new routine, especially when you are thrown into one suddenly with little time to prepare.  For most of us, even though working from home seems like it should be less stressful, it can feel more stressful as needs and expectations of work and home life come together and constantly compete for our attention and focus.  

Hey, you’re not alone at all.  The fact is, most people need structure in order to feel secure and enable them to effectively focus and perform consistently.  Not having a familiar structure, like going into work every day at the office, can feel like not having a sturdy floor to stand on.  And this then shifts focus from fully performing tasks to trying to maintain balance and not fall down.  The result can be that less gets done and what does get done may not be done as well.  

Even though working from home affords significantly more time saved by not commuting to and from the office, the results may not meet expectations and can lead to more stress.  What is needed here is structure and realistic expectations.  But unlike structure solely defined by outside organizations, structure for working at home also needs some self defined structure.  Hey is what we call freedom,  but like any other new experience it takes some time to become skilled at it.

So what are some common elements of structure needed to work remotely?  Here are the most important:

  • Stick To A Routine That Works For You.  There are stories on TV and online about people who never get around to eating breakfast until 3PM and have no time to take a shower…  Woah!  The fact is that if you used to get up and follow a routine getting ready for work, then you can and should still follow this routine now.  You even have more time not commuting.  Yes, it was easier to drop off the kids at school and pick up breakfast along the way or at work, but with some planning you can figure out how much time is needed to make and eat breakfast and then plan in when you need to do this in order to make the morning meeting or whatever is needed at the beginning of the work day.  And don’t forget to include other routines you had, like exercising or meditating or going for a walk at lunch.  This may be your old routine but it may have to be a new adjusted routine.  The point is have a routine and stick with it.  Familiarity builds a sense of control and security and provides the foundation needed to reduce stress and regain focus.
  • Make Daily Motivational To Do Lists. Making lists of tasks to complete is a very effective way to stay on track. Having this visual road map of milestones to achieve enables focus and helps to prevent getting distracted.  One of the best ways to set up a task list is to first just think of why these tasks are important to get done, and then second, break down the tasks into doable actions.  
    • In the first step, do not focus on trying to have all the answers to how these will get done, this will get you overwhelmed really fast for sure and will result in agonizing over whether you can do something.  If it seems important then write it down.  
    • In the next step, do not question why something was put on the list in the first step.  The job here is to break down the high level tasks into actionable steps that you can complete within a set timeframe, like within a day or an hour or whatever you define.  For example, build a new facility or hire a new staff is an overwhelming task to complete in a short time, but setting up intermediate tasks like calling an architect, developing 5 job descriptions, etc. are actions that can be completed in a short duration to support the long range goal.
    • Motivational task lists are set up to ensure you have the best chance of ongoing short term successes.   You can complete each action and check it off the list.  This is key because when you can see that you have accomplished something, then you are motivated to keep working on it, rather than seeing it still isn’t  done and then getting overwhelmed and stressed out.
  • Prioritize Tasks. You can’t do everything, not at once anyway.  Multitasking is a myth and no one can do it effectively.  It takes the average person 5-6 minutes minimum to switch gears from being focused on one task to changing to focus on another and be totally engaged in it.  Even computers can’t really multitask, they just process stuff so fast it seems like they can.  But you try asking the computer to do something while it is busy installing updates or pulling videos for ads, and it makes you wait until it finishes whatever it is distracted with.  Multitasking is a myth and it is not the most efficient way to get things done well or quickly.  So the most effective way to get the most done is always to set priorities.  Do the important stuff first, do it well, check it off the list and then move on to the next thing on the list. And don't forget to prioritize taking care of yourself (take breaks, eat well, exercise, relax, stay in touch with people).
  • Utilize Calendars and Automated Tools To Stay On Track. There are so many tools around these days to help us stay organized and keep track of stuff, so make the best use of them.  Use a calendar (paper or online) to keep track of all your tasks and appointments.  You can have separate work and personal calendars, but for each category, keep one calendar and list of tasks.  Notes scribbled and stuck on monitors and refrigerators and books tend to get lost and/or forgotten. 
  • Keep In Touch With Coworkers and Friends. Being remote doesn't mean being isolated. Make some time and effort to communicate with folks who are important to you.  Family, friends, coworkers.  Send someone a note who you haven’t kept in touch with in a while and ask them how they are doing.  Trade ideas about how to best work remotely or what tools work for them, you might learn a lot of things you didn’t think about before.  You could keep an ongoing dialog to motivate each other on a regular basis.  Hey this may even become a new routine.  Set up a time to talk to a friend or family member.  Put this into your calendar.
  • Schedule Time For Yourself. Very important as noted above. You must spend some time taking care of yourself or you will burn out. There are many stories of people working all the time and never being unplugged or off the clock.  And yes there are times when you may need to put in extra effort to get work done, but this needs to be workable and that means you also need time to unwind and destress.  So make sure you plan some of this time in to play a game or read a book or cook, play music or whatever helps you to destress, block out this time and make it part of your routine.
  • Prepare Tomorrow’s To Do List At The End Of The Workday Today. At the conclusion of the work day is a great time to look over your progress in completing tasks for that day, feel good about how much you accomplished, evaluate what you might have learned, and use this information to plan out the tasks for the next day. This keeps things moving in a logical progression and you won’t feel like each morning you are starting over.
  • Compartmentalize Your Time. Kind of alluded to this one before but it is important to set some boundaries where work and home life sit so they do not overlap and become one unfocused zone of conflicting tasks.  This is a sure way to get stressed and burn out.  Determine when and where you will work and set up start and end times and a work location and stick to this schedule unless absolutely necessary to do otherwise.  When you are working, focus on work and when not working focus on personal time.  Sounds logical but not easy to do.  Practice makes it easier and reduces stress as this becomes a routine.  Making task lists at the beginning and end of the work day helps a lot because it leaves a parking lot to park the work issues until you start up the next work day, rather than constantly thinking about them and fearing you might forget something or not get it done in time.  If you have a workable plan and routine for getting things done then you don't need to worry about them all the time.  Everything has its proper time and place.
  • Set Realistic Goals Based On Your Past And Present Results.  This goes back to a motivational to do list.  As you move along this path of working remotely, you will get a better and better sense of what is possible and realistic to achieve in how much time.  Use this very valuable learning to drive the goals and objectives you set for yourself each and every day so that you have the best chances of succeeding consistently.  This keeps the motivational momentum moving forward to the finish lines.
  • Keep A Running List Of Everything You Have Accomplished. Closely related to the last point, Keep a list of everything you have accomplished, it’s very likely a lot more than you realize.  When you see all that you have done in writing, this provides a sense of confidence that you are in control of things and can manage very well.  You probably already know the things you haven’t done, so no need to knock yourself down, as you are confident these too will get done.  But don’t drop things off the list once they are done, definitely write down and review what you have done and what you have done well!  

