As a distributed technology and communications platform, the people who created the internet did not intended it to become a soap box for customers to burn their service providers in effigy.

The question used to be, “how can I get my website on first page Google?”  Now the question is, “how can I get this offensive blog posting off of first page Google?”

Reputation management is becoming a term that more and more businesses are learning. Reputation monitoring and effective response are a part of your daily chores. If not today, perhaps tomorrow.

David

Would you do business with a person who didn’t tell you their name or hand you a business card when you met them?

Would you consider requesting a proposal from an online service that does not include a phone number, contact form, or address on their website? It is not difficult to find websites on the internet where there is no information about the owners or key stakeholders.

Does your website have your phone number on the home page? How about a page that has information about your company directors? A detailed contact page is important – it certainly would encourage me to give you a call.

The Social aspects of the Social Networking craze that is sweeping the internet has to have an impact on how you write for your marketing website. Earn some trust by providing good information, make a clear call to action, and identify yourself. The days of doing business with corporations are slipping away… people want to do business with people.

If your marketing website is more than a few years old, it will be missing key elements that a modern website should include. It may be time for a website review with an Internet Consultant.

David A. West

Connect with me:

Has the economy slowed your business down?

I talk to a lot of small business owners in a week and the general consensus is that most companies have seen a decline in revenue over the past 12 months. You really have two choices to make when your business is slow – cut expenses or increase sales.

Do You Want More Leads from Your Website?

You may have the ability to increase the leads that your website generates.  Have you heard of Search Engine Optimization – my guess is yes. It’s quite a buzz right now. That and “Social Media”… things like Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.

What does all of this SEO, social media stuff mean?

If you are even slightly confused or feeling overwhelmed trying to both understand and implement an online marketing program – we have a solution for you.

What does it do for your business website?

If you cause enough banter online and direct the focus of the various media to your marketing website, the search engines respond by showing searchers links to your online presence. The louder you banter… more traffic.  A well designed website with clear conversion goals will convert those visitors to potential clients.  That’s what search engine optimization, social media and video syndication can do for your business.

I’d like to Introduce you to Ulistic

I would like to introduce you to ULISTIC Inc. Our focus is completely on internet consulting and marketing.  Here are some of the things we want to help you with;

• Managed social media, yes we can do it for you. Become a part of a growing Twitter pool and let work at driving traffic to your website or blog
• Search Engine Optimization, get your website showing up on Google for the important keywords and phrases that will generate new leads.
• Website conversion goal review and optimization. Getting traffic is only one part of the big picture… is your website really ready to greet guests and compel them to call you?
• Social Media Coaching and Setup. One and one setup and design of your Facebook company page, LinkedIn, and Twitter account. Setup to automatically cross syndicate you blog writing, tweets and status updates!
• Internet video production and syndication – with a focus on getting traffic!

Technology and Business IT systems are becoming increasingly complicated for the average small business owner to simply figure out on their own. Bulletproof InfoTech bridges the gap between business and the technology solutions available to small business today resulting in less stress and confusion, allowing business owners to focus on running and growing their business.

Calgary AB – 20 August 2009 – Bulletproof InfoTech, a Microsoft Gold Partner, Small Business Specialist and DELL PartnerDirect member is pleased to announce their recent achievement as a finalist in the 2009 CDN Channel Elite Awards for best overall Small Business IT solution in Canada.

Bulletproof’s nomination focused on lessening the overall technology complexity and providing a secure and protected IT network for a Red Deer based accounting firm. Leveraging DELL Power Edge servers, Microsoft Small Business Server, Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V virtualization, Microsoft Office 2007, Windows SharePoint Services, Document Management solutions and Thin Client technologies to build a rock-solid technology system meeting the needs of the business today and providing a solid foundation for growth. The client now has a solution which protects them from data disasters, ensures all staff members are productive and reduces their overall IT support costs.

“Bulletproof InfoTech’s focus on understanding our business and recommending the right solutions to fit our needs ensures we have a lower cost of operation with Information Technology and drives lower costs throughout our business. They are our trusted business partner for all things technology,” states Jerome Roth, partner at Red Deer’s Downey, Swainson and Roth.

“Bulletproof is honoured to have received this recognition,” states René Sloos, Vice President Solutions. “We are 100% committed to serving the needs of Calgary, Red Deer and Alberta small business. This is our focus! Many of the solutions we recommend to our clients are the exact same technologies we use ourselves; we drink our own champagne and share it with those we serve.”

About Bulletproof InfoTech

Bulletproof InfoTech offers worry-free, hassle-free, flat rate, stable networking solutions, managed computer and technology services that are fully guaranteed to small business clients throughout Calgary, Red Deer and outlining communities in Southern and Central Alberta. Headquartered in Red Deer, Alberta with an office in Calgary, Bulletproof employs 18 full time staff and services many customers across the province of Alberta.

To learn more about Bulletproof InfoTech visit http://www.bulletproofIT.ca or call 403.206.2233 in Calgary and 403.340.1011 in Central Alberta.

About Channel Elite Awards

CDN’s Channel Elite Awards recognizes IT Solution Providers for their innovation, leadership and commitment to creating value for their clients. CDN is one of Canada’s leading IT Channel publications and brings news daily to Canadian technology firms through online and print publications. For additional information visit http://www.channeleliteawards.ca.

