Manage and track your time for success

Time can be a small-business owner's best friend, or worst enemy. It all depends on how you use it.

There just never seem to be enough hours in the day to get things done. Time is extremely valuable to business owners, and if you bill for your time directly even more so. Wasting time can be extremely harmful to your bottom line and your sense of well being!

To operate efficiently, your business may need systems for managing time and keeping track of who's working on what and for how long, even if you're the only one working on your business, knowing what you're working on, how you're doing on that task and what's getting done is essential to deciding where to use your most valuable asset, your time.

I learned early on in my own business that accounting software wasn't just about taxes but about understanding from a "larger picture" how your business was doing financially.

Proper time management and tracking is equally important possibly more so for your business. If you have to stop and think when you ask yourself "what did I accomplish today" you're neither tracking your tasks well enough nor planning well enough for them. What will you do tomorrow?

Most successful small-business owners are also successful time managers. And they tend to share certain traits and strategies. One of the most basic time management devices ever invented is the simple "to-do" list. Each day, jot down all of the things that need to get done, all on one sheet of paper.

Simple right, well here's a trick I learned a long time ago, I call it To Do list 2.0, simply jot down the time you expect something to take you next to the item on the to do list so when you look at it next you can decide if you have time to complete that task or if you should move onto something else.

Granted, figuring out how long something will take you will be hard at first, but the real bonus here is after guesstimating a half dozen times at how long it will take you to "drop off mail" or "create invoice" or "do bank deposit" you'll have a much better idea at how long these things really take (much longer than you think!) and you'll start adjusting as needed, maybe even delegating items that don't create enough benefit for the time invested.

As tasks are completed, adjust for the approximate time used and cross them off. This can help you focus on getting them done one at a time, and also gives you a great sense of accomplishment.

Delegating more work can also help ease your time crunch. Many business owners accustomed to "doing it all" find this exceedingly difficult. But even if you are a sole operator, you can pass off tasks to others, via outsourcing, for example, to free up time for yourself.

Periodically analyze how time is spent at your business — and not just your time, but everyone's. Divide the day into small time blocks and record what you, or others, were doing in each block. Now compare this real use of time to your goals, expectations and mission priorities. If they do not align, you'll need to take action. One step might be to set clearer time-management goals for yourself and your employees.

Banish procrastination from your place of business. Growing, successful businesses don't put things off. Even a simple "no" response to something on your to-do list can extinguish that item and let you move on.

A variety of technology solutions are also helping small businesses track and manage time. Whether you're looking for assistance tracking, planning or making the most of your time The Technology Coach is here to help, give us a call or send us an email today and let us help you find a more efficient way of getting things done!

Mobile Small Business Technology - Don't Leave Home Without it!

If you're a small business owner trying to figure out what might be your best IT investment, you probably won't go wrong choosing an investment in your small businesses ability to be mobile.

Mobile technology arguably does more for a small or single-person business than most other IT concepts floating around out there, except perhaps for a coffee maker!

Mobility is all about doing business whenever and wherever you want - exactly the kind of capability that most small companies could use.

Mobile technology brings the office, and all of its vital processes and resources, straight to the customer.

Implementing a mobile solution allows companies to work like they are in the office, even when they're not. This achieves significant time savings in numerous operational processes from Customer Relationship Management to Communication and Data Mining research, it pays off to have it with you.

Hard-cost savings are yet another benefit of mobile technology. Are you spending a significant amount on fuel to drive back and forth between the your customers and your office or various other locations? Working mobile drastically reduced the frequency of trips. Reducing fuel costs, vehicle wear and tear and time spent on the road.

Does mobility have value for all business or is it really just something for only some businesses? It definitely has potential across the full spectrum. If you've ever been out of your office and said, 'I wish I had access to ...,' then mobile devices will have a benefit for you.

How can your business get the biggest bang for its buck with mobile technology? It's essential for a business to examine their current processes and supporting infrastructures that allow a company to conduct its business and decide which pieces are most necessary to have at your finger tips.

Based on the fact that most small businesses don't have large budgets, it's important to look at a mobility platform that leverages your current environment ... so that you don't have to translate what you're doing in the office to something that sits in the middle and creates more work than it reduces!

