Tag Archive

I have a new post, which can be found here.

See my latest post here.

See the post here.

See my latest post here.

While I was looking around for an outsourcer for my web project, I remembered (I may have even mentioned it here once) an Open Source project called Joomla. Joomla is a content management system for web sites. What’s cool about it is that it requires little to no web programming, and there are tons of free templates out there for it, including Real Estate themed templates.

So, I went out and got an account with Blue Host. Blue Host has CPanel and Fantastico, both allow you to install packages, such as Joomla and WordPress, very easily. What’s nice about Blue Host is that they also allow you to host an unlimited number of websites, each as subdirectories under your main site and each appearing as their own site.

So I am in the process of migrating this site over to my new site…it is a work in progress. My new main site is FreelanceWisdom.com if you go there now, you will see the Joomla main page. Little by little I will be adding to it. If you go to FreelanceWisdom.com/projectnomad you will see my first attempt at migrating Project:Nomad to the site. I am not crazy about the wordpress template I am currently using; I’m still looking for a better one (let me know if you like it or not - I may just change the pictures). I will continue to contribute to this site while I am building my new site.

I have also created a site to rent my house. There are several components for Joomla sites, including slide carousels. I will use this to display pictures of the house and provide rental information.

Stay tuned…

First, an update on what I have been up to. As I mentioned earlier, the major work on the house is done and I had some left over little things that I need to finish. The problem is, I can only work on the weekends. I have been working late at my job, and I am just too tired to work on the house afterward. OK…I’m venting, but it hasn’t been easy. I also have been having problems finding a tenant screening service. The recent changes to the credit reporting laws make it impossible for landlords with one or two houses to be able to get credit information on prospective tenants.

Oh…and it’s tax time…need I say more?

I am trying to apply 4HWW to my situation though. I am working on a proposal to outsource the website design to market my house. It is just taking too much time to do it on my own, and really, it is something perfect to have someone else to do for me. I will post my experiences here on how it goes.

Now, before I get into my favorite sites (yeah, you’ll need to wait a little while more, but it will be worth it…) I want you to imagine the following situation.

Say you have a laptop. On the laptop, you have a basic operating system, and a web browser. That’s it.

No utilities, No applications (other than the browser), No suites…nothing… Basically you have what is known as a “Thin Client”.

The challenge is, can you run a business from the laptop?

Sure ya can, Sparky… just go here.

It is pretty cool. Everything you need, via Web 2.0 hosted applications. This is perfect for a freelancer on the move. I hope you find it useful.

Yeah, I said I would list my favorite resources in my next post, and I am still working on that…but I read something that was so good that I had to share it here. This post, on ReadWriteWeb.com has some really good lessons for entrepreneurs and freelancers… Enjoy!

As part of setting up my processes for marketing my rental property and handling prospective tenants, I am setting up a new website. I have registered a really good name, which I will put here when I get the site up and running. I am delving into web design books and getting ideas from friends who are also real estate investors.

I am also toying with the idea of moving this blog over to the new host. The host allows for multiple sites, and even though I don’t have a major following, it will give me the chance to experiment a little more, and eventually try to sell ad space. I am actually considering splitting the blog up into two parts, one continuing on with the 4HWW theme, and the second with my experiences as a real estate investor. This is a ways off, but I am looking forward to it.

On another note…tomorrow, the house will have new garage doors, and the landscaping will be complete. All that is needed is a new oven and a good cleaning and it will be ready to rent. I will then be free to move on to other projects. I want to get back to my goal of forming a virtual company…

In my next post I am going to list some excellent resources that I always turn to for freelance advice and ideas.

Yikes…I looked at the date of my last post and it was three weeks ago!

I apologize to the three or four of you that hang on my every word waiting for my next wacky adventure…

Seriously, I have been swamped…

The major rehab on the house has been complete, now comes the little details that need to be finished so I can get the house ready to rent. Today, I went to a local appliance store to get a stove top for the kitchen (I still need a new wall mounted oven and range hood); I also hung the fire alarms and started cleaning EVERYTHING!

The big to-do is getting the garage doors to work. My contractor could not do it, but gave me the name of someone who might. They have yet to get back to me…

I also have to get my “process” formalized. I know what the Georgia Landlord - Tenant law is, and I have a good lease. I now need to get a voice mail service to handle the calls from prospective renters and a way to run credit checks and criminal checks on any applicants. The devil is always in the details.

Still, I am excited. So far (knock on wood) I have been able to handle any problems that I have encountered. It has been crazy leading a double life, programmer by day, real estate rehab project manager by night, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, that doesn’t mean that life as a landlord isn’t going to cause headaches, but financially, it will ease a lot of pressure having someone else pay the mortgage - assuming I find a tenant. Then comes the next house…

Keeping productive given my situation has been a challenge, and I have been surfing the net for productivity tips. I have found a really good article here. I hope you find it helpful.

This is a pretty extensive article on 107 resources for Entrepreneurs. There is A LOT of stuff here. Some of the resources have lists of other resources!

Enjoy!