Starting and running a small business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business today, is all about staying focused on the small business and not on running your office. WinWeb’s Software as a Service applications allow you to do exactly that. Below you will find some of the benefits detailed to help you make up your mind if this kind of technology is for you.

1. No More Software Installation.

Since our software comes to you via your internet browser, there is no need to install anything. Your printer will also work with our software without installation or any modifications. Our software works with any web browser, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox etc.

2. Our software is always up to date.

This really is one of the main benefits of SaaS. We make all the software updates on our servers, so you don’t have to do anything. No update hassle and worry anymore. There are no “Update available - Please download” messages and no CDs / DVDs updates arriving in the mail.

3. Never pay for software “updates” again!

No matter if we update or bug-fix, you will never have to pay for them again, it is all part and parcel of our service. Artificially accelerated software cycles are a thing of your past.

4. Fully Compatible with any Operating System.

Our software runs on any Operating System (OS) with Linux, Mac, Windows and some others - you login and use it.

5. Work and collaborate with anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Our software allows you to work with your accountant, colleagues, virtual assistants and others in real-time at anytime - whatever your business needs.

6. No commuting. No time wasting.

With online technology you can work from anywhere, so no need to travel to an office. Run your small business from home and benefit in terms of time, money and investment.

7. No security problems. No business interruption problem.

Your data is continuously backed up onto multiple RAID-5 data servers in multiple physically and network secure data centers - if that is not enough you can make a copy of your data anytime onto your PC or a CD.
Should your computer crash or get stolen - no problem, just log on to another computer and keep working - can your competition do that?

8. 24/7 Live Support 365 days a year.

We believe that you will be busy during the day with your clients and with working on new projects and so you should - after the phone stops ringing you get down to your admin work. So we thought we better be around in case you need some support for any of our products. It would be no good if we weren’t around now, would it?

9. No contract needed.

No minimum term, cancel anytime, no contract needed and you can test drive any software for a minimum of 30 days free of charge. This puts you in control. Unlike the boxed software you buy, once you paid for it, it’s yours including the problems. Not so with our software.

10. ClimateByte™ Technology

Our environment is in trouble - by using our on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™, you can help to reduce your carbon footprint and help our environment - we are dedicated to develop our future products and services with this in mind.

Our Software as a Service products provide your small business with a on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ helping you to concentrate on your business, while we run your office and IT. This makes your business more mobile and competitive while saving you time, money and helping the environment.

When you run a small business and personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants you probably benefit even more from using SaaS technology - program your business for success.

I get regular questions about what we really mean by WinWeb’s Small Business Infrastructure?

On-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ centers around the idea that business start-ups and growing small businesses need help with numerous administrative tasks that are not core to the business success - such as bookkeeping, it services, internet services, call handling and other such services.

These services - if performed by the business owner - cause a great deal of time wasting - while the fixed cost of a business is still accumulating. This is in our minds a fatally floored business model and can easily be remedied with our infrastructure approach.

We should not expect business start-ups and small business in general to be accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, marketing & PR gurus and so on. We should provide small business with an infrastructure in which it can concentrate on core business tasks, while at the same time enabling the business owner to stay informed of all relevant business facts like cash flow, sales, HR issues, tax position and more. This will enable him / her to make informed decisions, maybe with the help of an external advisor.

Based on these facts, we have devised a six point on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept, which consist of:

1. WinWeb On-Demand Software Solutions - Anywhere At Anytime.

AccountsOffice and OnlineOffice are our two software offerings, which are based on the SaaS - Software as a Services model, to allow for the following key business benefits:

• tight inclusion of business advisors from the start,
• cultivating outsourcing techniques at the outset, i.e. virtual assistants,
• no IT knowledge needed and hassle free operation,
• real-time multi-user access from anywhere, increasing mobility.

2. WinWeb 24/7 Live Support - We Are Here For You Always.

Providing customer care and support only during business hours is not acceptable to our clients. Experience has shown us that most admin work gets done by small business before nine in the morning or after five in the evening. This practice is essential if the business is to survive it’s early years.

This is why we have provided our much acclaimed customer support for 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the outset. Saving our clients wasted time and money - while setting new standards in customer support. No manuals need to be read - all problems can be solved in real-time online.

3. WinWeb Live - Networking Community for Small Business Only.

To foster collaboration and outsourcing we have expanded our WinWeb Live™ offering to allow for small business community networking - thus enabling the business owner to make decisions about his / her current needs, with the following benefits:

• timeshare virtual assistants for professional results,
• offer contracts of work to contractors on a case-by-case basis,
• promote the business to a large audience or even locally,
• find new work and contracts online

4. Business Advice

Our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ enables business advisors, accountants, bookkeepers and other advisors to have a “Up Close and Personal” relationship with the small business owner, providing key elements for the success of a small business:

• timely and up-to-date advice from anywhere at anytime,
• more efficient advisor function due to SaaS technology, less travel,
• easily expandable advisor network.

5. Solution Partners

Third parties provide external services to complement our services, such as parcel service, office supply services, printing services. These and other services are provided on a bulk buy arrangements by leading businesses in their respective sectors - to provide the most reliable and up-to date service possible - with the effect of enhancing the professional appearance of our clients.