You deserve to feel good about yourself and how well you have managed all the changes and uncertainties and unfamiliar routines. You are on top of things and you will succeed!!
0 Comments

Why Virtual Meetings Can Be More Productive Than Face To Face Meetings

4/24/2020

0 Comments

 
It’s interesting, despite all the early challenges with setting up and figuring out how to use teleconferencing tools, online meetings have quickly evolved into very efficient results oriented events which produce more value per hour than the old fashioned low tech face to face meetings.  Yes, there will always be challenges with network interruptions and computers that are slow and bugs in software, but overall the results after just one month focused solely on virtual meetings shows that we have advanced to being much more productive.  Based on what criteria?  Here are some key observations, you be the judge:
  • Meetings start on time.  Everyone joins at or prior to the beginning of the meeting, if not they get notified instantly with popups, sounds etc on their workstation (their portal to the world).  It’s a lot easier and faster to get a hold of people these days.  It’s very apparent who is there  / not there.  No more delays from people walking between buildings or rooms or needing to go back to their desk to get files or being stopped along the way and drawn into another informal meeting.  
  • Meetings are focused and get right to the point.  Virtual meetings are more likely to have written agendas.  No one wants to stare at a blank screen and no one wants their face dominating the screen either.
  • There are fewer distractions during virtual meetings.  Yes there are some noisy kids and pets from time to time, but newer technologies and software are providing noise cancelling functionality to reduce this and people have become more proficient with muting when they are not speaking.  During face to face meetings, there are a lot of things to draw people's focus from what is being presented, such as: what others are wearing, what’s going on in the hall, where they have to go next, or is everyone staring at me?  Focusing on a laptop or mobile device tends to draw people totally in to the point where other distractions get tuned out, much like kids get totally absorbed in online games and older kids get absorbed in social media.  So why not get people absorbed in participating in the meeting by hosting it on an addictive device?
  • Presentations can be easier to read with screen sharing vs. tinkering with the projector while it is too faded, out of focus, not recognizing your input, set for different refresh rate….  Also during virtual meetings, no one is the person in the back who can’t read the slides because they are too far away.
  • Side conversations are minimal or nonexistent.  Conferencing software makes it apparent if side conversations are going on and also enables the organizer to mute folks who are creating background noise that shifts the focus of the meeting audio.  This prevents a lot of tangents from extending the meeting and diluting the results in the process.
  • If someone does get interrupted with an urgent text or email, it's easier to reply on the same device you are already focused on, rather than shift your focus from the meeting presenter to pulling out a phone or opening a laptop and then navigating to the message.
  • Everyone has their notes, files and technology at their fingertips so if additional information is needed during the course of the meeting, someone can look it up and find it in real time and this can facilitate value added results, rather than making these follow ups or parking lot items.
  • Meetings end on time, or earlier.  Given the improvements in focus and efficiency, virtual meetings tend to be shorter than their in person counterparts, sometimes lasting less than 50% of the time duration of an in person meeting.  
  • Meetings can be back to back.  You can end a meeting at 02:00 and then login to the next meeting within 30 seconds.  No more lost time waiting for people to make their way over from another meeting somewhere else.  
  • Virtual meetings are more likely to result in actions and/or decisions.  With limited time to chatter on and engage in side conversations, the outcome of the meeting is more likely to be a definitive action and/or decision as the participants are more focused and engaged in the core meeting content and with shorter meeting durations, people are more likely to be paying better attention and less likely to tune out vs. in person meetings which can drag on, leaving people's minds to wander as they get increasingly bored and/or impatient.
