My Small Business Consultants

The following was sent to me by a Media Relations Specialist.  I love this concept and use a form of this in my business.  If you would like more information about how to set this up for your business, please contact me.

-Dean

Make Vacation Communication a Day at the Beach
By Steve Adams

The peak summer vacation season is still in full swing. And with it comes the dilemma small business owners have been facing since the beginning of the Industrial Age: Take therapeutic time off to clear your mind and recharge, or make the choice and fear that you’re not going to be available when an urgent client need arises.

Fortunately, these days it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing choice. There are technologies available that can help you stay in contact with the office and/or your customers while still allowing you to get away from – well, if not all, at least most.

Virtual phone service for small business – These services are the most significant vacation-enablers, because they offer so much flexibility and mobility at such a low cost. A virtual phone service provides businesses with a single phone number for the entire business. The service then allows you to assign extensions to different people in the organization, both inside and outside of the main office. A virtual receptionist greets callers with a professional greeting and provides a dial-by-name directory, generally helping get callers get where they need to go.

Where they really pay off come vacation time, though, is with their smart call forwarding capabilities. You can set your office phone to forward all of your calls to your mobile phone, allowing you to answer them just as though you’re in the office. You can even specify when the phone rings and when it goes to voicemail if you want to keep normal “business hours” while you’re basking in the sun or climbing that mountain.

If you don’t want to be disturbed at the moment but want to stay on top of things, you can set your virtual phone service to send all calls to your business voicemail, then receive an email telling you when you have voicemails waiting. It’s a great way to organize your time so you can both participate with the family and service your customers.

Internet fax service – If your business relies on faxes, having an Internet fax service is indispensable during a vacation. After all, if you’re vacationing hundreds or thousands of miles away from the office it’s going to be a little tough to pop in just to check faxes. Of course, even if you’re enjoying a “staycation” you probably want to avoid the office so you don’t stop by for a few minutes and wind up there all day.

With an Internet fax service you can send and receive faxes anywhere you can get an Internet connection. And on any device – a laptop, smart phone or even one of those hotel lobby PCs. You have a choice of using your email account or a secure online portal so there’s no worries about how to get connected.

If the fax requires further action from someone else, forwarding it is as easy as forwarding an email. You can even add comments before you send. With most Internet fax services you can even have the fax sent to one or more partners’ or business associates’ emails as well as your own – just in case you’re having too much fun to take care of it right away.

Technology has definitely added to the sense of urgency in our everyday lives. But the right technologies can also help restore some order.

So as you enjoy the nearing final days of summer, make sure you have the tools that will allow you to keep your business running while you are taking some time off. It’ll make getting away from the office a literal day on the beach.

Steve Adams is the vice president of marketing for Protus, a provider of communications tools for small-to-medium-businesses and enterprise organizations, including the MyFax (www.myfax.com) internet fax service; my1voice (www.my1voice.com), a virtual phone service; and Campaigner, an e-mail marketing service. He can be reached at sadams@protus.com.

This is another press release that I recieved.  If you are in the print business, this might be something to check out.

 
Earthtone Uses Social Media to Encourage Public Discussion of Contemporary Challenges
Innovative Online Printing Marketplace Launches Facebook Group to Foster Debate on Economic and Environmental Challenges Among Online Communities

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Earthtone – the world’s first online marketplace for print – has today revealed a multifaceted strategy for encouraging greater debate on how individuals can contribute to solving the global challenges of climate change and the credit crunch.

Launched today, Earthtone’s Facebook group, The Economy & The Environment: Saving Today vs. Saving Tomorrow, seeks to engage younger, green-conscious online consumers in a discussion on how to balance environmental custodianship and economic prudence in this most challenging of climates.

In addition to enabling people to share knowledge and exchange ideas about how to save money while making environmentally responsible choices, the group will act as a gateway to news, opinion and research on relevant environmental and economic issues from around the web.

