I’m a lawyer, but I don’t take myself nearly as seriously as other lawyers do.  Used to be image was everything, but now competence, solid results and quality service are leveling the playing field.  Those of you who saw me launch this blog probably took a peek at my About Page where I spouted off this blurb of philosophy:

Turning a profit without a dumpster full of overhead is every business owner’s dream, but every professional service provider seems to believe that you need the 84″ desk, matching credenza, 5 drawer lateral filing cabinets, yellow pages ad, flat screen monitor, windows server, guest chairs, leased copier, full time administrative assistant and sandblasted office sign. I call all of that, “the presentation.”

So, why not lighten the mood on your “serious” website?  I’m not personally very photogenic and stumbled upon a site called Iconize Me! which is run by a few very talented digital caricature artists.

For 50 bucks, Jose, the only active artist will render you in a flattering, eye catching caricature which you can plaster all over your site (or use as an icon!).  [Read more...]

Seems Google Labs is working on a “Digg” style page ranking system that allows users to manually rank sites or delete them from their search results.

Perhaps the algorithm is heading in the direction most of us wish the BCS would head in college football.

Read about it here: Google to abandon pagerank?

I just happened upon a page which dumbs down the process of setting up your own PBX with asterisk.   I still maintain the importance of using a consultant to do this for you but it’s always nice to be an informed consumer.

Also note that references to “Asterisk@Home” are a bit outdated.  Most people are using a Trixbox installation which is basically bundled FREE software that includes all the major components including the Asterisk component.  [Read more...]

Thanks to Scott Barer, an attorney from Solosez, for the heads up:

Provantage is offering a ridiculous deal on a Dymo Twin Turbo Label printer. I’ve never owned one (until about 5 minutes ago) but had a few other people on Solosez tell me how great these little printers are. The are “direct thermal” printers so they don’t require any ink! The deal ends November 30th so act quickly. Price it out on the internet and you’ll realize it’s an insane deal. I’m getting two!

The other apparent advantage is that Dymo has teamed up with Endicia for NO MONTHLY FEE print on the fly postage! [Read more...]

Not quite a home office topic, but a quick look into a world I always wondered about.

Mystery shopping is a method that marketing, advertising and business analytics companies use to help other companies evaluate their services.  Imagine being paid to order a pizza (and being reimbursed for that pizza!)

I spent about an hour doing some online research about the subject.  I recall doing the same thing 3 or 4 years ago but it appears now that mystery shopping is no longer a closely guarded secret!  There are plenty of resources out there for anyone interested in becoming an “MS”. [Read more...]