  • No need to reserve a conference room.  It's hard enough to find a time when everyone is available, then you also need to find when the much sought after conference room is available, and often times this pushes meetings out sometimes by several weeks.  Virtual meetings typically happen much sooner and are calendar driven so no one forgets when it is and no one gets lost going to the wrong conference room.
The fact is, that even face to face meetings involve using technology - when was the last time you had to figure out how to connect to a conference room projection system?  Or pulled a presentation off the cloud?  So we already need to use these tools anyway.  This is just the next step in the evolution and the results look extremely promising.
0 Comments

The Virtual Engineer - What I Learned (by Necessity) In the Last 4 Weeks  And How I’ve Become More Efficient

4/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Plunging into the deep end of remote work has been an extreme paradigm shifting experience. Being an engineer supporting manufacturing operations, working from home in my circles has always been viewed as play-working and has been strongly discouraged as a lazy person’s way to get out of really putting in the effort to be productive.  Now in 2020, given no other choice these same organizations have suddenly fully embraced remote work as a lifeline to keep things running while the world gets itself back together.  As someone who has long sought an at least partial remote opportunity, this experience is not just that the glass is half full but it is overflowing.  This is a chance to challenge the creative skills to prove this works and, even to my surprise, after one month I have found that this has worked out even better than I anticipated.  In addition there are many new skills that I have learned and/or sharpened which can be very useful well into the future.  These include everything from learning new software to new ways to stay motivated and new ways to be organized.  All of these have actually improved my productivity as I have noticed as I am checking off completion of key project deliverables which I could never seem to get to while in the office.  Out of every challenge comes a valuable learning opportunity, and here are some of the most valuable I have learned:

Conferencing Software That I Can Now Use Proficiently:

  • Microsoft Teams
  • Skype
  • Zoom
  • WebEx
  • GoTo Meeting
  • GoTo Webinar
  • Google Hangouts

No more “Hey I think you are on mute”, or “The lighting is bad”, or “I can’t see your screen”.

Cloud Based Systems That I Now Use Without Redoing Any Documents Or Asking for Help:

  • Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
  • Outlook (email and Calendar)

I can now also seamlessly work between different computers and phones without losing anything!

Really Useful Productivity Tools I Have Recently Discovered:

  • Software and hardware that blocks out background noise during teleconferences. No more shushing the kids or trying to quickly talk then hit mute before the garbage truck backs up again.  My son’s gaming headset includes a sound cancelling technology and works pretty well.  There are also third party apps like Krisp that have made inroads into this.  Microsoft is also working on incorporating this functionality into Teams. 
  • Document Scanning feature already built into Apple iPhone Notes app.  I never knew my old iPhone was a multipage PDF scanner, not until I needed to get a 25 page report approved and uploaded while working remotely.  Not as easy to do as running documents through the office scanner, but way easier than taking an individual photo of each page and rendering all of them to PDF, and less expensive than buying a scanner (which are in high demand these days.
  • Power BI  - Powerful Data Analytics tool for quickly evaluating and presenting key metrics and performance indicators using readily available data sources within your organization.  Its like having your own virtual online consent to provide you information needed to confidently make important decisions based on real information.  I never knew I had this power.
  • Using backgrounds for video conferences.  I’ve found some really cool background posters online that look like a library, like you see the political commentators have on TV.  I’ve also tried out the virtual backgrounds in Zoom and Teams, as well as the blurred background.  I am now ready to be interviewed on CNN or FOX, just like the politicians and reporters you see.

