I recently came across another helpful article about “cybersecurity” from Julius Genachowski: “Small Business Cybersecurity: A New Way to Customize Your Online Defense System”. See:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julius-genachowski/small-business-cybersecurity_b_1101946.html?ref=homepage
The article notes that small businesses are considered low hanging fruit for cyber criminals. But, it points to an online tool developed by the FCC (“Small Biz Cyber Planner”) that should help us deal with security. See:
http://www.fcc.gov/cyberplanner
The tool looks like a good start to me. Through the use of a simple drop-down menu, it allows a small business to at least create an outline of a cybersecurity plan. Topics include: Privacy and data security, scams and fraud, network security, website security, email, mobile devices, employees, facility security, operational security, payment cards, incident response and reporting, and policy development and managem,ent.
In addition, the Genachowski article recommends the following common-sense moves to get out of the low hanging fruit zone:
- Make sure that Wi-Fi routers are secure and password protected.
- Regularly change passwords.
- Install anti-virus and provide firewall security for your Internet connection.
- Download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications as they become available.
- Train employees on security principles, such as protecting sensitive information and not clicking on email attachments or links from untrustworthy sources.
- Do not plug an unknowns USB thumb drive into your computer.
It all seems pretty common sense, but… it’s amazing how many of us let this stuff slide.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
I recently ran across a post by Webmix Marketing that brought into focus some thoughts I’d been working through about customer reviews and the service industry. The article, “Maximizing Customer Reviews to Grow Your Business” pulls together some stunning statistics about the importance of online reviews to the consumer decision-making process.
The 4 October 2011 article can be seen in full at:
http://www.webmixmarketing.com/maximizing-customer-reviews-to-grow-your-business/
In the age of the internet we all need to be sensitive to this trend. Ignored, it can be damaging to our marketing efforts, but…if nurtured, customer reviews can be an extraordinary tool We need to pay attention!
From the Webmix Marketing article (highlights by me):
- “81% of people use consumer reviews in their purchase decisions.”
[Source: Nielsen Online via BizReport, February 2009]
- “90% of online consumers trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust unknown users, 27% trust experts, 14% trust advertising, 8% trust celebrities.
[Source: Erik Qualman, Socialnomics, via Search Engine People, July 2010]”
- “92% have more confidence in information found online than they do in anything from a sales clerk or other source.”
[Source: Wall Street Journal, via Search Engine People, July 2010]
- “7 in 10 who read reviews share them with friends, family and colleagues thus amplifying their impact.”
[Source: Deloitte & Touche, via Search Engine People, July 2010]
- “51% of consumers use the Internet even before making a purchase in shops.”
[Source: Verdict Research, via Search Engine People, July 2010]
Note: These statistics are a year or two old and if polled today the numbers would probably be even higher.
So, how does the service company take advantage of this situation? Go online and get your company listed on relevant sites and start requesting reviews from your (satisfied) customers. Some sites to establish your presence:
Angie’s List: https://my.angieslist.com/
Google Places: http://www.google.com/places/
Yahoo Local: http://listings.local.yahoo.com
Bing Local: https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
Insiderpages: http://www.google.com/places/
CitySearch: http://www.citysearch.com
Yelp: www.yelp.com
Superpages.com: www.superpages.com
Take advantage of opportunities to request reviews from happy customers. Make it a part of your process and see how it can positively affect your marketing efforts.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
A reprinted blog post from Randal DeHart at Fast Easy Accounting. One of my top rules for success: Don't ever let your accounting get out of whack!
I have all of the tools I need. I don’t know why my boss has been making such a big deal out of everything.
After all, I’m the one who has been doing all the hard work while he’s been getting all the money. It’s about time that I started making “The Big Bucks”!
I talked to all my friends and the phone is ringing. I giving everyone one I know a good deal and a low price because of the simple fact that I have no overhead!
This is easy – I give my customers an Estimate / Do A Little Work / Collect A Check / Spend The Money
Soon I will have the perfect mobile office. My old boss was just a Cheapskate”!
Today more than ever, it is necessary to have a properly setup QuickBooks file and maintain it. Someone with the knowledge and training combined with an understanding of construction to Set-Up, Clean-Up, Tidy-Up and maintain your QuickBooks.
Customized reports hold many answers to the WHO Questions – Who Owes Money To Whom? Who is your Best Customer? and who Is your #1 Favorite Customer and are they adding / taking profits or cash flow?