While today’s challenging economic climate forces consumers to choose suppliers based on price and not environmental credentials, Earthtone remains committed to promoting eco-friendly printing by:

• Helping people find and use printers with green credentials
• Helping people reduce indirect environmental costs by buying from local suppliers
• Offering consumers a free, easy-to-understand guide to green printing
• Offering printers a free guide to greener business practices
• Offering free carbon offsetting for all prints ordered through Earthtone

Rooted in its founders’ ambition to make green printing an affordable, practical option for everyone, Earthtone empowers consumers to compare the prices, services and environmental credentials of hundreds of print shops before choosing the one best suited to their needs.

“The social web makes it easy to share experiences and opinions that can help others make better choices,” says Nader Alaghband, Earthtone’s CEO. “Reviewing print suppliers on Earthtone or restaurants on OpenTable is an obvious case in point, but the basic principle applies across the board. For example, companies like Earthtone can use Facebook to engage with relevant online communities to share ideas and to learn from the invaluable insights that people have to offer.”

As the economy stabilizes and public appetite for green procurement – and green printing specifically – returns, Earthtone will build on the insights it gains by engaging with these empowered, environmentally responsible consumers to develop the innovative solutions that its users need.

Earthtone encourages everyone to join the debate on Facebook. You can learn more about the company and find out how to get in touch by visiting www.earthtone.net.

About Earthtone

Earthtone is the world’s first online marketplace for print. Businesses and individuals can search for print providers by location, green credentials, value or quality, comparing hundreds of quotes for products like business cards or brochures before ordering from the supplier that’s best suited to their needs.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in London, the company completed its beta testing earlier this year and will begin rolling out the service in the US Later this year. 
 
Nidhi Mathson 
Account Coordinator
Blanc & Otus Public Relations

This is the Press Release that I mentioned in my last post.  I would be curious if anyone has used this service and what your experiences have been.  Please comment at the bottom of this post.

Fastest-growing Internet fax service anticipates 40 percent growth this year
as faxers continue to eliminate traditional fax machines

Ottawa (July 6, 2009)- MyFax, the world’s fastest-growing Internet fax service today announced it has surpassed 300,000 subscribers. MyFax is the flagship product of Software-as-a-Service provider Protus and is targeted for customers in industries including finance, insurance, real estate, healthcare, transportation and government.

Since it was founded in 1997, the company has never wavered from its commitment to provide a superior customer experience through product innovation and customer support. MyFax sends and receives faxes using an email account, removing the need for a dedicated phone line and fax machine. The service, which fully integrates with Microsoft Office, IBM Lotus Notes and ACT!, enables users to manage their fax communication and corresponding document management workflow more efficiently and at a lower cost than traditional fax servers or fax machines, regardless of physical location.

“The fact that we have reached 300,000 subscribers represents an incredible achievement, and I attribute it to a superior product and to a staff that’s committed to impeccable customer service,” said Joseph Nour, CEO of Protus. “Everyday we strive to make MyFax an effective tool and positive experience for our customers. The numbers don’t lie. Our continually increasing number of subscribers validates we are meeting and exceeding our goals.”

Other Protus offerings include my1voice, the cost-effective, feature-rich virtual phone service designed specifically for small businesses that want professional-quality business telephone services without the overhead of installing and maintaining special phone equipment. Protus also offers Campaigner, an email marketing service enabling organizations to have highly personalized one-to-one email dialogues with their customers.

MyFax repeatedly earns industry awards and top rankings for delivering a superior customer experience. This includes Customer Service Management Team of the Year and the Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the third annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The product also earned four Gold Awards from TopTenREVIEWS, an Internet publisher of expert technology and entertainment reviews seen by millions of consumers. The Ottawa Business Journal added Protus to its 2009 roster of fastest growing companies, and the 2009 Branham300, a list of Canada’s leading technology companies, included Protus for the 5th consecutive year.

For tips and tricks on using MyFax as a communications business tool, visit the MyFax blog at http://blog.myfax.com/

About MyFax
MyFax is the fastest-growing Internet fax service used by individuals, small, medium and large businesses to send and receive faxes using existing email accounts or the Web. MyFax offers services in North America and Europe, including the United Kingdom, to industries recognized among the fastest-growing adopters of Internet fax, including healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, transportation and government. More than 15,000 new customers subscribe to MyFax each month. MyFax is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business communications solution provided by Protus. Other offerings include my1voice, a feature-rich virtual PBX service and Campaigner, an email marketing service enabling organizations to have highly personalized one-to-one email dialogues with their customers. Additional information is available at www.campaigner.com, www.my1voice.com or www.myfax.com.

