Office Max!

I had the good fortune today to spend some time with other business owners who are clients, members, and friends of the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC). We represented a range of business services and products, from various areas around Connecticut. Everyone was dedicated to business success and to overcoming obstacles that come along in the course of building and running a business.

On the Job front.. I have applied for the Technical Service Representative II position.. it’s a step up.. I get more pay.. but I get more stress.. I get to be a “Lead” vs just a Tech.. part of that will be leaving the Business Services side of the job and going back to the Residential side of things.. I despise residential customers.. they have the IQ’s of the 3 blind mice.. and the attitudes that they are never the cause.

I am about to do a trade show, of sorts, and need a sign for my booth. So, I decided it would be cool to have some sort of interesting and relevant logo on the signage so I can continue to develop my branding.

At our Worldwide Partner Conference last summer, Ballmer described Windows Live as "all about using the Internet to remake the software business itself” and said Microsoft would continue to build out new services on the search, content, collaboration, communications and business services fronts. He described Live as epitomizing the "transition our industry will make in next five to ten years” and encouraged Partners to get involved.

Today was the annual Business-to-Business Conference over at Bretton Woods, sponsored by the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of area businesses get together each year to display their goods and services at individual booths and to network with potential clients and other business owners. What a wonderful event!

Well, silly as this may sound, I celebrate two clock strike moments every New Years Eve. At 7pm for New Year in GMT and then five hours later in my native EST. So very soon - Happy New Year Scotland! and London too. In the meantime I’m finishing off some better navigation for the Business services section of the site. In about an hour the whiskey will be flowing. Happy New Year all!

With this lack of regulatory requirements for businesses on the Internet a couple of questions come to mind:

1- How can we tell the difference between an actual Internet Consultant that offers the consulting services we expect and one as witnessed by the results of our Internet search.
2- What can be done to standardize and regulate these business services.

Buy an award-winning advertising agency - office supplies AND creative staff. Highest bidder wins a box of fairly new office materials as well as incredibly motivated, often provocative and always high-concept group of copywriters/art directors. Ad Age's "Creativity Magazine" called one of their campaigns "A highlight of 2004." This entire agency can be yours. Just incorporate their brand within your's, give the principals a reasonable employment contract, take good care of them ...and the creative benefits you receive are sure to be endlessly exhilarating....

Oregon Division of Finance & Corporate Securities Mission: To encourage the widest possible range of financial services, products and information for Oregonians, provided in a safe, sound and fraud-free manner. This ties directly to the broader mission of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, namely, to protect consumers and workers. We expect providers to make financial products and services available in a straightforward manner, disclosing the pertinent characteristics so consumers may make informed choices. We encourage citizens...

For technology projects, it’s a good idea to specify a warranty or support clause so that you are assured of some amount of continuing support from the vendor after the project is complete. It’s much easer to negotiate a support clause before the service provider begins work, rather than after the completion of the project. Even creative or business services can benefit from a support clause. Suppose you need some changes to a business plan based on feedback that you get from potential investors. Or maybe you find that you need that snazzy new logo delivered in a new type of file format. Specifying some amount of free support or negotiating discounted prices for future modifications can save you time, money and headaches later on.

Ten Rights: For Owners of Service Businesses

1. You have the right to price your business services right!

2. You have the right to raise your prices at any time.

3. You have the right to say no to those who only want to "pick your brain."

4. You have the right to set boundaries that are in line with your integrity!

Yahoo! Inc. a leading global Internet company, today announced a new feature on Yahoo! Local that provides free Web sites for small businesses. This free and easy-to-use feature builds upon Yahoo!'s leadership position as the number one online destination for local information and small business services. Small businesses can quickly and easily establish an online presence and connect with the increasing number of consumers using the Internet to find comprehensive local products and services. The service is available in beta at

"By bringing together our leadership in essential small business services, our vast consumer reach, and our local and search expertise, Yahoo! is uniquely able to help small businesses get started and be successful online," said Rich Riley, vice president and general manager, Yahoo! Small Business. "This new service complements our industry leading suite of online services that help small businesses get online, sell online and market online."

Minneapolis Director of Business Services Bill Beck said the new wireless plan allows all the city's business to come under one service, which is cheaper.

“Blogs are so easy to set up that anybody can do it. However a business blog needs to reflect the professional nature of your company and business services,” adds Denise Wakeman, of Next Level Partnership. “Why use a cookie-cutter template when you can design your business blog to adhere to your company's visual identity? Most people don’t know how to use the features available to them – we show you how in this book.”

This past week, while giving my new health coverage information to a medical provider, I mentioned that I’d moved to the professional employer organization industry. The provider, who was in the office getting files for the next patient, looked up at me curiously. “What is it, exactly, that your business does?”

The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) defines a PEO as a business that:

provides integrated services to effectively manage critical human resource responsibilities and employer risks for clients. A PEO delivers these services by establishing and maintaining an employer relationship with the employees at the client’s worksite and by contractually assuming certain employer rights, responsibilities, and risk.

The critical difference between a PEO and the traditional understanding of a firm that does outsourced human resources services is the co-employment concept.