Hey there,

Mike here.  Dale has done his last trip to the “Geek Squad” with his GateWay Laptop (Only 6 Months Old) and is becoming a MAC Man.

Is it any wonder after his PC spending more time in the shop than it did with Dale?

I’m pretty convinced I’m going to make the move as well, but rather than go cold turkey like Dale is, I will have to transition.  WAY too much software and data on my XP sp3 Operating System to just say, “See Ya”!

Still I know the day is coming. I’ve faced it.  It is either face doing a system rebuild every 6 months on my Windows PC (Regardless of how much registry cleaning, defragging, running ant-spyware scans and on and on that I do), or join all my friends that finally bit the bullett, buried their PC and then couldn’t resist calling me to say it was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST THING THEY EVER DID!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh ….. What ever.  This ASUS Mother Board I’ve upgraded the last availalbe AMD CPU they made for it, (2.6 Mghz) and I’ver probably replaced every PCI Card in it and a Scuzzy Card, not to mention 2 drives.  Talk about nickel and diming you to death. Oh well, may as well face the music.  First part of the year I guess.

Anyway this all got me to thinking.  Well all the above and the MAC commercials.  Are people really griping about Windows VISTA as much as it seems they are?

So off to GOOGLE I go . . . . OMG . . .

Results 1 - 10 of about 1,740 for “windows VISTA Complaints“

People have actually built complete websites dedicated to trash talking VISTA.

Results 1 - 10 of about 3,430,000 for VISTA JUNK. (0.16 seconds)

hmmmmmm ….. kind of sorry I got into this.  Pretty depressing that a company of MicroSoft’s stature would purpetrate such a scam on the buying public.

I actually started this post to let you know Dale wouldn’t be around again for another few days due to his VISTA problems, but this is getting me out of the Holiday Spirit.

Talk Atcha L8r folks,

I’m back at it and DeadIntoIt

Mike

I got a question at our support desk the other day regarding downloads of E-books in our Entrepreneurs Library. I thought I would share this with you because I’m sure there are plenty of people that experience similar issues downloading files online.

However, I have a feeling though that most people never ask why a downloaded file may be corrupted on their first try and either give up or  are persistent and try again, then the file opens and works just fine.  though they still wonder why those kinds of things happen, they don’t bother to find out why.

So here is the question and my response:

Question: Why do I get “Corrupted Zip File” errors when trying to unzip some downloads the first time I try, but can go back later and the .zip file will download just fine and open just fine?

Answer: There are numerous reasons why you may experience “Corrupted Zip File” errors.

Our products are always tested for download integrity before the download page is made live for any given month’s products.

Possible reasons for corrupted zip files:

1) You may have lost your Internet connection during the download, or your system may have “Timed Out”, and the file download was not completed. This may be especially true of the Audio files as they can be just at or just over 100 Mega-Byte files.

2) The connection path between your Internet Provider and our download server may have been experiencing what is called, “Excessive Digital Packet Data Loss”. This can happen as a result of virtually any backbone provider on the Internet being overburdened with traffic at any given time. This condition can cause what is known as transmission latency.

Packet Data Loss is just what it sounds like. File Data Packets within a file are lost in transmission. Therefore you may not be downloading but bits and pieces of the .zip file. Obviously your compression utility like WinZip or 7-Zip will then consider the file corrupted.

You can check on the percent of Packet Data Loss here:

http://www.internetpulse.net

If you see Warning signs on even one of the major U.S. Internet backbones, you may need to wait an hour or so, then try your download again.

3) Slower Internet connections, ( Dial Up or Basic DSL), can also experience difficulties with latency that will cause incomplete or corrupted file downloads. You can test your download and upload speed here:

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ (Hyper-Link Below.)

If your download speed is under 768Kpbs, and you think you have a “hi-speed” connection, you may want to call your Internet provider.

4) If you are on a wireless network, your connection speed is no faster than your network, regardless of your Internet Connection Provider’s available bandwidth.

