New Year – New Changes

First and foremost let me wish you a very happy 2008! May this year contain all the things that you are wishing/planning for.

The second, and main purpose of this post is to ask you a question (yes you sitting there quietly reading away thing that no one is watching).

Even though I’m on my mid-summer/new year holidays and there is plenty of others things to be doing (like watching cricket and hanging out with my man) I’m also in planning mode for Working Solo. There are already plans afoot for 2008 that are very exicting but one of the things that I’m going to complete before I get back to officially working (on Jan 14) is a new look and feel for this site.

So I’m asking for your feedback …

If you could change ONE thing about the Working Solo website, what would it be?

Any and all suggestions will be considered.

Did Alister Cameron see your credit card details?

Online fraud is a scary thing and something that I keep top of mind when I’m interacting on the web.  I make sure that I change passwords regularly, I have a couple of different user names, and I am conscious of who I share my details with.

And the reason why I do this was reinforce by a post by Alister Cameron last Saturday called “Did I uncover your credit card details on the web today!?” (now there’s a title to get anyone’s attention).

Today I accidentally uncovered a huge list of people’s names, addresses and credit card details online. No kidding.

I found more than that: login details to people’s web hosting accounts and e-commerce site memberships as well. It was really freaky to think it was all just staring at me, thanks to a flukey Google search. Nothing more complicated than that. (And no, don’t email me for the search details!)

Go and read the post NOW and take any action you need to make sure you, your identity and your financials are safe online.

And if you sell over the internet, then you have even more work to do to ensure that your clients have a safe buying experience with you.

[tags] online fraud, credit cards, Alister Cameron [/tags]

Opportunities for Learning

I love learning!! (There you have it).

But in the life of a self-employed technologist, designer, wife, step-mother, friend, pet owner ….. the time to engage in some formal learning can be a little tight. In my case most of my learning tends to be informal and falls into one of two categories – 1) learn-as-you-go, also known as the “school of hard knocks” or 2) learning through others, or what I also call borrowed wisdom.

These days most of the borrowed wisdom comes to me via the wonderful people I invite into my Google Reader. (Thank you to each and everyone of you for contributing many thoughts, ideas, tips and challenges into my life).

So the time has come to MAKE THE TIME for some formal learning, and my preference is conferences/workshops where I can get information from the presentations and inspiration from the people. There are a number of opportunities over the next few months for conferences – one I will definitely be attending, some I wish I was and some I definitely won’t be attending.

DEFINITELY ATTENDING

Next Thursday and Friday (September 27 & 28) I will be heading off to Web Directions South and I’m very excited. Those of you that are a little geeky will understand that after many years of not attending a technology conference I am really looking forward to surrounding myself with creative, cleaver people who are talking about trends and developments in the online world. I also know that even thought my clients don’t understand the excitement I’m feeling they will be looking forward to all the information that I come back with.

If you are also heading off to Web Directions South let me know and the first coffee can be my shout.

WISH I WAS ATTENDING

It is a shame that the organisers of the Australian Blogging Conference, happening in Brisbane on Friday 28th September, hadn’t consulted the schedule of other technology conferences happening next week. Although the Blogging Conference may not be targeted as a pure technology conference as such, but there would be a number of people that are attending Web Directions South that might have also attended the Blogging Conference if there wasn’t a conflict. I know that my colleague Des Walsh is going to this conference so there will be at least one clever, creative person there.

I would love an opportunity to head over to what is now being called Sillicon Welly and there is a conference that might just get me there. Webstock is one conference that I might get to but at this point in time it is still in the “wish to” pile. It would be a good chance to catch up with friends and clients in Wellington and the outstanding feedback from the last Webstock is very tempting …. So maybe I should just go.

NOT GOING

Even though I have a strong history within the Australasian professional coaching industry my move back into technology and design is complete (and has been a very good decision) I won’t be attending the International Coach Federation Australasia’s conference in Melbourne next week (October 2-5). Now I will admit that it is a good policy to attend your client’s industry events, and I have many coaches as clients, but even my clients have decided that this conference isn’t for them. I also understand that even though the industry has grown since the last conference 2 years ago the numbers are still down on previous conferences. Curious.

Conference Envy

Chris Owen, my very good friend and chief pink-people-connector at Pink Apple, has a very strong case of conference envy. She says that she loves being in Australia but at times wants to be closer to North America and Europe for the ease of access to conferences.

But there are times when you wish you were a little bit closer to the action! It’s a bloody long and expensive flight to the US or Europe.

My disappointment ands yearning has been prompted this time because if I’d been able I would be attending a blogging conference called SOBCon 07.

I started to write a comment on her post and decided that after 3 paragraphs that it was too long for a comment and decided to post it here and trackback to her instead. The other reason that I decided to put it here is because I feel that Chris is not alone (feel free to tell me whether I am right or wrong).

So here is my open answer to Chris (and to anyone else that is listening/reading).