This is a letter I recived and thought someone might be interested.  Part two will include the Press Release.  I personally do not use this product but have been thinking for awhile about moving my faxing into the virtual world.  I currently pay for an extra line for my fax machine.  I have an HP all in one Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier.  I use the Scan and Copy functions a few times each month, but have not recieved a fax in at least a year.  I do send faxes, but only about one a month and that is local.  I’m thinking I could save the money on the Fax line and the electricity if I moved to a service like this.  If you have an comments, please leave them below.

Hi Dean,

I have a story I think might interest the readers of your blog because it shows that you don’t have to be able to invent something entirely new to be successful. You can also find a better way to do something old.

That’s what MyFax did. They took an old technology – faxing – and made it work better by allowing users to send and receive faxes on their PCs, laptops and PDAs rather than having to use a fax machine.

Ok, I know, who uses faxes anymore? Well, MyFax just passed the 300,000 customer mark (see the press release below for reference), so it’s obviously still a big part of the business world. In fact, faxes are sent and received daily by real estate agents, insurance brokers, healthcare workers, lawyers, construction companies and suppliers and others in industries where signatures, handwritten notes, or document security is required.

The part I thought you’d find interesting, though, is the idea that co-founder and CEO Joseph Nour saw the need for an increasingly mobile workforce to be able send and receives faxes when they’re away from the office, and then built a company around it. That’s a lesson others might find valuable.

It’s really the old story of building a better mousetrap; rather than inventing something completely new, he saw changing needs and reacted to them. He also built an amazing customer service organization, which is one of the big reasons why MyFax has been growing at such an incredible rate. MyFax is not the only Internet fax service out there. But when prospects look at reviews by both professionals and users, they see that MyFax comes highly recommended by both.

If you’d like more background information, or would like to speak with VP of marketing Steve Adams about MyFax’s approach to building a business based on faxing of all things, please call me at 847-279-0022 x228 or send me a return email and I will arrange it.

Best regards,

Ken

Ken Krause
Creative Director
Tech Image®
Ph: 847-279-0022 x228
Fax: 847-279-8922
ken.krause@techimage.com
www.techimage.com

Save Energy and Get Organized

Phantom or “standby power” refers to electric power consumed by electronic appliances while switched off or in a standby mode.  While this wasted power in a single appliance is very small, the sum of all the electric devices in your home can quickly add up. So taking action to reduce this waste can make a difference on your electric bill.

Get started reducing your phantom load by using a power strip to create a charging station.  Designate a common area of the house to be used for all cell phone, MP3, video game, etc recharging and plug in the power strip. When charging is complete, simply flip the power strip off to eliminate any standby power usage. We bet you’ll also save on time by having all your personal devices in one spot.

Read more tips on how to rid yourself of “phantoms” lurking in your home.

Another great “Getting Stated” article from Microsoft.  Full article with links: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/ec3fff68-e53c-4168-ae74-8557325e57e21033.mspx

Windows Movie Maker is a feature of Windows Vista that enables you to create home movies and slide shows on your computer, complete with professional-looking titles, transitions, effects, music, and even narration. And when you’re ready, you can use Windows Movie Maker to publish your movie and share it with your friends and family.

If you’re new to digital video editing or just new to Windows Movie Maker, keep reading for an introduction to the different tools you’ll use in Windows Movie Maker and for links to help you learn more.

Keep reading here: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/ec3fff68-e53c-4168-ae74-8557325e57e21033.mspx

The following is an article I received from Nidhi Mathson from Earthtone.

