Building Small Business Issue: Office Printers

By Dan Evans

Points Of Interest
1 How many pages do we print?
2 Do we need an AIO or a regular printer? The trick to buying printers? Figuring out how much you actually print, rather than basing your decision on how many people you have on your staff. For instance, an insurance firm or law office will print significantly more pages daily than a much larger office group. If you are printing out e-mails, contracts, and the occasional memo, you may be better off with an office AIO (all-in-one printer, for scanning, faxing, copying, and printing) instead of a heavy-duty workhorse that can handle thousands of pages a month.

If you choose an AIO for a small office, there are two key features you need to make sure the printer has. Look for a network connection for sharing it around the office and an automatic document feeder for the scanning and copying functions. Also keep in mind that the scanners you usually find in AIO printers are suited more to documents, so don't expect to make high-quality scans of your vacation pictures.

For a good-size small biz, go with two Brother MFC-8860DNs ($480 each). These monochrome AIOs are great for a small office workgroup, and a pair of them will prevent a backlog of print jobs from bogging down your network. The Brother is extremely fast and has a long list of features. Unlike other AIOs, the MFC-8860DN seamlessly integrates into a small-business environment once it's behind your firewall, and it becomes the hub of all your document needs—printing, e-mailing, and copying.

Printer Buying Guide

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 5):Using Autoresponders To Multiply Marketing Power

Hello!

Today`s lesson is going to introduce you to your new best friend -- the auto responder.

One of the best ways to cultivate new business and save hours of time is to use an auto responder. An autoresponder gives you the ability to follow-up *automatically* on the email addresses you capture. Instead of wasting hours following up manually, you can let your auto responder followup while you do the things that you do best -build your business...putter in the garden...chase your kids around the house...catch up on your power-napping.

If you have an auto responder, today`s lesson will show you how to make it super-effective.

Let started!

Using Auto responders To Multiply Marketing Power & Save Time!

An auto responder gives you the ability to send messages effortlessly for months on end. So if you captured an email address six months ago, your auto responder can repeatedly contact that person to offer your product or service.

WASH-RINSE-REPEAT
Repeat contact is a concept that top marketers first used effectively in the offline world. When you conduct a direct mail campaign, you send out message after message until it`s on longer cost-effective. This strategy yields a much higher response rate than with a one-shot mailing (typically just1% or less).

From the Research Labs: Research shows that, on average, PROSPECT MUST BE CONTACTED SEVEN TIMES before you have any real chance at closing a sale.

BE IN THE TOP 10
If you apply this strategy to your Internet marketing campaigns, you`ll have a real edge over the competition.Remember: 90% of businesses do not follow-up with prospects!

OPEN THE DOOR & CLOSE THAT SALE UNBEATABLE AUTO RESPONDER SUCCESS TECHNIQUES

TECHNIQUE #1 - THE "KILL OVERKILL" TECHNIQUE
You don`t want an email-inbox crammed with ads and sales letters, and neither does anyone else. Don`t send out sales letter after sales letter. Your messages will become an annoyance and the recipient will either unsubscribe or just delete the messages whenever they arrive.

By sending a series of sales letters SPACED APART BY 2-4DAYS, you`ll keep your prospect aware of your business and develop credibility over time without being a pest.

TECHNIQUE #2 - THE "MY GIFT TO YOU" TECHNIQUE
Send freebies such as ebooks, info reports, newsletters,software, or even product samples. Many marketers use this approach by offering a newsletter.

*Sneaky Salesmanship*: Within the newsletter you have an excellent
opportunity to plug your product with a few lines of irresistible copy.

With the soft sell approach, you can contact your prospect once or even twice a week with "valuable information" -- which coincidentally mentions your product or service -- without seeming like you`re over-selling. If you`re a vacuum cleaner distributor, for example, send a newsletter on allergies and dust mites, for example.

TECHNIQUE #3 - THEY`LL LEARN/YOU`LL EARN TECHNIQUE
Give away a valuable training course via email that has special appeal to your recipients! You can create a simple3-day, 5-day, 7 day, or even longer course. And at the end of some of the course lessons you can add a few lines of copy plugging your product or service.

This, too, is a soft sell approach.

TECHNIQUE #4 - COMBO PLATTER TECHNIQUE
Use a variation of the hard sell, soft sell approach.Simply alternate your messages. A balance of 40% hard-sell and 60% soft-sell is generally about right.

That wraps up today`s lesson. You a"crash course" in creating the perfect email message. Keep your eye on the horizon for: 8 Steps to Irresistible Copy EVERY Time.

Bye for now! Da!!

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 4):Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing

Greetings!

The bell has "rung" and it`s time for today`s lesson.

First, I`d like you to consider these four facts:

*A DIRECT MAIL PIECE costs about 40-cents in postage alone.(And then you have to factor in paper and printing costs.)

*A PHONE CALL can cost just as much - or more - than a direct mail piece.

*A PHONE CALL wastes time (and time is money) because you`ll spend precious minutes - sometimes hours or days - trying to contact the right person.

*A MESSAGE left on voice mail is almost always a waste of time, and therefore a waste of money.Depressing? Not at all.

After you read today`s "Marketing Strategies Success" tips, you`ll be able to say "NO" to the downside of phone calls and direct mail and"YES" to the upside of email.

Read on ...

Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing

Given the inherent problems with traditional marketing techniques, it`s important to master the BASIC STRATEGIES FOR INTEGRATING EMAIL into your overall campaign.

As I`vie just shown you, sending out an EMAIL CAN BE MUCH CHEAPER than other marketing methods. Proceed with caution,however. Email can also cost you a fortune - in lost opportunities AND cold hard cash - IF you don`t know the basics.

So that`s where we`re going to start.

First, always keep in mind that your "primary objective".the master key that unlocks your "Success Vault" in Internet Marketing is to build your mailing list - your EMAIL MAILING LIST. (Often referred to as your "In-house list.")

The addresses you collect are going to mean the difference between the middle-of-the-road results that Average Joe and Jane are achieving and the through-the-roof, over-the-top,to-the-moon-and-back MEGA-success that top online sellers achieve. (The difference really is that dramatic.) So don`t miss the boat: The time is NOW to start building your list of email addresses (prospects).

REVIEW
You can begin to grow your list simply by capturing emails from people who visit your website, as we have already discussed in a previous lesson.

Pop Quiz:
What`s the easiest way to convince people to give you their email address? (Answer: Offer an irresistible freebie with a sign-up form on your site or in a pop-up box, drive traffic to your site, and watch as people start entering their email address.)

Okay, so now you`re "in the groove". you`re capturing people`s emails like crazy. But if you`re just sitting there - well, you know the old saying, "Even if you`re on the right track, you`ll get run over if you just sit there."

So what next?

Let me take a moment from telling how to build your email list to remind you why. It`s been said that - YOU CAN GET RICH WITH AN EMAIL LIST OF JUST 1000 PEOPLE!Think about that. Then stop thinking and get going on new ways to capture and keep email addresses.

GIVE `TIL IT HURTS!
If you want to keep getting addresses, start giving stuff away! Give, give, and keep finding more things to give! And since you can`t send a TOASTER through email, why not give the far more valuable -- and far more affordable for you -- INFORMATION PRODUCTS, business tools, and expert advice - maybe even a no-cost/obligation email marketing course like this one!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.
You`ll want to have a series of letters already set up so that they can be "dripped" on your prospects on a regular basis. Send a message daily, every other day, or on whatever schedule suits you best, but make contact AT LEAST EVERY 7 DAYS.

If you`re not confident in your writing skills, you have two choices: you can hire a professional to write the letters for you or you can use a system already set up with letters to help you build your email list. (I suppose the third choice is to just give up and bury your heard in the sand,but that`s no way to make a million!)

If you`re serious about this - and you should be, believe me.

I`ve got something really special planned for your next post. It`s not a typical tips.

Da!!

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 3):7 Wise Ways to Collect Email Addresses and Build Your

Hello,
Have you been enjoying your journey to email marketing success? Better still, have you moved into the fast lane and started to put some of what you`ve learned into action?

If the answer is "yes" congratulations. The tips offered in the first two lessons of this course are the building blocks for what comes next. They don`t require any cash,just a little time, and believe me, you`ll get back much more than you give or expect.

OK let started:
7 Wise Ways to Collect Email Addresses and Build Your

Wise Way #1 - OFFER A FREEBIE
You have to give in order to get. If you want people to offer up their email address, you`re going to have to offer up an incentive. Nothing works better than something that`complimentary (you spell that F-R-E-E). You can give away no-cost reports, books, software, or even sample pages of book.

Wise Way #2 - USE POP-UPS
Pop-ups are one of the most common methods you can use to capture email addresses and build your email list quickly and with ease. Simply construct a web page containing code for a form and set the page to open (pop up)when visitors ENTER OR EXIT your site.Make sure the pop-up offer is something that`s valuable enough to motivate visitors to take time to give you their contact information.

Your offer can be a complimentary report, download, or ebook that arrives instantly through your autoresponder to their email inbox when they give you their email.

Wise Way #3 - USE POSTCARDS
If you have a mailing list that contains snail mail (street)addresses, convert it into an email list by sending out postcard and inviting people to VISIT YOUR WEBSITE to receive a gift of some kind -a report, a discount coupon,etc. Visitors don`t have to pay in order to receive their gifts, they simply need to enter an email address.

Wise Way #4 - SUBSCRIBER BOX ON EVERY PAGE
This is a clever trick that so many people overlook. Put response FORM ON EVERY PAGE of your website offering newsletter or other freebie. This will increase the number of email addresses you capture exponentially.Why? When search engines index the pages of your website, a visitor may come directly to a page other than your homepage.

If you only have a subscriber box on your home page,you`re missing the boat, not to mention the thousands of visitors who bypass your homepage.

Wise Way #5 - CONTESTS
Contests very often prove to be a good way to generate traffic and buzz for your business. Create a contest and put form on your site or in a pop-up box. The entry "fee" is their email address.-

Word to the Wise: Not all the people who sign up for your contest are good prospects. Many are just contest"junkies" -people who are only looking for freebies and have no intention of buying a product or service.

-Warning to the Wise: If your prizes are cash or large-ticket items, you should be sure to check with local agencies to make sure you`re not violating any contest laws.

Wise Way #6 - DISPLAY YOUR AUTORESPONDER ADDRESS
Most people give their website link when they place so loads, ezine ads, or other marketing messages. To be one step ahead of the game in collecting email addresses, LIST YOURAUTORESPONDER ADDRESS instead of your URL. This way you can capture email address and funnel them into your follow-up sales letters.

