Bootstrap Babes

When Your Computer Has a Meltdown

Why YOU Need a Data Backup and Recovery Plan!

Yesterday morning, my computer exploded.

Well technically it didn't "explode" but it might as well have. The system crashed. Ironically, it happened immediately after I installed an update to my Windows software that I downloaded directly from Microsoft's web site. (I can't print here how I'm feeling about Microsoft today! @&^$*!!)

As with most updates, you have to restart your computer after the installation. I restarted, but my computer didn't! I got the dreaded "blue screen of death," followed by the equally gut-wrenching "black screen of let me make sure you know you're dead." Thank God I had all of my data -– my customer database, my documents and projects, and even my family photos -– backed up.

When you're in business for yourself, you have to be responsible for protecting your greatest asset: your data. Unlike when you work for a big corporation, there's no IT staff that automatically backs up the network every day. You have to be proactive, and you have to have a data recovery plan. Your computer will crash, I guarantee it. It's not a matter of "if"; it's a matter of when.

7 Home Office/Mobile Office Tools I Can't Live Without

Because this Bootstrappin' Babe is on the go!

I use all kinds of tools and technology in the work that I do, but here are the ones that allow me to work from home and on the road daily (and NO, I don't have a BlackBerry!):

1. Desktop Computer: HP Pavilion a1130n with a 17" flat screen monitor
It's an all-around good computer. Two years old and still kickin'.

2. Laptop Computer: Dell Inspiron b130
If I didn't do design work and need the bigger monitor that my desktop computer has, I'd probably only have one computer, a laptop. I love my Dell but by the time I load up with my charger and accessories, the bag is a little heavy. I see the television commercial for that new paper-thin Mac Book Air and I start drooling!

3. HP Officejet 6310 All-in-One
It prints! It scans! It faxes! It copies! It does not, however, cook or clean. : (

4. Verizon FIOS Service
Whoa! It's lightning fast! I can download and upload big fat multimedia files like MP3s of my workshop recordings faster than ever.

5. GoToMyPC Software
This little program allows me to remotely access files and programs on my home computer when I'm away using my laptop or any other computer. Neat-o.

6. Cell Phone: LG VX8300 with Verizon Wireless Service
Your basic camera cell phone. Nothing fancy! I love the Verizon coverage; I ditched AT&T/Cingular about a year and a half ago after I got fed up with the crappy coverage in my area. I couldn't even get a cell phone signal in my own house.

7. Ring Central Software
Ah, this magical little software allows my one-person j.blossom enterprise to sound like a major corporation when people call. I have a vanity toll-free number (a vanity number has words in it, like (800) MYNEWBIZ) and Ring Central allows me to have it ring my home and cell phone during business hours so I can still man the phone when I'm on in the j.blossom studio or on the road, and after hours calls go straight to voicemail to hear a special after hours message. And it protects my privacy, too; when I call out, people see my toll-free number on their caller ID -- not my home or cell number. Ring Central also gives me multiple voicemail boxes, a dedicated fax number where the faxes are delivered as e-mail attachments that I can print anywhere, on hold music, and a whole host of other handy features. And all starting at $9.99 a month. How cool is that?!

Hey, what's in your home office right now? What do you wish you had in your home office? Post your comment below and tell us!