It's important to be able to use what you've already invested in your company, and mobile devices and platforms must be able to work with your back office tools and processes. The key with mobility is it must work seamlessly and it must provide you with all of the tools you have back at the office.

Interested in learning how your company can benefit from going Mobile? Contact The Technology Coach Today for information about Small Business Mobile Technology Solutions that will keep you in touch and on top!

How to surf anonymously without a trace

Several ways to protect yourself from the feds and others


The punchline to an old cartoon is "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog," but these days, that's no longer true.

It's easier than ever for the government, Web sites and private businesses to track exactly what you do online, know where you've visited, and build up comprehensive profiles about your likes, dislikes and private habits.

And with the US federal government increasingly demanding online records from sites such as Google and others, your online privacy is even more endangered.

But you don't need to be a victim. There are things you can do to keep your surfing habits anonymous and protect your online privacy. So read on to find out how to keep your privacy to yourself when you use the Internet, without spending a penny.

What they know about you

Whenever you surf the Web, you leave yourself open to being snooped upon by Web sites. They can track your online travels, know what operating system and browser you're running, find out your machine name, uncover the last sites you've visited, examine your history list, delve into your cache, examine your IP address and use that to learn basic information about you such as your geographic location and more. To a great extent, your Internet life is an open book when you visit.

Sites use a variety of techniques to gather and collate this information, but the two most basic are examining your IP address and placing cookies on your PC. Matching your IP address with your cookies makes it easier for them to create personal profiles.

If you'd like to see what kind of information sites can gather about you, head to these two sites, which peer into your browser and report what they find.

• Privacy Analysis of Your Internet Connection gathers and displays basic information, such as your operating system, screen resolution, what site you previously visited, general system setup and so on.

• BrowserSpy delves even deeper into your system and even reports on whether you have certain software on your system, such as RealPlayer and Adobe Acrobat, including version information.
  

Continue to page two of this article here

Web threats to surpass e-mail pests

By next year, Internet users can expect more cyberattacks to originate from the Web than via e-mail, security firm Trend Micro predicts.

E-mail has traditionally been the top means of attack, with messages laden with Trojan horses and other malicious programs hitting inboxes. But the balance is about to tip as cybercrooks increasingly turn to the Web to attack PCs.

"By 2008, most of the threats you are facing will be Web placed. Today most of it is still e-mail," Raimund Genes, Trend Micro's chief researcher, said in a presentation at the Gartner Symposium and ITxpo here on Monday.

The reason for the flip is simple. Security tools for e-mail have become commonplace, but the same isn't true for Web traffic. Security firms have found it tough to secure what comes into a network and computers over port 80, the network port used to browse the Web using the hypertext transfer protocol, or HTTP.

"You can't block port 80," Eva Chen, Trend Micro's chief executive, said in an interview. "It is different than e-mail. E-mail is store and forward. HTTP is real time and you need to be able to deal with the latency in the user experience."

Read the entire article on CNET news HERE

Virtual presence pays off

I was thrilled the other day to come across an article from one of my favourite clients who also happens to be a close person friend, highlighted in the National Post on Tuesday with a focus on using an online presence to attract and keep U.S. customers Richard Burke of the Brochure Place was interviewed by the National Post and shared some great insights on selling to U.S. customers without setting up shop in the across the border.

Enjoy the read,

Canadian entrepreneurs eshew setting up bricks-and-mortar in U.S.

Another Canadian company that has found success in the U.S. market by operating from Canada is Mississauga, Ont.-based specialty printer Brochure Place Inc.

A "virtual" Internet-based company, Brochure Place attributes about 90% of its $1-million in annual sales to the U.S. market. And that's without a physical presence south of the border and with thousands of competitors in the low-cost, small-run printing business. Its main business is printing brochures in batches of 5,000 for US$397 or 1,000 business cards for US$57.

"Let's put it this way, it is cheaper for somebody in Los Angeles to have us print 5,000 brochures for them here and pay for the shipping costs, than it is for them to walk across the street and have it printed," says Richard Burke, president and chief executive of the three-person company.