Wise Way #7 - JUST ASK
If you`re chatting with a prospect on the phone or potential customer stops by your place of business, don`t be shy: ask for an email address or business card (which usually includes their email address).

Okay, you know what you want...you know what you need. It`time for you to set your traps and CAPTURE THOSE EMAILS!

In the meantime, I`ll be putting the final touches on next lesson

Da!

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 2): Email Aesthetics

Hello again,

I hope you`ve had time to "digest" the ideas presented in Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 1): Essential Rules for Effective Email Marketing .Today`s lesson is going to build on the basics.

Here is the second Lesson of the marketing course.

In today`s "Marketing Strategies Success"lesson, you`re going to learn how the APPEARANCE of youremail message affects the way your prospects feel about youand what you have to offer.

EMAIL AESTHETICS

It`s an old, old saying, but it`s true: you only have onechance to make a good first impression. And in email, thefirst impression is always visual -- a consumer LOOKS/SEESbefore he/she READS.

Imagine walking by a grotesquely garish storefront with allkinds of things hanging off the front porch, every floorpainted a different color, and odd music playing throughloudspeakers. Would you want to walk in the front door? Noway! You`d assume that the owner is a kook, at best, or aderanged axe murderer, at worst.

Did you ever have an ugly looking email land in yourmailbox? You know what I`m talking about: an orangebackground and yellow borders, multi-colored text in allsizes from gigantic to microscopic, a message that looks likeit was created by a crazed six-year-old? If you did, I betyou didn`t feel the urge to read it. You probably justwanted to delete it as quickly as possible.

!PUT OUT THE WELCOME MAT!
You want your email message to be friendly and inviting, notbizarre and scary. The suggestions below -- and they`rejust suggestions, not hard and fast rules -- will go a longway towards making recipients` eyes say "come on in!" toyour message.

!DO`s and DON`Ts FOR ATTRACTIVE EMAILS!
-DON`T use COLOR fonts in your message. (Leave that tojunior high girls who want to write about Britney and Justin)

-DO use BLACK TEXT ON A WHITE BACKGROUND. (When you`re"speaking" in black-and-white, people will give their fullattention to your message without being distracted by yourcolor scheme.)

-DON`T use UNCOMMON FONTS. (If someone`s system doesn`trecognize the font you`ve selected, they could see gibberishinstead of your brilliant message).

-DO use the email marketers` FAVORITE FONTS: Arial, TimesNew Roman, and Courier New.

*And please.*

-DON`T use flashing buttons or banners in your email! (Yourprospects have undoubtedly gotten their fill of "bells andwhistles" when they`ve surfed the Internet. They don`t needmore from you.)

GET HYPER" WITH EMAIL HYPERLINKS
An "email hyperlink" is just techno-talk for a link in youremail to a website, or email address. Sounds simple enough,and it is -- unless you try to contact a prospect on AOL whomay not be able to receive "clickable" links.

Don`t worry. There`s a "fix" for this: simply type mailto:in front of your email address (no space in between, andinclude the : )

For a link to a web page, you need to write your link this way (EXAMPLE ONLY DO NOT CLIK): http://www.anycompany.com/. (And tell your recipient they can copy and paste thislink into their browser if it`s not highlighted.)

ALWAYS USE SIGNATURE TAGS
Today, it`s common practice on the Internet to tell peopleabout your product or service with a SIGNATURE TAG, which is3-6 lines of text (usually) that is automatically added toevery message you send.

If you`d like to add a tag to your messages, simply openyour email program. Find the SIGNATURES TAB (located in theTOOLS/OPTIONS menu in Outlook Express). Follow the (simple)instructions for creating a sig file. Easy as pie...and theresults will amaze you.

That`s it for now, but get your "net" ready. Next lessonwe`re going to hunt down and CAPTURE EMAILS.

Da!!

Building Small Business Issue: Smartphones

Points Of Interest
1 Are we up to administering the system, or should we go with a hosted solution?
2 If we maintain our own server, should it be Microsoft Exchange, Motorola's Good Mobile Messaging, or RIM's BlackBerry?

Smartphones greatly speed workflow by pushing e-mail directly to a mobile device and keeping your staff connected. But which option you should choose depends on how much time and manpower you can devote to administering the system. Do you think you can manage your own server? For those who answer yes, all three of the options that follow have their good points, and ultimately choosing could come down to personal preference.

If you're familiar with Microsoft Exchange and running an Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 server, you might think about using Windows Mobile devices such as the Motorola Q, Cingular 8525, or T-Mobile MDA. That way you don't have to pay for a second server to get your push e-mail. If you're getting a hosted service (a service that takes care of the back-end server stuff for you), hosted Exchange is also usually cheaper than hosted BlackBerry or Good. But RIM's BlackBerry devices have excellent centralized management and control, they're very easy to use, and they're available on all wireless carriers. We prefer the BlackBerry 8800 or 8703e. The advantage of Motorola's Good Mobile Messaging is that it puts BlackBerry-like functions on a much wider range of handhelds, including the very popular Palm Treo 700p and the Windows Mobile devices mentioned above. With Good, you aren't tied to RIM's range of handhelds.

