Prepare to save your data...

Well, the office is moved and man am I happy about that. It was technologically trouble free I think due to our preparation and disaster recovery program. Back-up, back-up, back-up. A few notations to remember all hook-ups just in case and we were up and running in no time, with no damage to equipment or data. Pretty important for any small business that moves its operations to another location. Most small businesses don't back-up their data properly and usually do not consider this step until they have lost everything in a crash. Disaster recovery is critical to plan for and here are some key items that should be in your plan.

1. Back-up your data on all computers and networks in three ways. On the desktop using the internal back-up process MS Windows provides.
2. CRITICAL: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) web site online, when you upload your information to a secure online location that qualifies as offsite and saves you from losing your back-up information to a fire or other disaster at your location. (check the server facilities to ensure they have sufficient fire suppression systems in place as well)
3. Make sure you have a recovery disk(s) saved. Put that in a fire proof box, but remember heat melts plastic. This is a temporary solution. You should put this disk off site and in safe hands, safety deposit box works fine.
4. Back-up often, depending on size and nature of business, daily, weekly or monthly.
5. File and computer maintenance is important so that your data has less chance of becoming corrupted by attack, software conflict and so on.
6. Eliminate spy ware regularly, it can really slow your PC and network down. There are several good software options to choose from off the shelf or online.
7. Dust is a killer as well and promotes heating up, so keep things clean and cool by using a pressurized can of air to blow dust away.
8. Keep your anti-virus program definitions, and your window updates, up to date.
9. If you are using a wireless router, ensure your wireless network security is enabled properly.
10. Passwords should be changed frequently, have no pattern and should NOT be taped to the bottom of your keyboard or monitor. What the heck is the point? I've walked through so many offices where I could have (if I was dishonest and I'm not) remembered passwords from dozens of desktops and entered them into a pda in seconds. People often complain of having to remember them so here's a trick, I have two little address books one I keep at my desk tucked away and the other is offsite. Also when you record the information, do it like this. I keep only two entries per page and I swap the names and online locations with the user name and passwords that correspond.

So for example,

WebMail:

Username: Joeblow355

Password: BlacKwhite897

Blogger Account:

Username: SuperdUde195

Password: kiloflY4299

Webmail is actually blogger info and vice versa, just in case this information falls into the wrong hands. Most people will not go to this length of secrecy or protection but for those who do your information is much more secure. Notice I've used upper and lower case as well as numbers and the words are made up and random. NOT birthday's, family names or pet names.

Has anyone had a bad data loss recently? How did you recover?

The $100 laptop

Imagine every school kid on the planet having access to the internet 24-7 because that's where we're heading. With the latest version of the $100 laptop given out by Nicholas Negroponte of MIT to every government in every developing country on the planet, the next obstacle will be connectivity and meaningful educational content in the local language...fusedlogic is proud to be a part of this process by working with it's client The Indigenous Learning Company.

www.indigenouslearning.com

Changed with a single thought...

