Looking at the world - from Down Under : Business

I thought I should crow about this one...

calvert — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 02:35:00 GMT

I'm at the Microsoft Australian partner conference, being held on Hamilton Island. There are 633 Microsoft partners here and around 140-150 Microsoft staff, together with 23 exhibitors including Trend, Kaseya, Wacom, ProCurve etc.

Anyway, Friday night is the big gala dinner where the partner awards are given out. I'm proud to say we're a finalist for the Partner of the Year award for the Network Infrastructure category.

We're up against 2 giants - Commander & Southern Cross. Just being a finalist is something special but winning will be even sweeter.

Anyway, just in case you don't believe me, check out Nick Mayhew's blog post - http://blogs.msdn.com/nickmayhew/archive/2007/08/21/award-finalists-announced.aspx (scroll down to the bottom 25% in the list).

Note one key name missing from this list - Axxis! Mathew Dickerson is most certainly here dressed up with Axxis branded clothes and golf buggy, as you'd expect. I forgot to bring my camera to show you but then he really doesn't need any more publicity :)

If we win, expect another post and a rather sore head. If we don't win I'll still be very happy with being a finalist. Chalk one up for the SMB focussed partner.

The dawn of an era...

calvert — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 10:34:00 GMT

Monday morning just about all of us in the office were suffering "Jimlag", trying to remember what we'd learned the previous week & put it into practice. Ian (our implementer) was off in the bowels of north western Queensland so was out of reach for us, although the Happen support crew were just on the end of the telephone waiting for us.

But we survived Monday without having to ask for any support which was due to either us remembering what we needed to or being so ignorant that we had no idea we were lost!! (the former I think rather than the latter).

Today (Wednesday) saw the light come on, so to speak. We had quite a number of jobs to close off, products to finalise receiving in & then invoice. We went through the process of finalising & invoicing jobs and I gotta tell you - it's SOOOOOO much easier than the old way. Simply create the list of "ready" jobs and hit a few buttons.

It's amazing what a sound investment in the right tools can do for a business. I keep reflecting on last week & how interesting it was to be on the receiving end for a change & whilst it was hard going we're reaping the benefits already. I guess it's much the same as our clients have when we implement a new network - there's always some "pain & discomfort" (and I do warn them of that) but the benefits will certainly be there for their business.

It's the dawning of a new era for a business when the right tools are implemented properly & put to use.

Take a step back from your business every once in a while, look for the parts that need oiling, tightening up, cutting out etc etc & set about on a change for the better. Having gone through this and survived I can tell you it's worth it.

What tools have you implemented recently, to fix what pain points, and what has the result been? I'd love to know.

What a week!

calvert — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:41:00 GMT

It's finally the end of a totally full on week - in fact probably the most incredible week I've had in business.

The implementation of our new Jim2 management system has gone really well with everybody knuckling down and tackling it full on. It's simply quite amazing what a positive impact a great management system can have on a business.

Jim allows us to track service and sales jobs as they are initiated, quotes and stock on purchase. It's giving us much greater visibility of what's going on overall.

I got really excited yesterday & today when Ian was showing me how particular tasks can be "processed" into defined steps so there are checks and measures for them. This paves the way for better quality control and reporting - how sweet!!

We had a large shipment of servers & related items come in today and once received it was a very simple task to see the status of these items for the project at hand - what was still on backorder and even the serial number of those items that have come into stock. So much better than the way we used to do things.

I'm not saying Jim is the answer to all your business issues, but rather than you really need to find systems for defining processes, checks & measures in order to make your business propell itself forward. This is, I know, going to make us so much better at what we do, and more professional in having more visibility of what's going on.

I can see that my life will be mine again (well....it'll be my wife's anyway )

Just imagine being about to provide much better consistency and have predictability with processes as they are undertaken....it's like a dream come true (I know... I sound really "sad" don't I!!).

Anyway, the point is finding the right solution for your business is important when you want to grow it from being a "job" to a "business". Whether Jim2 is the right tool for you or not is irrelevant - you just need to find it. That being said, have a look at it (www.happen.biz) - it's really quite incredible what it can do.

Days 2 & 3 with Jim

calvert — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:03:00 GMT

It's been a full on exercise getting the new system going internally. Whilst it hasn't been overly painful as such, it's a big change for everyone so there's a steep learning curve to climb, plus breaking old habits which is always a bit of a chore.

