Welcome "Indies"

I've been trying to find a forum to share with the other UCLA Certificate program students pursuing the same path in this program: becoming an Independent College Counselor. There are many issues that are particular to newbies in the field (veteran Indepedent's we'd love your input, too).

I was hoping UCLA could let us set something up through Blackboard that would last through our whole Certificate program, regardless of which course we're currently taking and not ending at each quarter, but that doesn't seem to be a possibility. In fact, I was just about to figure out how to use either Google or Yahoo Groups (which still might be the best format since I'm looking for shared discussion rather than me leading), when this "build your own blog" assignment came along. So here I am giving it a try!

Perhaps we can help each other out in the process by sharing our experiences, thoughts, ideas:

Do any of these sound like you?
Are you...
- Figuring out how to get the business started? Getting a P.O. Box or address, naming your business, filing fictious business statement, opening bank accounts, etc. ?

- Browsing the IKEA catalog to figure out the least expensive office configuration?

- Figuring out how to use the internet to you & your clients best advantage? Will you build a website?

- Thinking about how you will balance parent, family & student interactions in your practice?

These are just a few of my issues & concerns. How about you?
Would love to collaborate!
Kristin Thomas