At a time when the government is thinking about bringing people into the country because of skills shortage, we have a greatly untapped resource of skills sitting at home. Chances are, if you had a job when you started your family, your employer was sad to see you leave. Especially in very small companies every person counts.
So if you are interested in doing some work on the side, to keep your skills and use them, then teleworking could be for you.

[…]Telecommuting, telework, or working from home (WFH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours (within limits). In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. The motto is that ‘work is something you do, not something you travel to’. A successful telecommuting program requires a management style which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual employees. This is referred to as ‘managing by objective’ as opposed to ‘managing by observation’.[…] ∼ Wikipedia

You could talk to your employer before or after you leave, that will help your employer, save cost and keep you in work and helps you to stay in touch with your work experience. Bookkeeping, telesales, database management, typing, even call handling are good teleworking opportunities, to name but a few. The Telework Association is a useful source for tips, courses and opportunities.

If that does not work, set yourself up at home and sell yourself on the phone, internet, etc. Your earnings depend on your skills and experience. You will need a mobile, ADSL internet and a very good small business infrastructure to be successful.

Give it a try, what do you have to loose?

Tags: Bookkeeping, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Client Relations, Entrepreneur, Great Business Idea, Home Business, Homesourcing, IT, Micro Business, On-demand, Outsourcing, SaaS, Sales, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, Software as a Service, SOHO, Teleworking, Very Small Business, Virtual Assitants, VSB, Web Technology, WinWeb, WOW

I wanted to upgrade my mobile phone yesterday. I have been a happy Vodafone customer for more then 10 years now. But lately the staff in my local shop changed, the service is not so friendly anymore and I “feel” that Vodafone really has lost it’s edge.

Anyway, I wanted a 3G phone, so I can use the higher data rate available with 3G, and leave my Vodafone 3G data-card at home and cancel the contract, in other words get it all in one little box, IP convergence. Every time I need to connect to the internet with my laptop, I do not have the card with me.

All went well, I found a phone really liked it, decided I was going to have the phone and then said I wanted the “unlimited” data-card service via my new phone. That’s were it all stopped. The phone has data services, but not the “same” data services as the data-card. I did not know that there is a “different kind” of IP data-service.

And to make the customer experience complete, I found out that the so it is called “unlimited” data-service on my existing data-card, it is not unlimited. I and Vodafone must use different Oxford dictionaries, I guess.

1. Having no restrictions or controls: an unlimited travel ticket.
2. Having or seeming to have no boundaries; infinite: an unlimited horizon.
3. Without qualification or exception; absolute: unlimited self-confidence.

To cut a long story short, no data-services for laptops for the same price as with the 3G card???

Tags: Business Infrastructure, Business Start Up, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Micro Business, Office/IT, Vodafone, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB

If you rather want to listen to something, let’s be honest, who wants to read about “idiot” CEOs, then why not visit Dennis Howlett’s blog AccMan Pro and listen to his podcast ” Pioneers of Innovation: Emily Coltman on implementing WinWeb AccountsOffice! “

Emily’s firm Cannon-Moorcroft are Gold Partners of WinWeb and have several installations of our AccountsOffice with clients.

Tags: AccMan Pro, Accountancy Age, Accountants, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Cannon-Moorcroft, Cash-Flow, Client Relations, CPA, CPAs, Entrepreneur, Great Business Idea, Home Business, IT, Micro Business, On-demand, Outsourcing, SaaS, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, Software as a Service, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB, Web Technology, WinWeb, WOW

Health Warning, the contents of this post is slightly addictive. I came across this guy some years back, on holiday, bored and I needed something to read. Yes I know it’s a bit sad, put then Tom found out that CEOs Are Idiots.

Anyway, among great books, you read while on holiday, like ” A Passion for Excellence ” and my favorite so far ” Re-imagine! “, you can now find his wisdom on his website / blog. He has been there for some time, but then CEOs Are Idiots ( Reason 2, see below ), so I can only tell you about this now.

2. CEOs Fail to Spend Hyper-aggressively on IS/IT; Fail to Follow “GameChanger” IS/IT Strategies; Fail to Put Their CIO on the Board of Directors; Fail to Fully Exploit the Web (Revolution Now!).
We all live in a Dell–Wal’Mart–eBay–Google world! All, apparently, except for ….those “idiot” CEOs. IS/IT is changing the world! Dramatically! Fast! A handful get it. (Most don’t.)

