Starting a business can seem slow as molasses!

After three years of development our team finally got excited of the release of our new software, Career Coach Office.  The initial tests with experts in the field stated everything would go well. On launch day we had technical issues that were minor, but still issues nonetheless.

It seemed like it took forever to correct the tiny issue not displaying a client's  picture correctly and fixing the dreaded "un-styled" tax update form that was buried way in the invoicing tool.

Let me just say every business has it's obstacles that must be overcome.

1. Expect that there will be obstacles and deal with them as they come.
2. Don't freak out when something goes wrong. All the planning in the world won't eliminate issues.
3. Break your issues down to small components so they can be addressed in a timely fashion.
4. Don't give up! When the going get's tough, you know the rest!

What seems like an incredibly slow period to you is really a short period of time to your consumers. They have no idea how many sleepless nights you've had so relax and fix the issues in an expeditious orderly fashion.

visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and tell us what you think.

Career Coaches Top 10 list of website fears to address immediately

Use one word this year “Simplify!” 

“Where are your services?” and “How do I contact you?” were the questions “Rodger’s” customers asked him.  His reply “My prices and contact information are on my website.”

By the way, we are using “Rodger” as his name to protect the innocent and the information is not from a real website, but the situation is very real for many!

I visited his website and here is what I found:

Working Stiffs  |  Free Stuff  |  Career Mapping  |  Blog

I clicked around this website for about 15 minutes and I finally found his contact information buried on some obscure page. However, I never found his pricing nor could I discern what I was going to get from him.

I asked him why he didn’t include his pricing or have a services page and his reply was “When I talk to my potential clients I can win them over. I don’t rely on my website!”

My reply to Rodger is “Why own a website if the information is not reliable?”

Rodger read my Top 10 list of website fears to address immediately:

     1.  FEAR OF OVERPRICING

In my opinion, hiding your pricing makes me think you have something to hide. Place pricing for your products and services in a quick to access location and let me (the customer) decide if what you are selling is worth it.

     2. FEAR OF COMPETITION

Competitive edge should be “protected” not “invisible!” Give me enough information about your product or service to entice me to ask more about you without giving away your secrets. 

     3.  FEAR OF “THEM NOT GETTING IT”

Please, oh please do not ramble on your website! The “more” you tell me, the “less interested” in you I become! Tell me enough. Give me a short bio, tell me a little about your product, give me a snippet of a testimony and trust the process.

     4.  FEAR OF WASTING TIME UPDATING A WEBSITE

Your workshop you put on was great, but it was in 2007 and it’s still on your web page. Please keep your information relevant. Take a moment each week to add some fresh content to your website. Your old information will run enough customers away and then you will have plenty of time!

     5.  FEAR OF NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH

Complicated websites look like you’re trying too hard. I need quick and easy access to your information. Does the “flash” add anything? Can I get to your information in two clicks? One word… “Simplify!”

                               

     6.  FEAR OF BLANDNESS

I visited one website and thought I was watching NASCAR. Too many colors along with ads along with multiple messages confuse me. Try to tone it down a bit. Use neutral tones with only a splash of color for emphasis. Minimize ad space if possible.

 

     7.  FEAR OF BEING DIFFERENT

Did you design your website just like everyone else’s site? If I see that same woman everyone uses on their site again I will scream. What do you want to tell me? Can a photo or illustration enhance your message or are you mimicking everyone else?

     8.  FEAR OF TAKING YOUR OWN ADVICE

When you consult on resumes you talk about “white space,” fonts and keywords for emphasis. I have seen websites with a lonesome picture, a huge gap and some unreadable tiny font. Do you have misspellings or poor grammar?

9.  FEAR OF USING TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY

I visited one website that only had one page, no pictures, minimal words and a phone number. Visiting this site made me feel like I was in a room with a single light bulb dangling from a pull-chain. Which brings me to my next point…

10.   FEAR OF MOVING BUSINESS PROCESSES OUT OF THE 70’S

With social media, databases and cloud tools available, I still see coaches clutching onto day planners from the 70’s. They use websites like answering machines of yesteryear. Your clients expect a different level of interaction that your notebook can’t provide. Simplify your business processes today!

Resume Writers… It’s virus season!

You have a package so the United States Postal Service decided to send you an e-mail about it. Also, you have a new electronic fax and you don’t even have an e-fax service. Or, my favorite… I’m trapped in <insert country> and I need <insert amount>.

Resume Writers and other small businesses who receive a lot of e-mail tend to be vulnerable to the rising attacks. I know this is picking up because this is my number one question this week.

What are they after?

·         Identify Theft – The golden prize is access to your financials. Technology has made it easy to do banking, investing and purchasing so a carefully placed “sniffer” virus can track use of your credit card or password on unprotected sites.

·         Jump Off’s – Spammers are looking for e-mail addresses to propagate their scheme, scam or virus. They have written worms to crawl through your contact list

·         Validation – Thieves are checking to see if you are home by getting you to respond to e-mail’s. They desire to use valid accounts to do their dirty work.

