Who is Running Your Business?

As a small business owner, I find it is a constant battle between am I running my business, or is my business running me? Unfortunately it seems often times it is the latter. As the owner, it is your vision, your passion, and your dedication that your customers see. That passion is what your customers buy. It is nearly impossible to get that same commitment to translate to the rest of your organization. Because of this, we often find ourselves in the role of technician within our business. Whether that business is technology support, marketing, accounting, financial planning, you name it, we often find ourselves in the role of delivering the product or service because we are the face of our company. That is what our customers see and that is what they expect. To a certain extent we become trapped by our own dedication and success.

 
 

Not too long ago, I read a great book called E-Myth. I consider it an owner's manual for business owners. The book paints the picture of becoming trapped in your own business and how to get out. It creates a road map for how to work on your business instead of working in your business. It is a book I recommend to any small business owner.

 
 

During the summer months our tech support calls drop off due to vacations and just general down time. This is the time of year I turn my focus on the company. I use this time to try and improve the way we do business. This summer I have been using the time to develop our company operations manual. The intent is to develop a blueprint for how we do everything. From how we handle each service request to how we install each server. The goal is to create excellent customer service for everyone, every time. Regardless of whether it is the owner, or the help desk manager, every client should be treated the same, and treated well.

 
 

It is not an easy endeavor, but it is critical. As technology levels the playing field and competition becomes stiffer, we must continue to remind our clients why doing business with us is different. We must remind them that doing business with us is better for their business.

 
 

There is still time before the summer ends to take some time to yourself and ask the questions:

Is my business running me?

What steps can I take to be in control of it?

 
 

Read the E-Myth. It will really give you things to think about and how to change.

Webex Manager Security Threat

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued an alert related to the Webex Meeting Manager.  A security vulnerability has been discovered in the Active X Control that can allow a remote user to execute code remotely  US-CERT.  Webex has addressed the issue with the latest version of their Meeting Manager.  Users are encouraged to update their software before attending their next online meeting.  Webex download

New Tools to Manage your Inbox

Email has become the most crucial tool in the business world, regardless of your size. We all have huge mail folders we try to manage. Everyone has a different approach for organizing and managing email. Some create folders by client or subject. Some create rules to automatically move messages to the right folder. Personally I prefer a flat approach. I just keep it all in my inbox and use search tools to find that email I have not gotten a response on, or need to follow up.

Experts say the knowledge workers will soon be spending up to 40% of their work day just managing email. That’s how important this has become. I found a new tool to help manage my inbox. It’s called xobni. It’s an simple outlook plugin, and it’s simply awesome. It gives a lot of great information about your email. Who do you email with the most? What time of day are they most likely to reply? How fast do they reply? Search by person and find attachments you have been sharing. Link to appointments and phone numbers. Even view their Linked In profile.

It’s pretty powerful stuff. As a new product, it is still available as a free download, but who knows how long that will last. Check it out here.

CNN malware alert

It seems there is a new malware attack.  Emails are posing as CNN story links are in fact malware.  The idea is to trick you into clicking on a fake news item then prompt you to download a fake flash player.  If you get an email from CNN Daily Top 10, delete it immediately.  More Info