Faced with the need to cut costs, businesses of all sizes regularly resort to ‘reducing headcount.’ But unlike their counterparts at large, publicly listed companies, owners and managers of smaller businesses have much more than today’s share price to think about when they have to reduce costs. For a small business, replacing experienced, talented individuals will be both costly and necessary in the longer term. So, how can they cut costs in the short term without compromising their long-term interests? Earthtone, an online print marketplace that small businesses use to save money by comparing quotes from hundreds of independent printers before choosing the one best suited to their needs, offers a few ideas:

1. Enlist your team’s help. Your team can help you make your business more efficient. Maybe your team has identified a bottleneck that the management hasn’t seen. Perhaps they know how other businesses are cutting costs. Everyone’s incentivized to help you make the savings needed to avoid lay-offs.
2. Shop around for big ticket items. Whether it’s insurance, business travel or printing essentials like your business cards or your company brochure, using comparison sites like Compare The Market, Expedia or Earthtone can help you find the same product at a better price.
3. Connect over the Web. You can use the Internet to shrink the cost of long-distance business. Services like Skype and Go-To Meeting let you meet “face-to face” with your counterparts in other cities and countries at little or no cost.
4. Get your services on demand. You can avoid costly investment in things like e-mail servers, high-spec printers or expensive software by tapping into ‘cloud’ or ‘as a Service’ solutions. Microsoft Office Live, Earthtone, Google Docs and others specialize in providing the resources businesses need while helping them avoid unnecessary upfront investment.

More information about Earthtone
Earthtone is the first non-proprietary e-commerce platform connecting businesses and professionals to local print providers across the world. With US operations based in New York and headquarters in London, the company makes it easy for end-users to search for, compare and buy from any print provider in its extensive network. At the same time, Earthtone provides any print business, regardless of size, brand or location with a world class e-commerce capability and the opportunity to grow by attracting new business from across the web. For more information about Earthtone, please visit: www.earthtone.net

The following is a press release from My1voice.  If you are looking to replace or upgrade your existing phone service, this might be a product to look at.

Conference Calling, Tagging, Improved Routing and Dial to Extension added to service
 
Ottawa (March 26, 2009) my1voice, the cost-effective and feature-rich virtual PBX phone service designed for home offices and small businesses, today announced several enhancements that increase user convenience, professionalism and efficiency. Based on customer feedback, users can now benefit from new features that include conference calling, caller ID tagging, request routing, caller ID routing and call forwarding to an extension.
 
“Quality communication is the cornerstone of customer service,” said Joseph Nour, CEO of Protus, the provider of my1voice. “And in the current economy, it’s customer service that will win the day. my1voice provides start-ups, entrepreneurs, business people with multiple offices and others the type of customizable communications options that haven’t been available in the past to small businesses, helping them show a more professional face to their customers and business partners.”
 
The enhancements are designed to improve the my1voice user experience, satisfaction, and flexibility while providing an increased level of professionalism and business communications for the user’s company. The new features include: 
 
Conference Calling
The new conference calling feature allows my1voice users the ability to add additional parties to a my1voice call that is already in progress. With the conference calling option, users can bring in resources as-needed rather than having several people sitting through the entire call when only parts of it pertain to them. Other parties do not have to call a specific phone number to become connected since the my1voice user acts as a host to bring an unlimited number of parties onto a call.
 
Caller ID Tagging Identifies my1voice Calls
To distinguish my1voice calls from direct phone calls, a ‘tag’ can now be added to the Caller ID. This allows the my1voice user to answer appropriately – by company name for business calls or a casual manner for personal calls.
 
Request Routing
This feature offers a variety of options that help improve customer service by asking callers to enter numbers or letters on their phones’ keypad. For example, callers may be asked to enter their Zip Code or area code so calls can be routed to an extension in that geographical area or the person with knowledge of a particular area. Callers who need information but don’t need to speak with anyone can be directed to a pre-recorded message.     
 
Caller ID Routing
This feature allows organizations to take caller ID to the next level with rules that can be set to exactly match the caller id, or just part of the id. Before a call is answered by the auto attendant greeting, it can be routed directly to an extension, mailbox, informational message or can even be rejected – all based on the incoming caller ID. For example, a rule may route the phone number to his or her sales person or to the customer service representative handling that area code. Other rules can be determined by what uniquely fits the my1voice user.
 