Some customers ask for very detailed invoicing and all the receipts before they will pay their contractor. Have you found at times you give away the profit of the job just to get your money?
What you don’t know can keep you up at night instead of focusing on new clients!
Do you have any Sales Tax Issues? Do you feel you are paying Sales Tax twice?
Want to hire employees? Have questions about all those Government Forms?
Are you getting nasty phone calls? Has a government tax agency levied your bank account?
In Construction, having good bookkeeping is more than entering the receipts into QuickBooks and using it like a checkbook register. Starting where you are: We help “A Little” or “A Lot” depending on your individual needs.
We take shoeboxes, file boxes, all the receipts hidden under the seat and on the dashboard and we turn them into useable data that can generate some meaningful reports you can use to make intelligent decisions.
And along the way – we help with item lists, detailed customer invoicing (pay applications click here for a sample) and job costing.
We handle the paperwork, you handle your money and focus on the management tasks that only you can do.
We have a construction background so we understand what your dealing with in the field and the office.
Today more than ever, it is necessary to have a properly setup QuickBooks file and maintain it. Someone with the knowledge and training combined with an understanding of construction to Set-Up, Clean-Up, Tidy-Up and update your QuickBooks because there are way too many tasks for one person to learn, master and do it right.
We are here to help - Let’s start with a quick conversation………please introduce yourself
Warm Regards,
If you need our help please click here
Randal DeHart is a senior construction accountant and PMP (Project Management Professional) with direct experience project management, process development, and construction (he's a plumber!). He is the founder of Construction Accounting Specialists.
Scheduling is obviously a key component in a field service operation. If you have multiple technicians, trucks, and customers you need to get on top of your scheduling process. To let this activity slip is to lose customers and see profitability decline.
Here’s the nightmare scenario:
One of your service technicians calls in sick. Another discovers they must pick up a missing equipment or tools from the plant because a new problem was identified. Still another crew is running late on a job. One of your technicians is stuck in traffic and is going to miss a planned call. And then, two high priority calls come in that require service today or will result in penalties. How do you adjust your schedule and workforce to compensate for all of these conditions?
If you, the field service technician and/or manager, could get exactly what you want, what would your ideal scheduling system look like? Would it be the old school whiteboard with sticky notes? How about a traditional enterprise scale installed software computer program? Or are you interested in a cloud-based web application?
What would a good scheduling application look like? Multiple users? Customer interface? GPS mobile tracking? QuickBooks integration? Record keeping? Mobile device access?
What’s a reasonable cost? Should it be a one-time purchase (with on-going upgrades) for installed software or should it be a monthly subscription for a web-based application?
How important is it to have a solution that does not require sophisticated, in-house IT support?
At Conductrus we are trying to assemble a master list of what the service industry would like to have in an ideal program. We're more than happy to sign up launch partners to use our scheduling app free of charge for 6 months in return for feedback and suggestions. See:
http://conductr.us/launch-partners/
But even if you don't want to try our app, please let us know what you'd like to see in a great mobile workforce scheduling application.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
MY Webinars Automotive Training Solutions and Michael Moser, CAFM, are presenting a webinar that addresses many of the issues that resonate with service companies who are trying to manage their truck and equipment fleets.
I’m hopeful that his archived 21 September webinar ($35 to register) "Maximizing your Telematics ROI", will address some of these questions. See:
http://mywebinarsonline.org/FM_Archived_Webinars.html
From the MY Webinars site:
Many organizations leave a substantial amount of savings opportunity on the table because they don’t know what they don’t know. This webinar will provide a detailed process to follow when considering implementing a telematics/GPS system into your organization to identify all potential benefits resulting in maximizing your return on investment (ROI).
In this webinar, the speaker will discuss:
- Lessons learned from experience as a fleet manager implementing telematics into a fleet of over 2300 vehicles, so you can avoid the same mistakes.
- Choosing a project manager and forming a team to maximize project results.
- Many of the features, functions and processes to consider when choosing a telematics system for your organization.
- How many organizations choose a telematics/GPS system and then justify the cost. A different approach will be discussed that, if followed, will in most cases utilize the technology to benefit more areas of your organization resulting in a higher return on your investment.
- Receiving buy-in from Senior Management.
- Implementing a system that helps employees and does NOT make it more difficult.