Press Contact

Stuart R. Crawford
VP, Business Development
Bulletproof InfoTech
403.206.2233
info@bulletproofIT.ca
www.bulletproofIT.ca

Many business owners have approached Bulletproof InfoTech over the past few months as the recession shows it’s ugly head here in the province of Alberta sharing the challenges with doing business in today’s new economy.  However, many of us are committed to maintaining the Alberta Advantage in our business and demonstrating to those around us that Alberta is still a wonderful place to do business in Canada.

Small Business owners have shared frustrations around the major US banks getting hand out after hand out.  The Big 3 getting bailed out and others with their hands out wanting more and more.  What about the small business owner in Alberta?   Who is helping them?  Bulletproof InfoTech with offices in Red Deer and Calgary is doing our part to help the Alberta Small Business owner out.

The Small Business Technology Stimulus Package has been designed to  assist a small business in each of Bulletproof’s core markets of Red Deer and Calgary.  The successful candidate who applies online at http://www.whataboutme.ca will receive much needed computer hardware, software, stuff for play and training needed  and also web marketing services to ensure and maintain the Alberta Advantage.

We are not doing this alone, many of Canada’s leading IT firms including DELL Canada, Microsoft, SonicWALL, Research in Motion, OperiTel Corporation, Scorpion Software, eKzact Solutions, Wi-Band Communications have come forward to help Bulletproof InfoTech help Alberta Small Business which contributions of services and product to help Alberta business.

What exactly will the successful candidate receive?

·         DELL OptiPlex Business Computer System
·         DELL Laser Printer
·         SonicWALL Security Appliance
·         AuthAnvil Security Token
·         Blackberry Smartphone
·         5 Microsoft based courses
·         Web site review from eKzact Solutions
·         Free pass to Blackberry Training in the Fall
·         Discount on Wi-Band Internet
·         One year free netSHIELD Basic (up to 5 systems) from Bulletproof

Bulletproof will be accepting online applicants at http://www.whataboutme.ca starting today and running through June 30, 2009.  Each business will be judged by a team of judges and the successful candidate will be award in July 2009.

For more information, please do not hesitate to call Stuart at 403.206.2233 or email stuart.crawford@bulletproofIT.ca

Cheers

Stuart Crawford,
Guest Blogger to DavidAWest.com

This is the time of year to decide what to do for the next book. I have a number of clients asking me what they should consider doing. Are you curious to know if people are renewing? canceling? increasing or decreasing their Yellow Pages advertising…

If you would please take 3 minutes to complete this very brief survey – I will compile the results and share them with you. I wrote the survey in order to get an idea of what business owners or managers are planning for this years “Yellow Pages” budget.

What are you planning for your Yellow Pages budget this year – please complete this brief survey (8 questions)

–> http://ekzact.com/survey/index.php?sid=16849

Thank you for participating.

David West,
Director
dawest@ekzact.com :: www.ekzact.com

eKzact Solutions Inc.
Tel: 403-770-3023 ext. 111
Fax:403-398-1446

NEW – VideoSpokes :: Be the spokesperson at your website!
Business Blog :: All business, all of the time.
Personal Blog :: Mostly business, but some fun too.

Skype: ekzactsolutions
SkypeIn: 403-775-2205

PS – Are you afraid? Afraid of public speaking, that is? Registration is now open for EasySpeak™… click here

I first met Stuart Crawford several years ago at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.  Like many networking events that I attend, we exchanged business cards and continued to meet others that day.  I didn’t think anything more of this meeting.  Boy, did I not see the freight train of a relationship that was coming my way.

Lost in LIMBO

At that time, Stuart was with a Microsoft computer support firm that was making some great strides forward in helping smaller businesses to avoid being lost in LIMBO (Lost in Microsoft’s Big Organization).  Stuart has a very unique passion that many IT guy’s simply do not have or if they do, don’t demonstrate it in the community.  This guys is passionate about serving the Calgary business community.

New Kids on the Block?

In the past few years, my friend has evolved and most recently joined up with 3 other wonderful leaders in the Alberta technology community to form Bulletproof InfoTech.  Bulletproof is much more than the typical computer repair or network services company, they understand how business works.

Bulletproof Info Tech is the new kid on the block. Not to be confused with “young and inexperienced”, this is a company formed by two major stable networking companies and a team of professionals who have brought together their strengths to make something that truly is bullet proof!

Does it Take Technicians or Business People to Make IT Happen?

The model that I have observed Stuart, Rene Sloos, Jeff Anderson and Sean Tindall provide to business in Calgary and Red Deer wraps technology with a very deep understanding of business.  Want to know more about Web 2.0?  Need to figure out what small business telephone system you need?  How about just getting your in-house mail server to work?  Bulletproof  has so far demonstrated professionalism, caring for business in Calgary and Red Deer and a deep understanding of how technology works. That is how technology works in alignment with your business needs.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

I felt that Stuart’s friendship over the years, his commitment to business in Calgary and now Red Deer, and my new friendship with Rene, Jeff and Sean have warranted a post about them. It’s hard not to enjoy working with peers who all get excited about the evolution that technology and the internet have had on our lives.

Computer Support companies in Calgary are abundant. There are a lot of very talented and knowledgeable people in this industry.  If you need a solution that works, a company who cares and a group of guys you can have a business conversation with then Bulletproof InfoTech must be your trusted business partner.

When it comes to managing your information technology infrastructure, one size does not fit all… Vist the Bulletproof website here.

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your comment added below.

On another note, where do you network for your business? Visit the Calgary Entrepreneur site today.

Cheers -
David A. West

Is OpenOffice.org 3 Ready for Business?

