Where does my stuff go? That one statement has expressed the bane and misery of this occasional road warrior’s travels from the first time I loaded a laptop bag and headed out of the home office and hit the road.

Sure, laptop bags have a place for the namesake product. But what about the rest of the stuff that invariably comes along? Even the power cable and transformer have to find a make-shift home, tucked in some side pocket or stuffed in a Zip-Lock baggie to avoid entanglement.

Then there’s the portable mouse, the USB adapters, and all the other accessories. Where do these orphans go — neatly  — so that they’re accessible and don’t end us as a tangled mess on the bottom of the bag? Read More »

I have this uncle. We’ll call him Sam.

The 15th of every month, Sam wants a little scratch — whether I’m at my home office in South Florida, or playing road warrior somewhere along the Eastern Seaboard. Sam doesn’t really ask for his money. He doesn’t have to. I know to pay him — or else he’ll sic his business-suited henchmen on me. I’ll get a letter saying, “Mr. Zbar, You’re Delinquent.” The mere thought of raising his suspicions is enough to make any home office worker toe a very straight line.

Truth be told, I try to be a stickler about the money owed me, too. I want my money so I can pay myself, my vendors — and the Good Uncle.

Thus, making these two spokes in the money wheel of business spin in sync are core to running a successful enterprise.

Collections are no laughing matter. And tax payments are nothing to mess around with. And just because I’ll be on the road for three weeks doesn’t mean Uncle Sam won’t expect his estimated payroll tax payment, or I won’t expect my clients to pay me. Read More »