If you're using your mobile carrier's BlackBerry Internet Service system for your business, and also happen to have a hosted e-mail system in place, be aware that your BlackBerry device can integrate nearly anything. POP3, Hotmail/Windows Live Mail, Yahoo!—it all gets pushed to your BlackBerry device. (Gmail is actually POP mail.)
All smartphones can handle POP mail without a problem, though more often than not, it's a "pull" rather than a "push" experience—in other words, you have to click to check your mail. On Palm OS phones, you can get "push" functionality with your POP mail by using a third-party client called ChatterEmail. Windows Mobile phones work especially well with Windows Live Mail, using a new free client from Microsoft that also gives a "push" mail experience. And Yahoo! has a glossy client called Yahoo! Go that works on Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian phones.

Where Do CEOs Turn For Performance Advice?

Where Do CEOs Turn For Performance Advice?

Running a business is one of the biggest challenges a CEO or business owner faces. From hiring staff to managing the books and building a brand to keeping customers happy, business leaders confront a long list of concerns every day.


Small- and mid-sized business owners tend to be hands-on with their employees and customers. They lack the luxury of sitting back and watching it all fall into place. When issues or challenges arise, talking with employees may not be appropriate and family members don’t always understand or provide the best feedback. Today’s leaders require an exclusive niche of support; when CEOs have tough decisions to make, they find it’s best to seek counsel with their CEO peers. They need to talk with others who have successfully addressed similar issues.

In an effort to tackle issues and challenges that surface from running and growing a business, many leaders are turning to peer group advisory boards, such as Vistage International, to stay on track with professional and personal goals.

CEOs can tackle nearly any issue by applying four main areas to their business life: attend monthly peer group meetings; work one-on-one with another executive; tap into a worldwide CEO network; and engage with speakers to inspire fresh thinking and cutting-edge insights.

Peer Groups

Because CEOs don’t have colleagues in-house with whom they can discuss issues, they seek knowledge, wisdom, and insight from other business leaders. In a confidential setting, CEOs meet monthly with the same executives from a wide-range of industries. The group engages in a give-and-take relationship where trusted peers ask each other tough, in-depth questions that get to the heart of business problems or challenges.

During each meeting direct, honest feedback is supplied and actionable ideas are derived that the CEO is expected to implement. Speakers deliver proven strategies and fresh perspectives which can immediately be applied.

In a world that is run digitally, the time spent face-to-face with one’s peers is nearly invaluable.

One-on-One Sessions

Peer groups are typically led by one person, or a chair. Think of this person as the chair of an advisory board. The chair engages in one-on-one business coaching, offering advice, insights, accountability and support. The chair also should challenge the CEOs to improve performance and be personally accountable for implementing business solutions.

The chair enables the business leader to engage in candid conversations about business issues, life balance concerns and leadership development. This results in unequalled opportunities for professional growth and greater peace of mind.

Online Network

Find an online resource that helps solve business issues through audio, video and written content. Look for executive summaries and in-depth modules -- covering all areas of business, from sales management to strategic planning and hiring and retaining the best employees.

Engage with Speakers

Tap into subject-matter experts who inspire fresh thinking and share cutting-edge strategies and insights focusing on the implementation of the most relevant business solutions achieving the best results.

Organizations such as Vistage give CEOs an edge and can play a major role in tackling the many challenges business leaders face when running and growing a business. By following these four steps, a CEO is likely to achieve high growth at rates higher than other U.S. businesses.

Is Your Business Prepared For A Disaster?

When it comes to disaster readiness, can you ever be too prepared? According the Association of Small Business Development Centers, the effects of a disaster can be quite profound: More than one in four businesses will experience a significant crisis in a given year, and of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43 percent never reopen.

Is your small business vulnerable? A new national survey of 2,500 small businesses conducted by TNS NFO for Office Depot found:

* Three-quarters (71 percent) of small business owners do not have a disaster preparedness plan, and;

* While 52 percent claim to burn important files on a removable media device in order to keep data secure, only 11 percent keep copies at an off-site location.

"Not having a plan or back-up system in place can result in a business closing for good," says Tom Serio, director, global business continuity management for Office Depot. "Just as you would prepare your home and family for a potential disaster, it’s important that you also ready your business. There are simple and affordable solutions that will help protect you, your employees and your business."

Having weathered four major hurricanes in 2005 at the company’s corporate headquarters and its Gulf Coast store locations, Office Depot is using its real world experience to educate small businesses about disaster preparation. The Company is offering a free brochure entitled Expecting the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness Strategies for Small Business, which provides tips and product recommendations.

According to Serio, the key to effective planning is to protect your most valuable assets: your people and your data. He recommends following these tips:

* Build Solid Contact Lists: Keep contact information for employees, local emergency services, and key vendor and supplier information updated and easily accessible. Establish a clear process for communicating with one another.

* Back-Up Data: Protect your business from faltering after a disaster by backing-up key data at least once a week. Copy data to removable media, including CD-R and DVD-R discs, or to removable drives such as an Ativa Flash Drive.

* Secure Your Data: Move back-up software to a secure off-site location. Store copies and documents you use in day-to-day operations in a secure and fire-proof location. Periodically review stored data to ensure that the correct data is being copied and that it can be restored.