At startup in 2000, Brochure Place's competitive advantage was the weak Canadian dollar. That has since disappeared, although the company's prices have not changed, and competition in the United States has dropped its prices from US$1,000 for 5,000 brochures to about the same as Brochure Place charges. Mr. Burke says his company is still doing OK because "they don't offer the same quality of printing or the same quality of service. We snuck in there and managed to hold on to our market space because of those things, it is difficult to hold on based on price."

Brochure Place has survived by increasing efficiencies and boosting order volumes. He no longer has a building and the three employees all work from home offices. Printing is contracted out to a local printer that gets about an hour of work each day from the company.

Mr. Burke has also lowered shipping costs by using UPS's cross-border shipping service, which charges a flat rate of $25, despite the number of separate orders he has, an essential advantage given many of his individual orders are for US$57 apiece. Because shipments are sent from Buffalo, he can, in all good conscience, tell U.S. customers their orders will be coming from a U.S. city.

Mr. Burke says U.S. customers are markedly different than his Canadian clients. "In many ways [Americans] are a lot easier to deal with, they are used to making a decision. U.S. customers will phone up and say 'I want 1,000 cards in this name and 1,000 in that name.' Canadians, on the other hand, will phone and say '$67 for 1,000 business cards? Can I get 250 for $20?' It's just a difference in culture, we are so very cautious here."

Like Edmonton's Kinnikinnick, Mr. Burke has no urge to set up shop in the United States. "There are many reasons why you would not want to do that and very few reasons why you would want to do that," he says.

He notes that the United States is a "spiderweb" of tax regulations. Setting up a business in one state can mean you have to collect taxes in some but not all other states you might ship to. As well, operations on both sides of the border means two sets of books, two accountants and perhaps two legal firms and potentially double the overhead and taxes.

"I'm all about efficiency," Mr. Burke says. "As an online organization, a virtual organization, we have done what Google and Paypal have done. And people used to laugh at Google."

BlackBerry Blackout!

Late Tuesday night BlackBerry handheld personal communication devices all across North America lost email access and left 8 million lawyers, business people, small business owners and other professionals without access to their most precious communication tool, their BlackBerry instant eMail Communicator!

Service was gradually restored and seems to be all back online as of Noon Wednesday but what was meerly a glitch in the system should be a wakeup call to many BlackBerry users that one single communication tool isn't enough.

While I'm not suggesting we should all have 3 different cell phones a laptop and a walkie talkie in our pockets at all times, that's a little extreme, it is important to be prepared for any one communications or business tool to "disappear".

Perhaps now is a great time to stop and take inventory of the technology you rely on and ask yourself what your plan B is should one or more of those pieces of technology fail you.

Of course it's also a good time to ask yourself what information is on these same devices that exists ONLY on these devices and, if you lost your cell phone / laptop / daytimer where would you turn to retrieve that important data?

While a cause has not yet been found for the BlackBerry failure it does seem like all is back to normal, we'll call this one a close call and perhaps take a few minutes to do a mental inventory of the tools we rely on and plan for the worst. If you're brief mental inventory leaves you feeling a little nervous about your business reliance on untrusted technology feel free to give me a call, I can help you plan for the best while keeping your business technology prepared for the worst.

RIM says most N.A. BlackBerry service restored

Information at your finger tips

"Actually, I was just working on that excel file yesterday let me see if I can find it" Said a client to me recently, 5 minutes later we were still shuffling through the my documents folder looking high and low for a single excel document, was it really taking this long? Was it really possible that Google could search the entire internet in fractions of a second but we were stuck looking for one file in the my documents folder of a single computer for what seemed like hours (but was probably only minutes)?

If you're like most computer users who keep lots of information on their PC you've probably run into this time and time again, well it's unreasonable! How does Google do it so much faster? It's called indexing, much like a library filing system Google (or Yahoo or MSN search if you prefer) indexes all the files it comes across for later retrieval, it's a shame our brains don't work quite that well right?

Well now there's no reason your PC shouldn't. A free tool from Microsoft released this year allows you to create an index of the entire contents of your computer (or small office network) for instant searching! Whether your searching for Word, Excel, PDF, Pictures, Video's, Music, Outlook Emails, Contacts, Calendar items or any number of hundreds of other formats if it's on your computer, the Windows Desktop Search Toolbar will index it for you and put it literally at your fingertips and best of all, it's absolutely FREE and SECURE!

