When a piece of paper does the trick

June 17, 2009 — andrewnim

Sometimes people try to be too clever. It’s a common mistake and often happens because of a need to impress. It can also happen when a consultant or member of staff has an agenda or product to push for what ever reason. They become so focused on pushing the system they forget that sometimes new does not mean improved.

In a conversation today I heard about a company here in New Zealand which has a paper based work flow. Sounds unbelievable in this day and age, right? Yet, this company is doing well and delivering the correct items to the correct customers on time. The reason is that they have invested in the work flow and not the system which manages the data. Each person knows just what to write on the paper and who to pass it to. The business process rules are working using the simplest technology available; technology which drove industry for a very long time before the invention of the computer; technology which is still used by a lot of people in business’ of all sizes.

Of course there are down sides to this paper chain: storage for one; finding passed orders for another and no easily searched database to use to check invoices against. But  creating a database  such as this is all going to be very easy to achieve and any good database and form building programmer could do it with an sql database or Filemaker.

But one thing to bear in mind is that while the staff could potentially put exactly the same details into an application to be pushed through the work flow electronically, this would require a major investment in technology to facilitate the ability to input the data on site. Yes, that might save some time and possibly increase orders but does the ROI add up? Or is it technology for the sake of it? You see, if the present system is working and sales have actually increased what is the business case? The piece of paper being used by the sales guys does the trick. The issue for this company is to find the point in their chain where the largest benefit is gained in the shortest time by applying some electronic systems. In the case of this company I would say that that is in the office.

And thats the trick here, dont pick a new system and impose it on your company, spend some time figuring out if and what needs to be fixed and how. Remember, low tech is still tech and sometimes the simplest tech is the most failproof and supplies the greatest return on your investment.

Posted in Doing Business. Leave a Comment »

Outside the box?

June 1, 2009 — andrewnim

Thinking outside of the box: The Cliche

I am sure you have heard this phrase far too often. I know I have, and all too often said by people who don’t actually do it. Something to consider is that its hard to have a different perspective when each day is similar, taken up by the same issues; reality for most small business owners. Same problems, same solutions. Just running the business takes all your energy. Having time and extra energy to think outside the box is something you put on a wish list. Probably under “someday in your GTD application” (no I am not going to write about GTD).

I am going to present an idea, one which does not involve asking you to make time to climb a mountain to get a different view or spend a weekend trying to cross a river with two oil drums and a piece of string (think out of the box and use the bridge!). But what I am going to suggest is that you put away that business guru book, that trade magazine or that white paper on increasing sales and instead pick up a work of fiction or a biography of someone you find interesting but was not in your business.

You see, I really do not believe you will be capable of thinking outside of the box unless you are engaging with other people who do not even live in your box. And when you do start to engage in that way, you will find that you no longer need to make a special time to do the thinking, it just starts to happen.

There is a whole bundle of theory and research that may or may not be correct about how our brains work. One theory is that we create neural pathways in our brain. Teenagers are teenagers because their pathways are forming and changing quickly. As we get older they start to get entrenched. Apparently, our brains are now trained to work in windows and folders on our computers. We have difficulty seeing the data represented in any other way.

So, if we engage in activities which create new pathways and don’t allow ourselves to trot into a business “cul-de-sac,” we should encourage our brains to stay active and that helps us begin to use the new sources of knowledge to create even more new pathways on the fly.

So off you go, find something which makes you think about anything other that running your business. Give your brain a vacation. It will return rested and invigorated. Though hopefully not too much like a teenager.

Happy thinking.

Posted in Doing Business, Ideas. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »

Virtual workers

May 28, 2009 — andrewnim

Virtual workers, but real work.

It’s funny but we talk about virtual workers, virtual systems, virtual this and that but what do we mean? According to my dictionary  the word virtual means: almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition.  But whose “strict” definition? The use of the word ” virtual” at present is being derived from virtual reality: “a simulacrum environment, make believe”.

So when we talk about a virtual secretary, what we actually mean is that she/he is a remote secretary, not a virtual one. She still works and carries out the functions of a secretary. She exists and the work she does exists. It has value to the person who employees the virtual worker. I may be considered a virtual worker. I am independent, not part of my clients direct business structure. I appear when needed and vanish when not.

But does that make  a virtual worker a less valued  part of a business or a team? I hope not and to be honest, if a client views me that way then we need to think about our relationship. As I said, there is nothing virtual about the results I or any other “virtual worker” should provide.

Not long ago the term was teleworkers. But do the people who need to use such resources really understand what it is they need or are getting? Do the words get in the way? When hiring a virtual worker a good question to ask would be: would I hire them as part of my company? Most businesses use a virtual worker and always have: the accountant. They are integral and important to the very running of your company. You sourced them through other business owners or other recommendations. I imagine that you did not pick up the big yellow book and called a few at random. So, would you do that with a virtual assistant or project manager?

Just as you cannot afford to keep an accountant full- time you don’t need to keep any other virtual worker full- time. As a business owner you get to tap into great skill sets as and when you need them. These people tend to hone their skills in order to provide services to multiple clients. I am not saying you should replace all your staff for virtual staff, that would make no sense. But there are tasks you need people to do which are not part of the day to day running of your business. Just like your accountant, they are people you should build a good, solid and valued long term relationship with. Become a preferred customer  of theirs and show them their value by offering referrals; in return you make them part of your team.

As  I said in a past post,  build a good team around you and it will help you through the tough times. Include some skilled outsiders in that team and increase the odds in your favour.

If you are thinking of hiring a virtual assistant I suggest reading this article on allbizanswers by Tracy Collins on selecting and engaging.