* Organize Supplies: Make sure you have the right supplies to withstand any interruption. This includes having access to important business tools like a laptop computer and car charger as well as the basic office supplies needed to run your business.

“You’ve worked hard to build your business. Don’t leave its future to chance,” adds Serio.

For the complete brochure visit, http://www.officedepot.com/getprepared.

The Key to Success in the Workplace

Ever wonder why in some cases the high school dropout does better in business than the person who earned their MBA? According to noted researcher and business strategist Chuck Martin, the problem is often a mismatch between the person and the skills the situation requires.

“The qualities that truly define success remain one of the greatest mysteries in life; but I believe those who take the time to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and to then focus on what they’re good at, are most likely to succeed,” says Martin. He has been studying the phenomenon of “success in the workplace” for decades and recently co-authored a book on the subject.


“Smarts: Are We Hardwired for Success?” (AMACOM Books) is a tool he hopes the leaders of tomorrow will use to determine their strengths. What it all comes down to, says Martin, is determining your strongest and weakest Executive Skills -- the cognitive brain functions (located in the frontal lobes of your brain) that help you manage your behavior, make decisions about what you should focus on, and what should be ignored.

Everyone has 12 of them:

1. Self restraint -- the ability to allow time to evaluate a situation before speaking or acting on it.
2. Working memory -- the ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks.

3. Emotion control -- the ability to manage emotions in order to direct behavior and achieve goals.

4. Focus -- the capacity to maintain attention to a situation in spite of distractions.

5. Task initiation -- the ability to begin projects in a timely manner.

6. Planning/prioritization -- the capacity to develop a road map to reach a goal, knowing which are the most important signposts along the way.

7. Organization -- the ability to arrange materials or tasks according to a system.

8. Time-management -- the capacity to estimate the time required for a task, allocate it effectively and meet deadlines.

9. Defining and achieving goals -- the ability to set a goal and follow through, despite competing interests.

10. Flexibility -- the ability to revise plans due to setbacks or new information.

11. Observation -- the capacity to stand back and take a birds-eye view of yourself in a situation and make changes in your approach to problem-solving.

12. Stress tolerance -- the ability to thrive under fire and in the face of uncertainty.

A lot of people excel at more than one of these skills, but in order to be truly successful in your career, Martin says you need to figure out which are your top two or three. The book offers a self-assessment tool you can use to determine your strongest skills, along with information about the kinds of jobs you’re likely to succeed in.

“It’s like turning on a light bulb for most people. Once they understand their strongest and weakest Executive Skills, they can get themselves into situations that leverage the strongest skills and avoid situations that require their weakest skills,” says Martin.

Say, for example, you want to succeed as an office or store manager. Martin says typically you need to be strong in the skills of observation and defining and achieving goals. Those who want to succeed in a job they do from home need to be good at task initiation, focus and time management; successful salesmen and women need to have a high degree of flexibility and emotion control, and be good at defining and achieving goals both in the long and short term.

“While your skills, strengths and weaknesses stay the same, jobs evolve,” says Martin. “Workers who realize their jobs are evolving away from their Executive Skills strengths before their boss does, and who then manage to navigate themselves into situations that again play to their strengths, are most likely to succeed in business.”

“Smarts: Are We Hardwired for Success?” is Chuck Martin’s seventh book. He co-authored it with noted psychologist Peg Dawson, EdD and neuropsychologist Richard Guare, PhD of the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders at Seacoast Mental Health Center in New Hampshire.

The book is available for purchase at bookstores throughout the country, and online

Your Identity: Protect It!!

People take risks online with their identity that they'd never dream of taking in the real world; here are ten tips and three apps that can help you protect your virtual identity with the same vigilance as you do your real-world one. I discover it on PC Magazine.

1. Clam Up. If a site requires registration, fill in only the required fields. Look closely for at any checkboxes relating to sharing your information – depending on how they're worded you'll need to check or uncheck the box to deny sharing permission.

2. Lie. If the registration isn't part of an important ongoing business relationship, consider filling the required fields with… shall we say… truth-challenged data. Or get ready-made registration information from www.bugmenot.com.

3. Look for the Lock. The lock symbol in your browser's Status Bar and "https" in the Address Bar show that you've got a secure connection. Look for it any time you're about to engage in a financial transaction. The lock isn't a guarantee of security, but its absence is a guarantee of NO security.

4. Sniff Out Phish. If you get an e-mail about a problem with your bank or other financial institution, never click any links. Go directly to the bank's web site and research the problem there. If there is no problem, inform the bank about this fraud attempt.

5. Sniff Out Phish, II. Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 include built-in detection of fraudulent web sites using a combination of blacklisting and actual web page analysis. Be sure this feature is turned on, and take it seriously.

6. Search Safely. For additional help avoiding dangerous web sites, consider installing one (or more) of the helpful site-safety add-ons described in our Search Securely roundup. If you see a red flag, stay away!

7. Control Yourself. Chances are good your security suite includes a private data protection option. When the data you've chosen to protect is about to go out in a web form, e-mail, or IM, it either prevents transmission or replaces the private data. This feature's not for everyone, but if you feel you need help controlling what you send out, give it a try.

8. Use One-Shot Credit Cards. Check with your credit card company online – they may offer an option to create one-shot credit card numbers. When you exercise this option to make a purchase online, the number received by the merchant will be valid for just that transaction.