You can not discount the power of collaborative software development. After 20 years of community development, OpenOffice.org 3 is being used in business around the world. It is easy to use and allows you to save documents in a format that is approved by the International Organization for Standardization. If it is necessary to collaborate with other business people who are still locked into their vendor’s non-compliant document standards, OpenOffice.org 3 will allow you to downgrade your ODF documents to the format your colleagues are bound to by their current office software.

“OpenOffice.org v3 is the result of over twenty years’ of software engineering. A completely open development process means that anyone can report bugs, request new features, or enhance the software.”

What is OpenOffice.org?

OpenOffice.org 3 is the opensource version of the licensed StarOffice product available from Sun Microsystems.

“Anyone used to commercial software and its hyping and marketing speak will find OpenOffice.org 3 refreshingly different.”

“OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose. ”

Technical support is available free of charge from community-sponsored sources (forums, mailing lists, etc.) or as a fee-based service from various third-party providers.

If You Prefer Licensed Software – Star Office May be an Alternative

If you like software packaged in shiny boxes with associated licensing fees and toll free numbers to call for help…

If you do want commercial support, the same software is also available as a fully supported and packaged product under the StarOffice brand from Sun Microsystems, one of the world’s most respected IT companies.

One user of StarOffice wrote “ I have Office 2007 and StarOffice 8 installed. I am constantly going to back to StarOffice because it is much easier to use and has more accessible features. Sure, many features are in Office 2007, but spending 30 minutes to find them is not my idea of “efficiency”. I love StarOffice.” — Brian B, Texas, USA

In addition to all of the components included with OpenOffice.org, Sun Microsystems bundles a number of additional applications and software components. Sun charges a fee for StarOffice, which it distributes under a relatively lenient, but still proprietary, software license.

StarOffice is easily purchased online and currently sells for $44.45 CAD. It is available for 5 operating systems.

What to Expect from a Transition to OpenOffice.org

Like any software, you should expect a transition or learning period when you upgrade to OpenOffice.org 3 from your current office suite – after all, it’s not the same software.  What you will find is that it is similar to the previous version of Mircosoft Office. It is user friendly and provides that majority of functionality that most day to day users enjoy. It runs smoothly on most operating systems and if it does crash it has incredible crash recovery. I have never lost a document in draft because of a crash.

What Not to Expect

You should not expect a heavily bloated office suite with hidden functionality that most business users will never use. You should not expect to be forced to “re-learn” how the office suite works every time there is a new version released because of radical user interface changes. You should not expect a major new version every 12 months that deprecates the prior version and forces you to “keep up” with the Jones’. Hmm, maybe that was a bit “over the top”… sorry.

Summary

In 2000 Sun released the StarOffice source code base under an open-source license, this started the OpenOffice.org project.

Open-source is a way to improve and develop software by utilizing the power of collaboration and communities – there is no denying that this power is what the Internet has given us as a gift.

Yes, I am an advocate of OpenOffice.org

It has served our business well and I am excited about the future of this project. Sun continues to provide key support to the project’s developer community. Since releasing the source code to the opensource community Sun’s developers have used “snapshots” of the OpenOffice.org code base for StarOffice releases.

We switched to OpenOffice as a standard over 18 months ago and continue to use it today. It runs gracefully on our PC’s, MAC and Linux operating systems (yes, we use them all). I have won a lot of work through proposals generated from OpenOffice. The recipients of our business proposals received PDF documents… it didn’t matter to anyone what office software I chose.

Learn more about OpenOffice.org here.

This respectful view was inspired by Stuart’s posting here, titled “OpenOffice is not for business“”.

Cheers

David A. West

Follow me on Twitter: davidawest

PS – we are just preparing, and in early beta, of our new business proposal software. Watch for it coming soon.

We presented the first Blogging for Business seminar in Calgary on February 19^th and received excellent feedback from the attendees. In fact one of the participants was so pleased by the value and quality of the training that she insisted on sponsoring another session for her networking group.

So, on March 19^th, 2009, we are re-running our Blogging for Business seminar and are proud be be presented by Ronda Bertram and Carman LeFrance, both Publishers of WOMANITION in Alberta.

Here is what Ronda Bertram wrote;

“Do you know what google alerts, keywords and adwords are? I attended Dave’s course on February 18, 2009. It was hands down the best business course I have attended on the most up-to-date information available about blogging. This one course alone can increase your business ten fold if you follow the easy steps that Dave gives you to create your own blogs, and how to cross market yourself on the internet, search engine optimization for the lay person and how to increase your ranking on google….”

If you are not blogging for business, you really should consider joining me and the group from Womanition on March 19^th at 10:30 am.

To learn more about me and the seminar, please visit the “Blogging for Business” seminar page.

If the worker bees don’t get honey, the Queen bee will perish. Worker bees are responsible for everything that happens in the hive. They make the comb where the honey is stored and eggs are laid. Why am I thinking about bees again? Bees make a great metaphoric lead into interesting topics like employee and employer relationships. Plus, the last time I wrote about Bees in my blog, It brought a lot of visitors… who would have thought there was so much interest in bees.

Take Two…with a few word changes;

If the employees don’t get things done, the Company will perish. Workers are responsible for everything that gets done in an organization. They deliver the products or services and add the creative flash that makes your business what it is. Workers that regret or resent their employment do not contribute… your clients will feel their dissatisfaction.