On a sunny November afternoon, I was packing up for our move and I had a moment of clarity and really it was a reminder of why I do what I do. Everyone has internal struggles, everyone has issues of some sort; the difference is how one deals with those things that present themselves as disruptive to everyday happiness. Taking action is the difference.
Let’s put this thought into context as it relates to being a business owner. Almost every potential client I meet is open to receiving “free” advice. Why? Because we all have struggles, most clients try not to let on as if they do for they might actually look lost in front of me, in front of staff or their clients. Heaven knows that would demonstrate clear justification for an engagement and contract in order to fix the problem and they might have to spend money. No one wants to put resources at risk when running a small business without at least an idea or even better a guarantee of a return. Money and time are always in short supply and oddly enough that’s our topic, so here’s why money and time are so tough to come by.
I’m always looking for that one sentence. The sentence to cut right to the heart of the matter when meeting a new client that’s tailored to their personality, possibly one of my own internal struggles. I’ve been blessed with a great vision of the business battlefield and so there are always a lot of great ideas and timely thoughts that rush through my head when meeting with clients many of these I feel have serious merit and could mean a positive outcome for you and your business.
Let me give you an example of how this typically happens. I was meeting with a potential client the other day and he was explaining as part of his growth plan he wanted to bring in a partner. A 50/50 split right down the middle and I had identified a potentially serious issue. No way to break a tie. What if both partners do not agree, then what? He hadn’t thought about that possibility, he naturally assumed since they both got along so well that situation would never arise. Wrong! So I had suggested that he have a conflict resolution clause drawn up for his shareholders agreement. This one thought probably saved him potential loss of money, time and possibly a friend.
I pulled this from my own personal experience involving a past ownership position and it’s an example of how Fusedlogic can help many after only just meeting them. That single thought could have changed the destiny of his company and that’s what I love about what Fusedlogic does.
Essentially, I describe Fusedlogic as an idea’s company; that can be vague for some so I also call us a business consultancy. At the heart of every great business is a series of principals that started out as ideas of what could be and this is where we work. Being an idea engine is the largest difference between us and our clients. You have been working on deriving a living from your business AND Fusedlogic has been thinking of ways for your business to take a quantum leap forward. Often with a short introduction to your business and your team we’re able to see things very clearly.
The best way to describe why any business owner should become part of the Fusedlogic Nation is because every day you don’t, I believe you lose a huge percentage of the amount you could have earned. That’s a bold statement I know, but true for most situations.
Let’s see if this rings true for you, first the majority of clients Fusedlogic works with have been spending almost all of their time working IN the business and they would still consider themselves successful, and in general they certainly are successful. Fact is as a savvy business owner you have known for years that you should be working ON the business and that it’s an integral key to growth and long-term success. Somehow though it just doesn’t happen, call it paying the bills, not enough hours in a day, short staffed, whatever your reason or excuse, it doesn’t happen. Working IN the business is where you stay for months and years on end, eventually you lose all perspective. I’ve lost count of how many times a client will say to me, “Oh I know I should be doing that.” Yet no execution.
YOU’RE STUCK! And it’s time to admit that you’re stuck. This is all relative to your situation; I don’t care if you’re making millions per year right now.

You’re stuck and losing money not to mention probably working like a dog too, is that your idea of fun? Even if you’re not making millions, you’re still working like a dog and that’s even worse. Isn’t it time to get UNSTUCK?
Getting UNSTUCK is simple. First, swallow your pride, it’s costing you money and admit you’re stuck. Once you’ve had that honest conversation with yourself, commit to change. The principals, concepts and idea’s are ready to go for you to start reaping the “true” benefit of running your own business – happiness and even more success! It really is as easy as a phone call or email, call Fusedlogic today to become the newest member of the Fusedlogic Nation. Don’t waste another day.
Missed opportunity isn’t really missed, it’s taken by someone else. - Unknown

What a week...

Talk about busy...even with putting every bit of time management I can squeeze in still no time left over. I guess I'll have to start taking caffeine intravenously and hire ten assistants if this keeps up. I will say that without my time management efforts I would have been sunk on Monday to say nothing about the rest of the week. Here are a few ideas that helped me out.

1. Task List - use it and mark it off as progress happens
2. Prioritize the tasks - seems simple but many don't do it
3. Stay focused on the task at hand, see it through to the end before moving on
4. Keep phone calls and emails short and to the point
5. Return calls and emails on a priority basis only
6. Stop surfing
7. take a 10 minute break every so often to clear your head
8. Finally...delegate whenever possible

Sure you've heard of this stuff before, but do you implement it daily? Let me know and feel free to provide any tips that work for you. Like say turning the cell or blackberry off.

Remembrance Day

Canadians always need to remember that the reason we have such freedom is because of the sacrifice our veterans made and make everday, their legacy is incredible. Too bad our Liberal Government is so screwed up that our veterans, (except for those who paid the ultimate price and left families without a loved one) have to live in such poverty because the government won't wake up and pay the families what is justly deserved. Pay our Veterans the pension they deserve, I'm certain that the majority of you as politicians are not tortured daily with memories of the horrors of the second world war. Wake up Liberals! It's OK to burn $2 Billion of our taxes on the Gun Regsitry, $350 Million on Adscam, countless other millions in government waste, force Canadians to drink contaminated water until they get deathly ill and then at the last minute fly them to safety only after this crime of neglect hits the news wires, reduce our armed forces to a status of readiness that is so poor it's a joke in the minds of all military personnel (yet they continue to go into harms way despite your incompetence) BUT pay veterans fairly for their service to their country, forget it, there's no profit in it, right Liberal Government?