6. ClimateByte™ Technology - For A Cleaner Future.

Our clients are among the biggest demographics concerned with climate change and carbon footprint neutrality. It is a fact that employing remote working and collaboration techniques drastically reduces the damaging business side affects on our environment. We enable our clients to be more eco-friendly and aware, by providing them with our green technology - an ongoing development commitment of WinWeb.

WinWeb welcomes any suggestion that will further enhance our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept - especially the development of even more eco-friendly business processes - to serve our small business and business start-up client-base.

It is Saturday, weekend - here in the UK a long weekend as we have public or bank holiday on Monday - for me always a time to reflect on the week gone by and of the weeks ahead. For many small business owners it’s time to work and catch up with admin or other work, but ask yourself this, “Is this what I wanted from my small business?” Or did you want to be with your family, have some time off - have a life?

This morning I was reminded of a gentleman I met almost thirty years ago while working in the US, he was from Florida and extremely wealthy. He had made all his money in nylon-stockings after the second world war. I was still looking for my first break to make my mark and money, so I asked him how he made it to become so wealthy. His answer was:

Remember always, if you work all day, then you have no time to make any money, you are too busy.

As you can well imagine, here I was, about 20 years old and this guy came out with a statement like this, I thought he was completely mad and insane. Unfortunately I was stupid enough not to ask him what he means - otherwise I would have learned one of the most important business success lessons of my business live very early on.

He was absolutely right of course, you may very well already know that. He was talking about having time to have a vision and dream, think about your small business and not about your products, standing back and getting out of the proverbial forrest, so the trees are not in the way.

So why not use this weekend, stop working and do some dreaming about what could be - nurture your vision for your small business and see where it takes you. Vision is one of the most important ingredient for small business success.

Take the time to make money - stop being so busy. But now you have to excuse me ……. Have a great weekend!

There are two ways to get better payment terms from your suppliers - make sure you know what the pricing is and negotiate the payment terms last, without warning. Most businesses do not expect small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal businesses to negotiate payment terms, so you have the element of surprise on your side - and it makes you look more professional.

Firstly there is the extended payment term, of 60, 90 and 180 days - see if your supplier will allow any of those terms. Even if they only give you 60 days, you can always go back after 3-4 month using this payment terms in which you have shown to be trustworthy. If it is declined and only 30 days are offered - because you have no history - then this is the perfect scenario of our second method.

Early payment discounts of 2% if you pay within 7 days. This is like a 24% p.a. discount on the invoice value, not a bad way to compensate for the overdraft interest charges from your bank.

Surly you supplier is interested in your business, and is not going to decline both offers - you win either way - if they decline, then look for a new supplier. Because you are not only helping yourself with your cash-flow, but theirs too.

As part of a bootstrapping exercise or a business start-up phase, working from home is a great way to work, so I thought of some points to consider when setting up your office, small business or personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants at home:

1. Cost - you will save a lot of money and be very eco-friendly when you decide not to rent an office, this saving can be used in other areas of your business, like marketing, better web-site or better IT.
2. Family - I suspect that many of you work from home because of your family, it allows you to be around when your kids come home from school or look after relatives, while still earning a living.
3. Commuting - again a very eco-friendly approach and saves money and time. This time can be spend on real business activities. It certainly will enhance your work/life balance and make your small business or start-up more cost efficient form day one.
4. Freedom - this may especially appeal to you if you like to work at odd hours, it will suit your lifestyle. Dress as you like it, so you will be more comfortable.
5. Healthy - if you work in an office and one of you gets ill, soon all the others are down too - not if you work from home.
6. Teamwork - chances are you need to work with other people, use online technology to collaborate with your colleagues and other team workers - they too may work from home.
7. Domestic Life - you’ll be around when the plumber finally turns up or other trades people. You can enjoy your local life more - by having a social network in your village rather than at work - this could be the return of the local community.
8. Small Business Infrastructure - use online technology to keep your data and work safe at all times without that you have to do anything, build your own virtual Small Business Team to timeshare professionals like yourself. Outsource to make your business more professional and scalable.
9. Meetings - even bigger businesses use coffee shops to meet - they often have WiFi - so can you. Make sure you plan them well, so you can be efficient with your time.
10. Eco-Friendly - you will only heat your home, no other workplace needs to be heated or air-conditioned, your energy efficiency goes up, no travel to work - so you reduce your carbon footprint enormously just by working from home.

You will need some pretty good reasons to go to an office and work. Especially for small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business, you need to ask yourself if you can afford to miss out on all the above opportunities for your work and for your life?

I work from home over 90% of the time and only go to the office for meetings and I love every minute of this. I use social network communities like linkedIn to build my professional network, utilizing our online office, skype and other tools to communicate and work worldwide.

More and more of my friends work from home so we have nice “pub-lunches” locally, no traveling, less stress and a much better work/life balance - how is your work/life balance?

For more of my checklists see the Small Business Checklists category and as always please add to my list with your comments, tell us what works for you.