Soft Skills I Have Significantly Sharpened Recently:

  • Improved written communications - how to be very clear and concise when conveying information and/or asking for information or assistance in written form (email or text).  Getting the meaning across with the fewest words and least confusion, judged by how many questions come back in response.  A perfect 100% score communication is one where the first response is “Thank you!”.
  • More efficient meetings.
    • Meetings begin on time, get right to the point, reach a decision or agree on follow up actions, and then end on time (or earlier).  
    • Virtual meetings also have the advantage of being able to be run back to back.  You can end a meeting at 2:00, sign out, and then sign into the next meeting within 30 seconds.  No more lost time walking between conference rooms or buildings, not to mention being stopped in the hall and/or getting pulled into another conversation.
    • Access to technology during meetings. I come from several organizations where bringing laptops or phones to meetings was viewed negatively as it was seen that people would be getting distracted rather than paying attention to the topic being presented. It can also be inconvenient to drag along a computer and other files to different meetings in different locations.  By having access to your files and technology all the time, I am able to (almost) instantly look up and provide key information needed during meetings.  This prevents the need for additional follow ups.
  • How To Really Value People’s Time and Use It Efficiently.  In the current situation, there are a few folks who must still report into the office and their help is sometimes called upon to provide copies of documents or photos of various events occurring on site.  I am now very mindful of the effort these people are putting in and I do my homework up front to make absolutely sure to only ask for just what is needed and ensure all requests are very clear and focused on one-time actions.  This means no guessing at what is needed and avoiding follow ups like “oh I forgot to ask…..” and “that’s actually not what I needed….”, or “Oh yeah I also need….”.  People’s time is valuable and people are putting in extra efforts these days, so treat this with the respect it deserves.
  • Being more organized and staying motivated.  The most important component of staying on track with being motivated and productive is to keep to a routine that works for you.  This means:
    • Setting up a schedule of when you will start your work day, when you will break for coffee or lunch, and when you will end your work day.
    • Set up a work area where you focus on work.  This can be a spare room, a corner of a room or a folding table you set up in your room.  Just designate a dedicated work space.  Keep all your work stuff here.  When you're in this space, you work.
    • Stick to the routine you had when you worked in an office.  If you got up early to exercise or meditate or read the paper, continue to do this.
    • Make sure you still take care of your appearance. Continue to take showers, shave, comb your hair, wear presentable clothes, brush your teeth.  Whatever you did when you worked at the office.  You do not need a suit and tie, but not a great idea to roll out of bed in underwear and plop down in front of the computer, no matter how many ads you see for working in your PJs at the kitchen table.  This does not work for everyone and this is the vision those managers have who don’t think working remotely is real work.
    • Keep a do to list which you update at the beginning and end of each day.  This can be on paper or using an online calendar.  Also use the online calendar to set up reminders of key tasks, just like you did at the office.
    • Make appointments with people to speak online if you have questions.  If you cannot resolve the information you need within two emails or texts, then it's time to talk.  This also helps to make you feel more connected to your work organization.
0 Comments

Benefits to the Employer of Working From Home

4/19/2020

0 Comments

 
Here are some of the real benefits to organizations (not just employees) that real companies are currently looking at:
  • Real estate savings in the $Millions from not having to maintain as many offices and buildings.
  • Employees working on average up to 5 or more additional hours per day since access to work is so easy at home and there is less stress and fatigue and wasted time commuting and getting stuck in traffic or caught in transit delays.
  • Employees having higher morale and willing to work harder and longer without expecting more money (many employees are willing to take a cut in pay in exchange for the flexibility to work remotely, even part of the time).
  • Geographic diversity, being able to recruit the talent needed without regard for location, willingness to relocate and relocation costs.
  • Inexpensive compliance with Americans With Disabilities Act, versus constructing appropriate accommodations within a company facility.
  • Reduced discrimination, people are evaluated based on what they can do rather than what they look like.
  • Remote meetings are shorter and more to the point so things get done efficiently and less time is wasted in excessive chatter and going off on tangents.
  • Enables effective Business Continuity Planning (BCP), without reliance on a specific location to be able to operate. The decentralized nature of working from home enables work to continue at multiple locations, even in the event of a disaster which stops work on some locations.
Bottom line: Working From Home really works and is not a way for employees to take a prolonged vacation and skip out on real work.  Management still needs to provide structure and set appropriate goals with the objective of evaluating people's performance by what they get done.
0 Comments