Ian, our implementer from Happen Business, has been very patient with us and been doing a great job. I have never had any misconceptions about my inability to be a trainer, and Ian solidified that further in that his approach is very different to mine. I simply don't have the patience and if someone asks me a question I tend to give them the answer. Ian, on the other hand has a lot more patience (or can fake it better than me!!) and when asked a question he gets us to think about the answer more often than just feeding us the solution (akin to teaching us to fish as opposed to giving us a fish).

We are live with Jim2 with service jobs, quotes, purchase orders and all other essentional functions going through it - and it's only been in since Monday morning! Quite an accomplishment really. If I wasn't experiencing it for myself I guess I would find it hard to believe.

It's really interesting being on the receiving end for a change. I'm used to being involved in major network upgrades for our clients where I can quite confidently walk in, turn the business upside down with a nice, shiney new network (typically SBS - what else!!!) and get them going before moving on to the next one. In this case my business is the one being turned upside down and it's an odd experience, but not one I'm shying away from.

Change is something that people will often try to avoid, mostly because they prefer certainty, even if this means they won't be happy. I'm not afraid of change though however I need to keep in mind that my staff may not attack change the same way I do - which is a good thing when you boil it all down.

Anyway, back to Jim. Performance is no problem - with the database running on a virtual server, and it's great the way things "follow" you around the network such that when I log off a session on my notebook and then hook into the terminal server from home, the same lists, jobs, stock items and reports I had open when in the office are there open & ready at my next session - this is a good time for change to NOT take place

Two more days to go before we're left on our own. There's still a lot to learn and based on what I've heard the first six weeks are the toughest - after that we'll be wondering how we ever got on with out it. I am getting home each night with a cracking headache but I know it will all be worth it.

I'm looking forward to what I'll learn tomorrow!!

Day 1 with Jim

calvert — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 13:52:00 GMT

It's been quite a ride with Jim2 so far - and it's only the end of the first day.
Ian arrived this morning and we got into questions & answers almost as soon as he got into the car - one interesting point I found out is only about 40% of the Jim2 users out there are "IT shops"! There's quite a mix of business types including a number of engineering firms, mining and even a hardware store.
Mostly today was for discussing the various aspects of Jim2 and how they apply to our business, how we'd use them and what things Ian needs to get me thinking about.
Stock is one of those areas that needs some careful thought, particularly with regard to product codes. We typically use vendor (or mannufacturer) part numbers where possible to ensure we can order the same part from more than one distributor but some of these part numbers can be rather obscure. Whilst I personally might be fine in handling a part number like "PE-740K2L" it's not the simplest thing to replicate to the rest of the team.
So, it's time to categorise the various product types we work with and get them into major categories that will help to make a bit more sense of the part numbers. I've decided to split into various groups like: cables, rack equipment, software, computers (servers, desktops, laptops etc), hard drives, accessories, UPS components. It might look like a bit of a list but the part numbers themselves should simplify things a bit more for us although they may appear a bit cryptic at first (eg from the list above we have cables, rack, sw, comp, hdd, acc, ups). This yields our own part numbers that are a mix of the "major category" then the vendor part number such as "HDD.431958-B21" for an HP 146Gb SAS hard drive - we know it's a hard drive instantly.
Perhaps it's not the most ideal system but it'll work.
So I've got a number of part numbers to enter in order to accommodate purchase orders currently "in flux" but that should only take perhaps an hour to get done.
The real trick, apart from getting the rest of the team trained, is going to be getting service types worked out. This is going to be something new for us to get our heads around - remote desktop support, phone, email, on-site or do we want to get more granular?? Ian will give me more headaches tomorrow as we work through this side of things.
All in all I'm still very excited about what Jim2 is going to do for us and also for our clients - we will be even more organised moving forward. I should get back quite a few hours in my week and might even start to get some sleep.
Ian has been great to work with, but there's one really freaky thing - Ian reminds me soooo much of my mate David Mackie (who runs the Canberra SBS user group too). Their voices are similar, their manerisms, they even look quite similar (although David has more hair!). Talk about dopplegangers! I'll have to ensure they meet one day - it'll be quite a sight.
OK - time to wrap up for day 1. Got an email too from Andrew Dugdell (aka Dugie - http://blogs.virtualserver.tv/blogs/dugie/default.aspx) who works at Clariti - another Jim2 user but based in Brisbane. They're happy with Jim2 which is good to hear and he sent me a video file on getting Outlook calendars to "talk" with Jim2 automagically - looking forward to watching that probably later in the week.
Tune in tomorrow for more news on Jim2 (and remember - it's www.happen.biz !!)

