Friday, May 09, 2008
What
if SMALL BIZ is the BIG BIZ? (Dec. E-News from 2SS.Com)
[[Contact:26]]
[[Company:25]]
Dear
[[Salutation:40]],
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E N E W S from
2SS.Com
Compiled and Edited by
Mailed
on:
12/01/1999 6:35 PM Number 17
Intl Standard Serial No. - ISSN:
1523-3537
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In
this issue (4 Items):
================
1What if SMALL
BIZ is the BIG BIZ?
2--QUESTIONS
3--PRODUCT WATCH
4--5
STRATEGIC-USEFUL-INTERESTING LINKS
5--WHY SUBSCRIBE?,
2SS.Com & YOUR
SUBSCRIPTION.
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--------------------------Item
One----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Computers and networks are becoming
ubiquitous in small and medium size
enterprises
and the economy is inevitably becoming
both
diversified more equal. A recent article by Ziff
In it they noted that for every 10
households in
1994, there were approximately 7.3
small
businesses, yet expectations are that by
2010
there will be as many small and medium
sized
businesses as there are households in the
In other words small business is booming
and will
continue to, well into the next
century. Where will
all these new businesses come from?
The majority will be in business services,
which
continue to be the fastest growing
segment. This
includes especially sole proprietorships
that are
operated for a second income or computer-based
new business venture. The growth in of
sole
proprietorships is roughly three (3) times
higher
than in small (one to 20 employees) and
medium
size (20 to 99 employees) firms.
Nowadays a computer and an Internet
connection
turns an enterprising accountant,
marketer,
analyst, lawyer or manager into an
on-the-side
business that can produce an ample
second
income.
So the natural question to ask is when
will self-
employment become more attractive to
workers
than a life in a corporation? The answer
is, now
for some of the youngest and the oldest
(e.g.
new retirees) workers.
Ziff-Davis cited research indicating
that
generation Xers will likely leverage
their
technical acquity to start more
businesses
over the course of their lifetime, and
Baby
Boomers will tend NOT to retire, but to
move
into second (or third) careers in a small
business.
The movement to an economy driven by
small
and medium sized businesses can be
attributed
to the failure of corporate loyalty. Most
profes-
sionals
have learned (often the hard way) that
they cannot count on a company to make
them
comfortable for the rest of their
lives. As a
result more and more people are motivated
to
work at and invest in small
businesses.
Futurists Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker say,
in
their book The 500-Year Delta:
Shed the notion that any loyalty is to
be
given or received in a business
relationship.
Accept that you are a freelancer
moving
from deal to deal even when you are
in
someone else's employ, and
understand
that there is only one person you
are
working for: YOURSELF.
Ron Ellis is
living the advice in this article.
At
age 35,
after 7+ years as an ARCO employee
in three
different operating companies it was
clear from
the corporations direction and my
place in it
that my career potential as a
technical
manager was stalled if not simply over.
So the
essence of this message began to hit
me years
ago.
Employers
might take away another
message. ITS DIFFERENTIAL TO
HELP
EMPLOYEES
WITH THEIR CAREER AND
TO BE
CONCERNED ABOUT MOTIVATING
THEM. Employees are bound (this article
says likely)
to figure it out for themselves, but
you have the
opportunity to beat them to the
punch! We believe that can earn you a little
valuable and
increasingly rare loyalty. What
could be
more strategic than that?
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--------------------------Item
Two----------------------
QUESTIONS
-------------------------------------------------------------
Y2K BOILED
DOWN TO JUST ME?
So whats the boiled-down version of
computer
Y2K
problems for us one-by-one? The
likely
answer for any one person is the answer
to
three simple questions.
1.
Do you use an older operating system e.g.
Before Windows 95
2.
Do you use an older CPU (e.g. pre-Pentium)
model?
3.
Do you build your own spreadsheets and if so
did you use 2 rather than 4 digits to
calculate
(that is programmatically via a
macro, etc.)
dates?
Most folks who can answer these
questions
all NO probably wont notice Y2K
themselves.
Theyll have to rely on someone else to
drag
them into any Y2K problems.
HOLIDAYS
IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK?
Many of our 2SS.Com clients use Outlook
and
weve been asked how to add holidays into
its
calendar tool so that theyll be present
as encountered.
In fact Outlook allows you to add holidays
for a number of countries if that is
relevant to
you.
Heres how
Inside the calendar folder
select ToolsΰOptions and click the [Calendar
Options] button. Next click on the [Add Holidays]
button and check off the holiday sets youd
like to include on your calendar.. Finally click
[OK] on each of three screens and check
your
calendar!