Now Is Your Time  - To Prove Just How Effective You Can Be Working From Home

4/18/2020

0 Comments

 
​In the midst of all the uncertainty, fear and confusion going on right now in the world, it is important to hold onto the things that are within your control and and focus on what you can do right now to lift yourself up and look forward to a brighter and better future.
You’ve always wanted to be able to work from home or work remotely right?  But most organizations have been very resistant to allowing remote work because remote workers are viewed as less productive or lazy or just taking a vacation and pretending to work (translation “If we can't see you and look over your shoulder, we don’t trust you to be responsible”).

But now all the rules have suddenly changed.  No, this isn’t the way that I or anyone would have ever wanted it to be, but since we are forced to be in this situation anyway, why not use this opportunity (if we can call it that) to prove that working remotely from home really does work and it works very well.  

Now that many of us are participating in this mandatory study of the effects for working remotely, the data is showing that people are actually more productive and effective in producing more work and engaging in more working hours during the day versus commuting into the office or work location each day.  In fact, recent data shows people are 55-70% more productive in terms of work output per day now that they are working remotely.  The apparent reasons for this are many, including the following:
  • No time spent commuting to and from work. This includes reduced stress of driving in heavy traffic and/or mass transit delays,, in addition to time saved. This could add up to 2 or more hours per day that can now be used for productive work time.
  • Fewer distractions from “informal meetings” (people popping into your workspace, conversations in the break room, Hallway conversations and getting pulled into meetings by chance encounters).
  • Increased flexibility lets you work when you are most productive and maximizes greatest results in least time.
  • Greater freedom of time enables proper balancing of work and personal/family time leading to less stress, greater focus when at work and increased loyalty of employees to the organization that is supportive of their efforts.

Now is the time to keep this momentum moving forward.  We have all the tools we need to be able to connect and collaborate remotely and we can make this work, now and into the future as needed.  This time and situation will pass but let’s hold onto all the valuable lessons learned.Bottom line is that this is really working and now there is real data to back this up. And answer all the doubters out there.  Working from home is real work and gets real results, sop let’s not go back to looking down upon those who desire to work remotely, they are very valuable contributors and need to be supported.

Look for more articles on how to maximize efficiency working remotely, what tools work well for remote work and more to come...
0 Comments

Not Confident Employees Are Productive Working Remotely? Technology Has Some Answers

4/10/2020

0 Comments

 
In the ever-rapidly evolving world of online ework, technology has emerged to answer one of the age-old concerns about letting people work remotely “Are they really working?”  Software is now available to track remote workers’ time and productivity. In addition, this software can also provide productivity benefits to organizations including automation of: time sheets, project milestone tracking, invoices, and performance against objectives. This data can be used to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of remote work and efficiently manage remote teams, making employees more accountable and freeing supervisors from micromanaging. For organizations still wading into the waters of ework, this software can provide the data needed to move towards a more efficient future with confidence. 
An excellent application for ework tracking is Time Doctor.
This application is simple to use and easily lets managers track:
​
  • Time spent on work sites vs. outside sites
  • Time logged in/out of work systems
  • Attendance
  • Progress and time spent on specific tasks
  • Inactive time (logging in and walking away)
The system documents all this so you don’t have to spend your time doing it.  Check it out:
 
https://www.timedoctor.com/features.html
0 Comments

Cybersecurity and BCP – The Evolution of Business Continuity Planning

3/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Years ago when I got involved in what was then called “Business Assurance Planning”, the top threats to sustain business operations were fire, power outage, and natural disasters like floods, bad weather, earthquake.  All of the contingency planning centered around finding another location work out of and making sure IT systems were backed up with copies stored off site.  Then Y2K brought awareness of the vulnerabilities of all the IT systems we rely upon, even in the absence of a natural disaster, and we started to think about how we would operate if our IT systems stopped functioning.

Read More
0 Comments

Business Continuity Management and Succession Planning

2/27/2019

0 Comments

 
An effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP) typically includes IT disaster recovery plus contingency/backup plans for critical business operations.  Most BCPs focus on restoring key business functions in terms of relocating facilities, machinery, people or equipment so that the operations necessary to keep the business alive can be carried on even if the business is hit with a flood, fire, blizzard, etc.  

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Articles
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Free Bonuses