Part of the website, is his Project05, with his rants from Summer ‘05. It makes a great read, well it’s a weekend, and I’m bored and I’m a CEO. You know by now CEOs Are …., what am I saying!?!

ENJOY tompeters e!paper

Tags: Business Development, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Client Relations, E-Commerce, Entrepreneur, Great Business Idea, Home Business, Micro Business, PR, WOW, Small Business, smb, sme, Software as a Service, SOHO, Tom Peters, Very Small Business, VSB, Web Technology

Last year, the phone and cable companies convinced the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts to change how the Internet is operated, making a few unelected officials responsible for a decision with billions of dollars of impact for millions of Internet consumers.

This must be seen as another attempt, to marginalize consumers, small business and minority groups. It’s Our Net, is on of the web sites to inform you about these changes. If you live in the US you should make your voice heard, here are some of the consequences if you do not act:

Consumers
If you are a consumer – a Mom looking for healthcare information to protect your family; a home-school parent using the Internet as part of your education plan; an email user staying in touch with your family and friends – you will have a degraded slower Internet experience with certain Web sites. Some Web sites will even be unavailable unless additional fees are paid.

Small Business
If you are a small business, you may not be able to survive online. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you may be impeded from providing the “next big thing” on the Internet.

Schools & Churches
If you are a small non-profit organization, like a church or a school, you may not be able to get your messages out to congregants or student families without paying more.

I am very pessimistic about this, since BIG business seems to get it’s way more often then not. It is a well known fact, that small business is not understood by politicians and government, yet it is more important to a nations wealth than all big businesses put together. But then small business does not pay for election campaigns, give loans or world cup tickets.

Maybe we need a wiki for every politician in the western world and keep records on their voting, so when they come to be re-elected, they have a public “record”! We could make them accountable.

Why do I always think about 1984, when these things go down?

Tags: Balderdash, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Client Relations, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Homesourcing, IT, Micro Business, On-demand, Open Source Software, Outsourcing, SaaS, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, sme-blog, Software as a Service, SOHO, Very Small Business, Virtual Assitants, VSB, Web Technology, Wiki

Leah, down-under at Working Solo, has confirmed what we all suspected for a long time, that the Web is the No. 1 media in the workplace.

“A conservative estimate from the study says 17 percent of overall media is consumed via the Internet, and Horan notes that other researchers like Forrester have placed that number even higher. Yet, studies have shown that only about 8 percent of advertising goes to the Internet, Horan said.” -Cnet reports

I think that part is really nothing surprising, but in her headline she asks: “Is That Important To You?” Good question, even if you know the answer to her question is a resounding YES!, what does that mean for you? She writes:

[…] Start asking yourself, your team, your advisors but most importantly your clients “how can I have a conversation with you that provides you with the value you seek and in the timeframe that works for you?” […]

In my mind, you have to engage with the internet on several levels, your website should be the starting point and then you begin to add features like:

• Feedback Forms, so clients can let you know what they think on a basic level;
• Newsletter Sign Up Form, so you can communicate news to your clients;
• Discussion Forum, this allows you to have a online discussion with clients about your products / services;
• Blog, this is another way to engage your clients in conversation;
• Wiki, another great way to collaborate with clients online;
• Live 24hr Support Chat, to allow for real time problem solving.

All these are essential, if you are to engage with your clients as business partners. You will learn allot about your business, show your clients you care about them, and have your clients help you to develop products / services your clients want.

It may seem difficult to offer all these services to clients, but for very small business this is not really a problem anymore. By taking a very small business infrastructure approach, with WinWeb OnlineOffice, you can offer all these services to your clients out of the box.

Treat your clients as what they are, your most important business PARTNERS.

Tags: Accountants, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Client Relations, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Micro Business, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB, Wiki, WinWeb

On my web travels I came across ether. A great tool for people to sell there advice on the phone and get paid by the minute or hour.

You register, and ether will allocate an extension number to you, set the rate your callers have to pay for your advice and then wait for the phone to ring. You need to put a call button on your website, so your callers can get registered with ether and can get the extension number to call you on.

Your callers will also be able to tell if you are online or not. Whether you’re an accountant, a computer expert, a blogger, or a good gossiper, you can earn money selling what you say to others over the phone.

