Facebook was designed by a Harvard college student in 2004 as a form of electronic student directory. It has expanded to over 500 million accounts (July 2010).

Twitter was originally created by a podcast company called Odeo. It was modeled after the SMS texting capability of cell phones. Hence, 140 characters to explain what you are doing today.

LinkedIn is the “professional” or “business community” Facebook. The purpose is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details fo people they know and trust in business.

YouTube is a visual media used by private persons and corporations like CBS, BBC, VEVO and others. Many small businesses use YouTube to publish small infomercials about their company or services.

The basic point of social media, whether for your company, your cause or for your kin, is to facilitate and grow existing relationships. If, through word-of-mouth (reposting/retweeting) you gain new customers that is a bonus. Just as in the material world, in the virtual world providing exceptional customer service can lead to new sales or contracts.

Trying to get a grasp on all of the options can drive you off the cliff. We’ll talk more about these soon.

Run a basic Google search on the definition and you will get over 10 million responses. I looked at a couple pages worth and by far the best definition  goes like this:

Social media is defined as: Participatory online media where news, photos, videos, and podcasts are made public via social media websites through submission. Usually accompanied with a rating process to illustrate popularity.

Did you read that? Did you read “Participatory?” Social media is as much take as it is give. It is about sharing, not only what YOU offer, but passing the word about what OTHERS offer. If all you do is shout how great you are people will stop listening. You will be seen as self-centered, a spammer.

With social media you share information about your service.  You get feedback from your clients or customers. You spread the word about new things in your industry or new ideas that your friends or followers may be interested in knowing. You also spread your connection’s information.

Social media is a form of inbound marketing. That means you use your website, whitepapers, videos, podcasts, blogs, etc., to draw people to you. People do Google searches on keywords to find you. They are looking for something and they find you. They are drawn in to your site.

Trade shows, seminars, email blasts, cold calls, advertising, those are forms of outbound marketing. You are pushing the information ON the listener or reader. The individual pulls up the local online newspaper and a pop-up ad for your company takes over the screen. Or, someone is listening to the FM radio and your commercial blasts in-between songs. They are forced to deal with your message.

]]> http://robinsdesktop.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=509 0 http://robinsdesktop.com/blog/?p=497&source=rss http://robinsdesktop.com/blog/?p=497#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:07:05 +0000 Admin http://robinsdesktop.com/blog/?p=497 Linda Nielsen, Director of Professional Development and Continuing Education, Workforce and Economic Development Division (WEDD), contacted me some weeks ago about providing a seminar on social media. The WEDD has moved to the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center, on Patrick Street in Charleston , WV. As part of the open house, 21 separate seminars were offered.

In the seminar, we covered the very basics of social media and how to use it to advance your business, cause, or family event. We reviewed:

• Top 4 Social Media Applications,
• Basics of Creating Accounts,
• Marketing Strategies for Success, and
• Safeguards Using Social Media

Attendees ranged from private citizens, small business owners, and non-profit organization marketers. It was the exact mix targeted for the topic. They asked some great questions that will become topics here soon.

I did video tape the seminar. I hope to get that reviewed soon and either post clips soon.

There is a potential for this seminar to be expanded as one of the 3 hour workshops offered by the WEDD. If you would be interested in learning how to set up a social media account, market your business or cause through social media, and how to better manage your social media efforts, contact me by email at info [at] robinsdesktop [dot] com.

Mark has over 25 years in Graphic and Interactive Design. He specializes in creative direction, graphic design, troubleshooting corporate images, and packaging models for small and medium sized businesses and groups. Prior to establishing Mark Wolfe Designs in 1995, he was employed by Perry Production Agency, Charles Ryan Associates, and Willard and Associates. Mark earned his degree in graphic design from West Virginia State University in 1986.

You have worked with small business, large business, and non-profits of all sizes. Describe your favorite type of client.