Time Management

I'm simply amazed at how many business owners lack time management skills. This all ties in with making the correct decsions on which tasks to take on. They tell me that they want new sales, more time with family, etc... and yet when you observe them on any given day they're running around like mad and getting very little done.

In addition, their organization is structured improperly and its very nature actually hinders growth. Do you think, Bill Gates runs around all day putting the little fires out. Sure, not all of us are Microsoft but that being said we may want to think about budgeting for staff that can assist us if even for a half day a week, to catch up on paperwork and outstanding action items. The star of the show must be center stage rather than pushing set props around behind the curtains.

Sales...

There are endless amounts of material on how to be the best sales person, you have relationship selling, in your face selling, the one minute closer, blah blah blah. The secret to selling is understanding that these decisions to purchase are made by emotions, logic may help the prospect understand but emotions are the reason they actually commit to buying. Become adept at learning what makes people get excited about what your selling. Is it greed, adversity to risk, peace of mind, self-esteem, all of these feelings may play a part but the key to great selling, is not "selling" at all. It's learning to understand people at their very core being. Forget the used car sales manipulation tactics and focus on giving people exactly what they want. If done properly when it comes time to close the sale, the paperwork will be a formality, not the big tense situation most sales people experience. We don't walk into McDonald's to shop around, the emotional decision to buy has already been made and they have us at hello....

Matching Actions to Goals

"Man, I'm just soo busy, it's crazy, I litteraly have no time." Then this rolls right into an excuse for dropping the ball. Sound familiar?

I just got off the phone with a client who is very successful by anyone's standards and we've had successful projects in the past....I know you're waiting for a "but" so here it is. BUT, he is the worst person at follow through on the big picture items that could make the most difference to his company long-term. One of the things that I insist on at FLI is that we follow-up and follow through with clients. This is how we drive results for the client, by doing everything possible to hold the client accountable and this particular client is the most troublesome case we have on our roster from that one perspective.

There's nothing wrong with a healthy work ethic, however, be careful this doesn't lead to far too much working IN the business rather than ON the business. The result is a lack of actions matching goals. Am I breaking new ground with these comments, not in a million years. Does it need to be said daily because so many SME owners are stuck in the daily routine rutt? Absolutely.

Break-free of this energy sapping, day-light burning routine! Here's a quick questionnaire on how you identify whether your daily actions within the business are matching your goals for the business.

1. Ask yourself if you can trust your employees to do the work for you. (Learn to delegate and train. Establish an atmosphere of trust and confidence in your employees, even when they make a mistake.)
2. Are you dropping many of the items you're juggling? (This might be a sign you're doing too much.)
3. Are you constantly late for appointments? (This might be a sign you're doing too much.)
4. How much time do you have for reflection during the week? (This might be a sign you're doing too much.)
5. Did you expand your market penetration last quarter? How about last year?
6. Is your marketing getting the type of response you need or want?

Learn to assess what needs to be done on a priority basis NOT an urgency basis. The highest priority for owners and CEO's should be new opportunities for doing business. Constantly ask yourself, "Is what I'm doing right now the most effective use of my time and will it get me closer to my goals? Could I delegate this task?

Now, I'm not at all saying that you should let everything else go completely and stop managing your business. I'm only suggesting that you realign your focus balance to include tasks that will generate the most value. Think about delegating more, organize your time in such a way that you are afforded some to think big picutre. Take a few quiet moments to look at the battlefield and strategize for the future.

Too often business owners develop a need to just be busy, so they take on tasks. Whether they somehow feel more important, more successful, respected by their peers simply because they open every new conversation with "Man, I'm just soo busy, it's crazy, I litteraly have no time." who knows.

Learn to rise above this and start making more money as a result.

Do you see value in what was said above? Are you "A really busy entrenpreneur?" Let's here from you.....

Business Philosophy

As a small business owner, you're faced with dozens of business altering decisions a day...more or less depending on your situation. One of the key things that keeps my business on the straight and narrow in terms of focus and helps me make tough decisions is my personal philosophy on business itself. How I want to run my business, interact with clients and the world at large is based on a set group of fundamental beliefs and I'm sure it is for you as well.

My beliefs include:

1. I choose to work with good people rather than jerks regardless of how much money is involved.
2. We'll work with great people even if the budget it tight.
3. The project should be challenging.
4. The project should present an opportunity to bring value to large amounts of people.
5. The project should present a strong opportunity to make great money for my company (afterall I'm a capitalist).

