Why SMBs are embracing iSCSI, part 1
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are adopting iSCSI SANs for many different reasons. Some organizations buy iSCSI technology for its ease-of-use relative to complex Fibre Channel SANs.
Climb to the Vista. Is Windows Vista for You?
Is Windows Vista for your company? Many small businesses will be asking their IT people this question over the next few days, weeks, and months to find out if Vista is the best fit for their business. Most IT consultants will be advising their client base to wait for Service Pack 1 which seems to be a standard response to any new software package o
10 Shopping Tricks That Stores Hate
Stores are always trying to get you to do what they want. But what if you refuse? What if you do what benefits you and not the store? Aside from outright fraud, what are the things that you can do to come out ahead? We’ve put together 10 tips that will help you save money, but probably won’t help the store. That’s why they hate them. And you.
The Less I Do, the More I Make
Good posting at Duct Tape Marketing worth sharing that talks about offloading some of your lesser profitable tasks (entrepreneurs & business owners) to focus on what makes you the most money. Makes sense . . .
The Less I Do, the More I Make
Good stuff via Duct Tape Marketing:
—————————-
The trap of the small business owner is, that in many cases, to grow a business to some level of success means putting your head down and working real hard doing the making it, fixing it, shipping it of the business.
Problem is, that also eventually stops you from growing. Delegation is an art, but a necessary one. Until you can unload the technical work and focus on the strategic work you will find that your business will fall into cycles of expansion and contraction eventually settling on some sort of entrepreneurial homeostasis that neither pays well nor satisfies.
I don’t mean to paint such a somber picture, and after all this is a marketing blog, so what’s the point of a discussion of management strategies. One of the best things you can do in your business if you can free yourself from the technical work is to finally spend more time on strategic marketing work – in my mind some of the most productive work you can do.
In order to break free you might want to compute your strategic minimum wage – this is an hourly rate computed by taking what you would like to make in a year and dividing it by 2080 (that’s 40 hours a week x 52 weeks.) If you want to make $200,000 this year then you need to do work that is producing profit of $96 every hour. Are you?
Let go of doing everything yourself, let your business grow up a bit and get others doing for you. Can you contract for services for some work for less than $96 per hour? The tough part is that transition period. It’s harder to teach someone how to do something than it is to do it yourself. Invest the time now and it will pay dividends later – just make sure you document the procedures while you train.
I can’t find time to blog? Who has time to build relationships with journalists? I can’t seem to find time to develop referral partnerships and line up speaking engagements. Ever said any of these? All of the above are worth far more than $96 an hour. Why then can you always find time to unjam the copier and check your email.
————————-
Roger’s NOTE: it’s somewhat ironic John mentions how he can’t find referral partners–I’ve tried to connect with him a time or two about potentially working together on a future project or two or connecting via LinkedIn with zero response thus far. Maybe he’ll respond to me one of these days–I have some good ideas that might help both of us prosper. 
10 Things You Need to Know About Vista
This Fast Company slide show gives you a rundown of the things you might wish to know about Microsoft’s new OS.
Ten Ways to Botch a Job Selection
Michael Wade from Execupundit.com shares another great post with us today:
———————–
1. Dust off that ancient job description and use it to craft the recruitment announcement. [Just be sure to substitute PC for Commodore.]
2. Don’t bother consulting with the people who actually perform the job. That’s why the phrase “Other duties as assigned” was invented.
3. Always state a degree requirement. If you need someone who can write well, rather than asking for that skill, require a diploma in English. Better yet, ask for a Master’s.
4. If you decide to ask for experience, pick a convenient number out of the air and use that for the number of years of experience that candidates must have.
5. Hold the oral board in a setting resembling a prisoner of war interrogation. That will permit you ask questions while measuring the candidate’s ability to handle stress.
6. Let the oral board members ask whatever questions that happen to come to mind regardless of whether they relate to the performance of the job. It will spur creativity.
7. Start the interview by signaling the type of skills you seek so the candidates can easily repeat your words in response to the board’s questions.
8. Score all questions as if they are of equal importance. Why bother with weighting?
9. Ask plenty of close-ended questions so the answers will be short. This will restrain the long-winded.
10. The final step is crucial: Ignore the declared job standards and the interviews and select whichever candidate you personally like.
Small Biz Ads: The Year of the Web
New local search technology may finally give small businesses the incentive they need to put more ad dollars online