As our business evolves we add resources to ensure that we can deliver the services that we sell. In our business of web design and development, our number one resource is people. I have been a people manager for most of my adult life. At one point in my career I had a dozen direct reports who helped me coordinate and manage a team of nearly 400 personnel on 24 hour shifts.

I can’t imagine managing people without these thoughts;

• recognize and appreciate each individual persons strengths
• forgive their weakness (if it doesn’t impact your business negatively)
• be flexible, not everyone has a good day every day
• value the things your people have learned and recognize that starting over with a replacement is more difficult than coaching the employee you already have
• the time we put into growing skills in our people is priceless
• give regular feedback, be honest, honesty should not be hurtful
• feedback has to include positive remarks

Back to Bees… the bees all work together to fill up the comb. Each individual has to contribute.

How do you work with people. Have I missed any important points in my list above? I am sure I have… share your thoughts.

Have you seen the Part Machine buses running around?

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your comment added below.

Cheers -
David A. West

I wonder how many sales people beat up their competition by injecting rumour, innuendo and sorted negative remarks into discussions with potential clients?  I know at least one web company in Calgary that makes it their practice to undermine the competition with negative remarks. All I have to say is… shame on you.

Our client actually came to us and told us that this sales agent, who also happens to be one of the owners of the other company, was really very negative regarding the fact that this client chose to work with us.  At the time that we were competing for the work all I said to the client about the other company is that I thought that they were a good choice.  I told her that I believed them to be a sound and reputable service provider.

I don’t believe that it is to our advantage to talk poorly of our competition. The fact is that I don’t know very much about them or their business practices.  One thing that I do know, for sure, is that when a relationship between a customer and a service provider “breaks down”… it’s not always the service providers fault. So, the loss of a client is not always a true measure of the service providers performance.  On the other hand, if a service provider loses a lot of clients… then I’d say the writing is on the wall.  When the writing is on the wall, surely I don’t have to say anything.

What’s really interesting about the competitor that tried unsuccessfully to woo our client away with rumours and innuendo is that their efforts would have been better spent trying to preserve their own clients.   You see, my newest client, is this exact same company’s most recent lost client.  He switch to our service because of what he described to be a lack of service and poor billing practices. In fact the client described their practices as falling just short of fraudulent.

Be positive & care about your clients, their business and your own business. Good things will come from small actions that don’t include being negative about people you don’t even know.  If being negative is a part of your sales practice… be sure to clean up your own house first or your clients may leave you too.

Is there room in your sales process for beating the competition up?  Should an Owner who also sells be held to a higher standard?

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your comment added below.

Cheers -
David A. West

Dear IT Professionals in Western Canada:

Loadfest 2008 is just around the corner and you don’t want to miss the activities that are happening…

Save the date in your calendar – September 27, 2008 from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, this is a Saturday and a great day to learn about what is happening with technology for the rest of this year.

Who is coming?

Rodney Buike from Microsoft is making the trip out from Toronto to show IT Professionals in Calgary when is coming with relation to Microsoft technologies.  Get the technical brief on Small Business Server 2008, especially now that it is RTMed.  Also, Rodney will show us Hyper-V and Windows Server 2008.  Get 3 hours of technical training on SBS and Windows Server.  Play with these great products and ask technical questions to the people that can answer the questions you have.

Loadfest 2008 is free for everyone to attend.

Curious about Response Point, Microsoft’s latest small business telephone system?  Jeff Loucks is an MVP with Response Point and Jeff will be giving a technical demo on Response Point during Loadfest.

Lunch is sponsored by our friends at AuthAnvil and Scorpion Software.  This technical lunch and learn will show you the technical side of AuthAnvil and how to deploy a higher level of security for your networks and clients.  Dana is sponsoring our luncheon and he will be available to address questions and talk technical about AuthAnvil.

And that is not it!!!

Popcorn Technologies will be giving a demo on MOSS (SharePoint Server) and how to fit MOSS into your environments.

Loadfest 2008 is free for everyone to attend.

Here is our tentative agenda

8:30 AM – Meet and Greet
9 AM – Windows Small Business Server 2008 Technical Demo
10:40 – Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
Noon – AuthAnvil Luncheon
1 PM – Windows 2008 Server and Hyper-V
2:40 –Response Point

Register today at http://www.samuc.com

Spread the word to every IT Professional you know in Calgary…

Special thanks to Scorpion Software, Microsoft and DELL Canada for sponsoring our event.

For those of you unfamilier with Skype, it is a peer to peer text, voice and video application. The Skype website says, “Skype is free calls, video calls and instant messages. And you can call landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world at great rates. Free to download and easy to use. “ I agree, in principle, with their statement.

SkypeIn(tm) is when you buy a 10 digit phone number and have it assigned to your Skype Account. People can call you from a cell phone or landline by dialing your Skypein number and ringing you on your computer.  You can buy SkypeIn numbers for 21 countries… but unfortunately, not Canada.

Until Now…
Now you can get a number for most major Cities in Canada for Skype…
…but still not from Skype.

