5 Tasks For The Slow Season – Gear Up For Fall

Get On Track This Summer

Many businesses experience a little downtime during the summer months. Especially, for those self-employed, small/independant businesses  and “Mompreneurs”. Children are home from school, customers are on vacation or people are just not interested. Those whose client bases are taking a breather – should take time to re-evaluate their business strategies.

This is a great time to assess your current strategies. Here are some things to consider while the lazy months of summer are upon us.

1. Review your current online presence

• Should you look at building a Blog
• Search online magazines, forums or complementary sites to see what you like and what you don’t
• Contact those who might be able to increase your traffic

2. Review your sales strategy

• If you are working with retailers – analyze your sales, costs and effectiveness with them
• Seek out new retailers
• Consider working with a wholesaler
• Research online retailers – like EBay, Esty or Kijiji

3. Attend Fairs, Tradeshows or Local Community Events

• See if they would be a good fit for you in the coming months
• Talk to vendors in attendance - you can get a sense of how successful each show is for them and why
• Talk to attendees of the event, find out their likes/dislikes about the event

4. Review your profit margins

• Doing what you love sometimes takes precedent over profit. Evaluate if after costs of goods sold (manufacturing costs, marketing costs, operating expenses and/or office expenses) you are actually making money
• If your profit margins are slim to nothing; it is imperative to review your revenue vs. expenses and assess what needs modification Conduct customer research
• Backyards and BBQ’s are a great way to get some key clients together and discuss their thoughts on your product/service
• Getting suggestions and feedback from your clients, not only enhances the existing relationship – but also provides valuable information in the form of
• new ideas for products/services
• innovative communication strategies – blog, website, email, advertising etc.
• suggestions for new channels of distribution

5. Research the competition

• If you are a Mompreneur and have the kids home for the summer – take them to places that sell your competition
• See how customers are reacting to their products/services and apply the useful information to you
• If you are on vacation or just slowed down – go out there and see what is happening on the street

Once you have done a review of the above, compile some ideas to implement in the coming year. Information gathered from all these sources get the creative juices flowing; and subsequently give you innovative and fun strategies for the new year.

September and October are “Back to School” months. Vacations over and busy Holiday seasons just on the horizon; provides the perfect opportunity to contact your existing customer base and target new customers. The creation of a launch for a  new product, idea, online venue or marketing strategy gives you  a fresh reason to contact. New clients are garnered by reaching a larger audience or maybe a more specific niche market; depending on what you have discovered over summer.

While summer may give a lull to your business – instead of resting on your laurels – put this time to good use. Then run into the Fall with both guns blazing.

If you would like to have your current strategies reviewed and/or are looking for consulting services, please do not hesitate to contact Kathleen Hogg - to receive a 1 hour free assessment.

Helpful Facebook Security/Privacy Tips

Image via Wikipedia

Facebook is an innovator, revolutionary and progressive organization, that has forever changed the way people interact. We have grown accustomed to Social Networking, as a personal and professional tool for human interaction. However, we are still in the incubus of this platform and as their innovations develop – so do those of the malicious. Every element of privacy and security is an puzzle for a Hacker to solve. Do they do this because they are trying to hurt someone or obtain their personal information for nefarious purposes? Or, do they view it as something to conquer simply because it is there? Who knows, but the fact is whether your Personal or Professional Profile is up – you need to know how to protect it.

Yesterday one of my clients informed me that her Facebook account was hacked into and her business page deleted. Her personal page hijacked and someone had done updates for an hour or so, without her knowledge. This has left her feeling not only violated, but frustrated. All her postings, discussions, articles and logos for her business are gone….POOF!!! There is no way of retrieving this information and it now must be completely rebuilt.

A specific email address and account name is applied when creating a business or personal Facebook Profile. If you or someone else deactivates your account – you can’t use that specific email address for another account. As many business use a professional email as their direct address for all communication; losing it is a challenge. It is a challenge to keep up with different addresses. This creates another challenge in rebuilding your Facebook page.

If you have experienced a Hacked or Compromised Account – be sure to contact Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=security You can also go through their Help Centre.

A friend told her a way of making her connection secure whenever possible. I had not heard of this before – so thought I would be as kind as my client and pass this information along to you.

To create a more secure connection, go through the following steps.

• On the top right hand of your screen – click on the “Account” drop down menu
• Select “Account Settings”
• Under “Account Security” – click on Change
• Select the following:

Secure Browsing (https)

Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https) whenever possible

• Then click “SAVE”



 If you would like to be made aware if someone is trying to access your account, selecting this option as well may be of help.

When a new computer or mobile device logs into this account:

Send me an email

If you would like to ensure that only certain information from your Profile is seen by certain people; the following steps may be of help.

• On the top right hand of your screen – click on the “Account” drop down menu
• Select ”Account Settings”
• Under Privacy select “Manage”
• Click on “Customize”
• Make changes accordingly

Blocking: If there are certain things that you don’t want certain people to see, you can. Here are some ways to stop certain people or organizations from viewing either your entire profile or parts of it.

