Steven G. Atkinson

These are logical common sense tips to save money on your printing. Are you doing them?

Don’t Print Unless Needed
When you receive an email or reviewing a document, do you automatically print it to read and/or review? If the paper goes in the recycle bin shortly after being printed it’s not needed.

Print Only What Is Needed
Following an email thread and want to print to keep for your records. Instead of printing the entire thread, which may be a number of pages long with much of it already in the paper file, only print what is new.

Use Draft Mode
Using the draft mode of the printer will conserve ink or laser toner. The print may be a bit lighter, but the savings in ink or toner adds up quickly. The only time really not to print in draft mode is the final draft and the sent copy.

Use Recycled Paper
Only an original that is distributed needs to be printed on the best paper. Use cheaper recycled paper for drafts and ordinary printing.

Print on Both Sides
Seems logical. Printing on both sides of the paper can safe half of the paper used.

Have The Printer Use Sleep Mode
Less electric is used when the printer is sleeping. Less electric means energy savings.

Originally posted here: http://smbtechnologytips.com/2010/02/15/printing-tips/

Win through your Actions, Never through Argument

Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a mirage:  The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion.  It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word.  Demonstrate, do not explicate.

The saying, “Action speaks louder than word…” could be based on this truth. In business, be argumentative can cause you too lose customers, suppliers and create a negative image for your business. Rather than get into a war of words, demonstrate your ‘rightness’ !

Keeping good records of transactions and keeping detailed project notes is the greatest tool to help you demonstrate your ‘correctness’ when handling  disputes. Whether it be financial disputes or disputes concerning the actual service or product. It’s hard to argue with a paper trail!

Creating a positive image in your daily interactions helps tremendously, when a dispute arises. People come to recognize your business as ‘up-standing’ and are more willing to forgive an occasional mistake or dispute.

Be Humble. Be willing to take a small loss to retain a customer. An angry or disgruntled customer is much more likely to speak negatively of your business than a satisfied customer is to speak positively of your business! It’s just human nature. Anger is a great motivator!

Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary

It is always a good practice to do business based on your parameters. If possible have your business associates meet at time and locations that are convenient for you. Always request that people come to you when requesting their presence. When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control and in business, you want to be in control as much as possible, even when building business relationships with people.

You hold the cards. During any business transaction, negotiation or general meeting; you want to gain as much control as you can and you want to be perceived as having more control than you do! By making people come to you, naturally gives you an appearance of importance and power, which can affect the outcome to be most beneficial to you and your business.

Interesting thought: Woman use this rule a lot with their husbands, significant other or men with whom they associate. Think about it… how often does a woman want or request your presences and they say “Can you Come Here….” My wife does it all the time… and I think, ‘why do I have to come to you when we are both capable of getting to one another and you are the one that wants or needs something…’ ; so she’s wants something from me and not only do I have to deal with the ‘want’, I have to also deliver the ‘want’….. Now that’s control!   LOL

Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit

This may seem to be dishonorable and ‘low-down’ ! Taking credit for other people’s work has the feel of something that your mother taught you that you shouldn’t do.
Let me shed a new light on this, seemingly, dishonorable practice. You want to make yourself and your business look good and it is perfectly okay to take the credit for someone elses’ work, under certain circumstances.

In business, ‘taking credit for others work’ is called outsourcing. You pay another company or person to perform a job or a portion of a job that is either outside of your scope of expertise or more cost-effective to outsource. When viewed in this light, you are not being dishonorable. The company you outsource to, gets paid, you provide your customer with a quality end-product and ideally, make the job more profitable for you or your company.

The key to outsourcing, is to avoid attempting to be a jack-of-all-trades. I, personally have friends that have various trades and businesses, but I can not advertise that I do flooring when I run a technical services company. Stay focused on your core business and only outsource task that are directly related to your core business. Small business owners can make their companies appear larger by implementing a solid outsourcing plan.