Take care

The author

andrewnim

Posted in Collaboration, Doing Business. Leave a Comment »

To print or not to print

May 18, 2009 — andrewnim

Or, what to print and when

Recently, I started redoing my home office; changing it from somewhere I worked from home for my employer on occasion, to my main place of work for my business. The two are I have found, very different.

The main thing that is different is the hardware I need. Working in the IT sector I have most things I need but there were a few omissions; a large monitor with high resolution (actually two) and a printer. Yes, I had a printer; one of those little HP all in one inkjet printers. Great for the home and okay for an office, printing once in a while and nothing too flash.

What does a business need in a printer?

Speed, silence, cheap, and one heck of a good finish. I think that should cover it. Now to find one. I have an all in one inkjet and there is no reason to replace it. So, I thought about getting a decent color laser printer. Then I thought about all the laser printers I have used over my career, and what I have used them for: running off email, proposals, policy documents, reports and marketing material. For the first two examples on this list and some of the third they were fine; for the fourth and fifth: forget it.
So, what do I need to print in my business? Well very little, invoices go via the web; policy documents go via email or straight to a server; proposals may be printed and presented; reports no; marketing material yes. My experience of business laser printers costing from $1000 to $5000(or more) was not that good for marketing material. Pages tended to curl, and the resolution was never that great. Especially, if you threw some images in. I had once spent hours putting a training package together for a large client, then lost a discussion with my director over printing it. At his insistence, we did it on the company printer. It looked cheap and was noticed by the client. It also took me a lot of time nursing the printer. Next time I won the argument (feed back from the client helped). I took the file to a print shop, gave them the specs, got a price and went back to doing my work. A day later, I collected all the training manuals, boarded and bound. Very professional. Thumbs up from the client and we got the deal.


Selecting a printer

For a small or medium size business your choice will be based on how much you can afford to spend on the purchase but this can actually cost you more in the long run. Your printer could escalate your running costs e.g. time taken fixing jams, cleaning cartridges, wasted paper, refilling ink etc.
Unfortunately, spending more money the printer purchase is no guarantee that these costs will be avoided. I know this from experience.

Have a look at these comparisons from the nice people at tekserve.com

Tekserve.comprinter grid

As you can see, the actual running costs are very much the same for comparable priced laser and inkjet printers. These figures are however, only rough as there are many factors which make it hard to judge true running costs. The most important being: what you are actually printing on the pages. How much ink is used? How much is wasted?

The cheapest thing to print is black text (we will revisit that fact later).

So, if the running costs are the same the other differential is the purchase price. The printers listed here are in US dollars but are generally of similar price in New Zealand. So, it may well be worth looking at a low end laser instead of a mid to high end inkjet. In this range they are not very different in price.

But, with lasers you can pay a lot more, up to $1500 for a home office machine and up to $8000 for a SMB/ corporate machine. But, do the running costs reduce if you spend that extra money? Not really, not unless you are buying in bulk and reducing cost on purchase of ink. It still takes the same amount of ink to produce the same results.

So which is the best value for a small business (not just a home one)? A laser, get a colour one but use mostly black.

As for silence and speed

No contest, lasers are faster and quieter. Plus they dont tend to shake you desk when it has a coffee on it.

Quality of output

While, at the end of the day, business owners may make decisions on price, decisions  should also be based on quality and on the effect our printed material has on our customers. That is our return on the investment.

Even if you are not creating image- heavy brochures or photos, your letterhead and your invoices should be clear and noticeable. One should help attract customers and the other should help them pay.

This brings me to the other part of our printing needs as a business, that being the quality of our branding and the quality of our documentation and marketing material. A common mistake is to think that marketing material is the flash stuff we give out to potential customers at Field Days. Sorry, but that would be forgetting one major rule of business: “return business is more valuable than new”. So, each time you supply an existing customer with a piece of your company stationary or a document, you are reinforcing your brand, in effect, you are marketing.

So, when you go to see a designer about your site or your brochures, get them to do your letterheads and cards etc too. Keep it uniformed and branded. Unless you are a designer, make use of one. I know that I for one, need help with colors, but that is only the tip of the iceberg of what a good designer can provide for you.

Here is an example. The other day I sat down to thrash out my new business cards, opened up Adobe Indesign and got to work. An hour later, I was annoyed and frustrated. I am not an Indesign user normally and it showed. But worse, while I thought I knew what I wanted, I had broken one of my own rules that being I wasted an hour of my time which could have been much more productive. Well to be honest, two hours because I had to calm down and have a cuppa. When you charge people for your skills, its because you do something better and faster than they can. Faster, because you know the short cuts and what works. I have now taken my brief to a local designer and will get them to set it up for me.

One last word on quality from PCWorld.co.nz

Quality Comparison

Quality Comparison

Take a look at the print quality and the price difference. Do you really think you will get a good ROI on those figures?

Conclusion

After quite a bit of research I decided on my perfect setup. Something to remember, I print very little, most of what I produce is passed electronically. But should I start to print more this conclusion will be just as (if not more so) valid.

In the near future, as my printing increases I will purchase a black ink laser printer. I will keep my inkjet for its great scanner and for the occasional document in color.

I will have good quality letterhead paper in color. I then only need add the text. Should I need proposals or reports which require color, I will email them to my local printer to run off and then collect them or get them to drop them off.

This way I know I am not wasting my valuable time doing things which are not cost effective such as cleaning or fixing the printer.

I won’t have an expensive printer which is not reaching its potential but is depreciating.

I can check with the people who know printing for ways to improve my presentation.

I ensure I don’t run out of ink at the wrong time (or toner).

I know my marketing material will always look right.

And I save money on electricity. Bonus.

As someone once told me ” Do what you do best, then get someone to do the rest” very wise words.

Take care and happy printing.

Posted in Doing Business, Marketing. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »
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