Before I accept a new client try to figure out whether my services match the prospective client’s expectations. Taking on a project that doesn’t really fit with one’s skills and abilities is a guarantee of a dissatisfied client and more work. I hope to make sure that our personalities are a good match. Once these basics are gone over, I work very hard to become a true business partner. The clients who fall within these guidelines turn out to be repeat clients and sometimes good friends.

How has the recession affected Mark Wolfe Design?

The quality of work has suffered. Projects used to be more challenging and the budgets had a part to play in that, but overall the hard economic times has done little to MWD due to my model of business; little overhead, no staff and the ability to find clients who mesh with me creatively and personally.

How often do you suggest a business revamp their marketing materials?

Building a brand takes a long time and needs consistency. I find companies that change their brand “with the wind” tend to lose more clients than gain because its confusing, uninteresting and just unnecessary. You don’t want to alienate your existing customer base by a radical design change that they won’t relate to. If you want constructive change, consider using elements already in place such an existing color or graphic image. Companies with strong visual identity understand that a brand needs an established and well exposed image over time, without noticeable change. The materials that are supported by that brand should be updated to change with the tastes and business environment regularly in order for your brand to remain effective and up to date.

What would be your top 5 recommendations for a small business developing or considering revamping their business image?

My Top Five -

1: Even if your business is a sole proprietor and is run out of your home, it’s important to have a good branding strategy. You must develop a website, business cards, letterhead and other media to reflect a consistent theme. This helps create a level of confidence and professionalism in your customers.

2: Make yourself appear unique and stand out among a sea of other small, medium and large businesses within your same industry by creating a logo and tagline that you will use consistently both online and in print.

3: DO NOT use free images, templates, cheap clip art and other poorly produced elements that could be used elsewhere for other companies. This won’t help brand you or save money. In fact, it will make you look unable to be unique and get you lost among the other businesses that do the same thing.

4. Maintain a solid level of consistency with all of your business tools. This means that your brand should be unique and recognizable. You must use the same logo/slogan in all ads, websites, e-mail and any other business communication.

5: Know your demographic! That is essential to effectively branding your business. When you study your demographic you will get to know what style of branding is more likely to appeal to your customers.

In our final installment of the contracting series, I will help you understand some key differences in being an employee and an independent contractor. Many small business owners and first time contractors get these wrong.

Generally, if you are an employee, your employer will be withholding taxes from your pay. Conversely, if you are an independent contractor you are responsible for your own taxes, Social Security, Workers Compensation, and other employment related fees.

The problem comes with a company contracts with someone, calling them an independent contractor, then treats them as an employee. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States lists 20 factors indicating whether someone is an employee or a contractor. We will look at five of them here.

1. Instructions – A contract employee determines when, where, and how they will be working. If your client says, “You need to be available from 8-4 [when] at the South Side office [where] and take customer calls to set appointments [how],” you may not be an independent contractor.
2. Order or sequence set – If you are being required to perform services in an order or sequence that is established by the client, you may be considered an employee by the IRS.
3. Tools and materials – If the client is providing the tools and equipment you need to complete the job, you might be considered an employee.
4. More than one client – Generally, an independent contractor is free to provide services to more than one unrelated person or firm at the same time.
5. Right to quit – An employee can quit. An independent contractor is required to fulfill the specifications of the contract or make good for any failure to complete it.

One of the hardest transitions you may have to make is the transition from employee to business owner. After years of being treated as an employee, taking direction from other people, it can be challenging to think so differently. It is easy to fall back into the old ways of taking instruction instead of being part of the team.

Read more about the IRS Consideration and the 20 Factors at www.irs.gov.

I am not an attorney and this is not intended to be or replace legal advice. The items in this series are simply things you should consider when drafting your contracts. Be sure to consult with a legal expert before signing on the lines.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on addressing employee or contractor in contracts. What has worked for you? What are some of your nightmares? I only ask you not to use foul language!

Read about contracts and more in my book “Think Outside The Office: Your guide to becoming a virtual administrative service provider,” available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. [For bulk order discounts contact info AT robinsdesktop.com]

The issue of confidentiality between a client and contractor is critical. The relationship is based on privileged communication between the two. You, as a contractor, may be privy to information that should not be discussed with the general public, or a competing firm. Likewise, you may discuss fees or billing practices that you do not want other clients or competition to know.