Windows Desktop Search helps increase your productivity by:

• Helping users quickly find and retrieve e-mail messages, documents, and many other file types located on their PC and company network.
• Providing a familiar, integrated, and convenient search experience for Windows users.
• Working with other Microsoft search technologies such as Live Search and Microsoft Office SharePoint Services 2007.

Upon installation, Windows Desktop Search builds an index of the files on a user's hard drive. The initial creation of this index can take up to several hours, but this is a one-time event. Once the index is complete, Windows Desktop Search is able to use this index to search results more rapidly than it would take to search through all the files on your computer.

Searches are performed not only on file names, but also on the contents of the file as well as the keywords and comments the file is tagged with.

For example, searching the computer for The Beatles would return a list of the Beatles music on your computer, as well as any e-mails and documents that include the phrase "The Beatles" in their titles or contents.

Windows Desktop Search, by default, includes handlers for most common filetypes. WDS also features word-wheeled search (or search-as-you-type). It begins searching as soon as characters are entered in the search box, and keeps on refining and filtering the search results as more characters are typed in. As an advantage, this results in finding the requires files even before the full search text is entered.

I personally use it whenever I want to check the last communication I had with a particular client or contact, a quick search of their name on my office network (including 3 pc's) shows me all the emails I've ever sent / received from that client, all the voice mails I've received to my in box (my email forwards to my mailbox), all the word, excel, PDF or power point presentations I've ever included that client in as well as the contact card I have for that client in Outlook now if only I could get it to record and transcribe my telephone calls! Maybe the next version :)

Microsoft offers this tool for your download convenience online here I hope you find it as useful as I do! (Choose the option WDS 3.01 for Windows XP SP2)

i'm making a difference!

Microsoft announced this week that they've taken their Instant Messaging program Windows Live Messenger and turned it into a charitable tool!

i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live Messenger™. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes.

We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit.

You can choose from 9 different causes including Unicef, Multiple Sclerosis Society and StopGlobalWarming.org and best of all it's free to you and benefits some great charities, to find out more visit the Microsift i'm Making a difference website here: i'm Home

Small Business Entrepreneurs pitch Dragons

I can't tell you how excited I am about the return of one of my favourite reality TV shows, Dragon's Den, now before you tune out thinking I'm hooked on Survivor or even the apprentice this one's different for two major reasons, one it's Canadian and two it's all about Small Business! If you didn't catch last years Dragon's Den on CBC you Missed out on a great thing, don't miss it this year, should be starting soon!

Entrepreneurs pitch Dragons - London Free Press Article

"More than 30 hopeful entrepreneurs felt the fire yesterday during London auditions for CBC-TV's Dragon's Den.

The business reality show, returning for a second season, features a panel of rich but nasty investors who hear pitches by entrepreneurs.

This year, the producers plan 10 to 12 episodes starting in October. The season may include an audition show and a "where are they now?" look at past winners and losers."

Small Business Owners Meet for breakfast in record numbers!

Congratulations are due to the Streetsville chapter of our Business Connection Exchange group who met on Friday the 13th of april from 7:30 to 9:00am and had a record turnout of 20 people for breakfast! So much for Friday the 13th bad luck huh guys? :)

There was small business networking, a ten minute presentation from Emilia Rees of Deco Doc Home Staging and lots of great connections made all around! This chapter is barely 3 months old but already getting a great turnout for their chapter breakfasts, great work guys, keep it up!

If you're in the Streetsville area and are looking for a Friday Morning Breakfast Networking group contact David Smeriglio for all the details on the BCX - Streetsville chapter.

168 South Gourmet Grill & Banquet Hall
168 Queen Street South (Mississauga Road North from Eglington Turns into Queen Street.)
Streetsville, Ontario
L5M 1K8

And if you're looking for a more central breakfast meeting on a Friday Morning check out the BCX - TO Chapter which meets at Coleman's at 3085 Bathurst (just north of Lawrence on the east side) in Toronto Breakfast is only $11 and the networking is well worth the early wakeup on a friday ;) Heather Freed is the contact person for this chapter please RSVP if you plan to attend.

