Knowing Where To Hit

Since this is a business lesson, this joke has a meaning behind it. See if you can find it.

January 28th, 2010 at 6:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

You may be wondering what I'm talking about when I say that. This refers to a consulting joke that I've been carrying around for a while from one of my ex-bosses. Very wise man and a good friend.

The joke is about a consultant and a locomotive (train) engineer.

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Review: CashForLaptops.com

Take your old laptops that are sitting around and turn them into cash. That's what I did!

January 20th, 2010 at 6:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

Last August, I bought an issue of Laptop Magazine and noticed a great article in the magazine about whether companies that promise cash for old laptops deliver? I didn't think anything of it, but I thought it was a great article. I glanced at it and added it to my pile of existing magazines that I need to "get to."

With the holidays coming and other projects on my plate, I didn't get a chance to look the service over. This month, I went and did it.

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4 ways to improve your service and support

In business, guess what your customers number one concern is (and what yours should be)?

December 15th, 2009 at 7:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

A while back, I tweeted about an awesome deal. I bought the 3M Pro 110 Portable Projector as a refurbished model from NewEgg. As soon as I received it, the on/off switch wasn't working.

I called NewEgg and they said to contact the manufacturer and they provided the manufacturer phone number. NewEgg said if the manufacturer couldn't replace it, then "call us (NewEgg) back and we will take care of it for you."

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Columbus IT Martini heading to Cincinnati

The Columbus IT Martini is heading out. Sign up to head from Columbus to Cincinnati with us.

July 28th, 2009 at 5:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

The IT Martini is an IT Community formed by John Bishop and Aladin Gohar in Columbus, Ohio. I've gone to a couple of IT Martinis and they definitely provide the IT community with an exciting network experience every time I go.

This time around, John and Aladin set up a round-trip bus to take everyone from Columbus to Cincinnati. We will be arriving in Cincinnati at the Havana Martini Club and watching what IT Professionals have contributed to the world.

If you are in the Columbus area and interested in going on Thursday, July 30, 2009, there is a special code you can enter when signing up. I'm sure you'll agree that it was worth signing up. ;-)

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How to find opportunities for your business

Are you trying to find ideas to start your business? Keep your eyes (and ears) open.

March 25th, 2008 at 11:00am — Comments: (1) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

It's been a while since I posted a business lesson and over the Easter weekend, I heard a joke that relates to even the smallest entrepreneur.

Here's the joke:

It is pouring rain in the flood plain of the Mississippi Valley, and the rising river begins to threaten homes, including that of a local preacher.

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Why John Rambo is the Ultimate Freelancer

Here's some advice for freelancers on what to do and what not to do: John Rambo style.

January 28th, 2008 at 6:00am — Comments: (2) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

After watching Rambo this weekend, I couldn't help but realize that John Rambo was a freelancer.

I'm not talking about the type of freelancer that goes crazy on clients the way Rambo attacked the enemy, but the way he handled himself before all of the fighting is what I'm referring to. Check out these similarities I noticed in the movie that relates to freelancers.

1. When a job comes along, you don't HAVE to take it. Rambo has been through a lot in war and even the hint of gunpowder can make the man go crazy. Even though the crusade was trying to save lives and had good intentions, they didn't realize what they were getting into, but Rambo kept telling them to go home. He was going to be paid handsomely, but still declined the offer. Analyze the jobs that appear on your radar. You're a freelancer. Decide whether you want it or not.
2. Always keep your cool. During the entire movie, John Rambo kept his cool and knew every situation he went into. If a client get out of hand, always remember to think about a situation before you speak. Possibly even diffuse the problem before it even becomes a problem.
3. Don't let a loudmouth intimidate you.
   This continues down the path of number 2. Lewis was pretty fierce in the movie and kept egging on John Rambo. But John Rambo didn't do anything. Heck, these were the guys who were going to help him even though Lewis kept pushing him. If someone is pressuring you or forcing you to get fired up, just keep this in mind: Most leaders keep their cool in hot situations and stay level-headed to make the right decisions. Don't let someone push you into making a rash decision. You may not like the outcome.
4. Step up and take action! As residents of Burma were being forced to run across a water landmine-ridden field, most of the mercenaries were worried that they would be found out if they started attacking. This was the fear factor setting in. They were there to do a job and, in my eyes, they failed at that point. If you are there to do a job or have a project that you even think will start making you money, don't sit around and wish the problems away or think you can't do it. You attack and start the ball rolling (even if the loudmouth doesn't start doing anything). Remember, action speaks louder than words.
5. Know when to pull out the big guns. Near the end of the movie, John Rambo got out the big guns. He saved the mercenaries who were near the boat because he knew he needed help. When you are knee-deep in bad guys or projects, know when to ask for assistance instead of trying to take on everything yourself. If you need help, pull out your big guns (your contacts in your network) and see if anyone can help with your projects.

I watched the movie last night (Sunday) and I thought it was pretty good. A LOT of killing, so make sure you don't take your 10 year old to go see the movie (which I saw a couple bring their 9-10 year old to watch it).

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Small Business Backup Lesson: DO IT NOW!

What disaster recovery steps did I take to make sure this disaster doesn't happen again?

January 23rd, 2008 at 11:30am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

I recently had a business client of mine call me and tell me that their hard drive on their server crashed and their business was currently losing money. Fortunately, it was just the operating system that went South, so a reinstall of Windows Small Business Server 2003 was in order.

After recovering their OS, all of their data was retrieved and everything was back to normal. They felt relieved that their critical data was backed up, but they asked me two questions:

1. What are our backup options in regards to the server and our critical data?
2. How can we recover quickly from a server meltdown?

Based on the experiences of when a company loses their data because of a faulty hard drive or server meltdown, users go into a panic mode and become reactive instead of proactive. Immediately, they start to implement disaster recovery plans, purchase the necessary hardware and software, and start to document their server settings.

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Great Opportunities for Startups

If there was ever a great time to start a business, now is that time with two great contests!

October 17th, 2007 at 11:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

Over the past month, I've been seeing a lot of people talking about preparing your ideas and building a business. Now, even the big names are getting in on the action.

Sometimes reaching out and examining how startup businesses arrive at their ideas is stimulating and invigorating. There may be some ideas that spring up from the creativity pool, but there are some that spring a leak and drain the pool completely.

Where am I going with this? It seems large companies are looking for creative ideas...and are willing to pay for them.

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5 quick steps to make your business greener

Today's post is geared towards an energy-efficient Blog Action Day.

October 15th, 2007 at 3:00am — Comments: (1) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

It's Blog Action Day and the topic is about how to make the world a "greener" place. On this blog, it deals with making a "greener" difference with your business.

A lot of large companies like Adobe, Hewlett-Packard, Palm, and Honda have taken the initiative to move towards a greener company. All it takes is one step to move towards a cleaner world.

If you are a Micro-ISV/small/home business, you can definitely make a difference by showing other large companies how green you can be. Start with one action below and move on to another.

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Don't fall into these Credit Card traps!

Everyone has a credit card, but does everyone know what the creditors do behind the scenes?

August 20th, 2007 at 6:00am — Comments: (0) — By: Jonathan Danylko — Tags: Business

When you start up your small business, you look for cash in the most interesting places: banks, relatives, and maxed out credit cards.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!

NO CREDIT CARDS! I keep telling people that credit cards are evil. They definitely have their place, but be aware of how much you will inevitably be paying.

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