How they work

·         Viruses attach themselves to programs. Every time you use the program it propagates itself or destroys the operating system.

·         E-mail viruses are after your contact list to further spread destruction.

·         Worms look for vulnerabilities in your wireless network to spread to every computer attached.

·         Trojan Horses are fake software, usually free, that says it will do one thing but does damage.

What to do right now

·         Backup your files – Spend the cash and purchase an external hard drive. Disk space is far less expensive than losing your clients’ resumes.

·         Windows users make a bootable virus scan CD – This enable you to scan your entire computer before the virus has a chance to load.

o   http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

·         Check websites before you visit them – Google has a Safe Browsing tool that has been around for a few years.

o   http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=< Your site name>

o   Example:

http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=careercoachoffice.com

·         Report Spam – Forward unwanted or deceptive messages to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.  Be sure to include the complete spam email.

o   Do not call registry / International Spam

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Here is my 2012 list of e-mail scams

10. Complaint Report - looks like it’s from Better Business Bureau really from quiccalabria.com

9. A new Account is Available – from Ameriprise

8. Dating Unread Messages – from mediadis.cccampaigns.com

7. Order Inqiury – from various and YES it is misspelled

6. ACH [Miscellaneous number] Transaction Rejected (made me look!)

5. WU urgent action needed – looks like it’s from Western Union really from tips828.net

4. You have a new fax [24 pages] – looks like it’s from Rapidfax but I cannot determine the source.

3. jConnect Fax [28 pages] – Looks like it’s from the “Fraud department” at the IRS but I cannot determine the source.

2. Confidential to all Employees – Looks like it came from MY company!

1. Wire Released – Looks like it came from WebsterBank.com. Said I had $160K

All of these e-mails had attachments and embedded links that can be catastrophic to your computer. Do not unsubscribe or click on any link unless you are absolutely sure you know the source!

Have a safe Holiday!

Take Three Tablets and grow your business!

Smartphone, Tablet, Mini Tablet, Android™, Windows™, Apple-OS™, Nexus 4™,  Nexus 7™,  Nexus 10™, , Microsoft Surface™,  IPad™,  IPad Mini™  and IPhone™ sounds like language from nerd weekly.  These clever gadgets have us mesmerized.  Last week I watched someone almost walk into traffic looking at their smartphone.

What makes us buy them? Is it status? Is it acceptance from our peers? I don’t know, but I really, really like my smartphone!

Okay I’m a “Droid” person. I like the number of apps developed for the Operating System and Google is trying to take over the world. BUT… I am interested in the new Surface Tablet.  Tablets are mostly used to read content or to use an app but they are rarely used to “produce” content.

Photoshop and other content development apps do not run on smartphones or tablets. Microsoft Surface is leaning toward being the only tablet that will run full blown applications to develop content.  It runs full versions of Office now, but I’m going to wait.

What do these clever little gadgets mean to your coaching business?
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Apps I like for coaches

I won’t go into all 600,000 apps today, just a few that coaches’ access from their smartphones and tablets.



Tweet, Tweet, Tweet! Most of the coaches I know have a Twitter account and they have a following who desires to hear from them.  They attend conferences, workshops and other special gatherings and state meaningful observations to their crowd. Mobile twitter is a decent app for your following.

Mobile Facebook

Having a Facebook page for the business is vital. I have seen coaches respond the moment a person “likes” their page.  They use their smartphone to contact them with a “thank you” to increase the strength of the relationship.

Google GPS

Okay I tried to stay neutral but I love the Google Android “Free” GPS. It is by far the best I have ever used. Coaches rely on this great tool but it limits your conversation if you leave the voice commands on.

Cloud Print by Paulo Fernandes

I quickly added my 6 year old wireless printer (that is not ePrint enabled) to Google’s Cloud Print app.  Within seconds I was able to print from my phone to my office printer from anywhere in the world! To add more printers I simply log into the local wireless network and any printers that are available are added to my list. (Requires Google Chrome and Google Account)

Battery Notifier (Big Text) by SHKIL/LARRYVGS

Battery life is extremely important to me and this battery meter tells me when I am running low without having to go and check the status. It places a percentage number conveniently in my status bar on my phone and I can manage when to charge my phone.  By the way, I let my battery run all the way out before I plug it in, preserves its life.

Believe it or not, it’s a phone. Coaches please protect your phone with some outer skin that can take abuse. Public service… Be safe on the road! Many coaches have thrown away the blue tooth devices and have traded them in for the tangle-less headsets. Many of the phones are voice activated. I rarely use this feature out of courtesy to people around me and noise.

Show Phone Courtesy. Please figure out how to turn off your screen before holding the phone to your face to avoid touch tones! Mute your phone on conference calls. Stay in your car during that important call. I have seen coaches get a bit relaxed and continue to conduct business during their convenience store transaction.