If you really want a SkypeIn number with a Canadian area code, there is a really inexpensive way to acheive it.  I did.  I can now be reached on my Skype account by anyone who dials my new number with the 403 Area Code – 403-775-2205 (give it a try… I spend 80% of my day near a PC)

Here is how you can get a Canadian phone number to ring into your Skype account;

1. Get a subscription for unlimited calling in the US & Canada for your Skype account… 3 months, the cost is $7.95.
2. Buy a SkypIn number for your account.  Choose from a number for any of the 21 Countries that are available… I chose a number in Texas. I like Texas.
3. Now, navigate yourself over to LES.NET.  Sign up for an account ( no cost to open the initial account).
4. After you are logged into your LES.NET account –> click the menu “order DID” that’s a fancy telecom term for “Phone Numbers” (direct inward dial… I think
5. Once you buy the phone number you want for Calgary… you need to get it to ring into your Skype Account.
6. Click the menu Peers/Trunks –> on the bottom, click “New Trunk”
7. Edit the Trunk details –> give it a name  –> Peer Type = Phone Number –> Peer Address = YOUR SKYPEIN number… remember the number you bought and assigned to your Skye Account earlier   –> SAVE your changes.

Now. There you have it!  Dial the local 403 number (in my case) and it forwards directly to my SkyIn number in Texas and then rings through to my PC!

Les.net rates are very inexpensive. You can get a North American Toll Free number for a one time fee $15, montly fee $2.50 and $0.055/min.  Canadian numbers with Les.net are $3.50 per month plus $0.011 per minute or a flat rate of $8.88. You choose, pay-as-you-go or flat rate.

I know that it is sometimes easier read than done. If you want a local Canadian number for your Skype account and find the above steps overwhelming… just drop me an email from the contact page here and  I will either coach you through it or just simply get you setup.

Happy Skyping.

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call? – 403-775-2205

Cheers -
David A. West

Managing my passwords has become a point of frustration and fear.

Email accounts, client accounts, ftp accounts, banking and much more… ever forgot your password.  Of course system administrators are great at forcing secure passwords that include unnatural characters and numbers (a good practice by-the-way).  It only makes sense that a good password is also a hard password to remember.

Then comes the warning… don’t use secure and highly sensitive passwords at websites or other “not so secure” locations that may be vulnerable.  Perhaps you are in a similar boat as me? I have hundreds of client accounts, hosting control panels, email services, servers, etc. etc. and there is now way to keep all of the user names and passwords.

Enter KeePass

As noted on the KeePass website:

“KeePass is a password manager or safe which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish). For more information, see the features page. “

I have been using KeePass for the last couple of years and I love it!  I like that the user interface is straight forward and intuitive and I like that it is free. Free as in OpenSource. In fact is is OSI Certified.

The author of the software, Dominik Reichl says,

“in my opinion all software that has something to do with security should be open-source ”

KeePass is now in version 1.11 and  comes ready Windows as well as a new version for your memory stick.  There are also several community contributions for PocketPC, Linux/Mac and even BlackBerry!  I have to try it on my Blackberry!

Visit the KeePass site at this link and you can download the software.

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

Stuart Crawford, a good friend of mine and someone I look to as a mentor in business, released his free eBook “Connecting the Dots to Business Success in Today’s IT Business”.  While the booklet was written for IT Professionals, it can really be used by anyone.

Stuart talks at length about the rapidly changed IT industry. He talks about customers and the role of a service provider. You need to understand where the market is today, and this is what the eBook is about. It is about “Connecting the Dots” today, so you can be successful right NOW!

Stuart wrote “Why is this book free?  …I am not charging anyone for this eBook, it is completely free.  Life is about helping others and providing assistance to our colleagues in the marketplace.  Life is about giving back to the community.  So pick up your eBook today!”

I enjoyed reading Stuart’s report and found many parallel’s between his thoughts on the IT Business and our business of website design and development.  Thank you Stuart, for sharing your thoughts and advice.

Get your free copy here – http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

Stuart Crawford and I will be presenting at the upcoming Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group. The meeting is on August 14th, in Calgary, at 6:30pm.  We will be discussing “Stickiness on the Web”.  We spoke together last month and I really enjoy presenting with Stuart.  We are both very excited about the Intenet and how it is impacting business. I think that becomes very clear when you see us interact in this some-what formal “discussion” on the ‘web’.

Click on the …more link to get the full details and learn about the Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group. This Group is a great opportunity to network, learn and grow your business!

The Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group is the largest and longest running meetup group in Calgary. If you are an entrepreneur, if you would like to become and entrepreneur, or if you want to support entrepreneurs then join us at our next meeting!

Our monthly event is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get together, mingle and relax. The event is not meant to be a sit down structured event but one where entrepreneurs kick back, network and enjoy themselves.

Cost is $5.00 to attend
You are responsible for your own food bill

Visit our website at http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/5/

Start Time: Thursday, August 14 at 6:30pm
End Time: Thursday, August 14 at 9:30pm
Where: Calgary Coast Plaza Hotel – Horizon’s Restaurant

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

1996 was when I first started instant messageing my long time friend Robin Lecomte. After high school we went off in our own directions, me to Toronto, him to Edmonton.  I ended up in Calgary in 1991 and in 1996 Robin and I started chatting away on ICQ.

I tried MSN over the years… but something about it didn’t really work for me

We, as a business, Adopted Yahoo IM

We adopted Yahoo messanger as our IM tool of choice after testing both Yahoo and Skype around 4 years ago.  At the time voice chatting was only supported by Skype (if I recall correctly) and while voice via an instant messanger was kinda cool… the voice quality wasn’t.  We still chat primarily with IM text messages… until this week.

Testing IM Voice Quality with D.A.D.

The true test for voice quality over the last few years has been a quick call to my father – Larry. He isn’t much tuned into technology, but he has no quams about telling me if he thinks it’s a “bad technology”. So over the years when I test various voice-over-ip services, I just give Dad a call.  Just the slightest echo or static will put him over the edge. “Are you talking to me through that dumb computer again?”, he would say. I called my brother the other day using Yahoo and a new speaker phone for instant messangers… “Can’t you afford to call me on a real phone…” he asked.  I concede, they were right. The voice quality from Yahoo messanger wouldn’t cut the mustard in business.