Unfortunately this service is currently only available in the US and Canada. Still, a great idea.

Tags: Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Client Relations, E-Commerce, Entrepreneur, Great Business Idea, Home Business, IT, Micro Business, On-demand, Sales, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB, Web Technology

Deborah Brown posted on BizInformer a post titled: “Burning Bridges“. She is of the opinion that a vendor overstepped the mark, when he replied to a bulk-email from a client and wanted to get a 12 month overdue invoice paid.

It is not a nice thing to happen to you, when someone publicly asks to get paid. But being owed money for 12 month is certainly a justification to ask to get paid anyway possible. After 12 month the lawyer should be dealing with this, in which case it would also be in the public domain.

I have to disagree with Deborah on this, businesses need to get paid, they are not banks for clients. I think it is the client who has burned the bridge. If this vendor is still working with this client I think he deserves the situation he is in. It may also indicate to other vendors that there may be a problem, with this client.

Cash flow is king for business, am I wrong?

Tags: Business Development, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Cash-Flow, Client Relations, Home Business, Micro Business, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB

I have been reading my bloglist this morning and came across the “You should pay me…..” post on Businesspundit.

And the question: “How often do you/we things that upset our clients?”, comes to mind. And it often is not really anybodies fault, but just a simple misunderstanding. But then you have companies that really don’t seem to care about clients, apart from getting their hands on the clients money. Businesspundit writes:

[…] It’s been a few months now and I’ve called, emailed, filled out online forms, and I have never reached a live person or received confirmation that my account was shut down, and I still get charged. I finally had to file a dispute through my credit card company. It’s $8.99/month, so they owe me at least $26.97. […]

These businesses do not understand that they damage their own business not only by reputation, but also financially.
Your customers are very upset and of cause they will talk (or blog) about their experience. And that all for $8.99/month, that is madness.

I’m sure that Businesspundit has cost them far more then $8.99/month for the last three month, by complaining to the staff, who did not care and now by blogging about it, it gets even worth. The best part is that they will have to refund all this money, so this is going to be a real profitable deal.

Cock ups happen, at $8.99/month per customer, you draw a line, and let the customer go with an apology, even if you think you have done nothing wrong. Rather then spending time on getting $8.99, let the customer go now, find out what went wrong, and fix it. If you make your unhappy customer part of this process and offer a month or two free service, for his/her help, you may even be able to retain this customer. Even if you don’t, at least the customer knows you did care.

It is always nice to hear from customers who like your service, but you do not learn anything from a conversation like that, unless your customers come up with the “I love your service, BUT…..” statement, then count yourself lucky. It shows you that your clients care about your business and products or services enough, to wanting to help you.

Don’t ask your clients to sign long term contracts, with notice periods, etc., give them a cancel anytime, no contract needed relationship, it saves you money, overheads, and forces your organization to focus on your clients. If your service or product is any good, it will get even better, and the bottom line will follow by word of mouth, your clients word of mouth.

To cut a long story short, it makes perfect business sense to pay your customers.

Tags: Business Development, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Micro Business, bad business, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, SOHO, Very Small Business, VSB, WinWeb

Starting next week my posts for the coming months are designed to give some bite sized help and advice to the start-up. A lot of what I do surrounds guidance for the smaller business and this is why I have decided that over the coming months I am going to produce an online guide to assist the start-up.

This guide will also consist of useful links to other websites which have useful material that will assist any start-up.

If there is an area not covered that you feel is worth a mention, please post a comment and I will look into it, otherwise the guides will be split to give advice in the following areas:

1. What you should do before you start
2. Selecting professional advisers to partner you
3. What legal entity is right for your business
4. Cash planning and forecasting
5. Registering with the various government departments
6. Funding your business
7. Bookkeeping requirements
8. Dealing with Value Added Tax
9. Dealing with Payroll
10. Dealing with business taxation
11. What next ………

Before we commence I would like to deal with the Legal Disclaimer:

The information contained in this blog site is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

No action based on the content should be taken without seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material can be accepted by the authors,the firm or this site.

Furthermore, we are not responsible for the content of the websites to which we have provided links, they are merely for reference purposes.

Tags: Accountants, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Micro Business, Selfemployed, Small Business, smb, sme, Very Small Business, VSB