Outsoursing can help:

1. Help you save money by allowing another company perform a task that they are set up to do more effiecently and consequently cheaper.

2. Speed up turn-around time for task, which also speed up payment.

3. Build relationships with related businesses and possibly further reduce production cost.

4. Companies you outsource to, are often good sources for new customer, if your businesses are not too closely related.

5. Allows you to offer some extra services / products that are related to your core business.

Entrepreneurs inevitably make mistakes. There is no way around it; 1. Entrepreneurs are human, 2. Entrepreneurs are risk takers, 3. Entrepreneurs are creators and often try things they have never done before.

There will be plenty of mistakes along the road to success. No matter how many blogs you read, books you buy or good advice you receive, you are still destined to make mistakes.

Following are 5 mistakes that we can warn you about…

Remember:  consider advice and new information with your unique business situation in mind

Your image will communicate a lot about who should purchase your products and/or services. While most individuals are willing to use  small business for smaller purchases, this is less-often the case in business-to-business transactions. Business clients are sometimes discerning, and will consider factors such as sustainability, financial health, capacity, and  longevity, when looking for a new vendor or entering a business-to-business relationship. Regardless of whether your company caters to business clients or individuals, managing your image is critical to the long-term success of your small business.

Branding

Branding is a strategy, not an objective. This means that before you design your first logo, print your first ad or business card, or even have another sales meeting, you stop think about the message you want to send to your clients. If you begin from day one with a clear vision of how you want to position yourself in the market, you will be able to focus all of your other marketing efforts on sustaining that image.

Keep in mind that branding encompasses all encounters that any current or future client has had or will have with your company. Whether or not you focus on branding, you are communicating a message about who you are, and you are being judged based on that message.  The key is to make sure that the message is one that you have crafted, an that you are aware of.

Consider an auto repair shop that has a sparkling clean floor, beautiful showroom, and very clean staff. The building is beautiful, the signs are top-quality, and were obviously printed by and for that specific company (possibly even by a parent company). Contrast that with the auto repair shop that has a small office that can only be accessed through the shop bays. Mechanics deal directly with clients, and most of the signs are by and for 3rd party parts suppliers. Which company is doing a better job of branding? The answer is neither. Each is sending out a message to potential clients. One says, “we get the job done. Everyone here knows how to turn a wrench. We’re cheap.” The other might say “We have a corporation backing us. We can give you exact estimates, warranties, and full service. We have a database of parts, many suppliers, and we can speak your language. We compete on service more than price.”



I would argue that these two mechanics are not even competitors, even if they are right next door to one another. They communicate to the public exactly who their clients are before anyone even speaks to an employee. To determine which shop you want to be, you first need to know who your customers are.

Allow for Change

Change comes second, because it is a mindset that will serve you well from the outset.  As you consider the tools you might use to make your company look bigger, you must keep listening for opportunities to grow.  Although you need to start with the end in mind, be aware that change happens.  Evolution is a very real phenomenon in business.  You may start out with one objective, only to have the market dictate otherwise.

Over time you’ll notice clients asking for similar products or services over and over.  Or they may begin asking the same questions repeatedly about your offerings.  Take these cues as very valuable feedback and act on the information.  In this way, customers are finding holes in your message.  Leverage those opportunities to change.  This might mean tweaking your message to be more clear, or it might mean taking on a new product line, or partnering with complimentary businesses who can cross sell for you.

I hate to sound so cliché, but the fact is that change really is constant.  Use it to your advantage.  Remember that a small business’ best competitive advantage can often be agility.  Large corporations take longer to change direction; your business should be flexible.

Consistency

Ok, now that we’ve covered your overall message and the fact that it can change, let’s talk about consistency (yes, I see the irony).  In this case, consistency means a consistent message.  One of the best things a small business can do to make itself look bigger is to send a consistent message.