What About Skype?

I installed the latest version of Skype and made it my default internet phone software.  I dial Dad’s number… slowly and with a degree of apprehension. What unique and colourful remark will he have for  me when he detects that I am talking to him through my PC again?

Dad: Hello.
David:  Hi Dad.
Dad: My Son!  (yes, it’s true, he talks that way)
David: What have you been up to today?
Dad: …well…

He goes on to tell me about his adventure building a fence gate.  My fence of course, I am not very handy with a hammer… I type fast though

To my delight, Dad didn’t detect that I was talking to him through my computer on a speaker phone.

Skype has evolved into an excellent, quality service. They have tons of plans, services and options available.  I am quite excited about the possibilities!

My business… we are holding our first conference call using Skype this Saturday. There will be 7 of us connecting at a pre-determined time to do a full project review. Helen will be connecting from her Hotel in London.

We will be adding Skype support to our growing list of products and services that we recommend to our small business clients.

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

What a great name for a web-service developed around a simple concept – reminders.

Remember The Milk or RTM as they refer to it on their site is at first appearance a simple way to manage to-do lists.  Great features like ‘tags’, reminders and the ability to create as many lists as you like start to surface only after you start getting into the meat and bones of the service.  Then the true subtle strengths surface. RTM features the ability to share tasks with you coworkers or family!

So on first glance, RTM is pretty cool.  On deeper digging, I found the golden nugget! Upgrading my RTM account to a “Pro” account, unlocked the features that truly make this a must have add-on to our daily routine.  You see, we adopted Google Apps as our primary tool for managing our enterprise email, calendaring and shared documents nearly a year ago.  The one thing that is missing in Google Apps is a great TO-DO list management system.  RTM has solved this with a quick and easy Fire Fox plug-in.

Once the plug-in is installed in your FireFox web-browser (the web-browser you get to choose and choose to get), your RTM to-do list will show right along side of you Gmail in-box. Taking this all a step further, I can now quickly associate my email conversations to an action item in my RTM to-do list.  Later, when I am reviewing my to-do list, I can quickly return to the related email conversation. We have full control over marking list item completed or postponing them to the next day – all from within Gmail.

How much would you pay for this incredible one time offer?  (just kidding)

W a i t…  You also get -

The ability to easily sync your RTM lists with your Blackberry or iPhone todo lists! Yes, that is correct, two way sync to your smart phone!

So, a powerful action list manager, integration with your Gmail interface, and fully synchronized to your smart phone…

Just $25.00 per year!  Or, if you don’t need a ‘Pro’ account, your “Remember The Milk” account is FREE.
Hope you are enjoying a great Summer!

David A. West     Visit “Remember The Milk” now!

PS – I almost forgot to mention that you don’t need an internet connection to use RTM.  Using “Google Gears” you can sync RTM to your desktop and review your action lists while your flying to Hawaii… for business of course.

I read about “off line” or “disconnected” web applications some time ago. We are now starting to see these off line applications come into production use. Google has recently added the ability to use their popular “Google Docs” applications off line.

The Google Docs applications include a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation application. Up until this point, Google Docs has been an on line only application. While the apps are extremely useful and easy to use, the limitation of only being able to work while on line was at time difficult. The limitation of only being able to show a presentation, for example, while connected to the Internet was one of the biggest limitations that I found.

The advent of the ability to synchronize a local copy of the Google apps and my actual files to my local laptop has removed the limitations. I can now work on a presentation or document on line, and in full collaboration with my peers, and then take my laptop off line (say flying to Vancouver) and continue to work on my presentation. When I arrive in Vancouver and setup to speak at the convention center, I can run the off line version of my presentation during my lecture!

If you haven’t tried Google Docs, you can easily create a free Google account and give them a try. If you are looking for an enterprise solution to email, document collaboration and calendaring, then you should consider Google Apps for your business. We have helped several small business clients in recent weeks to take full advantage of Google Apps in their business. Our own company, eKzact Solutions, has been using Google Apps for nearly 5 months now. We have grown to love the Shared Calendaring, Gmail Interface and the Apps for document collaboration.

One really nice feature of Google Apps is that we get all of the upgrades Google staffers enjoy! No fees for upgrades, and no fear of end of life. Google uses their own applications to support their own business and their 10,000+ employees around the world.

If you would like to learn more about integrating Google Apps into your business, please drop us a note here.

Cheers,

David West

eKzact will be at the National Women in Business Expo in Calgary, Alberta on March 29th and 30th.

The Expo is intended to bring together women entrepreneurs, business professionals, opportunity seekers, work-at-home moms and women re-entering the workforce.

Come and meet Helen West, Sandy Thoen and me this coming weekend.

March 29 & 30, 2008
Stampede Park – Big Four Building

Are you a woman who is already running a business or thinking about starting a business? Are you interested in professional development and networking with like-minded women in your area?

We are Speaking at 2:30 pm on Sunday the 30th on the Expo floor.

“What You Need Your Website To Do For You”

Sandy and David know that designing a website for your business can be an overwhelming task. There is so much to learn and understand about web design, search engine optimization and drawing clients to your website. As a business owner or soon to be, you also know that if your business does not have a website, you cannot be found.