Hitching a ride with Jim

calvert — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:12:00 GMT

Any change, particularly in small business, can either make or break a company. Good big change can propel a business forward whereas bad big change (or lots of bad small change) and kill a company. Today is one of those days where we undergo BIG change - but I feel confident it's going to be all good.

We're implementing a new accounting system, after sticking with MYOB for some 9 years it's time for us to get serious about things (Note: I'm not saying that MYOB is not serious software, or that it's bad software, we've simply outgrown it and need something different).

After doing some checking around we decided to go with Jim2 from Happen Software (www.happen.biz), a local Aussie product written and supported in Sydney. Ian is the consultant we've flown in (arrives in just over an hour) to help us implement it and train us all - boy is he in for something!

All that we've seen of Jim2 so far has been great - it's going to resolve a lot of frustrations I've had for some years, particularly with regard to things like serial number tracking, reports, and tying purchase orders of products in to invoices of products out.

Stay tuned - I'll keep you posted on how things come together. In a few days I'm sure I'll be telling you to go buy it for your own use too. (I'll also have to let you know about what I've done with our server infrastructure....)

Don't be #801

calvert — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:27:00 GMT

SMB Nation 2006 is open for registration. This is THE premier event for SME consultants/VARs/VAPs/resellers and you need to do all you can to be there. The conference will once again be held at Microsoft's Conference Centre in Redmond, Washington.

There are only 800 places available so don't delay getting your registration in - you don't want to miss out by being number 801 to register. There's an early-bird special until the end of March where the registration cost is only US$695, following which it'll go up to US$795. That US$100 saving can be applied to your drinking money in the bar at the Marriot in Redmond [:D]

There's an impressive list of speakers for this year's conference (http://www.smbnation.com/Default.aspx?TabId=5) so you're sure to learn plenty regardless of which track you follow (technical, business, product/sales). I'll be speaking in the business track again and plan to get into more advanced business growth information - taking your business to the next level. If you're coming along and would like some specific information included then please let me know and I'll see if I can work it into the time available for the presentation.

Of course I think the best part of attending an event like SMB Nation is the ability to network with fellow SBSers from around the world. People with whom I communicate with by email or IM and it's great to put a face to a name or catch up with a face I've met before.

So what are you waiting for? Get your registration in and join in the learning, fun & friendship. Hope to see you there :)

Taking care of busy-ness

calvert — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:17:00 GMT

2006 has already shown itself to be a very full year. In fact I've been struggling to keep up with my email traffic let alone all the other things happening around the place.

How's this for the current major projects on the go:

* office relocation mid-year to bigger and better premises (yet to find this place though)

* new staff - currently looking for a new consultant and sales person to help handle our continued growth

* baby blues - well not really "blues" but my amazing assistant Rebecca is going on maternity leave mid-year for her first baby so we've got to prepare for handling some time off for her plus someone to fill in

* home renovations - we're going to make the house bigger as our kids (http://www.sbsusers.net/atw/photo.htm for some older photos) just keep growing

* there's a few other things that I can't list here but rest assured it's not minor surgery

All this means I need to continually look for ways to improve the way I work, and my team, keeping my eyes & ears open for great ways to use time efficiently and effectively plus handle the information flowing through the place.

We're going to start using MS CRM 3.0 shortly which I anticipate helping with this significantly but that can't be the "be all & end all" of the solution. I'd love to hear about any great time saving/efficiency tools & practices you've come across and have found to be effective. By sharing these ideas around we can all learn to deal with the information superhighway that just keeps pushing its way through our lives - and enjoy some of the quieter sideroads at the same time.

It is alive!!!

calvert — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 12:22:00 GMT

Woo hoo, I've just successfully installed CRM 3.0 onto our office SBS2003 server. After nutting out a few installation issues I managed to get it installed using, of course, the SBS installation method (was around 9-10 clicks after all the other fiddly bits).

Now I need to set about configuring the finer details, learning how to use it and then show the rest of the team how to use it. I'm hoping to have it fully operational for February 1 in the office. Guess it's time I go visit a few MS CRM sites (www.mscrm.com.au for one - thanks Guy Riddle) and read the manual which I'd printed out just prior to Christmas.

So, this is a defining moment for Calvert Technologies - the beginning of a new phase in our development & growth. I'm excited about how this will help us share information between each other rather than be islands of information (we're not quite at that point though - I'm hoping to prevent this occurring).

Here's to a very exciting 2006.