- What we can measure and report to improve; fuel consumption, productivity, safety/accidents, maintenance, payroll expense, asset utilization, unauthorized use of equipment, regulatory compliance, back office administrative processes and customer transparency.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Define some common terms associated with telematics technology.
- Discuss the different levels of telematics/GPS products currently on the market.
- Describe how to assemble a team and follow a process to manage this complex project.
• Identify the cost savings opportunities within your organization to produce a ROI (return on investment) analysis.
KEY TOPICS
- Assembling the best “Project Team”.
- Identifying all ROI opportunities/features.
- Quantify, prioritize and schedule implementation of opportunities/features.
- Producing the RFP and choosing a supplier.
- Installation, training and ongoing management of the system.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
It's not uncommon for the issue of security to be raised in any conversation involving web-based applications (“cloud computing”). The clearest way that I've found to address this is to compare what we do at Conductrus to what the banking institutions do to protect the transactions that consumers initiate through their personal web accessed accounts.
The banks use a technology known as Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL is an encryption technique that ensures that data passed over the internet isn't in a "readable" form. We use the exact same technology in securing the Conductrus workforce scheduling software solution.
You can tell if the site that you’re interacting with uses SSL by looking at the address bar. You should be safe if the address looks like this:
"https://www.site_you_are_accessing.com"
The “s” that you see at the end of the “http” is the indication that the site is using SSL encryption. If you don't see the "s" then the site isn't using SSL (and you have a reason to be concerned about security).
There are several levels of SSL encryption as well. Most sites today (Conductrus and your bank included) use the most secure 128 bit SSL encryption.
For the purposes of this discussion that's really all that the normal business person should need to know.
Jeff Rollins is the CEO at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs.
As we all know by now, web-based cloud computing has many positive attributes. However, for many the deal breaker is security. How easy is it to hack into web-based data-bases? How often do they crash? Can we trust a web-based application?
I’m hopeful that an up coming 30 August webinar from Qualys and Web2Web, “Cloud Computing: Security, Compliance and Implementation Aspects” will answer some of these questions. From the Qualys site:
“Cloud computing is reshaping the way information technology is delivered and offering tremendous business benefits. In spite of the great promise of cloud computing, some enterprise organizations are still holding back from fully embracing cloud computing. For the majority of them, it all boils down to one question: Can I trust cloud computing?
In this 2nd webinar of the Cloud Computing Webinar Series of Web2Present, our new upcoming cloud computing webinar will tackle exactly that and provide answers to:
Who owns the Security problem?
What Cloud Computing security aspects should you consider?
What is the purpose of these cloud computing security aspects and which solutions are available?
Will I still be in control of the cloud computing security aspects?
How about Cloud data assurance and compliance?
In this webinar, leading authorities in the Cloud Computing Security field will address these questions by walking you through cases and examples.
Please join us for this insightful look into how the cloud can help you extend and enhance your IT operations, while saving you time, cost, and headaches.”
Sounds interesting and timely. I’m going to check it out.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
The Technology Credit Union (San Jose, CA) reported on 23 August that it has established two new solar loan programs for residential customers. From a 23 August San Jose Business Journal article, see:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2011/08/23/san-joses-technology-credit-union.html
"The programs are intended to provide financing to customers interested in adding solar panels on their homes or residential properties. San Jose-based Tech CU was founded by the employees of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Semiconductor Division and has been serving Silicon Valley for 50 years.
The loan programs are being called Solar $mart, and build on the credit union's work with the Bay Area Climate Collaborative on SunShares, which allows residents, businesses and governments to receive discounts on solar energy purchases through group buying.
For more information, Tech CU is holding a seminar Aug. 24, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at SunPower Corp. Click here for more information or to RSVP.”
Technology Credit Union members who participate in a SunShares solar installation can choose to receive a pre-negotiated discount using SunPower solar panels or they can participate in a group buy to negotiate a group discount with a solar provider.
Financing for all Tech CU projects will be provided through Solar $mart. Two loan options are available:
Solar $mart Home Equity Line of Credit: A secured loan that provides financing up to 80 percent loan-to-value with credit limits from $5,000 to $75,000.
Solar $mart Unsecured Loan: 10- or 20-year term loans from $10,000 to $50,000.
In addition, individuals may qualify for Federal tax credits for up to 30% of their solar project. For a complete list of qualifying projects, visit www.energystar.gov/taxcredits. Be sure to consult a tax advisor regarding tax credits and possible interest deductibility on Solar $mart Loans.