Outlook versus Outlook Express - Which solution is right for you?

I've been asked a few times in the last couple weeks about the differences and benefits of running Microsoft outlook vs. Microsoft Outlook express so I've decided to compile my answers here for others to review. Firstly, the biggest difference is cost and licensing, Microsoft Outlook Express is FREE, it's part of Microsoft Windows (Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP, In Windows Vista it's called Windows Mail) Microsoft Outlook comes as part of the Microsoft Office Suite of programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook most often and therefore is included in the cost of Microsoft Office.

So what if you have BOTH? Which one should you use? Good question, Microsoft has an extensive article below that will answer your questions in detail but the simplest way for me to summarize the article is to say that Microsoft Outlook is the full blown all the bells and whistles version where as the Express version (Outlook Express) is the light version, now Express might imply that it's faster somehow but that's not the case, it's just simpler, no calendar, limited contact management, no to-do lists, journal entry function or note taking facilities, again, very limited.

The full Microsoft explanation can be found here: Outlook versus Outlook Express - Outlook - Microsoft Office Online

If you're already using or have decided to move to Microsoft Outlook be sure to look into the FREE add-on for Microsoft Outlook 2003 called Business Contact manager aimed directly at managing business contacts, again all the details on the Microsoft Website here: Microsoft Outlook 2003 Business Contact Manager Add-on

To summarize, if you're looking to perform Business Contact Management or Email management for your business needs Outlook is your answer, if you're just looking for simple straightforward email only for home use, Outlook Express will work for you.

Business contact and information management is a crucial part of small business management and Microsoft Outlook 2003 with business contact Manager makes much of this process not only streamlined but actually helpful to small business owners, if you're interested in getting the most of your small business contact manager software ask about our small business software training!

Dragon's Den Small Business TV returns

If you enjoyed last years Dragon's Den all about small business people taking their innovative ideas to investors on TV for review you'll be thrilled to know it's coming back to CBC this year and they are currently holding auditions in London, Ontario.

Dragon’s Den Auditions:

A chance for entrepreneurs to pitch their investment ideas and qualify for tapings of the show in Toronto.

Where: Small Business Centre, 316 Rectory Street

When: Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m

Contact: 519-659-2882 ext:230

London Free Press - Business - Dragon's Den returns to London

GOOD LUCK!

Top Of Mind e-Marketing that works!

Recently I was invited to attend a BIA Conference in Toronto and provide a short educational piece to a group of BIA members on small business technology speaking specifically on e-Marketing. I was excited to attend and share my expanded e-newsletter course from the summer 2006 into a blogging and website seminar encompassing 5 major aspects of e-marketing you'll outlined in the course materials to follow. The course time was limited to just an hour and I'm sure I could have spent a whole day on e-marketing but the response form the 50 or so attendees was phenomenal and I really enjoyed the feedback!

The invitation was extended to me by Ellen Timms of the Port Credit BIA Which meets monthly for breakfast and has always been a great source of both education and referrals for my business. The next BIA breakfast meeting is scheduled for this Thursday the 5th from 8am - 9am at The Brogue Inn, 136 Lakeshore Rd E. in port credit. The course material will be limited to just 20 minutes but there's great networking before and after with local business owners! Please RSVP with Ellen if you plan to attend

On my BIA mini-site you'll find a wealth of knowledge, links and PDF documents I shared with the BIA attendees to take away from this conference, I sincerely hope you enjoy the tools I provide and don't hesitate to email or call with questions, I'm always here to help you grow your business!

Microsoft adds important new options to Office 2007?

Isn't it about time we had options like these?

• Undo Stupid Changes
• Read Boss' Mind
• Adjust Boss' Attitude
• Create Ideas
• Insert Brilliance
• Extend Deadline
• Enhance Salary
• Find Better Client
• Restore Wasted Evenings
• Save Weekend

Images circulating the internet this week have been promising some pretty hefty returns on your Microsoft Office 2007 upgrade investment.

