Lance Cody-Valdez, Author at UNOVA Coworking

November 12, 2021November 11, 2021

11 Essential Apps for Business Owners to Have More Free Time

If you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, or coach who’s working hard to get your passion project out into the world, but you also want more free time in your day-to-day life, then these apps are perfect for you. They’ll help you get organized and work efficiently so that all of your essential tasks don’t fall through the cracks. UNOVA Coworking offers a list of the top 11 apps that will help increase your productivity and give you back some precious free time!

1) Google Drive. It’s the perfect app for collaboration with colleagues, sharing documents, and storing company information. You can also create a document in seconds that will allow several people to work on it together in real-time.

2) Slack. This collaborative workspace allows individuals to work together with their business teams from wherever they are while retaining complete control over who has access to your conversations. It also offers integrations with other apps such as Dropbox so users can sync files across platforms without switching back and forth between different screens or programs.

3) Trello. Trello is a great way to manage projects. With its clean and straightforward interface, you can create boards for different tasks with cards representing the steps needed to complete those tasks.

4) Adobe Spark. When it comes to creating professional level designs for your social media or website, this app makes it easy to tap into your creativity. For example, you can use their banner generator to quickly craft a compelling design with fun graphics and fonts that give the impression it was made by a graphic designer.

4) Dropbox. This app allows users to store files in the cloud and access or share them from any device, anywhere. It offers integration with many other apps and desktop or laptop computers, making it a handy cloud app to have.

5) Zoom. This app is now a classic video conference and screen-sharing service that offers many of the same features as Skype or Facetime but has some great extras like recording meetings.

6) QuickBooks Enterprise. QuickBooks is distribution software for wholesale businesses that helps you keep track of inventory and optimize your wholesale distribution. It can automatically tally up purchases, record stock updates to ensure you have the correct information to fulfill our orders, avoid out of stock, and provide analytics on sales data for an easy view of how your company is doing financially. Integrations to leading e-commerce platforms are also a welcome feature.

7) QuickBooks. A flexible accounting app, QuickBooks allows you to manage expenses and invoices, track payments, and stay on top of all of your essential financial metrics and help curb your spending, among other things. It offers multiple integrations, as well as the ability to send reminders for overdue payments.

8) Scanner app. This app turns your phone into a document scanner, letting you quickly digitize paper documents. The ability to scan anywhere will make it easier to have your office on the go without needing to carry around endless bits of paper and post-its that inevitably end up getting lost.

9) Asana. This cloud-based work management app is excellent for people with many individual tasks or different projects to complete. It helps you keep track by providing reminders, and it also lets users share lists so that they can collaborate on projects together.

10) Evernote. Dividing up tasks among team members can save time for everyone. This app lets users share notes, lists, and files across devices to work together on projects efficiently.

Do you already use some of these, or do any of them sound like they could benefit your company? If so, give it a try to see if you can get a little help to free up your time.

April 12, 2021April 11, 2021

Don’t Let Burnout Be Your Only Option When Work-Life Balance is Missing

In today’s society, it can feel like all we do is work; wake up, take a shower, go to work (or work from home!), come home, eat, sleep, rinse, repeat. According to Blue Water Credit, Americans work more hours than any other country in the world. The numbers are frightening. A recent poll shows that Americans work an average of 47 hours per week, and 18 percent of Americans work over 60 hours a week. It’s no wonder we’re all so tired, even when we are still in college or have just started our adult lives!

If you’re struggling with the effects of burnout, this guide from UNOVA Coworking offers a few steps you can take to help you find your own version of work-life balance.

Find a Mentor

There are many reasons to have a mentor. She can give you advice on how to advance your career to the next level, help you build meaningful connections — and offer insight on how to achieve a better work-life balance. Even if there are times you feel you can’t possibly juggle all of the professional and personal responsibilities on your plate, your mentor can help you navigate the stress of it all based on her own experiences.

Find a Job that You Enjoy

Sometimes burnout is simple. Nobody likes putting in countless hours at a job they don’t enjoy. But there are many reasons why people continue to stay at a job they can’t stand. Maybe you’re worried about a consistent income or have recently been dropped from your parents’ health insurance. Unfortunately, these are realities that every American has to think about. But that doesn’t mean you are stuck!

If you are struggling with burnout, it may be time to reevaluate your options and pivot your career. Closely examine your finances, look for ways to save extra money, and make a plan to find a job you love. Doing something you enjoy with a team that is a good fit can refresh your whole life and bring back your zeal before you lose your zest for life.

In some cases, your best option to further your career is to go back to school. The great news is that thanks to so many online education programs, it’s easier than ever for career-minded folks to continue working while they take online classes around their schedule. Of course, there are many tracks you can take, but as an example, enrolling in an online business program could help you climb the ranks at your current company, become a more desirable candidate at another firm, or even pave the way for you to follow your entrepreneurial dreams.

Whatever your ambitions, don’t limit yourself at a job or company you’re not passionate about. The sky really is the limit!

Practice Mindfulness

So many of us get through our days by just going through the motions. But doing this can make the clock drag, inevitably resulting in burnout. What does it mean to be mindful? Positive Psychology defines mindfulness as “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment.” But what exactly does this mean?

