That last post – the drawing of the various ways business can be built or ruined – had me mesmerized. What was the one negative element that really stood out for me ?
Aha ! “Hotel Know-It-All”.
Is there a “know-it-all” in your networking group, or on your team? How can they be recognized? Usually you will know by the 2nd or 3rd encounter. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Please, just once, say: “I don’t know”.
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Road to Business Success: What route are you taking?
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
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Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture pretty much says it all.
Image contributed by The Rails Team
Small town. Metropolis. Same Problems.
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
One of my favorite blogs is Small Biz Survival, not because I live in a small town, but because I am partial to them. They all have a local eatery with great pies, burgers, and conversation – and only the “locals” know about them.
So what does this have to do with Invoicing?? Lots. Recently Becky McCray posted an article on why businesses “procrastinate on invoicing”. Her conclusion: “It’s not fun”!
True, true, true.
Becky suggests 4 ways to attack the invoicing procrastination bug – all of them valid.
Why you procrastinate on invoicing and what to do about it
The question then arises: Which one will work for you?
I think that the answer lies in the type and size of your business. Mega-businesses may have more leeway on time for receivables. Micro-businesses, however, usually rely on healthy cyclic or even immediate payments.
Do you need consistent and timely turn-around of “work-performed to payment-received”? If so, then your habits need to become focused on getting that invoice out immediately. What could be more convenient to the micro-business owner than electronic invoicing?
Sharp, professional, customized invoices (or estimates) can be e-mailed to your customer’s computer from your laptop or smartphone. Do it before you even pull your truck out of their driveway! You can even set up automatic e-mail reminders for due dates – for those “procrastinating customers”.
For the Micro-business owner who thinks like a conglomerate, electronic invoicing may be “just the ticket”.
See you later. I’m off to the Beach Hut Café. They have the best breakfast along the eastern Florida coast. It’s a “local” thing !
Breaking Habits
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Here in North Florida, during what seemed to be torrential downpours that required looking for gopher wood (used to build Noah’s ark), there were countless traffic problems.
When we have those kinds of rains (you know the type), common sense should dictate that caution would be taken. I found it interesting, that despite the warnings, some drivers still ignored the obvious.
Why didn’t they leave earlier, drive slower, stay off the cell phone, or even stop texting? Because those things had become habits. And habits can sometimes inhibit our ability to engage in healthy alternatives.
Stop for a moment and think about those activities that we do repeatedly in our businesses. Are we making the very best use of our time? Do we check up on our customers as often as we should? Are we keeping their satisfaction paramount? Have our employees become “paid personnel” or are they still highly valued? Did we make the change to “green-up” the office as we promised? Are we looking for someone to blame when things turn sour……..or did that bitter taste happen because we just didn’t prepare? Are we continuing to do the same things over and over and expecting different results? (That’s the definition of “insanity”.)
Let’s take the time to assess the condition of our habits. Consider it a catharsis for the life of our businesses. Take hold of those habits and give them a good shake. Be willing to honestly evaluate everything that falls out. If you’re not sure what those habits are – just ask a co-worker, or your spouse. And don’t shoot the messenger!
As for me - I’m going to find my husband and ask him a question. I’ll let you know what falls out!
Champagne for a Web Launch ?
Monday, May 4th, 2009
Things around here are totally off the chart with excitement!!
We erased the BETA stamp from Greenerbilling and are immersing ourselves
in the joys of Info-Media, Press Releases, and all out “Chatter”.
I am MOST excited over the new Consumption-based Invoicing Plan that allows businesses to
“spend only for what they send”, giving them another way of controlling their costs.
Many many thanks to all who have helped us get to this stage.
The future looks “green” – er !
Check out our latest press release:
Greenerbilling Press Release: 4 May 2009
A Business Plan is ALIVE !
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
I haven’t been a Dad for too long – just a bit over 5 months. During that time, many of the things that my wife and I did to prepare for Ben’s arrival were soon outgrown. His tiny clothes are now bigger, he moves about on his own – he’s just growing up. Now I have to CHANGE where the dog dishes are; be sure the screen door is CLOSED; begin shopping for the BIGGER car seat.
My point in all this? . . . In these past months with Ben I realized that Business Plans are like children — they are ALIVE and they CHANGE, they get BIGGER, and sometimes parts of them need to CLOSE down for protection.
Pull out that business plan – (it should be on the right) – Take a look at the marketing strategy that was laid out 1 (or was it 3) years ago. Has the plan been followed? What has changed in that marketplace? What was the unforeseen “Oops”?
Is that affiliate marketing program in place yet? Have all the social networking outlets (Facebook, LinkedIn) been as productive as planned? Were they kept current? Does the business plan even mention “Twitter”?
What about those promo products? . . . Collecting dust? And those press releases – are they going out on a timely schedule? Have those contacts been refreshed?
And the niche market . . . when was the last time research was done?
And now – the Competition. It’s out there. Being attentive. Being aggressive. Being a threat?
IMPOSSIBLE! Just check out that business plan. It’s all in there, right? “What to do and how to do it.”
(Where IS that plan?)
Remember – the business plan is a living breathing commodity – and if it’s a healthy one, it will go through many changes and refinements as it grows and encounters “the world”. Sometimes it will need a massage or even the “delete” key. Keep that business Growing – Refresh the Plan.