{now, where's that Anne Stanton when you need her.....}

CRM 3.0 EAP released

calvert — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:32:00 GMT

Attention Microsoft Partners, if you want to get your hands dirty with CRM 3.0 (for testing purposes only) check out http://microsoft.order-7.com/CRMpartnerBeta/ . You need to sign in with your MS Passport to get access to the downloads (462Mb for the SBE edition - just right for SBS).

WARNING: don't go installing this on your production server, it's not final code and so is for testing only. I understand the final product will be released over the next couple of months.

As covered at last Monday nights SBS user group meeting, my personal recommendation is you stick to your knitting when it comes to deployment of CRM or other specialised packages. If your focus is SBS infrastructure your best bet is to partner with an organisation that specialises in CRM. This will save you and your clients a lot of pain. Same goes for application development, web site creation etc. Stick to what you know best and work with those who can compliment what you do (see this post - http://msmvps.com/calvert/archive/2005/10/27/73027.aspx for more thoughts on strategy)

That being said, have a play with CRM 3.0 on your favourite virtual server so you can see what all the excitement is about.

Keep your eyes posted on the following sites for more updates:

www.mscrm.com.au

http://thenorwichgroup.blogs.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions/crm/default.mspx

A Winning Review

calvert — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:41:00 GMT

Just finished reading “Winning” by Jack Welch (ISBN 0-06-075394-3) which I’d picked up in Seattle just before flying home from MVP Summit in early October. (see http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060753943 for more book information).

Overall I found the book to be a very good read. Whilst there were certainly parts of the book that related more to BIG business operations, there was plenty that I can apply to my own business (currently 6 people) and could even be applied to a 2 person operation.

Topics covered included:

Mission & values
Candor in the workplace (read “honesty”)
Differentiation
Leadership
Hiring & firing
People management
Crisis management
Growth both organically and through acquisition
And the list goes on

There was a great chapter on strategy, and one section that stood out to me is “..what is strategy but resource allocation? When you strip away all the noise, that’s what it comes down to. Strategy means making clear-cut choices about how to compete. You cannot be everything to everybody, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets.”

That’s so so very true – trying to be all things to all people, trying to provide every solution possible to every sort of client you come across, trying to win every single opportunity just because you want to be a “jack of all trades” will ultimately lead to disaster, dissatisfaction, denial and depression. You, your business, your clients and your family will suffer for it.

Focus on what you do best, and then partner with those around you that you know & trust to complement what you do.

For instance, Calvert Technologies specialize in network infrastructure solutions for the SMB space and use Small Business Server as a key part of this. Sure we could also sell & support other solutions based on *nix (or other products) just to win a few additional sales that we might not otherwise get but then we’d lose our focus on working with SBS as well as we do. We’d not do as good a job because our attention would be shared across multiple platforms and eventually our clients would get lower quality service.

There are others in Adelaide who work with *nix solutions (for example) exclusively and they do it very well. If we have a client that wants to use something other than SBS or Windows Server as the backend for their infrastructure, we’ll get one of these other specialists involved and help them get the solution that’s right for them. Saves us a lot of pain and egg on our face J

I could go on and on about this – but let’s move on.

Another key point that got my attention was with regard to people management. Specifically “You simply cannot manage people to better performance if you do not give candid, consistent feedback through a system that is loaded with integrity”.

In other words “don’t beat around the bush when it comes to managing your staff otherwise one, or all, of you will get pricked by the thorns”. This is something I’m learning more and more.

If we don’t give honest feedback, direction and advice to those we work with, how can we expect them to be honest and treat us with respect in return? How will they know if they are doing a good job, a mediocre job or are off track and need to be “realigned”?

It’s something I guess we all know deep down, but can be afraid to tackle and deal with head on. My advice, and that of Jack Welch (to name just one), is to hold true to what you believe in and be honest with those around you before things get out of hand. Remember the last time you got a splinter? If you didn’t take out that small annoyance early enough it could turn into a raging infection that made your whole body feel terrible.

There is so much more in this book that I could report on, but I encourage you to instead check it out for yourself. It’s easy enough to pick up a technical book and read it so we can feel that little bit more capable of being a “geek”. That’s good for client systems as you deal with them, but is it the best thing for that which is even more important – your own life?

Closing the technical books once in a while and reading something that can improve your business, the lives of those you work with and your own life can have a much greater and more profound effect.

The next book I’ve started reading is “The Marketing Playbook” by John Azula & Michael Tong (ISBN 1-59184-038-4). Give me a few weeks to get though this, digest the contents and I’ll let you know what I think. So far, based on the first few pages anyway, it looks like it’s another good read.

