5 resourceful tips to setting up your home office:

1. First things first

Get all things and equipment in order. Remember, the most important items should go into the list first. What would you need most? Make a list – modem, laptop, facsimile, telephone, printer, desk, air conditioner, chair, lamp, drawers – then prioritize.

2. Choose functionality over design

Since it is your own office, you might be thinking to spend 2 days in IKEA showroom, come back with 2 tonnes of furniture, and start overhauling your room just to end up nothing like in the catalog. Worse, you now realize you don’t actually need half of the furniture you buy.

It’s pointless to have spanking new meeting table when no one will ever visit your office! Of course this does not mean you should never consider the design as the integral part of the whole process. Just don’t over do it.

3. No distraction, please

While many people out there are selling the idea how wonderful it is to work while watching their favorite TV channels (especially when they’re selling something), in truth, best of results come through focused effort and hard work. When you work, work hard. When you play, play hard. So keep all those distractions out of the office room. No TV, no hot plate, no play station, no personal calls during work. You’d probably want to put up the ‘No Entry Until 5pm’ signboard for your family to see.

4. Keep everything within reach

To reflect high productivity and projecting efficiency, everything you need must be within your reach. Initially, it is probably OK for you to stand up and walk 2 meters to answer the phone. Wait for 3 weeks, and then see how you feel. Consider other resources that will be handy in your daily work – the book shelf, the air-con remote, your phone charger, note pads, pens, so on and so forth.

5. Suit your own style

Your office set up should also suit your own style of working. A home based writer may prefer super-tidy environment, and cozy lighting. Only then ideas will start pouring in. On the other hand, a creative designer will have his tools, canvas, paint brushes all over a spacious room. But that is fine to him if that gets his butt working. So, choose your style, and stick to it.

Here are 10 proven ways to promote and grow your part time business:

1. Referral

Once you have secured a client, always ask them to refer your service to friends and peers if they are happy with you. In return, reward them with a small sum of money (or goodies) as a show of appreciation.

The best thing about referral is that you do little convincing, as this was done by your referral. In fact, one day you may come to realize that most of your part time business is generated through a self-sustaining referral system.

2. Word of mouth

Word of mouth is the best and most rewarding promotion there is. Better, it’s free! No advertising charge incurred. No money leaked. To get the word of mouth advertising though, there is this pre-requisite – you must do your job extremely well. Only when you do so, people would come to you for business. You will be surprised to be approached by a total stranger telling you how much they need you.

3. Advertise

Instead of buying that new kick-ass 27-inch TV monitor, why not spend the money to advertise your products or services? After all, if the business grows further, perhaps you can acquire the whole shop in the near future. There are many ways and platforms to create publicity – newspapers, internet, job boards, radio, brochures, magazines, bill boards or even TV.

4. Brand/image makeover

The most influential brands in the world are those that know the value of the branding power. Every single inch of the company is designed in such a way that reflects the industry and business they are in. How’s your business cards? Don’t have one? How does your logo look? What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? Did you create a professional company profile just in case your clients ask for one? If there answers are no, it’s time for a makeover.

5. Sponsor

Yes, that’s true. Sponsorship needs money. And you’re so reluctant to do so because you thought sponsorship involves you giving away big money – like paying for a couple’s flight trip from New York to Singapore for holidays. No, it does not have to be big bucks. Sponsorship can start as small as distributing free books for children, t-shirt giveaway to camp participants, stationery, coupons and vouchers, and many others.

6. Remember the 80:20 rule?

While the Pareto Principle’s 80:20 rule is interpreted in many ways, the most common notion worth holding on to is that 80% of your business is generated from 20% of your customers. This is regardless if the business is done on full time or part time. It is pretty much consistent throughout.

It is also safe to assume that you’ll be spending as much as 80% of your time for this 20% clients that are giving your business. In other words, this means that to drive your business forward, do not take your existing clients lightly – they can make or break you, and they will.

7. Write

Write. Write articles, tips and guides to newsletters, local newspapers, company brochures, magazines and so on. Join the internet bandwagon and start blogging. Pick your niche and start writing. Once you have continuously written a lot on your chosen field, people will start knowing that you are an industry expert. You will realize that you have built credibility when people will start coming to you for help and ask questions.

8. Network

If property is location, location and location, then business is network, network, network. Networking is the art of developing personal acquaintanceship and grow it into professional and business relationship. Often, network is generated through events that gather people who share common interest. Trade shows, exhibitions, soccer, barbeque, horse riding, golf, hiking, ball painting are just few of them.

9. Partnership, JV, collaboration

Another effective way to boost your market presence. Practically, a partnership, JV (joint-venture) or collaboration can be done through various structures. For example, a small company can offer an attractive partnership initiative, the success of the JV formation depending on how well this small company convince the other. 2 small companies in 2 different fields may also decide to do cross-promotion and double their prospects.

10. Innovate

Innovation is essential not only to grow your business but also for survival. Without innovation, every motorist today will be riding a black Ford, and franchising would still probably considered scam. Improvise, diversify, expand and streamline your business every now and then so that they can remain competitive, and can be grown bigger and bigger.

Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, United States is named as the best college to get rich, a survey by PayScale.com revealed.

Princeton University came second, followed by Stanford, Yale, MIT and Harvard University.

The survey collected the salary of the college alumni with between 10 to 20 years of experience, and the mean, median and maximum salaries were analyzed and compared.

Dartmouth came on top with a median annual pay of $134,000 ($11,200 monthly). The top earners were reported to be earning more than $321,000 ($26,750 per month).

Employers are often in the chase to recruit graduates from Dartmouth, including top companies such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and Co., Accenture, Lehman Brothers, Bain, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and so on. Many of them offers lucrative start up pay for the graduates.

While not all the Dartmouth students will be fortunate enough to land high paying first job upon graduation, the college ability to produce well-rounded graduates allow them to move up the corporate ladder easily and soon move into big money jobs.

Dartmouth is also home to the prestigious business school, the Tuck School of Business, which was recently ranked as the best business school in United States for the 2007/2008 academic season, with Harvard and Stanford trailing behind.

NIKE lands into hot water after an Australian TV station discovered that one of its contract factories in Malaysia has been mistreating its foreign workers.

Aired in Channel 7, workers were seen to be living in cramped living quarters and filthy condition. As many as 20 people were force to sleep in one small room.

Their passports were held by the factories. It is part of the agreement where the workers would need to pay the fees equivalent to one year salary (their country currency) to the agents who got them the job.

Until the fees are settled, their passports will not be returned.

Many of the workers come from Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Nike outsources its manufacturing operation to close to 40 factories in Malaysia, most of them producing apparel. Apart from Malaysia, the company has a similar outsourcing structure in more than 50 countries worldwide, with 800,000 people working around the clock to make their products. The company is now subject to intense criticism for its failure to institute a reliable monitoring system.

Popular with the Just-Do-It motto, Nike is one of the largest sportswear and equipment makers in the world. Nike recently grabbed a number of prestigious awards such as The Most Influential Brands (no. 5), Most Innovative Companies (no. 6) and Top Employers for MBA Graduates (no. 8).