Essential Tools for the Self-Employed  

Hi Annie!

Yes, I fully agree with you. When it comes to working at home, we really need to be determined, persevering, confident, independent, strong-willed and be willing to work long hours. These were deeper than I expected as answers, but you really hit the nail right on the head. :D

Thank you for your input. Indeed, this is good advice for the self-employed!

Hi Shelly,

So you're a work-at-home call center agent? That's cool. :)

Good list you have here. :) I think that covers what most of us need, save for cough drops. Heheh. I guess prevention is better than cure. Ever tried Virgin Coconut Oil or Vitamin C?

I loved Mega-C myself. However I think it's restricted to the Philippines. Its generic name is Sodium Ascorbate. :D

I agree with the non-stop electricity. It's really needed in our field. As regards missing working in an airconditioned office, how true. Heheh.

Internet: in the Philippines, I guess SkyCable and MyDestiny Cable are the fastest DSL providers coz, well, they're cable DSL after all.

Water. Oh yes. It's worse in Manila, right? Here in my area, we're using deep well water, and it's been hard on our skin.

Doorbell. Housework! Hahaha! But yes, you are correct, we do need distractions sometimes.

Caffeine. Yes! Oh yes. We do need this. Heheh. :D

Thanks for your input, Bing!

1. I've tried using the computers at the library or bringing my laptop to Starbucks but there's no place like home (smile). Here, I have my 3-n-1 printer, external hard drive for large files and FireFox.
2. I also like my coffee better than the franchise places
3. Having notes and bookmarks nearby
4. Recently, I bought a dry erase board for about $5. I use this to help me organize my assignments and prospects.
5. My thesaurus/dictionary combo. It costs less than $12, is portable (not the mini, it hurts my eyes) and helps in my writing.

1. Yeah, haha! When you're at home, you can really do anything and everything. PLUS, there are no crazy people making their noise as they live their own lives around you. :D Heheh!

2. Coffee: What coffee grounds do you use, if I might ask. :D

3. Oh yes. Notes and bookmarks. Absolutely essential. :)

4. I've always been a paper gal myself; but this is a good idea! A friend of mine did the same thing for herself the other month: bring a dry-erase board to work; it's just that she works in a call center and not at home. :D This is a good idea to keep things that can be erased. However, I'm such a pack rat that I need to keep almost every note I've made! There's a purpose, however, since sometimes, when I need to refer to these notes again, I do get to make use of those notes I kept. :)

5. I use the online dictionaries/thesauri.. Why do you need a separate gadget, if I might ask?

I use medium ground but my favorite flavors are hazelnut, creme brulee and toffee. I also like Kona-style coffee because it has a more mellow flavor.

Funny you should ask #5, I bought ($5) a separate vocabulary builder with the thought of writing down words I may forget about in the near future. After I finished with the letter H, I decided that it would be easier to manually update the dictionary in MS Word. The $12 deal fits in my hand but is the perfect size for when I get into a crunch. It also has a small section for language mechanics.

Haha that's crazy, that your kids and your wife seem to conspire to disturb you just as you go on MyLot. :D

You don't do other sidelines as in serious work online? :D

yeah, they are conspirators of each others to destroy my mylot career.
well, for sidelines. i have nothing but mylot. but about two years ago, for about six years, i have a part-time job that helped me so much, i even bought a motorcycle through financing.

"destroy my mylot career" i like that! i'd like to concentrate on that too. my fantasy on my next day off is to go to an internet cafe and mylot as long as i can. yes, it's the aircon i'm after!

@binggaling Hahaha! Grabe naman (awesome!). "MyLot as long as I can"... Sounds like a plan, eh? :D

Pero I can't empathize much on the aircon part. I really still prefer electric fans. :)

@neildc What was that part time job? :) Is it online too? Nice, ha. Got you a bike. :D

@nenyalorien i worked with a courier company for 9 years as computer techie and in between that part-time job, i came to get a regular job in the government. i lost it two years ago and luckily, i still have this job in the government. it was really a great help. for now, since i my salary is not enough, i try hardier to earn online. thanks for asking.

@neildc, since you've worked in a private company and now in government, you can continue your sss contribution as a volunteer member and end up with 2 pensions when you retire. you choose the amount. check the website.

@neildc Ohh.. But you know, you can actually earn more online. Ever tried Odesk.com and Freelancer.com? These are great sites to look for jobs. :) What do you do online?

@binggaling I've always been an online worker, so I still have no SSS nor Philhealth nor do I know how to start paying taxes.. Do you have any idea how I can file my taxes?

Hee. Just if you do. :D

@binggaling. i continued to remit with the SSS two years after i resigned from the private company, before i worked with the courier company. i stopped paying when i switch to the government not because of the gsis but because i earn not that much to continue my contribution to sss as self-employed. but i will find ways to continue so that when i retire, i have 2 pensions.

@nenyalorien. i haven't tried any of these two writing sites. i don't think i can manage to write that much. i prefer mylot because we have no quota and they are not strict with spelling and grammar.

i worked offline for many years so the office always takes care of those things.

for taxes, you might need to find someone who can do it for you, sort of like project basis. sideline, you know? why not ask other freelancers? i think it's important so when people do background checks on you, especially from abroad, they know you're clean and a good, responsible citizen of your country who can be trusted. get what i mean?

now for sss you can be voluntary or self employed. just go to the website. even ofws are encouraged to make contributions and i think there are sss offices already in other countries. i'm not sure about philhealth and pagibig. try asking other freelancers as well. good luck!

@neildc as far as i know, self-employed is different from volunteer member. you qualify under volunteer because you used to work in a private company as an employee. that advantage is you get to choose the amount from the list that they have. check the website and try to leave an email if you have questions. there is even a category called non-working spouse, did you know that?

i agree with you about mylot. no deadlines, too. but i disagree about spelling and grammar as a hindrance to joining writing sites. i'm sure there are people here who can help you with that. based on your posts, it would be pretty minimal.

Thank you for the compliment. :)

I agree with you on everything!

But I have a couple of questions: have you ever worked in a coffee shop, say Starbucks? Or it's really a no-no for you?

To-do list: which service do you use? :) Google has a to-do list service now. :) But I still LOVE taskfive. :)

Thank you for answering, happy MyLotting!

You are most welcome. :) Glad that you agree with me.

As for the coffee shop question. I have never worked in a coffee shop. But I don't have anything against it. I believe in dignity of labor for sure.Why do you ask? Just curious? :)

I don't use any online services for my To-Do list. I just jot it all down in a spreadsheet.

May be I should look at taskfive. Thanks for that info!

Gosh Piya. :) I think I'll disagree with you on this. You see, I don't like airconditioning much. :) I prefer electric fans. So I guess I'll modify your suggestion to read "Extra super duper strength e-fans" Hehehehe!

Thanks for replying!