Find Me-Follow Me Dialing to an Extension
my1voice users can now extend their calls to any type of phone, including one that is serviced through another PBX system, making it ideal for business owners who are starting or running a business while working for another company.
 
my1voice is a virtual PBX service that uses existing telephone equipment, making it a fraction of the cost compared to a traditional PBX system. It provides communications features such as auto-attendant, multiple extensions and voicemail services that give a professional face to callers while also allowing small to medium-sized business employees to stay in touch with the office via phone, email or the web.
 
About my1voice
my1voice is a cost-effective, feature-rich virtual PBX phone system designed specifically for organizations with one to 25 employees that want professional-quality business telephone services without the overhead of installing and maintaining special phone equipment. Unlike standard, equipment-based PBX systems, my1voice allows businesses to obtain benefits such as auto attendant, multiple extensions, voice mail and more whether employees are inside or outside the company walls. It is part of a total Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business communications offered by Protus that also includes MyFax, the fastest-growing Internet fax service used by individuals, small, medium and large business, and Campaigner, an email marketing solution with advanced automation features. Additional information is available at www.my1voice.com.

Following is a press release from Epson.

——————————————

EPSON WORKFORCE® 40 IS SELECTED TO PRINT CREDENTIALS FOR THE 81ST ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

The High-Speed Epson WorkForce 40 to Print Thousands of Credentials for
The Biggest Movie Event of the Year

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Feb. 20, 2009 – For the tenth consecutive year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has turned to a high-performance Epson printer, the Epson WorkForce 40, to quickly and flawlessly print thousands of high-quality credentials for the 81st Annual Academy Awards Ceremony on Feb. 22.
“This year presented a unique challenge because we needed a high-speed printer with instant-drying ink to produce borderless credentials,” said Deborah Cahn, manager of Credential Operations. “We knew we could count on Epson to deliver and the WorkForce 40 certainly performed, even beyond our expectations.”
The WorkForce 40 is a compact, single function printer designed for high-volume printing, with speeds up to twice as fast as competitive models1. The WorkForce 40 offers sharp laser-quality black text at up to 27 ppm in default mode.2 In addition, it produces laser-quality color text at up to 19 ppm in default mode2 and offers built-in Wi-Fi and wired networking to share and print files from virtually anywhere in an office area.
More About the WorkForce 40
Cost-Efficient Printing: The WorkForce 40 is ENERGY STAR compliant, uses up-to-three times less energy than a laser printer3 and includes double-sided printing capabilities for increased paper saving.4 It also uses four-color individual ink cartridges for replacing only the color that is needed, and extra high-capacity black ink cartridges are available for high volume tasks.
DURABrite® Ultra Ink: Epson’s exclusive all-pigment inks produce laser-quality text and stunning graphics on all media types. The ink offers smudge and water resistance5 to protect important documents, fade resistance on plain paper that is rated up to six times longer than leading competitive prints6, and is highlighter-friendly on plain paper.
Advanced DX3™ MicroPiezo® print head technology: Epson’s print head technology features smart nozzles that can each produce and precisely place three sizes of ink droplets, as small as two picoliters; this technology is also featured in large-scale printers used by leading commercial and industrial companies across the globe to deliver innovative digital, photo lab and textile printing products and services.
“We’re thrilled that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences again called upon Epson to deliver the fastest and best print quality for their unique credentials application,” said R. Craig Allen, product manager, Consumer Ink Jets, Epson America Inc. “The WorkForce suite of printers and all-in-ones were engineered for small business customers and the line provides the best printing, scanning and image output tools critical to their success.”
About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, photographic, business and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

Well, I did it.  I downloaded and installed Windows 7 on my laptop.  The installation went smoothly and much faster then I expected.  I will be installing a number of applications this weekend.  My first impression is WOW.  I have always liked how Vista looked, but this is really cool.  The new Task Bar will take a little getting used to, but so did the ribbon in Office 2007.  The whole experience is cleaner.  Its like getting a brand new car, it looks really good.  I will keep you updated on my testing.  It is my goal to keep using the laptop the way I have in the past and see if I run into any problems.