If you're stuck in a rutt with your business and are worried about making a mistake, fall back on your philosophy - whatever that is and stick with it. At the end of the day, you'll sleep fine even when mistakes are made. This is how you find your mojo again.

The Cell chip....

Many of you technically savvy types may already know about the IBM Cell chip and what it might represent to the future of computing. For the rest of the population in the dark on the Cell, let me ramble on a bit about this highly cool and potentially scary piece of technology.

What we're really talking about here is more than just a new chip built by IBM (with some help from Sony and Toshiba). This is way more than that, it's an entirely new architecture for a mammoth and large worldwide computing network that identifies each cell enabled device on it easily. Not only will it blow away past computing standards but also increase other capabilities on a global network level too. The design and architecture will allow for one Cell enabled device to search out and identify other Cell enabled devices. Remember Sony? In fact, a guy named Ken Kutaragi from Sony was the catalyst behind this whole concept and he approached IBM to assist with the project back in 2000. So that means, you guessed it the new Sony Playstation 3 will be Cell enabled, faster, smarter, stronger....And by the way traceable! That's right it's conceivable that Sony will be tracking your game playing on the console via the Cell. NO SECRETS!

So what does this mean for small business owners, well, over the next couple of years or sooner when you go to upgrade computers, they may have something of a Cell architecture for it's base design, if you buy IBM that is as they have the patent on the Cell of course.

Big picture time: Superfast, supercomputing on a chip leads to tracking across any and all devices. Your computer talking with my PDA, his cell phone, her laptop and the network down the street from Trump Towers all at the same time, but that's just the start and the most obvious. One of the fastest ways this happens would be through telecom companies I imagine, but also device manufacturers other than IBM. Big Blue screws up on a daily basis losing Billions in potential revenue because as smart as they are, they're just as stupid in other ways - (don't get me started, their too big to be able to fix it themselves).

Speculation follows: I'm sure they'll license this technology to say, Nokia or Motorola in the cellphone space. Possibly GE for easier fridge communication, and we already know Toshiba's in there, so that means tracking your TV. Yes, folks soon we'll be surrounded by devices from your toaster oven to your vehicle, all Cell enabled and talking trash to each other while fulfilling Bill Gates' dream of prolific software over any device, any time, any where; and as you know Bill and IBM go way back, so new conversations are taking place I'm sure of it.

We're one step closer to a world where you the average Joe or Judy walk down the street, directional speakers (the speakers already exist and have existed for sometime) deliver a "personal"marketing message so only "you" can here it. This happens because the network has identified you through a Cell enabled device. Privacy issues aside, believe me it will happen, slowly at first, tracking within a game console so that Sony can then deliver more product tailored to your likes as a consumer, sneaky? Sure, but when did that ever stop a certain business segment before?

Hopefully, Sony and other companies using this technology will be forced to put the power of tracking in the hands of the consumer and allow for a on/off button. This in my mind must be a opt-in capability wherever possible, then I become very excited for the future of small business marketing and product development. Realtime tracking, consumer surveys all generated from people who have AGREED to allow it to happen, a big difference from much of today's realtime tracking - yes, it would be a perfect world.

Also by the way, I'll never claim that my Geek powers are super strong. Point of fact, I have no formal Geek training, I'm just fascinated with new tech advancements and how they impact business. It's my firm's job in fact to know about anything that can aid in your success and we do our best to keep up with the world of change around us so you don't have to.

Customer Experience

If asked, most small business owners would say they'd like to make more money. Some would also say more free time and so on. All pretty standard replies. So how does someone break free of the competition. Effective marketing and a great customer experience. What does that mean for most Small, Medium Enterprizes (SME's) and are the standard answers reality?

Well first effective marketing has to be affordable, then it has to generate a return in terms of new customer traffic which when converted will mean increased sales. Sounds reasonable right? So why is it that I see so many SME's dropping the ball on so many different levels regarding good marketing practices? Actually they're terrific at marketing just in a negative way, let me explain what I mean.

Not truly understanding that marketing is actually any corporate communication with the customer of any sort whatsoever, many SME's go about their day doing a lousy job (usually they don't think they're doing a lousy job) all the while sending the wrong marketing message and generating a lousy customer experience.