Consistency has to do with all of those customer interactions that I mentioned earlier.  Each time the customer interfaces with your company on any level, they should be given a similar message.  In this way, your brand is further emphasized in their minds.  Also, a consistent message communicates stability, longevity, and professionalism.  Most importantly, it will begin to establish familiarity.  A feeling of familiarity in your customer’s mind will go a long way in establishing your image as a larger company.

Start with your logo.  Hire a graphic artist with business experience to design a professional logo that communicates the right message.  Then, use it everywhere.  Make sure it is on your business cards, your web site, your brochures, signs, vehicle wraps, invoices, estimates — everywhere.  Additionally, all of your marketing materials should be designed by graphic artists, not by your niece who took a class in high school.

Next, make sure that your marketing materials cover the same basic message that you are communicating to your audience.  Almost always, less is more.  This article is about sending a consistent message, not how to write your message, so maybe that will be a future post.

Lastly, I’ll just mention that you need to consider your message in every customer interaction.  This means on the phone, in person, and even in the way your office or physical facility is setup.  Remember the mechanic’s shop, and what it communicates about the business.  Your message is the only tool you have to choose your customers before you meet them, so use it wisely.

Once you have established your message and put it forward with consistency in print, on-line, in your sales pitch, and in your environment, you will have covered the critical bases in making your business appear larger many of your competitors.  Above all, don’t discount the value of a professional image consistently presented.  Over time it will pay off.

http://www.unixtricks.com/

by Kevin Potts

If you’re like thousands of other designers, programmers and other creative professionals out there, at one point in time you’ve considered starting your own business. Unlike most, you’ve gone against common sense and decided to open shop for yourself. And not just freelance full-time, mind you, but file for the company name, get some stationery, and wade through the legal mumbo-jumbo. Maybe even get a real office with a water cooler.

This article offers real-world advice from the trenches of a small start-up, and is applicable to designers, web developers, copywriters, usability experts and all manner of service providers. Freelancers take heed: there are several items that are just as pertinent to your profession.

Write a Business Plan

The most important thing you can do to prepare for starting and operating your own business. Developing a business plan requires a lot of time and energy, but it’s invaluable for one primary reason — it forces you to come to terms with your business idea. You must decide how you will generate income, what your expenses will be, who your competitors are, and most important, WHAT YOUR BUSINESS DOES. This may seem obvious to you now, but write it down. Think about it. What sets your business apart? What service do you offer that is superior or unique? What’s going to put you ahead of the competition?

Beyond the mental exercises, a good business plan will give you a much better chance of getting a small business loan from a bank than walking in and saying, “I like Photoshop and maybe a can do some websites or something. Gimme money.”

A few years ago, new age business rhetoric said forget the business plan and just run with it. Obviously, that didn’t work out so well, so if you go that route, God bless you. The business plan exists for a reason. There are libraries of books written on them and huge websites devoted to developing good ones. Some resources:

• SBA
• Scott Kramer’s articles on A List Apart
• Businessplans.org
• Business Plan Archive

Take a few weeks and develop a strong and thought-out plan. Give it to friends, co-workers, even family to read. Your business will be immeasurably stronger because you took the time for this step.

File for a Fictitious Name

A fictitious name (called a doing-business-as or DBA in some states) is the government’s term for your company name. If you choose HyperGlobalMegaSoft as the start-up’s name, it has to be registered with the state to ensure no one else is using it. This will cost about $100, but prevents you from accidentally using someone else’s registered name, or from someone else using YOUR name. Also note that two companies can usually register the same name for different industries. For instance, Luigi’s (design studio) and Luigi’s (pizza joint).

Note the fictitious name is not the same thing as a registered trademark. A trademark involves a whole separate process, more paperwork and additional fees. Unlike a fictitious name, however, a trademark is not required.

