Archive for February, 2010

8 Steps to Consider Before Betting the Farm and Loosing Your Ass

Today’s post is the first in a 3 part series written by Lap Works founder Jose Calero. Jose’s passion about ergonomics is only matched by his passion for entrepreneuralship, and he wanted to share some of his experience with other budding entreprenuers who might benefit.

I’ve been an Entrepreneur for the last seven years and in that time we have launched nine product of our own design and over twenty products from third-party manufacturers. I have a dozen books in my collection that I’ve read about product innovation, development, launch and marketing. For the last three years I’ve been volunteering at Cal State Fullerton’s Entrepreneurial Management School. I mentor graduate students with their class project in launching a new product or company and I mentor student teams in their consulting projects to local businesses. All that to say that I know a little bit about the subject.

Something that I see a lot of is individuals who invest their retirement hopes on a new product or business venture that they had no business getting involved with in the first place. After they have invested “the farm”, which is to say everything they own, in a product or business that was supposed to be a “sure thing”, within a short time they discover that they made a huge mistake. But what’s worse is their investment is gone, they mortgaged their home and their credit cards are leveraged to the hilt. Now what do you do?

Unfortunately, this is not a story I had to make up. I have heard the same sad story from too many inventors. I can hear the pain and disappointment in their voices as they walk me through the sad details of what happened. The really sad part about it all is that it could have been avoided. And all they would have had to do is a simple Google search or visit their local library for books on the subject. It would have saved them from all that pain and disappointment if they had only done a little research in the beginning. So I’m here to give you a few simple steps on what to do the next time you’re faced with the same situation.

Check back next week for the first of Jose’s 8 Steps to becoming an entrepreneur!

To all our loyal customers – we need your help! LapWorks is launching a Netbook section next month and for those who recently bought a Netbook, you are in the best position to tell us what kind of accessories you’d like to have for your Netbook. We are also in the design stage for a Netbook laptop desk and before we invest big bucks in this product, we would really like to know what you think.

We sent this out via email today, but wanted to open the pool to all of our fans and readers to make sure our new products meet the needs of all of you! If you can take a few minutes to complete our survey, we’d love to give you 20% OFF coupon. Please help us become the kind of fabulous supplier you really want us to be!

We’re always on the lookout for the latest news and research in the world of ergonomics. Whether it be news on finding the best angle for viewing your laptop, or new tools for keeping your wrists and back in top shape, we want to pass it on to you, and incorporate it in all of our laptop desks.

The research team at Cornell University has been studying ergonomics for years, and have compiled a treasure trove of resources and tips for ending common ergonomic problems like wrist and back pain. Here are some of our favorite pieces of advice:

- Position the keyboard so that your forearms are parallel to your thighs when your feet are flat on the floor to decrease strain and maintain bloodflow. You also want your wrists to be in a neutral, flat position to avoid carpal tunnel.
- Keep your monitor centered in front of you to avoid eye strain and neck and back pain. You shouldn’t have to hunch down to see your monitor. If your laptop is too low on your desk, a desktop stand can adjust it to release the tension on your neck.
- Look away from your computer about once every 10 minutes, to allow your eyes to adjust to different depths and keep active.

These are just some general tips, but it’s solid advice for most work stations. If your primary work computer is a laptop, it can be difficult to put these tips into action. The experts here at LaptopDesk.net are ready to help you find the right solution for your ergonomic problems. Let us know how we can help!

As you might have guessed, here at LapWorks we’re always interested in the latest and greatest pieces of technology out on the market. We want to keep our finger on the pulse of the latest gadgets so we can be sure we’re keeping our laptop desks and stands up to date.  It’s easy to fall behind on the latest gadgets, but we found that the site GadgetNutz.com is a huge help.

They’ve been posting some great updates on the latest Windows 7 news and the hot new Google Android phone, among other things. If you love gadgets like us, you should add Gadget Nutz to your must read blog list!