Here’s the bottom line; We do test the integrity of our download files to be sure they are functional and download completely prior to making the download page/links live.

If you have checked your connection, checked your download speed, tried to download again to see if you can get the complete file, (Just because your system says download complete, that does not mean you got the entire file), and you still have a .zip file corruption error, please DO then submit a support ticket and we will assist you in getting you the products you paid for.

It would be a perfect world if we had a prefect Internet, but we’re just not quite there yet :o(

=======

I hope this is helpful to some folks that experience download issues.

Here’s wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Mike Claggett

I’m Back At It And  - DeadIntoit

What questions should I ask myself to see if I have what it takes?

In order to successfully start a small business, it is important to realistically appraise your strengths and weaknesses. It is important to be honest with yourself; an accurate self-assessment of your skills and experiences will allow you select business opportunities that play to your strengths and chose business partners whose abilities will complement yours.  Begin by asking yourself the following basic questions, which are designed to help you determine whether or not starting a small business is right for you:

Question 1: Am I a self-starter?

Do you posses an inner drive to succeed, or does your primary source of motivation come from external pressures such as pay raises and deadlines?  If you are highly motivated to set and meet your own goals, starting a small business may be right for you.

Question 2:  How organized am I?

Starting a small business will place unprecedented demands on your organizational skills!  If you are the type of person who strives to organize his or her workspace and daily schedule to achieve maximum efficiency, starting a small business may be right for you.

Question 3: Am I a natural leader?

Starting a small business requires you to not only organize yourself but also to coordinate the activities of others, including business partners and employees.  If you are comfortable assuming the leadership role, starting a small business may be right for you.

Question 4: Can I make decisions under pressure?

Owning and operating a small business can be a highly unpredictable venture.  Unexpected problems will arise that require quick and decisive action.  If you possess sound judgment and are comfortable making some decisions intuitively, starting a small business may be right for you.

Question 5: Do I welcome responsibility?

As a small business owner, you will be accountable to business partners and employees for the business decisions you make.  This is a tremendous responsibility.  If you possess strong professional ethics, including a sense of personal accountability to others for your decisions, starting a small business may be right for you.

Question 6: Would I describe myself as innovative and creative?

Successful small business owners are creative, conceptual thinkers who think outside of the box to develop new and outstanding ideas.  If you enjoy creative problem-solving and would describe yourself as an innovative thinker, starting a small business may be right for you.

There is no such thing as an ideal small business owner; everyone has strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis the attributes listed above. However, if you are honest with yourself, your accurate self-assessment will help you to select business opportunities that play to your strengths.  Furthermore, by acknowledging your areas of relative weakness you can select business partners and employees whose abilities complement yours.  Accurate self-assessment is the key to success.

Sincerely,

Dale Stefancic

Stop Thinkin About It - JustGetToIt

© www.EntrepreneursOnCall.com

Hey there,

Mike here.  Dale’s been a little busy with some upcoming events.

I just wanted to share with you and interesting EARLY Holiday gift I received notification of this morning.

COX HI-SPEED INTERNET is playing Santa early this year.  Support sent out and email announcing they had increased bandwidth/speeds to OVER 20 MBPS (20 Mega-bytes Per Second).

My knee jerk reaction was, “Yeah sure you did”!  So I traveled on over to:

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

. . . . and what to my surprise but 20+ Mega-Bytes Per Second flased in front of my eyes. HO HO HO!

Head on over to SpeakEasy.net and see what your Speeds are.  Leave a comment and let me know who your Internet Provider is and what your Download and Upload times are.  If you know what your provider has promised, it would be interest if other providers are coming through with the goods as promised.

Here is the test result from SpeakEasy.net from 5 minutes ago:

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Happy holidays to you all, and to all a goodnight :o)

I’m back at it and DeadIntoIt

Mike Claggett

Brand recognition is the extent to which customers recognize a brand and their attitudes toward the brand.  When a new brand is introduced, brand recognition develops according to 5 progressive stages:

Brand Rejection.