Chris, Darren has loads of great contacts but I would imagine that his time is caught up in speaking at many of these conferences, running his business and having a life. So why not look at getting a few mates together and arrange a space/time yourself (much like Phil and crew have done).

I believe that this conference has come out of Liz Strauss’ open mic night on the SuccessfulBlog and from months developing a strong network of good contacts (I’m not 100% sure on this and would love to here from one of the main organisers for [tag]SOBCon 07[/tag] with more details). And now they are going to get together in person and invite other people along for the ride.

There are so many great [tag]bloggers[/tag] here in Australia that we don’t connect with and that would be able to deliver the same content, and possibly more. [tag]Des Walsh[/tag] comes to mind immediately.

What is it that you would be looking for in this conference Chris? Information? Connection? What would a conference like this do for you? (yeah I know too many questions)

There are a variety of conferences and meetings held in [tag]Australia[/tag] that bloggers go to at the moment but I suspect that many of these are targetted to the high-end (the geeks, full-time, already now a lot crowd). I suspect what you are looking for Chris is something targetted at the regular business owner that wants to know more about how to be a better blogger. Yes? No?

If someone else organised this (eg. if I could be tempted) how much interest is there really?

The huge North American or European conferences would be great but right here in our own backyard we have the experience and wisdom to satisfy even the more ardent business blogger.

[tags]conference, Darren Rowse, Phil Gerbyshak, Chris Owen[/tags]

Online Success – Is it really about the technology? Part 1

Recent conversations with some small business owners have highlighted for me the confusion that these people have about developments in technology and the online world.

And for me, the confusion that these people feel is frustrating. Does it really have to be this way? Should these intelligent, articulate business owners be feeling left out in the cold, not know the “right” decision to make?

We are at a place (in the western world at least) where access to technology has never been so plentiful and the opportunity to establish and operate a business so real for so many people – BUT – it seems that jargon, “technology snobbery” and an over-abundance of options is landing many small business owners in a quagmire of decisions.

Should I have a website or a blog? Or both?

Should my website use tables or CSS?

Is Typepad, Blogger or Wordpress the best option? What about Drupal?

Should I upgrade to the new version of MS Office or look at one of the new web suites available from organisations like Google?

What do I do to ensure that my business is findable on search engines? Should I hire a SEO expert? (What is SEO in the first place?)

What is VOIP and how do I take advantage of it?

These are just some of the technology choices confronting small business owners. When there is limited time to operate your business and achieve a good level of online and offline success dedicating time to deciphering these questions can seem like being stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place.

If you are like my online friend Rosa Say you might be asking yourself something like she did last Thursday in a post called Learning 101 in Web 2.0 and Globalization 3.0-

Innovation-speak gone nutso… I’m confused too. What does it all mean, and do we really have to learn it?

But is success in the online world just about the technology?

In my opinion the answer is NO! My experience, and the experience of many others, shows that having a successful business in the online world is more about developing conversations with your market or community and less about what technology you use to do it with.

Does your market really care about the technology? If so then you are probably already spending time keeping up with the latest technology. (You may even be contributing to the conversations that are confusing other business owners).

Hugh Macleod over at GapingVoid got it spot on in a post last week -

The web is not about technology. The web is not about a new media to market one’s wares in. And the web is certainly not about you.

Remember the following line, first coined by Jeff Jarvis; you will need to rely on it for the rest of your life:

The web is about people.

And he also added :

The end result of this is, with the advent of the internet and various forms of social software, suddenly highly savvy networks of people are springing up in their millions. They’re talking to each other. With or without your permission.

Read that last sentence again – the one about the fact that conversations are happening with or without you.

If you are a business owner then there is something I want you to do today – STOP listening to the experts about what is in and what is not, what you should be doing to be on the first page of Google results or what you just have to do to have an internet business that allows you to retire (those things may or may not be worthwhile).

What I want you to start doing ia finding a way to have conversations with your marketplace via some sort of online platform. It doesn’t have to be perfect, expensive, pretty, or “in”. What it does need to be is active, interesting and thoughful.

This is enough of me ranting for now (I promise to pick this line of thought up though). In the meantime I am interested in what you think about the demands that the world of technology has on you and your business. Is it working for or against you?

Tags – technology, small business, conversations, online success

Top Tips for Hearing the Hard Words

There are times as entrepreneurial business owners when someone won’t love us and our ideas as much as we do.  We will have to hear some hard (and at time harsh) words that will leave us feeling like we have just been run over with a big D3 tractor.

The question is do you just suck it up and take the criticism?  Do you fight back?  Do you ignore it?

Pamela Slim over at Escape from Cubicle Nation has put together a great list of 7 tips for handling tough feedback.

In particular I like #3  …

Be a sieve.  Learn how to take in a big piece of tough
feedback, sift out the pieces that have some use or truth to them and let the
rest flow down the sink. Most feedback has some truth in it that will make you
better at what you do.  The easiest way to do this is to ask yourself “What part
of this feedback will make me better, more successful in the marketplace and
happier at what I do if I apply it?”  Keep that piece of advice and let the rest
go.