They will share with you how you can get your business online with an effective website that won’t break the bank. Topics that will be covered are, Planning Your Website, Getting Your Website to Work for You (lead generation), Search Engines & Marketing and Ownership of A Website – Do You Really Own It?

Raise awareness of your business and services through blogging.

Basic strategies:

• Target a specific audience based on a theme or series of topics.
• Try to keep your blog on topic.
• Write subjects that make them want to read more and use catchy headlines to drive intrigue.
• Select the right blog support service. A professional Internet Consultant can help you extend your blog and help you with marketing tips and tricks.
• Ensure your blog sends alerts to blog feeds when you post a new entry, this will help build traffic to your blog.
• Ensure you get alerts when someone comments at your blog so that you can review the post and respond.

Be compelling, open in your views and sincere. Link to other blogs and topics related to your blog. Other bloggers will start linking to you, if you have quality articles.

Keep your blog up to date with fresh content. Weekly blogging or more should be your goal. This will keep your blog content fresh and interesting. Your blog can become sticky and keep people returning… but only if you make an effort.

Search engines like Google and Live will help attract viewers to your blog. Add rich keywords into your article titles and content. Use the SEO component that we install as standard with our blog service to boost your on page optimization for search engines.

Your blog should support RSS feeds for the articles and comments. This will help your readers and fellow bloggers stay up to date with your writing. RSS is simple to use and has gained huge popularity in the past several years.

Take the time to reply to blog posts, even if they are negative or offer a conflicting view. You don’t have to agree with the comment, just be honest and state your opinion or provide support material for you position. Most blog-ware allows you to hold comments for moderation. As a business blogger, you may want to moderate comments at your blog prior to allowing them to go live.

If you are not a writer and are not comfortable with blogging, ask your staff to do it for you. Ask a family member, friend or service to assist you with your writing.

One of the most difficult things about blogging is the “ideas”. Keep a small “blog book”… I call mine “my blook”. Keep your blook handy so that when an idea hits you, you can make a note of it.

Blogging is a powerful tool for small business owners to make their brand recognizable. You should position yourself as the “expert” in your industry. When you have a great blog, full of helpful articles and news, refer your clients to your blog to help answer their questions. They will appreciate the depth of your service and commitment to their needs.

A business marketing website tends to be static. The “sales” message seldom changes and they tend to lack the educational information that people are seeking on the Internet. Business owners are worried that they must give the absolute best impression at their marketing website, and I wouldn’t disagree with this thought. A blog on the other hand is a more casual writing opportunity. Your clients will get to know the people “behind” the company and your relationships can grow.

If you want to start a professional business blog, with a custom design, contact us and my team will help you get rolling.

We recently launched a blog for our client, Brenda Videnoff. Brenda is going to start blogging in the next few days! Brenda is managing partner for Spice Wellness. Her blog is going to focus on her years of experience in business and franchising.

Regards,
David A. West

Someone wrote about our business today and Google sent me a note. Do you know when you or your business is mentioned on a website, forum or blog?

Google Alerts is a free service provided by the Worlds leading search engine. A testament to the speed of the Google bot is the speed in which Stuart’s blog entry today was indexed.

I received this alert at 8:45 PM today, the same day that the blog entry was written.

On 1/28/08, Google Alerts <googlealerts-noreply@google.com> wrote:

Google Blogs Alert for: link:www.ekzact.com

Leading IT Companies come together to help Calgary Small Business
By Stuart R. Crawford(Stuart R. Crawford)
A new group of leading IT companies in Calgary have recently come together to help out the needs of the Calgary Small Business community. Technology needs in Calgary are becoming more and more complex and Calgary businesses need a group …
Calgary Small Business IT Blog – http://calgaryitblog.blogspot.com/

Google states that some handy uses for alerts include:

• monitoring a developing news story
• keeping current on a competitor or industry
• getting the latest on a celebrity or event
• keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

I monitor our company domain names, trade names and some keywords that are important to us. The use of Google Alerts for search engine optimization and testing is invaluable. You may want to setup an alert on your business name or personal name to see what people are writing about you!

You can sign up for Google Alerts at this location — http://www.google.com/alerts

Cheers,

David A. West

PS – Thanks Stuart

As a small business owner it can be difficult to “get out” and take courses. When a great course comes along though, you just have to make the opportunity to attend.

Stuart Crawford has been running a series of course in the Calgary area for small business owners, including his “Blogging in Calgary” and “Facebook for Business”.

On Stuart’s “Blogging in Calgary” site, he says,

“Blogging is rapidly becoming one of most effective ways to get your message out about your services, your industry, the products you sell or any other market and business trends that affect your business.”

I would add, that blogging can be addictive and fun.

During the course yesterday, a small group of entrepreneurs came together and learned about Blogging for business. Stuart did an excellent presentation, followed by a thorough demonstration of Google’s Blogger tools.

During the session, I was inspired to add a couple of new ideas to my “blogging book”. It’s the little pad I keep in my shirt pocket to write ideas for my next blog entry. I affectionatly refer to it as my “blook”. Stuart keeps his Blackberry handy, to jot down his blogging ideas.

I have to say, I truly enjoyed this course. Stuart is doing a great job of brining Calgary Business owners together. He is forming a community!

Stuart’s next event is on Feb 6, 2008 at the Calgary Coast Plaza Hotel at 6 PM. You can contact Stuart through his blog at StruartCrawford.com.

If you would like a free blog on the internet, you can sign up at Calgary Business Online. It’s fast and simple.