In essence, it means being aware of your actions and what drives them. When you are mindful at work, there’s a greater chance that you’ll feel like what you do matters. While you are paying attention to your surroundings, it is also a good idea to practice controlled breathing. This can help you settle your mind and body and reduce stress that can hurt you in the long run.

Use Your Vacation Time

If you’re lucky enough to work for an employer that provides paid vacation time, don’t let it go to waste. Many companies work on the mentality of “use it or lose it.” This means that if you don’t use your current year’s allowance, it disappears. You have to wait until you earn more time to take a vacation.

Think this tip sounds like common sense? Think again. According to Forbes, Americans let almost 50 percent of their vacation days in 2017 go unused. What’s worse, 10 percent didn’t even take a vacation at all. That time away from the workplace can be instrumental in keeping you happy and healthy, not to mention helping you avoid burnout, so put it to good use, even if you aren’t able to travel. Simply taking some time at home via a staycation will give you a much-deserved break from your job and help prevent burnout.

Learn to Manage Your Time Wisely

Time is a valuable thing, and you only have 24 hours in each day. Learn how to use yours wisely. This starts by putting an end to doing the things you despise. While you still have to do the dishes and fold the laundry, you don’t have to give up your day off to babysit your sister’s kids, and you don’t have to mingle with co-workers you don’t like. Remember, your time is just that, yours. You can also make room in your days by being more efficient. Need to get gas, go grocery shopping, and pick up the dry cleaning? Find a grocery store with a fuel station and the nearest cleaners, and make it a single excursion, not three different trips.

Burnout is a reality that many Americans deal with. But it doesn’t have to be. When you examine the root cause and take steps to make a change, you may find you’re able to achieve a greater work-life balance.

If spending more time working from home is throwing a wrench in your work-life balance, consider a membership with UNOVA Coworking. Having a professional space where you can focus during work makes it easier to firm up boundaries. Check out our membership options today!

January 25, 2021January 24, 2021

5 Steps Freelancers Must Take When Transitioning to Small Business Ownership

In many ways, freelancing is similar to owning your own business. You get to set your own hours, pick and choose the types of projects you want to work on, and enjoy the flexibility of working wherever you’re most comfortable. However, there may come a time when you’re ready to take your freelance work to the next level — and delve into business ownership. As a small business owner (SBO), you can take on larger projects, hire a team of employees or independent contractors, and focus more of your time and energy on growing your actual business.

*Photo by Karolina Grabowska* on Pexels.com

If you’re ready to move from freelancer to small business owner, be sure to complete these five steps to make the transition as seamless as possible!

Step 1: Make a Plan

As a freelancer with months or years of experience up your sleeve, you’re already one step ahead of an aspiring business owner with no prior history of self-employment. However, you still need a business plan when transitioning from freelancer to SBO — no matter how long you’ve been freelancing for. Your business plan should discuss your office location, mission statement, financing needs, and the types of products or services you’ll be offering.

Learn how to write a basic business plan (which you can do easily enough). Or, you can check out online resources like LivePlan, $100 Startup, Bizplan, Copyblogger, and Enloop to find templates, tips, and advice for entrepreneurs in the making.

Step 2: Name Your Business

Though you may have been freelancing under your legal name, starting a small business typically requires you to register a formal business name with federal, state, and local agencies. However, specific requirements vary depending on where you live and how you structure your business, so you’ll need to familiarize yourself with these rules before moving forward.

In an article from USA Today, Benjamin Pimentel shares the ins and outs of choosing a unique name for your new business and registering it with the appropriate agencies. If you need help choosing a name, however, free online name generators can help to get your creative juices flowing.

Step 3: Know Your Legal Requirements

If you’ve been freelancing as a sole proprietor, you’ll need to decide whether to upgrade to a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) when transitioning to small business ownership. Sole proprietorships offer no form of liability protection, but corporations and LLCs do. As such, these legal entities are much more common among small business owners.

When structuring your business as a sole proprietorship, corporation, or LLC, keep in mind that the legal entity you choose will affect your tax obligations as a business owner. Therefore, it’s important to seek financial and legal advice from a skilled accountant and/or attorney if you have any business formation questions that need to be addressed.

Step 4: Open a Business Bank Account

As you transition from freelancer to SBO, it’s also important to open a separate bank account for keeping track of your business-related expenses and earnings. You’ll need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) in order to do so, but applying for one is as simple as completing an online application and providing your legal name and Social Security Number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number).

To open a business bank account, you’ll also need:

Any applicable business licenses and permits
Business owners agreements, if applicable
Formation documents, including the articles of organization ( LLCs) or incorporation (corporations)

Step 5: Get Paid

In addition to opening a business bank account, an online invoice maker can help you to keep track of outstanding balances, prepare, customize, and send invoices to clients, and get paid in less time. Receiving compensation for your hard work is incredibly important, and you’ll need to create a clear invoicing process before you start doing business.

A lot goes into starting a business, but the transition isn’t so scary when you’re already a seasoned freelancer. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make the switch from freelancer to small business owner!

And if you’re searching for a professional coworking space for your newly launched business, join the growing UNOVA Coworking community!

Questions or comments? Have any additional tips or stories to share? Reply below or reach out to Lance Cody-Valdez at free-lance-now.com.