Funding

This is a pretty involved topic, and enough books and articles have been written about it to make for years of boring bathroom reading. Advice in a nutshell: start the business with your own savings or borrow from a bank. I highly recommend the former or a combination that includes it, since it makes you pinch your pennies a little more. If you go the bank route, make sure the business plan is polished to a high shine. This may be a good time to hire a professional business plan writer/editor.

There is one Golden Rule: Don’t borrow money from family or friends. 99% of the time, you won’t be able to pay them back, and on the off-chance you are, it won’t be for months or years. The amount is irrelevant; $1,000 or $100,000 can quickly create bad blood.

Get an Accountant

In starting your business and maintaining its future financial health, there is no greater ally than an accountant. He or she (or they if you go with a firm) will be able to give advice on innumerable aspects of your new venture. They can advise on what type of business entity to start with, setting up bank accounts, a means of invoicing and collecting, and more. Most importantly, they also guide you on paying taxes properly and punctually.

Brief advice on accountants:

• Go with an accountant or a firm in your state. Each state has different laws.
• Make sure the accountant knows business taxes. Do not hire a family-oriented accountant.
• Unless, you are really, really strapped for cash, hire an accountant who is not a family member. While it may be tempting to get a family discount, it is better to have an unbiased viewpoint about your finances, and also better to keep your family’s nose out of your funds in general.
• Try to trade services! Maybe your accountant wants a new logo, website, or brochure.

Start with a Partner

If you can, start the business with a partner. This person should be another designer or programmer with a level of experience equal to or greater than your own, but with a different skill set. If you’re the God of Annual Reports, your partner can be the Overlord of Identity Design. Having two Annual Report Gods will make for some lacking identity work when the client requests it. And for the record, once again, it will be better if this person isn’t family.

“But why a partner?” you ask. “I’m a darn good designer, and I’m really really gonna do this right.”

A partner will keep you on your toes. When you want to buy that $2,000 scanner, he or she should question why. If you want to design a promotional piece, it should be a group effort to get the best results. If you start to slack off, he or she will be there to remind you of business priorities. No one can do everything, and two complementary skill sets create an asset that cannot be reproduced when flying solo.

About Your New Office

When you start a business, the option of setting up an office outside your home has dramatic pros and cons that must be weighed carefully.

Good:

• You have a place for clients to visit if they are local.
• Reinforces good image (see below). Proper presentation goes a long way, and making your office appear as if you’ve been in business for years (you didn’t tell them you were a start-up, did you?) helps build client trust.
• You can write off all office expenses (rent, repairs, phone, etc). This will affect your bottom line drastically.
• Gets you out of the house. Having a real place to go to work makes the business more real, and forces you to take it that more seriously.

Not-So-Good:

• Money out the window. Renting an office costs $250-$10,000 a month, not including the initial deposit. This is a lot of money if you have a thin or inconsistent client base.
• Requires additional expense. You will need to get a fire inspection and a certificate of occupancy, not to mention additional phone lines, Internet connection, furniture, etc.

Setting up an outside office for a new business is a case-by-case situation, and depends almost entirely on start-up money and cash flow. Some businesses truly require a place to host clients (ad agencies),and for others it’s not as important (web development). Weigh the advantages carefully against capital, because being locked into a lease without a means to pay is no fun.

Retain a Good Paper Trail

Make sure to keep a solid paper trail with clients, and that means a real, physical file with hardcopies of proposals, contracts, invoices, time sheets and anything else you can think of that relates to the project. This also includes all financial records, bank statements, receipts, deposit slips, etc.

Before beginning your business, establish several important things. First, design a consistent and scalable filing system for all the forms. Whether you organize by client or project is irrelevant, but make sure you can find the information when you need it. Second, make sure to have airtight contracts. I advise against writing them yourself. There are many places on the net where you can get generic forms, such as www.creativepro.com. You will also need to look for NDAs (non-disclosure agreements, for contracting work out to other freelancers), RFP (request for proposal) templates for clients to fill out, expense reports, invoices, and time sheets. Every project is different, so be prepared to make changes on these forms.