Let’s discuss a hypothetical situation using the previous post’s Scotty’s Professional Rug Cleaners. You created an employee manual for Scotty’s that was partially responsible for the exceptional performance of Scotty’s employees.

One year later, Scotty’s manager contacts you and wants to discuss a revision. During the video conference the manager tells you that there was an incident involving a couple employees and inappropriate comments to a customer. It has been decided that a chapter should be added to the manual to address how employees should interact with customers and what to do should a disagreement arise.

In the process of revising the manual you become aware of all the gory details. Discussing these details with anyone other than the participants in that video conference could open Scotty’s to ridicule, loss of clientele, or even legal challenges.

It is possible that you may be contracted to work on projects that involve proprietary information, potential patents or copywrited materials. Your clients will want to know that you have given your word to keeping their confidences. Addressing this in your contract will not only assure clients that you will maintain professional and ethical standards, but that you hold them to the same standard. It also provides recourse should either party violate the agreement.

I am not an attorney and this is not intended to be or replace legal advice. The items in this series are simply things you should consider when drafting your contracts. Be sure to consult with a legal expert before signing on the lines.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on addressing confidentiality in contracts. What has worked for you? What are some of your nightmares? I only ask you not to use foul language!

Read about contracts and more in my book “Think Outside The Office: Your guide to becoming a virtual administrative service provider,” available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. [For bulk order discounts contact info AT robinsdesktop.com]

Here are the top 5 things small business owners need to know.

1. Business contents coverage is limited to described premises on the policy. Inland marine coverage is needed to cover business contents taken off described premise.
2. General liability policies have exclusions for professional errors and omissions. Professional Coverage is available on a separate policy.
3. Owners, officers, and partners can opt out of Workers Compensation only at inception of policy or at renewal.
4. Many commercial policies do not contain hired and non-owned auto liability coverage. It is normally available by endorsement and slightly higher premium.
5. General liability policies have exclusions for employment practices such as wrongful termination, discrimination, and sexual harassment. The coverage must be purchased by endorsement on a separate policy.

Rob Grishaber
(P)304-768-1234
(F)304-766-7172
rgrishaber.livel01@insuremail.net

_

If you have questions regarding business insurance, or just want to know if you are getting a good deal from your current provider, give Rob a call. He is more than willing to answer your questions.

It may sound silly to address ownership in a contract. However, the client has a right to feel secure in knowing that any document, image, audio file, database, program, etc. that is being developed for them, is theirs.

Let’s say you develop a training manual for your client, Scotty’s Professional Rug Cleaners. The manual covers everything an employee needs to learn to advance from entry-level hose-handler to expert extractor of goo and grime. You have spent hours consulting with management, speaking with employees, and designing an easy-to-read, meticulously detailed document.

Thanks to your hard work, foresight, and creativity, employees of Scotty’s soon become the most sought after professionals in the industry. Scotty openly acknowledges your skills in developing the manual and how it has aided his employees in their career advancements. The testimonials are displayed prominently on your Web site and in your promotional materials. Then your phone rings.

Mickey’s Steam Cleaners owner, Mick, calls. He has heard all the accolades you have received and managed to see the terrific manual you developed. He wants one just like it for his company. “Just copy the one you made for Scotty’s.” he says.

When Scotty’s contracted with you and paid your invoices, they paid for a product or service. Scotty’s is not in the business of paying for the creation of materials for his competition. Addressing this in your contract gives Scotty assurance that you will not turn around and provide the same thing to another company.

Can you create a manual for Mickey’s? As long as you do not have a “non-compete” clause in your contract, yes. Will it have some similarities to Scotty’s? It probably will. You have a certain, style and manner that will flavor nearly anything you create. However, you may not rename the file you created for Scotty’s, perform a global find/replace and call it Mickey’s. Scotty’s paid for your research and work on the document.