• Under the Account tab, select “Privacy Settings“
• Under the grid (bottom) of “Sharing on Facebook”, click on “Customize Settings“ that is in blue font
• In each category there is the drop down menu that has the following options:
  • Everyone
  • Friends
  • Friends of Friends
  • “Customize” – select this one

Under this category you will see these fields -

• Make this visible to – and the drop down menu
• Input the names of those you wish to block from viewing that specific criteria
• Then click on “Save Setting”



Other helpful tips:

• Don’t put your full birthdate
• Don’t post an email address – you can be messaged through Facebook
• Ensure you are careful about the photos you post
• Get notifications about photos of you being “Tagged”, this allows you to go to those photos and decide whether you wish to delete or keep the tags
• Be careful about what is posted on your Wall, and who you allow to post on it
• Logout – after using Facebook
• Don’t have the “Keep Me Logged In” box checked

For more information from Facebook regarding Privacy and Profile Settings please click the various links below:

• Facebook Privacy Controls: http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php
• Facebook Privacy Policy: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php
• Facebook Privacy FAQ’s: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=419
• Facebook Privacy Resources: http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=privacyresources
• Facebook Safety Centre: http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety

Facebook has many great attributes. You can stay in touch with family all over the world, find old friends while keeping up with current ones. For Organizations, Communities, Events and Businesses, it is an affordable, effective and productive way to reach your audience. Using the “Privacy Settings” assists in protecting and separating your personal and professional profiles.

Facebook is like a living, breathing organism. The policies, procedures and formats are changing all the time. If you are using this as a business tool,  it is essential  to constantly update yourself on the changes. Maybe set a date in your calendar to review the Policies and Procedures. Take an hour or two a month to just play around with the format; this will help you discover changes to all the aspects of Facebook. This company is filled with innovators – so be sure the enjoy the innovations.

Happy  & Safe Facebooking!

Product Review – Dishwashers Are They Built To Last Anymore?

Image by mstephens7 via Flickr

When we purchased our house it had a Viking Dishwasher, circa 1965 with dials that turned. It worked. After a few years, a burning like fragrance emanated from under the sink. Before a fire happened we retired it.

On a tight budget and naive in appliances, we got a basic white Kenmore dishwasher. When it came time to install it, we noticed something peculiar about our kitchen. The previous owners had not only tiled AROUND the machine, but  also put the counter top. We carved away at the counter and pulled up the tiles to install. Good times.

Ahhh…..we had a dishwasher again. We were dazzled with the cool squishy button options, like Pot Scrubber Cycle. 18 months later and perfectly timed around Christmas, it died.

I was hosting my very first Turkey Dinner, from scratch. My dishwasher was my sous chef and it let me down. We called a repairman, and for $250 bucks  the computer panel needed replacement. Parts & additional visit/labour – $400 Uhhhhhh…..doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a brand new one would closely equal $650. So much for reducing our carbon footprint.

Boxing Day, we head out to the Brick. Yes, that is right, the most hectic and brutal day to shop of the year – it is also the day of deals. We seek a Frigidaire, tall tub, stainless steel, grey inside lining with snazzy options….even one to wash my China and Crystal. Certainly an important feature, as I use my China and Crystal about twice a year.

A higher end Frigidaire floor model is available . Whoo – Hoo, I get an even cooler model for the same amount. We did pick up and installation ourselves. Please note, we have a friend who is a plumber, so a few beers was a great price.

It worked. It looked pretty. The fancy buttons were on the top of the door, so little fingers couldn’t press them and invisible to the naked eye. A nice clean line – to match my new double oven stove - story for another time.

18 months later it died. Thankfully, extended warranty purchased (I learned my lesson). A repair man came pretty quickly, I might add. He took one look at it and said, the computer panel needs replacement. Really?

Here is the sage advice he offered: “No matter how much you spend on a dishwasher, the fact is the computer panels are all pretty much the same. They are designed to last until the warranty is up and then they break. The buttons also can be pressed too hard, which means they won’t pop back up again. Bottom line, buy a pretty good dishwasher, but don’t spend a ridiculous amount, because it will break”.

The Brick replaced our dishwasher and they did it quickly. The first installer put it in, tipping backwards. His logic, was if it leaked then water wouldn’t go all over the floor. I didn’t have time to argue with him. The next day I called to let them know a few things.

• my dishwasher was installed incorrectly, with it sticking out about 2 inches from the cabinet.
• if it leaks – it goes directly onto my electrical panel
• aren’t dishwashers designed to be flat?
• why are you selling dishwashers that leak?

They sent someone to fix it…….again.

When the Manufacturers warranty expired, the Brick called us to offer the extended warranty. If we don’t end up using it, our payments become a store credit. We say, sign us up. We had learned our lesson.

This week, it died again. Another 18 months past replacement  date. Repair man arrives and asks me what I had done. I explain to him the problem and state “it is the computer board, it needs to be replaced”. He spends about 15 minutes routing around and I leave him to his expertise. He calls me back and says “Press the button”. I think to myself, Oh it is going to turn on…was it me? I press the button and nothing happens. He states flatly “Same thing happened when I pressed it.” Uhhhh OK.

He says he has to order the part, as it is almost the end of the week (Wednesday at 2pm), it will be a while before I get the part. Blah, blah, blah. I know it will get fixed by the end of next week.

Why don’t we make things that work? Why all the gizmos, gadgets, whizbangers, computer junk and flash? All it does is break go to some landfill and then what? I mean, my old Viking, had a turndial. It was not fancy, flashy or exciting but it did what it was supposed to. It washed dishes. Do you think, in time, we will figure out that a higher initial price for something that will work and last, might be better for everyone.