Just now I’m really glad my husband has a computer of his own. I’m glad of it all the time really, since it means that he can use a computer without interrupting my work. But when mine goes down, what a relief to have a spare available!

I’m thinking a power supply issue, which I’ve gone through before. Computers are the only thing I ever get an extended warranty on, and it has always been worth it on that one item. Just the kind of luck I have with computers, I guess, since it’s hardware issues that I keep having.

But here’s the key to keeping your business running when your computer crashes, beyond just having a spare computer:

Have a backup!

Seriously. Don’t procrastinate on this one.

I use a 500 Gig Maxtor OneTouch drive as a backup. Not perfect, and it has an awful lot of bad reviews on Amazon, but mine is about a year and a half old and hasn’t failed me yet. It has claimed to fail me many times, but an unplug combined with restarting the entire computer has fixed the problem every time so far. It runs backups every night automatically.

Yeah, one of these days I want a new one that won’t keep worrying me that way. But at least it’s keeping my files safely backed up for now.

This allowed me to get set up in a reasonable time on my husband’s computer. It’s not perfect, but at least I have access to all of my files, even if some of his setup is a bit off for me.

I still need to go to the next level of backup, which is a non-local backup. I know some people use all that amazing storage GMail has as a free way to back up their computers, but it’s probably smarter to find a good service that specializes in backups, so that you can get a regular backup program running for you. Much better than having to remember to do it on your own.

This means that your files can survive even more traumatic events than a mere computer crash. I’m in earthquake country, so it may one day pay to think about that next level of protection.

The hard part is that I haven’t installed some of the programs I use fairly regularly on this computer, so I am a little limited. But it’s nice to not be at a complete loss for how to get back to work.

It’s that time of year again. The kids are heading back to school, or maybe off to school for the very first time.

Rather than suggest a new activity this week, I’m going to say look at the things you meant to get done as a family over the summer. The fun stuff. Get going while there’s still time!

I was reading the article Overcome Frustration to Reach Work-At-Home Success at Sparkplugging WAHM 2.0 and thinking about how very true the points it makes are. Working at home is a struggle, not the road to easy riches so many people think it is.

I see so much of that when people ask me questions on this site. There’s this horrible, pervasive notion that working at home means riches, if only you find the right opportunity.

I wish! Oh, how I wish!

I’ve had many people ask me what the best way to earn the most money from home is. Thing is, there’s no one answer. Oh, I suppose I could feed them a line about this program or that with promises of lots of easy money, but I’d be lying. It doesn’t happen that way.

Which way is success?

It’s waaaay over there in the distance. You get to it by picking the right opportunity for you and working hard, possibly for years.

My mom gave my son a new toy the other day. It’s pretty cute, an inflatable remote control dump truck. He loves it, especially since he can use it in the house and not worry much about bumping into walls.

But one part of it comes with a warning to not let children use it. Care to guess which part?

That’s the truck, remote and foot pump. He’s bumped it into walls enough already that I think it has a small leak somewhere. He doesn’t seem to mind.

So…

Which part is too dangerous for children?

Did you guess:

If so, you’re correct! The foot pump is apparently the most dangerous part of this toy! See?

If you can’t read that, it says:

Warning:
This is not a toy and must only be operated by an adult. Keep out of reach of children.

I’m sitting here trying to figure out the danger. I don’t think the accordion folds of it could give so much as a nasty pinch. I don’t think fingers could get badly stuck in it.

About the only danger I can see is a kid toppling over while stomping on it. Maybe I’m a mean mom, but I don’t see that as a problem.

Finding the right home business is wonderful, but it’s not an easy process. You may have to try a few business models to find the one that works right for you.

Trouble is, trying out home businesses can be downright addicting.

Becoming addicted to starting new home businesses is a great way to fail. You overload yourself and never really find what you excel at… or if you do, you don’t have the time to really do it right.

There’s a thrill to starting a new business. New products, a new topic to talk about, a different way to market. It’s fun, and I won’t deny that.

But having at least one business that you are succeeding at matters far more than the thrill of chasing after dozens of ideas. Without success, what’s the point of being in business?

Home business addiction can take a few forms. It might mean you jump from one opportunity to another in network marketing. It might mean you halfway launch a dozen websites, but never really promote any of them well enough to get anywhere (owning a dozen or more sites and running them well is another matter). It might mean buying into every grandiose product launch you read about in your email, spending thousands before you really understand what you need to learn.

Sometimes it pays to just stop. Take a look at where you’re going. Pick something to focus on. Quit trying new things and try to master one thing you know kind of well.

It may take time, and it may be hard to tell early on what business you are most likely to succeed in. You’ll learn more, however, by giving your favorite a solid try with as few distractions as you can manage.