So what books are you reading?

New BLOG Topic

calvert — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 01:43:00 GMT

There is a saying that a person is a product of the people they associate with and the books they read. I tend to agree with this but with the addition of the experiences they go through as well. Let's face it, when you look back on your life there are defining points following which you can say “that event changed my life”.

I've been giving all of this some thought over the last few months as I've been rebuilding my business and reassessing life. I'm know I'm not the only person that goes through this process, but there doesn't tend to be a lot around the place for one to refer to when you're looking for relevant answers.

Anyway, I'm not indicating that I'll be the font of all knowledge for “life changes” but I thought one thing I can do is report on the books I'm reading and that I find beneficial, or not. This might serve to give you some pointers on what might be a good read for you too. Let's face it, walk into any book store and you're confronted with more books than you could ever hope to read in your life, each one selling itself to you as the best one to read. But how can you really know? You look at the dustcover and flick through a few pages to see if it looks interesting but at the end of the day you feel more comfortable reading a book that someone you know refers to you.

On my latest trip to Seattle I bought a few books at Borders on 4th Ave. The one I'm reading at the moment is “Winning” by Jack Welch. So far it's a great book - but I'm not going to report on it here. That's the subject of another post.

Basically I wanted to let you know about the new blog topic - “books”. I hope you find it interesting, beneficial and perhaps a bit challenging too. I won't be providing a full book review as such so don't get too scared, I won't overload you. Don't expect the books to be all technical either - I tend to read business focussed books more than just technical. And you won't find novels here either.

I'm also keen to hear about books you read and can recommend.

OK - back to my reading.

Made the press

calvert — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 16:58:00 GMT

Our state newspaper, The Advertiser, ran an article in last Tuesday's (Jan 11) edition, in the “Business Owner” section that I'm particularly fond of.

You can see a copy of the article here

Whilst the journalist did take some artistic licence to the story (never let the facts get in the way of a good story!) it's mostly correct.

Sarah Jessica-Parker was on the opposite page :)

I was IMing with Wayne, Stu & Gavin just now...

calvert — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 05:44:00 GMT

After a great weekend with Wayne & Stu, Gavin was IMing with us about his exciting moves to put on an admin person and a tech over the next few weeks. Naturally he's feeling a little nervous, but was man enough to ask for advice.

Now Wayne, Stu & I certainly aren't business gurus, but we've been running businesses for a combined 25 or so years and so have learned a lot and recognise the value in providing assistance to others - and receiving it.

We met Gavin at SMB Nation and got along like flies on a dingo. One of the great things about the SBS community (in particular) is the way we work together for the “greater good”. OK, that sounds a bit cheesy, but you can't deny the results.

Gavin had questions about staff induction, monitoring performance and how to handle the changes that are sure to hit his life. We were able to provide some pointers and he was very appreciative (Gav - I'll send you my bank account details later!!)

This is exciting - businesses on opposite sides of the world working together. Not for money, not for glory, not for rewards apart from the knowledge that the growing pains we've gone through mean we can spare someone else just a little bit, and hopefully make a positive impact on their life - not to mention their family, staff and clients.

This process also helps to reinforce things that you already know, or makes you realise those things you'd forgotten you know. It's then a quick scramble for OneNote to jot them down. It's also a fresh pair of eyes on what you've been doing for so long - and just maybe a better way to achieve positive results. The idea that “we've always done it that way“ does nothing but kill innovation.

You might run a multi-million dollar company, and have a mate who runs a lawn mowing business, or a petrol station, or a pharmacy. Despite your business differences get together and share some war stories - you might just find you learn something new.

Drop your thoughts here - we're all friends :)

Business Networking - update # 2

calvert — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 05:08:00 GMT

Saturday afternoon yielded more great information sharing and development. We did spend a while checking email, blogging (well, me anyway), debating whether or not to call our wives (we voted not to) and checking the agenda.

The content itself was great - we all learned so much from each other. Probably the more amazing thing is the ease with which we communicated. We all run similar businesses, we're all quite independant and determined to succeed, but our egos and heads are not so big that we can't openly share and learn from each other.

This is very important - when networking like this, no matter how successful you believe you are, or how long you've been in business you can always learn more. You need to leave your “tickets” outside the door and keep an open mind, open ears and a mouth that's closed more often. If you try to dominate the meeting you'll miss the really good stuff.