I am not an attorney and this is not intended to be or replace legal advice. The items in this series are simply things you should consider when drafting your contracts. Be sure to consult with a legal expert before signing on the lines.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on addressing ownership in contracts. What has worked for you? What are some of your nightmares? I only ask you not to use foul language!

Read about contracts and more in my book “Think Outside The Office: Your guide to becoming a virtual administrative service provider,” available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. [For bulk order discounts contact info AT robinsdesktop.com]

What happens if you become seriously ill, experience a natural disaster, or other event beyond your control and you are unable to fulfill your contractual duties? Without Force Majeure you may be liable to the client for any damages that results.

Currently, in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States government has instituted a moratorium on deep water oil drilling activities. Suppliers cannot ship supplies, delivery companies have nothing to deliver, demand for fleet services drops, and the ripple effects touch business down to the office supply store.

Suppliers with a contract to deliver x-quantity of items to the drilling company are  now stuck. The drilling company is not accepting the shipment because, through an act of the government, they cannot operate. The Force Majeure clause protects the drilling company from legal action by the supplier. To put that in action for a virtual assistant, consider the following.

As a virtual assistant, your client, an author, has provided you with dictation for several months. You have transcribed that dictation into a 500 page draft document. A faulty outlet causes a fire in your home-office destroying your equipment and external backup drive. The 500 page draft is now lost and the manuscript is due to the publisher in three days.

Things to consider spelling out are reason of fire, strike, act or order of public authority, act of G-d, or other cause beyond your control. This does not cover either party for negligence or malfeasance. It may not be held up if there were forewarning of an event, such as flood or wildfire. It might also be questionable in the case of a power outage where a back-up power supply would have been in order.

I am not an attorney and this is not intended to be or replace legal advice. The items in this series are simply things you should consider when drafting your contracts. Be sure to consult with a legal expert before signing on the lines.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on addressing illness/acts of G-d in contracts. What has worked for you? What are some of your nightmares? I only ask you not to use foul language!

Read about contracts and more in my book “Think Outside The Office: Your guide to becoming a virtual administrative service provider,” available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. [For bulk order discounts contact info [AT] robinsdesktop.com]

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), approved the Declaration of Independence, severing the colonies’ ties to the British Crown.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WHEN, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s GOD entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyranny only.

HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.

HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.

HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining, in the mean Time, exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.

HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.

HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the Consent of our Legislatures.

HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:

FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:

FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:

FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.

HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection, and waging War against us.

HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with Circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.

HE has constrained our Fellow-Citizens, taken Captive on the high Seas, to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes, and Conditions.

IN every Stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every Act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them, from Time to Time, of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our Connexions and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the Rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connexion between them and the State of Great-Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of Right do. And for the Support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and oursacred Honour.

John Hancock.
GEORGIA, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. Walton.
NORTH-CAROLINA, Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.
SOUTH-CAROLINA, Edward Rutledge, Thos Heyward, junr. Thomas Lynch, junr. Arthur Middleton.
MARYLAND, Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.
VIRGINIA, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Ths. Jefferson, Benja. Harrison, Thos. Nelson, jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.
PENNSYLVANIA, Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja. Franklin, John Morton, Geo. Clymer, Jas. Smith, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross.
DELAWARE, Caesar Rodney, Geo. Read.
NEW-YORK, Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, Frank Lewis, Lewis Morris.
NEW-JERSEY, Richd. Stockton, Jno. Witherspoon, Fras. Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra. Clark.
NEW-HAMPSHIRE, Josiah Bartlett, Wm. Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, Saml. Adams, John Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.
RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE, &c. Step. Hopkins, William Ellery.
CONNECTICUT, Roger Sherman, Saml. Huntington, Wm. Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

IN CONGRESS, JANUARY 18, 1777.

ORDERED,
THAT an authenticated Copy of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCY, with the Names of the MEMBERS of CONGRESS, subscribing the same, be sent to each of the UNITED STATES, and that they be desired to have the same put on RECORD.
By Order of CONGRESS,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.