9. Educate Your Kids. You can be fanatically careful, but it won't do any good if your kids e-mail or IM personal information to strangers. If they're old enough, get them on your team to protect your family's identity. If not, use parental controls or private data protection to limit their ability to blab family secrets.

10. Secure Your System. Forget the Internet – worry about a colleague or neighbor-kid who sits down at your system and copies off your personal files. Use strong passwords, and be sure to lock the desktop when you step away from the computer.

11. Think Outside the Box. Don't believe everything that comes in an envelope. And shred any sensitive information before discarding or recycling it. Identity theft isn't limited to the online world!

12. Inform Yourself. There are plenty of resources available to help you understand just how you may be vulnerable. Start with PC Magazine's own "Identity Theft: What, Me Worry?" and "Defending Your Identity". Check free resources like the Federal Trade Commission's ID Theft site. And be alert for fraud!

Hope this info save us!!

Building Small Business Issue : Software

Points of Interest
1 Does our business really need enterprise-level software?
2 Can we get by without Microsoft Office?

The biggest trap small businesses can fall into is choosing software that's designed for larger companies. Enterprise products often suffer from feature bloat and come at prices that better fit the budgets of large corporations—or small countries! Small businesses should buy only as much "feature" as they need. Look for the simplest applications that can work, and investigate using services when possible. Software as a service (SaaS) means no installation, no expensive maintenance, and fewer things to go wrong at your company.

That said, for productivity applications, you should probably start out by purchasing Microsoft Office. If you're a real maverick, you might want to investigate OpenOffice.org, but your employees will be more comfortable using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. And don't discount the training costs of moving away from these de facto standards. On the other hand, just because you use Office doesn't mean you can't explore Google Apps. For a yearly cost of $50 per user, you can get the Premier Edition with 10GB per account (a 2GB version is free!). Google Apps is a great option for document and spreadsheet collaboration, and the package also includes traditional collaboration tools such as calendaring, instant messaging via Google Talk, and e-mail (Gmail, that is) using your own domain name.

If you have customers or employees who aren't on the same block, you can reach out to them with cost-effective Web conferencing. Products such as Adobe Acrobat Connect or Citrix Online GoToMeeting (each $39 per user per month) provide simple meeting setup at an affordable price. I highly recommend testing these products; they'll increase the effectiveness of your sales efforts and internal meetings with remote employees. To track customers in your sales pipeline, salesforce.com provides a $695-per-year solution for up to five users. Although companies such as Sage and Goldmine have software with many of the features you'll want, you may prefer the simplicity of the salesforce.com service.

No doubt you'll also need some financial software, such as Intuit QuickBooks. More than likely, there exists specialized software for your industry that can fulfill some of your unique business requirements

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Reference: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2130310,00.asp

MySpace Agrees to Deal with Sex Offender Issues

Popular online social network MySpace said on Monday it reached an accord with eight U.S. state attorneys general and has worked out a legal mechanism to hand over information on convicted sex offenders found on its service.

U.S. law enforcement authorities criticized the News Corp.-owned service for not divulging information from profiles of convicted sex offenders on MySpace.

MySpace had identified deleted and blocked about 7,000 profiles but initially declined to hand over the information immediately, citing a disclosure law barring it from giving away the information without a court order.

Last Wednesday, the attorneys and MySpace general group reached an agreement.

MySpace officials said they had always intended to provide information to law enforcement officials, but trying to work out a legal process for handing over the information.

MySpace Chief Security Officer Hemanshu Nigam said "When we remove individuals from our site, we always keep in mind the law enforcement aspect of it"

MySpace and the attorneys general group, led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and North Carolina AG Roy Cooper, have worked out a system to hand over information to be used to pursue offenders, although that process could differ from state to state.

Mike Angus,Fox Interactive Media general counsel said "Each state has its own laws.It's an intricate web of laws that we make sure we comply with ... We don't want these guys walking out on a technicality."

"Our subpoena compels this information right away—within hours not weeks, without delay—because it is vital to protecting children,"said Blumenthal in a statement. "Social networking sites should not be playgrounds for predators." Blumenthal has been issued a subpoena for the information.

The company has been urged by attorneys general to take more actions to protect minors.

"While conveying this information, MySpace needs to do more, including implementing an effective age verification system that will make the site considerably safer," Ohio AG Marc Dann said in a statement.

Over the past year MySpace has come under legal scrutiny, after some of its young members prey to adult predators posing as minors.In January, several teenage girls families said they were sexually assaulted by MySpace members has sued for failing to protect its members.

To protect its large audience of teenagers—some as young as 14 years old—MySpace late last year contracted background verification firm Sentinel Tech Holdings Corp. to develop the first national database of convicted sex offenders. MySpace uses the data to cross-reference against its own database of users and weed out predators.

Previously, registries of offenders were only available on a state level, making it difficult to track and investigate known offenders. The new system, called Sentinel SAFE, launched on May 2.

"We have zero tolerance for sex offenders," Angus said. "After spending a year meeting with AGs, we figured that if we were to move quickly, we had to build it ourselves."

Part of the dispute with legal authorities was over the term "deletion" of profiles, MySpace officials said. Although the service has deleted the profiles from MySpace, information is collected in its database for law enforcement, Angus said.

The attorneys general of Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and New Hampshire joined Connecticut in signing the letter last week demanding that the company turn over information on sex offenders on MySpace.