Following is a list of potential examples of poor marketing practices and my pet peeves:

Lousy customer service in general, no follow-up or lack of a customer appreciation program, lack of a customer loyalty program, rude phone behavior, essentially everytime you buy something from a store and they ask you for personal information and when you say no the 16 yr old gives you attitude, business cards off an inkjet, calling corporate collections agents - customer service reps - they're not that at all!

SIDEBAR: I once got a free digital camera from a financial institution because their "collections agent" AKA "customer service rep" kept saying that I wasn't paying my bills and to top it off my phone number was on (another pet peeve of mine) an AUTO DIALER, and the agent said "they couldn't remove my number from the machine" of course I wasn't late, the agent lied to me about the number on the dialer and after much hassle they finally admitted fault but only after I threatened to report the company, agent and head of the department to Corporate and Consumer Affairs and ensure someone lost their license to collect, they decided to buy me off and so I was then able to buy a digital camera. I certainly wasn't treated like a customer or given great service by the rep (true story). Hold companies responsible and accountable for poor service.

Pet Peeves Cont: Inconsistent logos and colors across the corporate marketing collateral which errodes the brand, no formal signature at the end of an email,
snotty receptionists that take the job of gatekeeper too seriously - remember they don't have the power to close the deal but they have the power to kill it. Hidden costs in small print at the Sears store for family photo's - in other words, they are the greasy used car salesman of photo's and if I've offended Sears or greasy used car sales guys GOOD! Quit being dirt bags and treat consumers with respect.

People it's time to hold yourself accountable for how your company is perceived in the world. I'm holding my company to the same standard. One thing you'll come to learn about my company and me personally as a consultant. I'm in your face, especially when it relates to you the business owner doing a poor job, you don't hire my firm to kiss butt and tell you what a great job you're doing even though you're stinking up the joint. IF you want more money and a better life, then pay attention to every detail as it relates to the Customer Experience and make sure it's a great one. Even AFTER they buy from you and I guarantee you'll find room for improvement and that improvement will start leading to more business.

Let's talk Lovemarks

So here's a list of a few of my Lovemarks:
Chevrolet, Edmonton Oilers, Pilot Fineliners, Atomic Skis, Mr. Incredible, Spiderman, Business2.0, Tim Horton's there's more to be sure. The point of all this is to communicate about brands that have, in your mind reached another level with respect to your loyalty to them. For many people Apple is the clear choice by a country mile over MS....I haven't as yet converted to the fruit company but that doesn't mean they're not a Lovemark, believe me they are and with very good reason. In fact, one could say that the most devoted consumer group on the planet is the Apple consumer group, although that wasn't always the case.

Imagine if your company or brand was able to transcend your competition with that kind of power and customer loyalty beyond reason.

We at Fusedlogic have been developing theories on how small business can do exactly that. In fact, deep in the dungeons of our secret workshop our team is busy at this very moment building some special things related to Lovemarks. Stay tuned!

The new site...

Well finally after way too much time passed, the site is under redevelopment.
www.fusedlogic.com is being transformed by Mediashaker.com, history to the old content and navigation and hello to free business video content...I've started a series of new helpful tip videos for small business and they'll be housed on the new site. I can't stand under construction pages, so instead I'll let you review the old content for a few more days while we work hard behind the scenes to impress you. I'm positive that everyone will rant and rave about the new fusedlogic.com site and that it will be THE goto resource for small business help. Well, actually, I'd be happy with a couple hundred new hits a day and a new client a week. At that pace I could still spend plenty of time with my family. I'm looking to hire new marketing staff as well as business development people, the MBA's of the world are easier to find and I already have an army of those when I need them which I rarely do.

Instead, I like to enlist the help of other smart people such as scientists of all sorts, doctors of various disciplines and really connected joes that I'm aware of. All for the purposes of getting your company to the next level. Keith Yamashita of Stone Yamashita Partners says the process is like "getting unstuck", I agree.

By the way, I also subscribe to the idea of Lovemarks by Kevin Roberts of Saatchi and Saatchi. Very cool concept, I love the vibe....not only that I like the boldness of it. Just using the word Love in a business context seems risky to me. In fact, my clients look at me cross eyed at first but then they get it, they get it. Attaining Lovemark status is a goal of mine as it relates to Fusedlogic. I'm sure it will be quite a journey. Check it out here. http://www.saatchi.com/worldwide/kevin_roberts.asp