This is great stuff. Perhaps it is telling that this loan program is made available at a credit union, and not a bank. However, it is good news. The financing ROI model for solar PV residential installations is established, clear, and feasible in states like California, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, and Maryland. Having a vehicle for a straight-forward loan process is a tremendous tool for moving this process along, promoting renewable energy, addressing global climate change issues, and creating jobs.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
Small business owners have continued to have trouble nailing down loans nearly a year after the $30 billion, federally guaranteed 2010 Small Business Act was passed. Philadelphia small business loan advisor, MultiFunding, recently released a report noting that the nation’s largest banks have shown almost no interest in making loans to small businesses. This is particularly discouraging as these loans are desperately needed for expansion (jobs creation) and to manage cash flow.
From a 15 August article by Jondi Gumz in Silicon Valley MercuryNews.com, “MultiFunding: Big banks fall short in small business loans”, see:
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_18687282?nclick_check=1
“MultiFunding reported Bank of America and Citibank control about a fifth of all bank deposits in the U.S. but made only 0.6 percent of all U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loans in 2010. Bank of America is second in deposit market share in Santa Cruz County….Chase ranked 10th, with 10.8 percent of deposits nationwide and 4 percent of SBA loans nationwide.”
“MultiFunding's July survey of 1,200 small business owners nationwide found 18 percent applied for a loan in the past year, with 58 percent getting what they requested. Of those that did not apply, 73 percent say they still need a loan to improve business, but more than half held off, waiting for revenues to improve, fearful of rejection and discouraged by high interest rates.”
Very disturbing. Even with $30 billion in federal loan guarantees, the big banks have shown almost no interest in making loans to small businesses. Wall Street continues to thrive while Main Street languishes. In our current weak recovery, many businesses have weak cash flow and need those loans to stay in business.
What’s the reasonable way forward?
I’ve run through the gauntlet of the small business loan process and I can tell you that it’s not fun. If you can see that there might be a need for a loan on your horizon, start the process as early as you can (don’t wait until you actually need it). In the eternal Catch-22 of the small business universe, the more you need that money the less likely the banks will be to lend it to you.
You might also be well served by shifting your business accounts from large banks to smaller local/ regional banks. As noted by MultiFunding, the smaller lenders are much more willing to work with you.
Finally, when looking for funds for business growth, investigate federal, state, and local incentive programs. Check out other provisions of the 2010 Small Business Act (there are significant other opportunities for small businesses). Don’t count on the traditional business loan. Look for creative funding sources.
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.
Although Conductrus is a provider of a workforce scheduling application, we recognize that software and management tools will not make a service enterprise successful if the organization is not properly led. Leadership and team building are essential to successful field service management operations. So, what are the key attributes of a good leader?
- Recognizes potential in others
And, you’d better have a good sense of humor, a passion for what you are doing, and the courage to do what is right for your business and team.
Mnemonics are sometimes pretty hokey, but I do like “TEAM”: Together Everyone Accomplishes More”. Good leadership recognizes that an empowered team will consistently develop ideas for ways to improve a business. It is very important to have a team structure that encourages feedback and initiative.
Managers need to engage employees and encourage questions about the status quo. Some of the best ideas for service improvements come from the guys in the trucks. You need to demonstrate that you want employee feedback by asking for it and (very important here) listening. Set up meetings specifically for challenging current procedures. Actively encourage questions about policies, processes, and methods. And, if any of the ideas are implemented, make sure the contributor is recognized.
Successful teams are also characterized by shared responsibility for the bottom line. I believe that management must be willing to open the books and shed some light on the true expense of doing business. Helping employees to understand direct sales and overhead costs will give them a better appreciation and understanding of the investment and cash flow needed to run a successful organization. An informed workforce can better relate to the importance of strategic planning with goals for safety, quality, productivity, financing, customer service, and teamwork.
The most successful service organizations empower team members to take ownership and recognize the value and unique insight of the entire team. Build your teams with care, lead them with integrity and trust, and reward them fairly. Sounds pretty simple, so why not give it a try?
John Whitney AIA is Senior Vice President for Business Development at Conductrus, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of workforce scheduling software tools for businesses with mobile field service management needs. He is also Founder and Principal at the Clean Energy Action Project, a cleantech research and renewable energy consulting enterprise.