Reference:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2134571,00.asp

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 1): Essential Rules for Effective Email Marketing

Find a comfortable spot, put up your feet and let`s getready to rumble!

Ok,
If you want an email campaign to succeed, you don`t want tooffend anyone when sending your messages. Turn off aconsumer with your email and you can be sure they`lltune out your message. Don`t let this happen to you!A message that earns respect makes sales.

That`s why ourfirst topic for discussion is email etiquette. (Later in thecourse, we`ll talk more about how to write an email salesletter.)Train yourself to always -- and I mean ALWAYS -- stick tothe rules below when crafting your email message.

RULE #1 - ALWAYS WRAP YOUR LINES AT 65 CHARACTERS OR LESS
Whenever you write an email, always format the lines so thatthey`re 65 characters, or less, across. To do this, you mayneed to do a "hard return" by hitting "Enter" at the end ofthe line.Wondering why to limit your lines to just 65 characters?(Good question! It shows you`re thinking.) There are tworeasons that "less is more":

~The first thing to remember is that looking at a computerscreen for a long time causes EYE FATIGUE for many readers.The shorter span of characters across the screen makesreading easier and more appealing to the recipient of youremail message.

~The other reason to go short instead of long is this:some email clients AUTOMATICALLY ENFORCE LINE-WRAPPING at 60-65 characters on received messages. If your email is wrapped at 70, the content will arrive all "chopped up."This makes it unattractive...and worse -- unappealing.

~ Tip within a Rule #1: Email clients such as OutlookExpress allow you to SET THE LINE-WRAP to anycharacter-width you choose. That means you won`t have tohit Enter each time after typing 65 characters. Makes lifeeasier! -- Tip within a Rule #2 - You can type 65 asterisks ordashes in a Notepad file to create a template. Then pasteyour email below it to see if any lines extend too far tothe right.

~Tip within a Rule #2 - You can type 65 asterisks ordashes in a Notepad file to create a template. Then pasteyour email below it to see if any lines extend too far tothe right.

RULE # 2 - BE CAREFUL USING ALL CAPS
How many times have you changed the TV channel to avoidlistening to a screaming car salesperson? No one likes ascreaming salesperson...and no one likes a "screaming" emailmessage, either. Odds are, when someone has over-amped thevolume of their message by using too many capital letters(not to mention too many exclamation points and otherpunctuation) - you`re going to be turned off.

On the Internet, email messages written in all caps areconsidered yelling. It`s okay to write some sentences andsome words in all caps, but don`t go overboard. (As you cansee in this message, I`ve tried to use capital letters tohelp break up sections of the content from time to time)

~Tip within a Rule: Consumers buy from a source theytrust. Emails in all caps are perceived as "shady" oruneducated, and have an appearance that damages thecredibility of an offer.

RULE #3 - WATCH YOUR Ps & Qs (Spelling and Grammar)
Would you be influenced by an email selling you somethingthat had noticeable spelling and grammar mistakes? Sure youwould...and the influence would be negative, not positive!When a consumer reads a sales message that`s filled witherrors, they think to themselves, "Good grief, this persondoesn`t even take the time to get his emails right.

Hisproduct is probably the same quality as his emails."When you`re in business, YOUR IMAGE IS YOUR REPUTATION and your reputation is the reason people buy from you or the guy down the block. It`s essential that you create an image of INTEGRITY, CREDIBILITY, and HONESTY in the mind of your prospects. Sending emails filled with errors doesn`t hurt your professional image...it destroys it.

That`s it for now.

Building Small Business :Decision Points

1. Who should we buy from?
2. How many systems do we need?
3. Should we buy laptops?
   

Desktops, CPUs, and Servers must Know?

These systems are the core of your business. If you have a good IT staff, you can pick and choose individual systems and servers that you like from a variety of vendors. I myself am a huge fan of DIY computing and the fine-tuning and customizing that comes with it. But a DIY office-computing setup could quickly become a nightmare to support. You also run into major problems with warranties and finding an individual to contact in the event of a failure. If you go with a large vendor such as IBM Small Biz Solutions, you will be allowed to finance the systems and can be assured of tech support if anything goes wrong. At the same time, you may be locked into whatever systems that these vendors provide. Regardless of which options you choose, there are several basic things to consider.

Naturally, the first thing an SMB needs to ask itself is: "How many systems do we need?" This may seem like a simple question, but there are several factors that contribute to this number. Do we really need to completely rid ourselves of all of our older systems, or can any be saved? Last year's PC may be perfectly adequate for a junior employee who doesn't need much besides Internet access and word processing.

A solid business system such as the Dell OptiPlex 745 is perfect for a small business. It's powerful, with an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, but, at $1,502, it won't break the bank. Now I know there are those who will say that a dual-core chipset may be a bit much for a corporate desktop, but that is shortsighted logic. These systems will have to run Windows Vista and the updated software that is created for that powerhungry OS. A chipset like this one will allow you to run large Excel spreadsheets while simultaneously running QuickBooks consolidations.

Another popular option is to do away with desktops altogether and purchase a fleet of laptops for your business. A few years ago this would have meant buying large, clunky desktop replacement units, but not anymore. Notebooks such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X60 are ultraportable and built for business. You can get a dual-core processor and up to 2GB of RAM on this Vista Business–ready machine.