Our business, a Calgary web design company, has been promoting the use of blogging in business. We offer a hosted solution based on WordPress. If you think you would like a blog with a 100% custom designed look and feel, please visit eKzact and complete our quick request for a proposal.

Cheers,

David A. West

20 years ago, when I started working, a business typically had one or two phone lines and, that was it. There was no fax machines, there were no cellular phones, pages, email, blackberries. Executives relied on their pen and paper calendar, and another person that they referred to as a secretary. My first employer, after high school, had a telex. If I recall correctly there was one person in the office responsible to sending and receiving messages with it. The terminals that lined some areas of the offices were connected to mainframes – they really looked very important. Email, except in closed environments, didn’t exist.

In the early 90′s I sat in front of my first PC when I took a job with a real estate company in Calgary. It ran DOS and had only one program on it. It was a Word Processor. Soon afterwards Windows came out and replaced the first PC. This was the first time that our computers were ‘crudely’ networked.

As time goes, pagers made us more accessible to our employers through the 80′s and 90′s. Early cellular phones were in brief cases, cost prohibitive for most, and used only in rarely good service areas. In the mid 90′s cellular phones were being carried, as I recall, by management level personnel and above. By the mid 90′s the Internet and email started to take hold. Some companies had difficulty understanding, in these early days, that resistance was futile. In the very short years to follow, corporate email became a standard in communications. It was in this span of time that companies started laying off administrative support staff and receptionists, in favour of managers doing their own typing of letters, memos and other documents.

Today the PDA, or a Blackberry, has replaced the paper agenda and the cell phone (in some cases). Cellular phones are common place now. Almost everyone I know carries a personal or business cell phone. Some people are giving up their home phones and just relying on their cellular. Everyone, except my Father, has an email address. Some of us have multiple email accounts. The sending and receiving of faxes is on the decline. Most every form of communication we use today can easily fit on a belt.

So here we are, today, 2008, and we are almost too accessible. Somewhere along the line of advancement in communications, we have become a society that is demanding this degree of connectivity from our service providers and partners. Some time in the past decade I have lost the ability to sense a phone vibrating on my hip – apparently so has the guy in the restaurant who has the fancy music play instead of a subtle ring tone.

Along with the ability to send instant messages, short text, email and voice messages, some people have become accustomed to an instant response. It was easy to respond to email and phone messages when there was only five per day. Now that we are all connected, it is not uncommon to receive dozens of messages and calls per day. Some people receive hundreds of ‘contacts’ per day.

Unfortunately, as we were all getting connected and becoming so accessible, we have taught everyone to expect an instant response.

How did we manage business before we taught everyone to expect an instant response? It is time to slow down and find balance between great service and responding to every email and phone call as if we were an emergency service.

I’d love it if you would share with me any tips or tricks you employ to manage the constant flow of inbound communication in your business and personal life. I have some good tools in place, but am going to leave that for another entry.

Cheers,

David A. West

We are in the process of moving our offices to our new location near Heritage & McLeod.  One of the important tasks on my move list was to contact Shaw and make sure that our Internet connection could be moved without interruption. 

I apprehensively made the call to Shaw’s business support desk today. 

As you may have read in one of my recent posts, my current cellular company uses an interactive voice response system that causes me extreme stress when I call, I half expected a similar experience from Shaw.  I am elated to say that Shaw’s support was excellent.

• Call starts 1035 am.  On hold message advises me to wait for the first available person.
• Soon after, a voice advises me that if I would like to leave a 10 digit phone number, they will call me back in the same order as if I were to stay on the line.
• I think about it for a minute and am about to put my number in and something huge happened…
• An operator answered the phone and introduced herself. 
• Total lapsed time 4 minutes.

So, already I am having a better experience with this process, than with the cell phone people.  Imagine my surprise when she told me that I am not too late and that they have people available on the weekend to support their customers.  Not only did Shaw answer their phone, they are going to send a technician to our new offices Sunday. This will ensure that our connection is ready to go for Monday morning!

I wonder when Shaw will offer cellular phone services?

Cheers

David A. West

As a website developer, I have learned to “raise red flags” when a prospective client says certain things. for the purposes of this article, I have named these prospects, “The Expert Prospective Client”.

The expert – Knows how long a task will take before they ask.

They often say things like, “That’s just a simple task, isn’t it? I don’t think it will take long for you to do.”

The expert – Knows the value of our service, without asking for a quote.

They often say things like, “I just need this one thing done, it should be quite inexpensive…”

The expert – Has changed service providers recently.

They often have just left a previous service provider on questionable grounds. In some cases, they did not pay their final bill. They will say things like, “My last guy/gal used to nickle & dime me to death. Every time I turned around, they send me an invoice for something…”

The expert – Hires professionals, but openly admits that they could do it themselves.

They may say something like, “I could have done this myself, but my time is too valuable.”

The expert – Often offers to send you lots of new clients, provided you give them a good deal & do a great job for them.

They say things like, “I know a lot of people, if you do a good job for me I’ll refer you lots of business in the future.” These offers sometimes come as veiled threats if a project goes a bit sideways. The expert will say, “I wish we didn’t have to deal with this, I don’t know if I can refer my friends to you if this is how it is going to be…” It has been my experience that the people who use “referrals” as leverage, are the same people who never refer new clients.

My experience has shown that it is difficult to build a client/service provider relationship with the expert prospect.

Do you run across the expert potential client in your business? Have I missed any common traits in my list above?

David A. West