DONT OPEN UNKNOWN E-MAIL
ATTACHMENTS
The MiniZip or Worm.ExploreZip(pack) virus
arrives as an E-Mail attachment . Once double-
clicked it infects the host computer, destroys
various files by replacing them with empty
files and reads addresses on new and
unread
mail
inside MS Outlook, Outlook Express or
Exchange E-Mail programs. Then it
automatically
sends itself as a response,
changing the subject line and with a
message
that reads: Hi (recipients name)! I
received
your
e-mail and I shall send you an E-Mail
ASAP. Till then, take a look at the
attached
zipped
docs. bye.
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----------------------Item
Three------------------------
PRODUCT WATCH
-------------------------------------------------------------
DRAGON NATURALLY
SPEAKING ON TOP
In the race to have your PC take a letter
and
follow your voice commands Dragon Naturally
Speaking ($199) continues to edge out IBMs
ViaVoice ($179) according to several
reviewers.
The
latest updates for both products strike
hard at the two top Speech Recognition
issues.
1. How
accurate is it?
98% Via Voice, 96% Dragon after some
routine
use.
2. How long does it take to train it work?
10 to 20 minutes down from 30 minutes
or more
3. Can I use it to run my applications?
Dragon pulls ahead here with good control
for most popular applications and the
best
dictation
features.
The
popular wisdom on speech recognition is
that 99% plus accuracy will be the threshold
that
breaks down peoples barriers to adopting
it.
Thats where the utility vs. accuracy can likely
be tolerated
as worth it!
At 2SS.Com has been guessing we would see
that level of capability by 2001-2002 for
about
12
to 18 months now. To add creditability
to
the
prognosis the Gartner group (A technology
think tank) estimates were within 3-years
too!
SET UP SHOP FOR
FREE
There are an increasing number of places on
the Internets
WWW where you can set up a
storefront
for FREE. Here are a few you might
like to check out if youd like a cost-effective
place to get started:
WHY USE ONLY ONE SEARCH
ENGINE?
If youd like to put several search engines to
work at once you might try:
www.DogPile.Com
www.Mamma.Com
Each will allow you to search 3 or more
major
search engines and try to help you make
sense of the results.
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-------------------------Item
Four-----------------------
5 STRATEGIC-USEFUL-INTERESTING LINKS
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. www.Guru.Com which calls itself the
Web's premier resource for
freelancers
and consultants People we call
Gurus.
2. http://www.helping.org a new AOL site
that
includes a database of more than
620,000
public charities, a volunteer matching
service,
and a one-click "donate now"
feature.
3. http://www.hsx.com the Hollywood stock
exchange is interesting not just
because of
its content but also because of the
new model
for valuation that it represents.
Imagine setting
up a stock exchange for other
commodities
as well.
4. http://www.buybuddy.com says it makes
finding the best technological solution easy
and
intuitive. It lets you navigate product areas
you're interested in and access
purchasing
wizards, buyers guides, live support
and other
sorting tools to make your product
selection
simple.
5. http://www.askmrcomputer.com FREE
computer support, at least for an introductory
period. If you have a nagging problem
youve been living with you might give them
a try. The price is right!
NO SHORTCUT, SPEED TIP - Using IE 4.0' or
later? You can type any domain name
(e.g. Yahoo) in the address bar and then press
[Ctrl] [Enter]. IE will add http://www before
and a .com after to take you right to your
destination.
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-------------------------Item
Five------------------------
2SS.Com &
YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
-------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe the best reason to subscribe is
the E-News Strategic Technology
Advisory Panel, a growing list of
professionals in a variety of
disciplines
who have agreed to:
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3--Accept your strategic systems
technology questions. (This is a free
EXTRAORDINARILY CONVENIENT,
multi-discipline resource available to
you.)
Computer Hardware and Software
Acquisition, Service and Repair by
Ron Ellis of 2SS.Com.
Legal issues and specific expertise
in
corporate and securities law,
nonprofits,
licensing, and franchising by William
Van
der Mei, Principal of The Van der Mei
Law Firm.
Accounting and Financial expertise
inclu-
ding Audit, Tax and General Business
Consulting by David Ljung, Principal
at
Gilbert Accountancy Corporation. Visit
them at www.GilbertCPA.com.
Perspectives from a long-tenured,
technically
savvy and top-notch MIS Director
Morris
Slocum of Emergency Physician Billing
located in
Human Resources expertise, including
problem employees, policy and
procedures,
and customized training by B.J. Flora of
.
B.J. Flora Associates.
Computer network design,
implementation,
maintenance and support by Ron Ellis,
Managing Director of 2SS.Com.
Computer and printer rentals of all
types by Rick Randall, President of
RenTech Computers. Visit them at
Corporate and professional skill
training
by Ann McCandless, Owner and founder
of Computer Assistance. Visit them at
Strategic Planning, turnarounds,
marketing
analysis, and litigation support by Peter
H.
Michael, President of The Michael
Consulting
Group.
Visit them at www.mcgmcg.com.
Internet WWW authoring, database
development and connectivity by
Michael Nelson, President of SacWeb..
Visit them at www.SacWeb.Com.
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