If customers have a negative experience with your product, they may make a conscious effort to avoid your brand in the future.  It is important not to ignore customers’ negative experiences, but to address grievances and complaints before brand rejection escalates.  For example, if you are aware of complaints against your customer service department, create a logo or slogan that advertises your commitment to excellent customer service.  Once you accept that some consumers may reject you or your product, you can develop strategies to alter the situation.

Brand non-recognition.

If your product is not clearly distinct from your competitors, customers may not recognize your brand at all.  It is crucial to emphasize what makes your product unique.  Carefully label each individual product or service with a distinctive name, just as you branded your small business as a whole.  Make sure that names for products and services serve to highlight and reinforce the unique features of your brand.

Brand recognition.

If you are stuck in the brand non-recognition stage, brand recognition is your primary goal.  In brand recognition, customers simply recognize your brand.  At this stage, customers will choose your product over a competitor’s product that they cannot recognize.  However, brand recognition never confers a permanent advantage because your competitors are also working hard to distinguish their brand from yours.

Brand preference.

Once customers can differentiate your product from the competitors’, customers who believe that your product uniquely meets their needs will select your brand.  Like brand recognition, brand preference confers temporary benefits: at any moment, the competition may intensify their marketing campaign by adding value or lowering prices.  Therefore, independent business owners should not stop at mere brand preference but should strive for the ultimate form of brand recognition, brand loyalty.

Brand loyalty.

This is the highest level of brand recognition. Customers who are loyal to your brand will chose your brand every time, even if they experience occasional poor service or a superior product is introduced to the market.  Only highly differentiated products achieve brand loyalty; remember that intangible elements such as customer service can help to distinguish your brand.

In summary, brand recognition is not a monolithic achievement but a staged process that encompasses many responses from rejection to lifetime loyalty.  While simple brand recognition is insufficient, you can capitalize on brand recognition to foster preference for your brand, and, ultimately, brand loyalty.

I’m glad you stopped by today.
Sincerely,

Dale Stefancic

Stop Thinkin About It - JustGetToIt

© www.EntrepreneursOnCall.com

Hey there,

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found it interesting that folks I have interviewed for Entrepreneurs On Call have continued the call after we were off the air, because the conversation got around to branding for small businesses as I was reading a few of our listeners emails.

I had to remind myself that understanding branding of a small business is something that is misunderstood by many entrepreneurs regardless of how long they have been in business. From the email I have received on the subject, it seems in this age of the Internet with all the potential for socializing and networking digitally, some aren’t sure whether they should be putting more emphasis on branding themselves as an expert in their field or branding their business.

There is really no reason why you can’t do both, but which should take priority depends on a number of variables. When you ask most folks what their brand is, you are as likely to get a blank stare in response as you are being shown a logo on a business card.

A brand for an individual or for a small business can take a lot of different forms so I thought I would open up a discussion here on brands, what I think they are or can be for an individual or their business. They in fact can and in many cases should be different.

A brand is not simply a product name, logo, or slogan. Your brand is your business’ face to the world! Since the inception of your small business, employee attitudes, consumers’ perceptions and competitors have all worked to define your brand. In a sense, then, your brand is the sum total of all perceptions of your business over time. It is important to remember that, because brands are perceptions, the branding process is not an exact science and it is impossible to exert total control over the brand image. However, by paying careful attention to how your brand reflects the core values of your business, you can effectively focus and manage public perceptions of your brand.

Many business owners assume that it is unnecessary to develop a corporate identity, particularly in the case of small independent businesses and franchises. While large corporations develop brand names that are recognized around the world (for example, Nike and Xerox), branding a small business is equally important, although the process occurs on a smaller scale. In fact, branding is inevitable. Even though you may not be aware of it, the brand image of your small business is constantly being shaped. Every time a business email is sent, a business phone is answered or business partners shake hands, these small-scale exchanges shape the reputation of your business – or, in other words, your brand.