A server is a very different animal. Servers are too specialized to go into in a basic overview like this one, but we can give you an important tip: Reliability is much more important than speed! A server that has a guaranteed uptime of three years is far more valuable than one that operates at high speeds but may leave you in the lurch.

Most offices are not homogeneous. Employees involved with creative applications tend to prefer Apple systems. For other office workers, going with Apple or not could be a matter of personal preference. The Apple iMac is a solid SMB system. The Mac mini is fine if you're going to recycle old monitors, and the iMac is a good middle-of-the-road system. Note that Apple tech support is specialized and may be harder to hire. Windows-based IT staff may not want to touch Macs, and vice versa. Also, Apple isn't actively pursuing the SMB market, so OS builds will be more of a hands-on affair for your IT staff. At least Apple supports all recent hardware in OS X 10.4 and 10.5; this means that a disk image from a PowerBook G4 should work on the latest iMac with Intel.

Tech History:What happened during these years?

JUST FOR INFO:1899-1909

What happened during these years?

Vacuum Cleaner Patented
1899John S. Thurman - his "pneumatic carpet renovator" was a large, gasoline powered system.

Gamma Rays Discovered - 1900Paul Villard

First Transatlantic Wireless Message - 1901Guglielmo Marconi sent the first wireless transmission from England to Canada. The message was three dots Morse Coderepresenting the letter S.

Air Conditioner- 1902Willis Carrier, a young engineer, created what he calledan Apparatus for Treating Air

First Man Made Fiber - 1902William H. Walker, Arthur D. Little, and Harry S. Mork. The fabricwas originally called Viscose, but in 1924, the textile industry changed its name to Rayon.

Electrocardiograph - 1903Wilhelm Einthoven Dutch physiologist, refines A.D. Waller'selectrocardiogram, and devises an instrument to record theheart's electrical impulses

Stainless Steel - 1904Leon Guillet develops stainless steel but doesn't recognizeit's noncorrosive

Electric Plug Patented - 1904Harvey Hubbell II

First Radio Program- 1906Professor Reginald Fessenden broadcast a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, topromote his new alternator-transmitter system.

Plastic - 1907Leo Baekeland invented the first synthetic polymer the first artificial material made by linking small molecules togetherto make large ones.

Geiger Counter - 1908Hans Geiger and Ernest Rutherford invent the Geiger counterfor measuring radiation

Electric Washing Machine - 1908The first electric-powered washing machine was introduced bythe Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois. Alva J. Fisher was the inventor. The machine was a drum type with a galvanized tub and an electric motor, for which a patent was issued on Aug. 9, 1910

Pop Up Toaster - 1909 Charles Strite

Cellophane - 1908 Jaques Edwin Brandenberger in Switzerland.

The Wright Brothers' Flight
1903It all started at Kittyhawk in North Carolina. The Wright Brothers had been testing different gliders and kites in the late 1800's, and in 1900 decidedto try their hand at Airplane Building.Their first glider, made weighing only 50 pounds was called the "Unmannedkite It was propelled by having a 150 foot tower drop a counter weight andpushing it off of the side of a hill. This was the start of their plans. In 1901,the Wright's increased the gliders size. Now it had a 22 foot wingspan, andwas a total of 7 feet deep. They took it out a little past Kittyhawk, to a placewhere the hills were somewhat better suited for launching a glider. With thisone, they wanted to try free flight before taking it near a hill.

Unfortunately,the larger version wouldn't lift for free flight, and they were forced to movethe glider to a hill and launch it there.The 1901 glider hadn't lifted because of a mistake in their calculations. Theywere off in the amount of space that they needed on the wings to get the proper lift. They spent the year of 1902 redesigning their glider from the pasttwo to something that they could sit in, control, and have it fly on it's own. The new glider was bigger, had a somewhat different look, and a powerplant.

Then in 1903, history was made.On December 17, 1903, The Wright Brothers, with Orville at the controls,made their history making flight in the first self propelled, heavier than air machine called the Wright B Flyer. It took them 45 feet to get off the groundthen 12 seconds later and 120 feet away, the plane touched back to Earth.We had flown!The Wrights continued to modify their plane until they got to the longest flightthey had ever had of 1 hour and 17 minutes. Today planes can travel over 10hours at a time, and 120 feet is the length of their wingspan, and it can takenearly 3/4's of a mile to get off the ground.

To Learn More ...
Check out these References!
1900: The Wrights' First EffortsThe American Experience/The Wright Stuff http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/97.html http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blradio.htm

Building Your Small Business

Just as on the Internet no one knows you're a dog, no one needs to know that you're not a mega-corporation. Technology really can level the playing field between your small business and Mega-Global Co. But which technologies? There are so many choices and so many pitfalls that you might be inclined to just throw up your hands in despair.

The process doesn't have to be that complicated. There are several key decisions you can make that will catapult your business toward success, without your having to spend a lot of money.
To help illustrate those options, we approached this from the perspective of a business that, let's say, recently received several large contracts and now needs to expand its operation to meet that demand.

Before hitting CDW for a shopping spree, though, the first step should be developing an overall purchasing strategy. Without that, you may end up hurting yourself in the long run. Once that strategy is in place, then you can identify the few key purchases that could largely determine whether you increase productivity or actually take a step back.

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