I write blog posts and business notes in Text Edit on my 13″ Apple MacBook, formatting them with code as I go.

The laptop itself is pretty bare — it’s never been connected to the internet and I haven’t installed any apps on it, but I find this is a productivity godsend: there’s only so much time you can spend fooling around in Photobooth, making yourself look like a Roswell-style alien, before returning to the task at hand!

My main workhorse is a PC that a friend custom-built for me in 2006, though I’m collecting parts to build a new rig as soon as possible. One thing I will keep is my black 22″ monitor!

Continue reading »

I’ve interviewed six-figure eBook tycoon and Anywired contributor Alexis Dawes on earning an income online and working anywhere. Don’t miss the tips on successful remote work and her #1 piece of advice on successful eBook development!

How did you earn your first online dollar?

I started out creating and selling turnkey websites on eBay. It was something I discovered completely by accident - I had no idea such an industry even existed.

Back then even the cheesiest of ‘hits for sale’ websites could generate a $3K-$10K sale on eBay. Pay per click traffic was really gaining a lot of momentum back then. So turnkey pay per click search engines were also hot sellers.

The idea wheel in my head immediately began spinning and I started making my own turnkey websites.

My first site sold for $770. The second one went for $5K.

I was hooked.

Continue reading »

This week, Shane Pearlman (entrepreneur, blogger, half of Shane and Peter, Inc. and co-founder of small business social media site Sproutwire) gives us a behind-the-scenes tour of his digital office.

“I have a 17 inch Macbook Pro, an iPhone, and a backup hard drive that lives at home. My office is always with me. Some days I work at coffee shops, sometimes at a park, and other days I sit with my feet up on a bench on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. I haven’t worked in an office since 2000. After all, if you live where I do, wifi is free.

“From this nomadic lifestyle I play as the main sales person and project manager (and errant coder/ UI designer) of our firm, Shane & Peter Inc., and in little pockets of time work on Sproutwire.com, our new project bringing the web’s best content to small business owners (you are invited to come visit the beta, invite code AW-WB. Please send an email and tell us what you think when you do).

“Now I am the first admit that when I was solo this virtual office gig was a challenge but ultimately straight forward. Running a team this way is a completely different story. We are constantly asking ourselves how to create culture and foster communication in a virtual team (wish the guys at automatic or 37 signals would answer my email and chat with me about it) and how to best execute with online solutions.”

Continue reading »

This week, Darren Rowse (the six-figure blogger behind Digital Photography School and ProBlogger.net) gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his digital office.

“I’m an Apple guy. I work with two computers, a MacBook Pro (2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo) and a Power Mac G5 (2 Ghz). I have a 23 inch Cinema Screen and a cheap secondary monitor that is also a TV. I sit on a Herman Miller Aeron Chair.

“Here’s a video tour of the setup. I outlined most of the applications that I use in this post.”

(They are: Ecto, ImageWell, Skitch, Twhirl, Flickr Uploader, Cyberduck, InstantShot, CaptureMe, Adium, Skype, Firefox, Text Edit, Keynote and TaskPaper.)

Continue reading »

This week’s Under the Hood tour introduces Kimberley Goza: she and her family run a theater company (Act!vated Storytellers) from the back of an RV as they criss-cross the United States. Every aspect of the business is managed with online, mobile tools — proof that you don’t have to be doing technical work to utilize the web’s capabilities.

Background: “I have lived on wheels with my family for the past 15 years, rarely stay in one spot for more than a day. We run our own theatre company, Act!vated Storytellers. We perform on stage and run all aspects of the business from booking the shows to writing the scripts and music, to sewing the sets and costumes. We also produce a travel/folktale podcast Activated Stories. I do most of the bookings, promotion, web site design and driving/navigating. I also manage the web site for Families on the Road — a site, forum and group for families who travel full-time or for extended periods.”

Tools: “TZmove moves appointments in Outlook Calendar to the proper time when we hop time zones. Free download from Microsoft Office.

Continue reading »

Samuel’s workspace.

This week, web-only freelancer and blogger Samuel Ryan (of WakeUpLater.com) gives us a behind-the-scenes tour of his digital office.

“First off, I’m probably one of the last web workers that uses a PC — and is willing to admit it. My primary “workhorse” is a three monitor setup: email on the left, Firefox on the right, and whatever I’m working on in the middle (usually Photoshop, Flash, or a text editor).

“I usually have headphones on as well listening to music. I keep my iPhone to my right, along with a few hard drives which store my backups as well as old photos/code/files to be used in projects. On my left is a wall with a giant whiteboard that covers it (only $12 at the local hardware store).

Continue reading »

This week, Lea Woodward (location independent professional and half of business consulting company Project Woodward) gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her digital office.

To market the business
- Wordpress and Typepad for blogs and websites

To service clients
- Google Apps: for email, online docs and calendar functionality using our domain name
- SkypePro for voice communications: I have 3 SkypeIn numbers for clients in the US, the UK and Australia
- SimplyBill: a simple, no frills online invoicing tool
- Paypal & Online Banking: to receive and send client payments
- ProjectStat.us: this is what we used before we streamlined our processes, to manage projects and keep clients up to date with projects

To manage & run the business
- Excel: I’m a bit of a spreadsheet whiz so manage all our business finances on custom-built spreadsheets
- Smartdraw: to create and tweak processes and streamline what we do and the way we do it
- Carbonite: as an online back up for my files; I like the way it just runs in the background without me having to do anything - this is in addition to an external portable hard drive

Continue reading »