An enormous amount of personal and business information is available on the internet and in the hands of unscrupulous people it could do a lot of damage. Taking the seriousness of this matter into consideration the House of Lordsí science and technology committee published a proposal to protect people against cyber crime and hold start-up-, personal- and small business, and IT security vendors responsible.

The proposal focuses on protecting customers data and personal information. The Lords called for the setting up of an online e-crime reporting system that would include the creation of security breach notification laws and how they will be enforced.

McAfee and Datamonitor, the analyst firm, conducted a survey that included over 1400 businesses. 30% of the respondents said that a major security breach could be fatal for the business.

“We feel many of the organizations profiting from internet services now need to take their share of the responsibility. That includes the IT industry and the software vendors, the banks and internet traders, and the internet service providers,” said Lord Broers, chairman of the committee.

Small businesses, internet services, banks, software vendors and the IT industry need to start taking responsibility for e-crime and protect themselves and their customers against them. Small businesses need to consider outsourcing processes such as accounting that they aren’t comfortable handling. An online shop must take all the necessary precautions to protect its customers.

A On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure can dal with a lot of the security concern small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Personal businesses must have.

A chain is as strong as its weakest link, and this saying holds true for a small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Personal businesses also. It is crucial that employers look into the work-life balance of their employees and motivate them to stay healthy and fit.

With the working day extending to more than the 9 to 5 routine, often employees are sitting in front of the computer for hours at end and this affects their health as well as their energy level.

Peninsula Businesswise conducted a survey to study the health of office workers and 82% respondents said that their working hours and conditions did not allow them time to exercise and this was affecting their health and well being.

Start-up-, personal- and small businesses need to motivate and encourage their employees to exercise and stay fit and could consider offering them discounted membership to local gyms. With global business practices office workers are often working at odd time and work conditions should be such that allows them relax and keep fit.

“Employers simply need to be aware of this growing issue in the modern business environment, whilst also ensuring they carry out the duty of care they must have for their employees,” says Peter Done, the managing director of Peninsula.

Flexible working conditions should be considered and an online office can help keep remote workers to stay in touch with the office.

I guess the start-up-, personal- and small business owner should take the same advice for themselves.

Hat-Tip to GrowingBusiness.co.uk

Small businesses, like home-, micro-, lifestyle-, mobile-, SME-, SMB-, SOHO-businesses, can benefit tremendously by using online IT effectively. Not only can it make daily tasks in a business easier but also create a potential market with an online shop and cater to an audience the business may not have reached out to in the past by traditional means, resulting in more successful businesses.

To create an online shop and strengthen e-commerce it is first important to understand how business is done over the internet. You would have to select the domain name and the website addresses thoughtfully and would need to ensure that the design and content of the website reflects your business style. Content should be appealing and should motivate visitors to come back to your website time and again.

It is also crucial to analyze the internet service provider that your business uses so that you are in touch with your online clients in an efficient manner. An online office and on-demand small business infrastructure can integrate the many processes that are crucial to a business and this is especially true for small businesses having less than six employees.

Your e-commerce should be secure and assure your clients that their crucial financial information is safe on your website. It is important to manage your IT requirements for e-commerce on a daily basis so that your business doesn’t suffer because of any slip ups or technical failures.

When you think about starting up your business, e-commerce should be high on your list of priorities, even if you are starting a personal business, like Contractors, Freelancer, Free-Agent, Self-employed and Virtual Assistants.

Remember, there is always a nice “market - niche” to be had, products to be sold the big boys will not touch, because the turnover is not high enough for them - but it may be the nice little earner you’ve been looking for.

While most of us want to achieve professional success a majority of working people are now unwilling to do so at the cost of their family and health. Employees are preferring to turn to businesses that offer them flexible working conditions that allow them an opportunity to find a balance between work and home.

This is a strong equalizer when it comes to compete for the employees with big business. An interesting research study by Mitel indicates that small businesses are more open to adopting flexible working conditions not only for the employees but also for the business owners. Small businesses are willing to utilize the internet and IP telephony to allow remote working.

” ….. 72% of small businesses were willing to allow their workers to work from home as compared to the 44% of bigger businesses and corporations. …”

Small businesses are making use of online business infrastructure and using it effectively to focus only on core activities. Having an online office is an excellent way for employees and employers to keep in touch with the office and also with clients and customers. Since the internet can be accessed at any time it really doesnít matter where one is and can log on and make crucial business decisions.

Working styles are changing globally and on-demand small business infrastructure is paving the way, not to forget it is more eco-friendly too.

I usually complain about the Government not knowing what small business needs.

Here is an example of some good advice for small business, the Health & Safety Executive has a web-page called “Myth of the Month“, you should have a look at it .

One myth I would have believed is the myth of the month July 2007:

The myth: All office equipment must be tested by a qualified electrician every year.
The reality: No. The law requires employers to assess risks and take appropriate action.

HSE’s advice is that for most office electrical equipment, visual checks for obvious signs of damage and perhaps simple tests by a competent member of staff are quite sufficient.

There are more “Myth-Busters” on the web-site.