Bartering - is it worth it?

Back in March I did my friends hair and make-up for her wedding. She looked so happy and beautiful. She was only in Australia for a few weeks for it. Her husband is from the USA and that is where they had settled.

I've seen a few pics, but just got a look at some behind the scene ones today...

The photographers were amazing! Just lovely.

We did a little barter. I did her colour and cut the week before, then hair and make-up on the day, plus the bridesmaids in exchange for things I wanted from the USA. I did her hair all the time when she lived here, so it was easy because I knew what I would be working with. 

It got me thinking about bartering. I have often bartered my hairdressing skills. I know quite a few other people who barter as well. I don't mind doing it but I have read stuff and spoken to people who hate it. 

They feel it is better for everyone to just pay whatever it is worth. In the case of my friends wedding, it would have cost her $400+ to have someone do what I did (I am qualified, so it's not like I didn't know what I was doing). The stuff she got me would have cost me $400 approx if purchased here, but she was able to buy it in the USA for $100. To me, it just made sense to do it this way and her husband even picked an extra lippy for me which is the perfect colour! He's pretty cool like that (funny, coz he is a real cowboy type man's man, but has a good eye for details). 

Depending on the circumstances it may be better to use cash instead of barter. When someone is trying to get more and more and more out of you they are not really bartering with the right spirit. Most people I have bartered with want to make sure I feel I am getting value and I am the same, I want to make sure they are comfortable with the arrangement.

So, do you like to barter? What sort of things do you barter with? If you don't, why not? (Just curious, not judging).

Stop thinking start doing!

I have a lot of projects on the go at once. I also have a crazy amount of ideas that pop into my head all the time. The problem with this is it is easy to get distracted, not complete things properly or to have so many ideas you get stuck and don't actually take the action.

I know so many people who think about what they could do or say "that's a great idea, I might try it."

Stop thinking about it and start doing it. Take action. Your situation won't change unless you do.

A couple of the big projects I have been working on I have also been doing a lot of thinking about. Today I realised just how long I have been working on one of them when realistically I should have been wrapping it up by now. I have had a lot going on in my personal life so many of my projects got shelved for a while.

That is all changing. I have a new house where I want to live and finally have a proper office. I am set up to work and have more definite work hours. My kids are back at school next week and I will be making the best use of the time they are at school to complete these projects.

It is so easy to say I will do it tomorrow. Or I will do it one day.

Stop procrastinating and do it now.

What have you been putting off that would greatly benefit your life if you stopped thinking and started doing?

Working from home - pros and cons

I work from home mostly. I do go out when I do public speaking, but all the writing, blogging and mentor sessions happen at home. In many ways I love working from home, but it does have it's downfalls.

Pros for working at home:
- No commute: I detest traffic and really prefer not to drive, instead I like to be a passenger.
- Flexibility: I can work around my kids and other things if needs be
- Everything is there: I can't forget something or leave it at home, because I live where I work
- No/low overheads: My costs for running a business from home are lower than if I rented office space.

Cons for working at home:
- Not taken seriously: Many people do not take working from home as a serious job or business, instead it is usually viewed as a hobby.
- Drop ins: People drop in or think because you work from home you are available anytime. Not so. I work from home but I have work hours and just because I am at home doesn't mean I am available.
- Less interaction: Working in an office with other people means there is more social interaction. Working from home can be isolating (but I am ok with that. I get social interaction elsewhere).
- Work life balance: The work life balance can get skewed because work is right there it can be tempting to work more than necessary/work whenever/ not stick to actual hours.
Distractions: At home it is easy to get distracted by other things that need to be done or to blow off work for things you want to do instead.

Looking at the above there are more cons than pros to working from home that I thought of, but it is not a matter of which one has more. Which pros and cons matter more to you and are more important? For me, the flexibility, low or no overheads and no commute outweigh the cons of working from home.

Do you work from home? What are your thoughts on the pros and cons?