Consistency is the key to successful branding. On your next walk around your business, ask random employees you encounter “What do we do here at company X”? You may be astonished to find that employees give vastly different explanations for what the company does. These inconsistent messages about the company are going out into the community and convey sloppiness to potential consumers or partners. This costs you money.

To brand your small business successfully, first take stock of the core values that make your company unique. What differentiates you from your competitors – is it integrity, dependability, customer service or a combination of values?

Everything that your company does should embody those core values, from the slogan to the logo, packaging, customer service and even music that plays over the telephone when customers wait on-hold. Your company must project a shared vision, a common message, a consistent color scheme and a coherent design. By ruthlessly controlling your brand image, you will ensure that your brand stands out above the competition.

Hmmmmmm ….. seems time got away from me here. More on branding in my next post. I’ll appreciate your comments on this subject though.

Till then, here’s hoping you are having a productive and prosperous day.

Dale Stefancic
EntrepreneurOnCal

Dale

I’m sure you are aware that a brand is much more than a logo or tag line. However, these elements are associated with brand image for one primary reason: they are crucial. Taken together, the logo and tag line succinctly represent the brand and convey a message to potential consumers. Again, consistency is key: your logo and tag line should work together to communicate the core values that make your company unique.

Designing a Logo

A logo is a symbol that visually represents your company. Because of its prominence on letterhead and product packaging, the logo is often the first brand element that your buyers see. Therefore, it is wise to hire a graphic design firm to create your logo. Be sure that you or your design firm evaluates the logo as it will actually be seen. If the logo will appear on billboards, enlarge it to actual size.

Your logo should represent your core values, and it may evolve over time. Take Apple as a case in point: the Apple logo stands for a natural design and ease of use. Notice that the company has altered the Apple logo from rainbow-striped to monochromatic. The brand remains consistent while signaling a new era as Apple expands. If your logo no longer visually expresses your company’s unique promise to consumers, the logo may be out-of-date. Consult periodically with your design firm to ensure that your logo remains relevant.

Writing Tag Lines

A tag line is a catchy saying of 10 words or less that communicates your company’s reason for being. This catch phrase should not only stand out but also communicate the essence of your company. In a few hours, a copywriter or marketing consultant can take the core values behind your company’s brand and translate them into a pithy tag line.

The tag line must relate not only to your core values but also visually connect to your logo. Place the tag line either below or alongside your logo; wherever your logo appears, your tag line should appear with it.

In summary, your logo and tag line succinctly convey your core values to potential partners and customers. Successful logos and tag lines are memorable enough to help consumers recognize your brand. Once consumers can distinguish what makes your brand stand out, they will begin to choose your product or services over a competitors’ product that they have never heard of.

More on branding in a few days.

Remember, you can do it if you JustGetToIt

Dale Stefancic

By now, you are aware that a brand is much more than a logo or tag line. However, these elements are associated with brand image for one primary reason: they are crucial. Taken together, the logo and tag line succinctly represent the brand and convey a message to potential consumers. Again, consistency is key: your logo and tag line should work together to communicate the core values that make your company unique.

Designing a Logo

A logo is a symbol that visually represents your company. Because of its prominence on letterhead and product packaging, the logo is often the first brand element that your buyers see. Therefore, it is wise to hire a graphic design firm to create your logo. Be sure that you or your design firm evaluates the logo as it will actually be seen. If the logo will appear on billboards, enlarge it to actual size.

Your logo should represent your core values, and it may evolve over time. Take Apple as a case in point: the Apple logo stands for a natural design and ease of use. Notice that the company has altered the Apple logo from rainbow-striped to monochromatic. The brand remains consistent while signaling a new era as Apple expands. If your logo no longer visually expresses your company’s unique promise to consumers, the logo may be out-of-date. Consult periodically with your design firm to ensure that your logo remains relevant.

Writing Tag Lines

A tag line is a catchy saying of 10 words or less that communicates your company’s reason for being. This catch phrase should not only stand out but also communicate the essence of your company. In a few hours, a copywriter or marketing consultant can take the core values behind your company’s brand and translate them into a pithy tag line.