Don’t be afraid to do it. Be the Parent.
Interview with the Founder – More “meat”
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Below is a series of questions a business associate posed to Dave recently. I was given permission to post them and Dave’s answers. I thought it would add more “meat to the bones” of Greenerbilling.
M: Dave, Web invoicing applications are out there. What makes yours different?
D: What’s different is that it’s based on my logic — I knew what I needed as an invoicing system for my business, but it wasn’t out there.
M: How is your logic different from the others?
D: I guess the easiest way to answer that starts with being a “blue collar” business owner. My focus was on billing and getting paid for my labor.
I wanted to keep it simple, focusing only on what’s necessary to help the small business owner stay on top of billing clients and collecting payments.
M: Is this another “accounting” application?
D: No, this is not another “accounting” application.
My understanding of “accounting” involves, among other things, tracking and itemizing expenses, balancing checkbooks, managing credit cards and loans, and applying tax line items. Therefore, by keeping Greenerbilling focused on “billing” and “getting paid”, I am not crossing “that fine line” into what I consider “complete accounting”.
Plus, I wanted to keep it truly international. Greenerbilling offers extensive currency formatting. So, by focusing on billing and getting paid, rather than complete accounting principles, our subscriber base can be worldwide.
M: You mentioned Greenerbilling with an international focus. How many countries currently have subscribers to Greenerbilling?
D: I am really pleased to say that we have subscribers in over 45 countries right now. And there’s certainly a BIG market left for expansion.
M: What kind of businesses are using the application?
D: It runs the gamut of product and service providers, primarily among microBusinesses. Blue collar, trade professionals, consultants, freelancers, and wholesalers . . . just to name a few. Right now we’re at over 50 different business types.
M: How have you met the challenges of servicing all these business types?
D: That’s a great question! The entire team is dedicated to treating each subscriber as a fellow business owner, not as a customer. We ALL pay very close attention to each subscriber inquiry and need. Every single page of the Greenerbilling application invites feedback. It is this feedback that drives the development of Greenerbilling — and always will.
M: You seem really passionate about this.
D: I’ve been a business owner too long to discount the importance of customer relations. Customers are the building blocks of every successful business. I have kept the following quote posted in my office for over 10 years:
“There is only one boss — the customer. And he/she can fire everyone in the
company from the CEO on down, simply by spending his/her money elsewhere.”
-Sam Walton
Founder of Wal-Mart
M: You mentioned your Team. Tell me about them.
D: Well, good business practices say to surround yourself with the people who are best at what they do. That’s exactly what I’ve done. I consider myself a strong visionary, but am not gifted in coding (among other things).
So, my core Executive Team consists of myself and two others, an Operations Professional and a Marketing Professional. Expand that team to include my tech staff – headed by a well-established, successful, and dedicated Web Developer. Add to the mix, a top-of-the-line Designer. Glue it all together with attorney and accountant groups that keep everything “floating in the right direction”.
I can honestly say that Greenerbilling wouldn’t be headed for world-class stature without them.
M: What do you see in the future for Greenerbilling?
D: I see Greenerbilling becoming the best invoicing system out there; providing a state-of-the-art, remote work platform. It will always provide a rich user experience for business invoicing.
M: Can you be more specific?
D: Sure. We continue to develop new features for Greenerbilling. For example, this week, we have a totally new “look and feel” to the application and Web site. We enhanced the “curb appeal” of Greenerbilling. It’s really important that our users enjoy the look of what they have to work with.
In addition, the application now includes Estimates – definitely a major feature and asset to our subscribers. There are a lot more things “in the works”, but I can’t get into them right now.
Greenerbilling – Who, What, Where, Wow!
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
I have been known to most people as “Dave Kollasch – professional rollerblader” – who, starting at 15 years of age, toured the world in the sport of extreme inline skating (even holding the record for longest rail-slide – 394 feet). My sponsors included Senate and Razors.
Long before Internet-based invoicing, I was billing my sponsors from wherever I was in the world. I would create these invoices by hand and fax or mail them, hoping for prompt receipt and payment. This tedious process continued for 7 years. Between opening a skate shop (at age 19) and starting a lawn service business (at age 23), it was obvious that I needed a faster, high-tech, solution to address low or high volume invoicing.
Ready-made computer programs did not allow me to create estimates, submit invoices, or track time when I was away from my desktop computer. Using QuickBooks*, for example, I found myself immersed in accounting principles that are “like glaciers, when all I needed was an ice cube”.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention! Consequently, I began constructing a Web-based invoicing system that comes from the perspective of an entrepreneur – not an accountant. To help small business, Greenerbilling has “reinvented the ice cube”.
Greenerbilling provides:
- graphic invoicing and estimating via e-mail
- an earth-friendly snail-mail alternative to doing business
- all data safely and securely stored on remote servers
- a universally compatible, state-of-the-art remote work platform
I’m excited over the direction Greenerbilling is heading. The biggest bonus that I see is the feedback that comes from our users. They are providing wonderful ideas, needs specific to their business, and valid critiques that propel Greenerbilling to greater success.
Watch this blog for future posts of Greenerbilling In the News and product updates. Plus, let the Greenerbilling Team know what you need and how we can help.
*QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit, Inc.
