Editor’s note: this guest post by Jon T. Norwood is a little different than others you’ve seen on MiP. It mentions a specific product as a solution to a specific problem. The thing is, I think it’s something many of you small biz owners need to know about. There are so many options today in terms of cloud computing and hardware solutions. Technology is finally catching up with reasonable budgets, and this is just one example of that. Anyway, give it a read, and if it sparks any questions, be sure you follow up with Jon below. – bd
The logic is clear; imagine the cost savings of 30 users working on a single PC. Now imagine hundreds of them working on a single server and you have Ncomputing’s Office in a box. When a new employee joins a company, they have to be provisioned. This usually means a PC, monitor and all the trimmings. And that can cost thousands of dollars, even with discounts. The cost of this is becoming more of an issue as the need for technology increases throughout business.
An “Office in a box” starts with a thin client, which is a very small box containing only the hardware needed to display the desktop interface to the user. This includes graphic hardware and networking services. The desktop (Windows or Linux) becomes a user interface that is served up by either a normal PC or a server using virtualization systems. The result is that many users can use the same computer.
A nice mix of stuff you need to read, from email marketing resources to figuring out where all your tax money went. Enjoy.
Announcing the Connection Agency, by Steve Woodruff: Right off the bat, I gotta give a tip o’ da hat to my pal Steve Woodruff. So, yeah, the fact that he’s starting a company based on his great faith in networks and connections is awesome. But the real thing here is that, probably more than anyone else, I always love reading Steve’s stuff on how the whole point of it all is connecting, and his clarity for what that means. He talks about it a lot on his blog, and his free white paper on Opportunity Networks is really a must-read to get your head straight before you start firing into all the tactical side of online networking. Good luck, Mr. Sticky Figure!
13 Top Email Marketing Resources, by Amy Garland at Blue Sky Factory: Looking for some case studies, stats, ideas on how to do email marketing right? First, be sure you’re reading Blue Sky Factory’s blog. Second, work your way through this list. The data meccas alone toward the end of the list of mind-altering. Email is still extremely important people; it ain’t dead. Start doing it right … this stuff will help.
Designing Your Ideal Week, by Michael Hyatt: One of these days, I’m gonna make it through one of these link-heavy posts without referencing Michael Hyatt. Today ain’t that day. He simply keeps pumping out too much extremely practical stuff that I gotta pass along. In this one, he shows how he schedules his weeks … for everything. It’ s admittedly over-the-top, and certainly not set in stone, but his point makes sense: If you don’t at least try to design a perfect week, then you’ll never have one. I’m gonna be trying this this week myself.
The Truth About Confidence, by Steve Sammartino: Steve is the master of packing maximum punch out of a simple paragraph. He never writes much in a post, but he does milk that puppy for all its worth. I daresay he’s even better at it than Seth Godin. So, I ain’t gonna explain this one. Just read it and see what I’m talking about.
Where Did My Tax Dollars Go?: Hopefully, you’ve recovered from the tax season. Ever wonder where it all goes? This site’ll show you, and I bet you don’t like it
Social media marketing has now become an integral part of business processes and it is important that business owners take proper advantage of these tools if they want to take their business to new heights. In the following article I will be offering some tips on how businesses can use social media to build customer [...]
As the digital age continues to evolve, business owners have to keep pace with a variety of communication channels as a means of speaking directly with a fragmented and disparate market. It was not so long ago that consumers would buy all their wares from physical bricks and mortar stores. Today, with just a click of a button, an item can be dispatched from an ecommerce store in some far-off land. As a result, a disconnect between the business owner and consumer can grow without a moment’s notice and requires action if repeat business is to be sought.
There are all manner of highly accessible and popular social media sites to utilize with Twitter leading the field. So how do you increase your site’s audience whilst communicating effectively? The following guide should provide some useful tips to get you started.
I found myself chatting with a colleague yesterday about business, ideas, the future, etc. And I found myself emphatically stating what I already knew:
I like small business.
Yes, that’s a broad term, but for the sake of discussion, let’s just say it’s 100 employees or less. Since beginning what I consider to be my professional career (no, I don’t include my summer of 39 hours working at a Hardee’s in Frankford, Kentucky in this…), I’ve worked for all different sizes of companies. Less than 15 people. Then approx. 100 people. Then around 1,000 people. Then around 200 people.
Have you ever sat stuck with a large group of people, all with good ideas, but the very thought of getting started as a group is absolutely paralyzing?
That’s because groups ain’t good at starting things. A person is.
And yet, we celebrate consensus and compromise and synergy and brainstorming and all that crap. It’s not bad crap, in all fairness. It just isn’t everything.
For example, one of the worst things about brainstorming is that it leaves you overwhelmed by all the things you then have to go do. So you don’t do any of it. More so, you feel like you have to do it all together as a team because you came up with it as a team.
Today’s guest post is courtesy of Nicole Rodgers. I come across a lot of prospective guest posts ideas due to some services I subscribe to, but Nicole’s title here intrigued me. Which made me think it would intrigue you. Keeping an eye on trends is muy important, and Nicole’s guidance here is extremely helpful.
The successful entrepreneur watches for trends that can be utilized and worked into the business. There are a number of different areas that many indicators are saying will have a great impact on the future of business. Getting in on the ground floor can help ensure the entrepreneur grabs a part of the trend as it pushes forward.
There. I said it. This is what most people outside of network marketing (and even some inside) think of the industry.
The stigma that the industry has taken huge strides in disproving and changing over the past couple decades is, well, still there. Maybe not to the tune of what we saw in the ’80s, but network marketing still has a horrible reputation.
And this battle is showcased beautifully in an exchange recently from Mr. UnMarketing himself, Scott Stratten and a good friend of mine and social media expert for the direct sales industry, Jen Fong.
Switching things up a little this week, passing along some great podcasts I’ve listened to this week. I’m a podcast freak. It makes my commute a joy. It makes working out a joy. It’s just a great way to consume all the awesome content out there. So here are three worth your time:
Listen to Jay Ehret’s Magic Marketing: the Dark and the Light. Jay typically offers interviews with some great marketing minds on his podcast. This time around, though, it was just the man and his microphone. And it is good. Jay describes what he calls those “magic moments:” touch point where you can make pure magic happen for your customers.
Listen to Jay and Sterling’s What No One Else Will Tell You About Six-Figure Joint Venture Launches. The guys from Internet Business Mastery recently launched a new product, and they pass along some great behind-the-scenes lessons they learned this time around.
Listen to John Jantsch and Kevin Kelly’s What Does Technology Want From Us? This is a fascinating interview with one of the founder’s of Wired magazine. It goes way beyond just “technology,” and talks about what the implications technology actually has on our life and lifestyle. It’s very heady, and very good stuff.
Have you heard the latest uproar over Mark Cuban’s recent blog post? It’s been a while since the Benefactor stirred the digital pot, so it’s nice to know he’s still got the touch. And this latest post had to do with new media and the locker rooms.
Essentially, Cuban made this point in his opening paragraph:
In the year 2011, I’m not sure I have a need for beat writers from ESPN.com, Yahoo, or any website for that matter to ever be in our locker room before or after a game. I think we have finally reached a point where not only can we communicate any and all factual information from our players and team directly to our fans and customers as effectively as any big sports website, but I think we have also reached a point where our interests are no longer aligned. I think those websites have become the equivalent of paparazzi rather than reporters.