The tag line must relate not only to your core values but also visually connect to your logo. Place the tag line either below or alongside your logo; wherever your logo appears, your tag line should appear with it.

Your logo and tag line succinctly convey your core values to potential partners and customers. Successful logos and tag lines are memorable enough to help consumers recognize your brand. Once consumers can distinguish what makes your brand stand out, they will begin to choose your product or services over a competitors’ product that they have never heard of.

Having a logo on your business card and stationary is one thing, if you are just getting started out and don’t have a budget for exterior business signs at your physical location, what is wrong with you being a walking billboard? I got some very nice polo v-neck shirts done with our EOC logo on it pretty inexpensively. And the logo on my shirts do attract attention and get questions and have actually gotten us some website traffic.

Still branding yourself, (literally), like the logo on my shirts is a good idea, but the old faithful business card has come of age on the Internet as well. In fact, Mike is putting together a series on how your business card on line can make you money off line. You’ll see me here in the blog VERY soon.

More on branding in a few days.

Remember, you can do it if you JustGetToIt

Dale Stefancic

Hey there,

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found it interesting that folks I have interviewed for Entrepreneurs On Call have continued the call after we were off the air, because the conversation got around to branding for small businesses as I was reading a few of our listeners emails.

I had to remind myself that understanding branding of a small business is something that is misunderstood by many entrepreneurs regardless of how long they have been in business. From the email I have received on the subject, it seems in this age of the Internet with all the potential for socializing and networking digitally, some aren’t sure whether they should be putting more emphasis on branding themselves as an expert in their field or branding their business.

There is really no reason why you can’t do both, but which should take priority depends on a number of variables. When you ask most folks what their brand is, you are as likely to get a blank stare in response as you are being shown a logo on a business card.

A brand for an individual or for a small business can take a lot of different forms so I thought I would open up a discussion here on brands, what I think they are or can be for an individual or their business. They in fact can and in many cases should be different.

A brand is not simply a product name, logo, or slogan. Your brand is your business’ face to the world! Since the inception of your small business, employee attitudes, consumers’ perceptions and competitors have all worked to define your brand. In a sense, then, your brand is the sum total of all perceptions of your business over time. It is important to remember that, because brands are perceptions, the branding process is not an exact science and it is impossible to exert total control over the brand image. However, by paying careful attention to how your brand reflects the core values of your business, you can effectively focus and manage public perceptions of your brand.

Many business owners assume that it is unnecessary to develop a corporate identity, particularly in the case of small independent businesses and franchises. While large corporations develop brand names that are recognized around the world (for example, Nike and Xerox), branding a small business is equally important, although the process occurs on a smaller scale. In fact, branding is inevitable. Even though you may not be aware of it, the brand image of your small business is constantly being shaped. Every time a business email is sent, a business phone is answered or business partners shake hands, these small-scale exchanges shape the reputation of your business – or, in other words, your brand.

Consistency is the key to successful branding. On your next walk around your business, ask random employees you encounter “What do we do here at company X”? You may be astonished to find that employees give vastly different explanations for what the company does. These inconsistent messages about the company are going out into the community and convey sloppiness to potential consumers or partners. This costs you money.

To brand your small business successfully, first take stock of the core values that make your company unique. What differentiates you from your competitors – is it integrity, dependability, customer service or a combination of values?

Everything that your company does should embody those core values, from the slogan to the logo, packaging, customer service and even music that plays over the telephone when customers wait on-hold. Your company must project a shared vision, a common message, a consistent color scheme and a coherent design. By ruthlessly controlling your brand image, you will ensure that your brand stands out above the competition.

Hmmmmmm ….. seems time got away from me here. More on branding in my next post. I’ll appreciate your comments on this subject though.

Till then, here’s hoping you are having a productive and prosperous day.

Dale Stefancic
EntrepreneurOnCall