Saturday evening we went out for dinner which was just amazing - the Lenzerheide on Unley Road. If you're ever in Adelaide, and appreciate great food, make sure you make a booking ahead of time and partake. You won't regret it - both the food and service are exceptional.

Come Sunday morning, the work stopped and we headed up to Hahndorf for a walk around and lunch from Ottos Bakery (at the far end of the main street - different to the Lenzerheide but still great. Stuart & Kate were in heaven with the apple strudel).

So, was the time and money invested into our get together worth it? Absolutely. And I'm sure Wayne & Stuart would agree - not only did we learn a lot from each other, our wives found out they're not the only women in the world suffering from “geek-widowdom”. Gives them a new perspective on things as they know there's someone else they can call/email/IM who will understand yet another night alone with the kids whilst their husband dons the cape and flies out the door to save another server!

Get to it! Not only will you find your business can benefit, but your home life may too.

Business Network - update #1

calvert — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 21:40:00 GMT

Following on from my post about Business Networking Benefits (http://msmvps.com/calvert/archive/2004/10/20/16184.aspx), I'm sitting in my office with Wayne & Stuart having just returned from popping out for lunch. We had a casual catch up last night with our wives (who are out shopping today) before getting into the nitty gritty today.

So far, we've covered about 10% of our agenda which we knew was very ambitious but gives us something to focus on - if you're planning on holding a similar type of meeting with other business owners this is essential as it serves to keep you on track. Whilst we might only get about 30% addressed in total today it's better than not having done this at all and we plan on repeating this every 3 months or so anyway.

We're playing a quick catch up before getting back into things for the afternoon. It's been an extremely rewarding time so far and our heads are spinning (not just from the chilli in our Wok-in-a-box lunch) with ideas to move forward on. Due to the nature of our discussion I really can't say too much about the content in a public forum, however if you contact me offline I can provide some guidance regarding topics you might consider covering in your own business networking meetings.

So why tease you with this? Actually, I'm hoping to encourage you to reach out to other business owners with whom you have a rapport and help each other - a pat on the back, words of encouragement, ideas etc. As small business owners and operators we too often get the feeling we are islands in the ocean of business - and we're not. We don't need to be isolated.

Find someone - they could be in the next town or the next state (which helps keep it non-competitive). Start talking and building a relationship before you get into the real "meaty" meetings so you have a rapport and trust to work on. At the recent SMB Nation conference in Seattle we met Frank and Jay who had done just that - and they now support each other, and each others clients, from different states. It means if one gets sick, or wants to have a holiday, their clients don't suffer (good onya guys).

OK - time to get back into business talk with the fellas. Just wanted to update you on where we're at. Update #2 will follow once I get some time and my brain stops hurting.

Business Networking Benefits

calvert — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:18:00 GMT

This morning I'm heading to my monthly meeting with a bunch of other small business owners. We meet at a hotel, with a business coach, and talk about all sorts of topics including business planning, financial planning, measuring business performance, staff, marketing etc etc. It's a great environment as we're all in different types of business, so it's non-competitive, and we all get along really well, so there's always great discussion.

This type of get together is a great way for business owners to talk with like-minded individuals. Helps you realise you're not along in this big world.

This weekend, I take this to the next level - I'm meeting with Wayne Small and Stuart Applegate. Wayne runs a business very similar to mine in Sydney, and Stuart's business is in Brisbane. We met through the SBS community which, around the world, is unique (hard to explain - you need to be in it to really know). We are also all SBS user group facilitators and so have a passion for helping others develop their business (not just the IT component) further.

We're meeting to discuss ... business! How we run our businesses - marketing, management, reporting, client service etc etc. It's set to be a great weekend. Our wives are getting together too which will be great for them as they're all married to “geek” husbands who don't really know how to stop working, so they've already got a very strong similarity between them (we've all also got 2 kids each - this is getting spooky!).

So why are we doing this? It's a means of not only helping to further develop our own business, but also to help each other. We have a great bond of trust between us which helps immensely too - a must of this type of get together to be really effective.

It also means we have resources we can draw upon for technical work in each others state, which serves to improve the level of service we can provide to our clients wherever they are, and we have a fall-back for both technical and business support if we decide to go on holidays.

All in all, business networking, when done with trust, honesty and genuine goodwill, serves to enhance both your business and personal life - and it's after this that the profits should start to improve too. If you get into this with the intention of just making more money it won't work - you'll burn too many people and ultimately yourself. Start by looking to help others first. That's certainly one lesson that comes through time and again in the SBS community too.

Give it a try - who knows where it could lead!