#7 “Don’t shoot the messenger, even if you want to” is also good advice (particularly in the online world).

Thanks for the great lesson Pam!

The Old Email Challenge

One of the daily technology challenges for small business women like you and me is trying to keep the email monster under control.  You know how it is ….

overflowing inbox, hard to find emails, folders that are all over the place, no folders at all …

This is when good straight-forward advice can come to the fore.  Even though I spend a good deal of time advising clients on how to get the best from Outlook (the email program of choice for so many small business women) I always enjoying tapping into the wisdom of others.

Through my participation in the LinkedIn Bloggers group I came across Itzy Sabo and his blog, Coping with Email Overload.

In Itzy’s own words -

Email programs have not changed much in the past decade, but the amount of email we get has grown by a tremendous amount. The average information worker gets far more mail than s/he can cope with, and an increasing number of people suffer from “email overload”. The blog analyzes the causes of email overload, discusses strategies to cope with the constant bombardment, and provides practical tips for getting the most out of our email programs.

In particular I hopped onto a new idea for keeping track of important emails from a recent post of Itzy’s – How to Colour Code Your Email Messages. This will come in very handy on the busy days.

If you are an Outlook user then this is definitely as blog for you to add to your list of regular reads.
And as for the LinkedIn Bloggers group that both Itzy and I are part of, this post and Itzy’s blog are a big part of what can happen in an interesting vibrant social networking group.  Itzy’s blog was chosen (by random number generation) to be the first “cab off the rank” with a new networking study (what can happen when a significant number of people in your community blog about you and link to your site).  The basic premise is each week a member blog will be chosen and other members of the LinkedIn Bloggers community will be talking about the chosen blog.  What a wonderful group of people!  A special thanks goes to Des Walsh (my coaching colleague from the Gold Coast), Dave Taylor and Dennis McDonald for moderating this group.

What Is ….. you just scribbled

When you find yourself stuck with a writing project, maybe due to the
need for a perfect outcome, then you can call on the words of award
winning author Frank McCourt (author of Angela’s Ashes) for inspiration
-

“I believe that as a writer you have to find your own style. Honesty is the
best policy. And scribble – don’t try to write a novel. Just scribble and let it
come.”

So what if you stopped “trying” to write the perfect piece and started scribbling from the heart.

Panicing – Does it have a place in business?

Are there times in your business you find yourself panicing about something?

If you are like most people (and if you are honest) you will answer yes to this question.  It may not be all the time but at some point most people hit the panic button.

Is there a right time and right place to panic though?

I often come across people who are doing the “last minute” panic (I have even done this one myself).  There is a proposal due this afternoon (and nothing is started let alone finished).  The best client has just stopped purchasing.  The sales numbers are down.  There aren’t enough clients (and we need more NOW!!)

Panic is about demoralising fear (real or perceived) and it engages your fight or flight responses.  It fills your body with adrenaline (and when that runs out cortisol) to try and get you into action to handle the threat.  The unfortunate things about adrenaline is that is is supposed to be a short-term stress reaction, and your body can only product so much.

Sidebar – In an article by Matt Church -

You tend to feel in control when adrenaline is running through your
system. You can deal with many things at once and make rapid
decisions. You feel super human; you think faster than people around
you and draw on untapped energy reserves. You can work all night and
perform acts of superhuman intellect and ability. It’s heady stuff!
And easy to see how someone gets addicted.

So the question is “Is the last minute the best time to panic?  When you most need to be focused and in action, is the last minunte panic effective?”

Sure it gets things done but what it does to you in the meantime can’t be all that good.  And it is definitely not a response that is sustainable.

But it seems to be what most people do – “Let’s wait until the faecal matter hits the air moving device; then we’ll take action.”

If you want to be remarkable why not get your rear into gear before you hit panic mode.

Get out and network before you need new clients.  Start conversations in your market before your sales are less than your costs.  Get into your marketing funnel and get out of your b/s funnel (a great term from Chris Barrow).  Start working on creating a new product or service before your current ones are obsolete.  Stop thinking about stuff and start doing stuff.

Pick the time and the place to panic went it will work for you the best – then the panic may be replaced by planning.  Now planning may not seem as exciting as panic  ….. but wouldn’t it be great to get an adrenaline rush from making a great sale, rather than the terror or not having enough clients.

Your choice!

Time Management – Myth or Reality?

The whole notion of time management is not a new one. Many, if not all, of us have at one time been to some form of time management training. We believed that it would make us more efficient, less stressed, and just possibly create more time in our day.

But this idea of managing time IS a myth. Time is finite. No matter how well you manage it, it will NOT
change.

There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. That cannot be denied. So what is this time management all about.

I have myself learnt that it is more about self-management. Using the time I haveavailable to me to fulfil my priorities. If you do not have enough time in your day, then you need to re-evaluate your priorities, not try to “create” more time.

Next Page »