And please, when you sign a contract with a client, make sure you have a copy with BOTH signatures. Seems like an obvious thing, but you’d be surprised. Don’t do any work without one, because legally, you will have a very hard time forcing a delinquent client to pay without one.

Part of maintaining a solid paper trail is having a good invoice system ready to launch at a moment’s notice. Make sure your invoices arrive in the client’s mailbox while the project is still fresh. Every invoice should clearly mark the amount to be paid and terms of payment (30 days, etc.), and clearly indicate any additional fees resulting from delinquent recompense.

If payment is late, don’t be afraid to call the client. Sometimes they just misplaced the invoice. Other times they don’t have the money and are trying to slink away. Sometimes, “the check is in the mail.” Regardless, the business that does not call to get paid won’t get paid!

Start Small, Conserve Loot

Consider working from your house/apartment to start, especially if you have clients that will never visit you, or if you live in an expensive metropolis (NYC, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, etc). Keep your expenses down! Don’t buy a new quad Xeon workstation if your current machine can cut it, or a truckload of networking equipment for two computers. Be cheap! Look for sales at OfficeMax, clip coupons, and just shop smart. You’re going to need the start-up capital down the road, so don’t drain it on frivolous expenditures. (And yes, the folded die-cut business card with the metallic ink counts as a frivolous expenditure.)

Don’t Undercharge, but Be Flexible

If there’s one thing to remember from this article, it should be this point. Proper pricing is the one thing that keeps the business alive, on multiple levels. When you charge appropriate amounts for the work, the client will feel like they hired the right people; when you undercharge, the client will know this and take advantage of you by demanding similar rates in the future.

If you give every client a discount just to get the job (and this will be tempting, especially in the beginning), you’ll find yourself working twelve-hour days and not being able to pay the bills. Undercharging hurts the industry in general as well; undercharged clients come to expect and request absurdly low prices.

Legal Software

Make sure all the copies of your software are retail versions. Do not use “educational” or pirated software. This is very important, and should be part of the start-up budget.

Separate Personal and Business Finances

Nothing much else to say about this. It will save you innumerable headaches come tax season.

Marketing

Even the most reliable clients have dry spells, so make sure you are constantly putting your company’s name in the marketplace. Word of mouth is the best, but getting truly fresh work usually requires spending money.

The Importance of Image

The importance of maintaining a positive image in the eyes of your clients and potential clients cannot be overstated. Know your firm’s identity so you can project that identity to the customer.

The visual identity is critical. Get business cards, letterhead, and envelopes. Design a good logo or pay someone to do it if you’re not a design firm.

Dress the part. When meeting with a client, look like someone who’s come to do business, not some clichéd black-turtleneck half-shaven graphic designer who’s gracing them with your presence half an hour late. It sounds exaggerated, but it happens all too often.

Make the office welcoming. If you entertain clients, keep the office clean, organized and hospitable. Make good coffee. Purchase comfortable chairs. Make sure they have a place to park.

Use Outside Resources

Running a business takes long hours and a willingness to learn. However, there are many services that exist to help businesses succeed and get work. For instance:

• Your local Chamber of Commerce
• SCORE
• Attend business seminars. You can learn a lot and do some powerful networking. Many are free.
• Creativepro.com. Full of valuable resources like stock photos, business contracts, freebies and more. $29.99 / year.
• Elance.com. A cause of dissention among many designers for the ridiculously low rates you have to work for, but a good place to find work when the rest of the world has shut its doors.

If you still decide to start a business, there’s nothing more I can say except good luck.

You’ve got to have the “fire in your belly,” or you will fail. There are long hours, hard work, and incredibly frustrating and stressful times ahead. But the rewards — being your own boss, being able to work on a variety of projects, feeling that proverbial sense of accomplishment — these are all very real results.

Kevin Potts is the creator and author of graphicPUSH, a resource site for web and print designers.