Secret screen captures from the beta testing team at Microsoft show a myriad of options never before seen in Microsoft Office products.

Find out more about the benefits of this upgrade online here

Canadian Consumers can now shop around for the best mobile phone service rates

Without losing or changing their current phone number?

But there could be a catch...

Wireless Number Portability (WNP) brings an enhanced sense of mobility to cellular phone users in Canada. With WNP, you can change service providers and keep your existing phone number.

You can move your phone service from a wired phone to a wireless one, and vice versa and still keep the same number.

Keep in mind, as advantageous as that sounds, that you can only transfer your phone number to a new service provider. You may not be able to transfer the phone itself, or the service plan under which you are operating, or the calling features your service plan includes. You may have to get all these from your new service provider.

Nevertheless, the new service parameters are designed to bring added flexibility, choice and competition to the marketplace. For the service companies, there is no doubt that WNP is a technical, administrative and operational challenge. Even for the consumer, there are some hurdles to be overcome.

When will it happen? Canada's the third country in the world (after the US and Australia) to have complete wireless-to-wireless, wireless-to-wired and wired-to-wireless portability; it's the result of directives from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to enhance competition in the marketplace. By the way, the CRTC has stated that pagers will not be a part of WNP.

Most metropolitan areas in the country will get WNP this Wednesday, March 14; interestingly, industry consultants advising the CRTC first proposed that the earliest and most expedient launch date for WNP would be in September, 2007.

That's partly due to what were several anticipated technical and operational issues to be addressed. As it stands now, some smaller cell phone companies will still have until September to complete transfer of incoming numbers.

The cell phone providers and the industry's lobby group, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, maintain the market is competitive. For the time being, inquiries to the carrier companies about WNP are being directed to the Association itself, and its website, www.wirelessnumberportability.ca, where comprehensive information and a generic FAQ section can be found.

For consumers who want to take advantage of wireless portability, it is important to contact and understand each company's (be it Bell, Rogers, Telus Virgin or others) individual approach to the process of changing or porting phone services.

How long will it take? Technically, the process could be easily completed in a couple of days (landline to wireless switches are a bit more complex than wireless to wireless), but each company may need more or less time to complete the assignment, perhaps as much as a week, depending on handset compatibilities, for example.

Differences in network infrastructures, service offerings and billing procedures may have to be bridged, as well.Once the transfer is completed, your new carrier or service provider would then notify you that full service is 'on', and your previous provider's service would be deactivated - but you should double check to make sure.

It is not advisable to cancel an old number before the switch is complete - the phone companies say they can only transfer an active number. Getting the sequence out of order would certainly extend it unnecessarily.What should I do? Tips for finding the best cellular phone service for yourself, your family and your business are many, varied and plentiful.

You should assess your specific and anticipated needs, and get as much information from the competing service providers as possible before making a decision - especially if switching services.You will want to contact a potential new service provider to ensure they can support your current phone. You should check your current contract, as well, to see if any fees or charges will apply should you cancel the service early.

Cancellation fees or outstanding service charges will have to be settled.A potential new service provider may need information from you before you transfer your phone number.Providers may want to see or access your wireless phone and the most recent monthly bill.

Without a bill, the company may ask for the account number; the account holder's name and the service address; the password /PIN; or the phone's serial number, located on the back of the unit, or under the battery.

Individuals, businesspeople and SOHO owner/operators will all want to check that the same services they currently depend on will still be available with a new company.

Services that are bundled with your current phone number, such as internet services, directory listings or alarm and security systems, could be affected by a change to a new service provider.

How Daylight Savings Time Changes will affect your small business

DST Changes take effect Sunday March 11th 2am

Is your Small Business Prepared for DST Changes?

The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by the United States (U.S.) Congress in July 2005, extended daylight saving time (DST) in the U.S. by approximately four weeks.
Canada quickly followed suit to stay in step with their closest neighbour and trading partner.
Most small business computers and applications will not be dramatically affected by this change, simple steps to update your windows software can be found on the official Microsoft Website for DST information HERE

As always The Technology Coach is here to help, should you have any questions about Daylight Savings Time Changes and how they will affect your computer don't hesitate to call or send an email using the contact info below.