by MHolland | Sep 19, 2024 | Business Tips, Systems
We Love Xero
Xero is the core accounting software system we use for all our clients.
Why do we love it? Because it is soooo user friendly. It is intuitive, and the interface is easy on the eyes.
Our Team started using it many years ago, and they learned it quickly without training.
Most importantly, our clients love using Xero.
Do you know the total number of complaints about Xero I have received from clients since implementation in 2018?
Zero. Nada. Nil. None. That says everything.
Xero is always improving, and they often buy software that will improve user experience.
A few years ago, Xero bought HubDoc, a Canadian company. HubDoc extracts the key details from source documents and places that document right inside each transaction in Xero.
Now, Xero is buying Syft, a software that does analytics, reporting, forecasting and consolidations from Xero data. All in real-time.
We will investigate Syft for you and see if it will add value to you.
Check this out to learn more: Xero To Acquire Syft
Freedom From Doom Scrolling
As I have written about before, I use the Freedom app on my laptop and my cellphone.
It helps keep me from online distractions and more productive.
In fact, I am now more than ½ way through Dostoyevsky’s book, The Brothers Karamazov.
I get so much more out of reading a classic book than following the latest doom and gloom news cycle. Is any news good?
Check this out: Why You Can’t Stop Doom Scrolling
The Past is Not True
I found this blog by fluke.
The first part of the story triggered me. (My mind went to, “you irresponsible punk…”)
Then as I kept reading, I found myself deeply moved.
Have you ever let the past dictate your business future?
How can this perspective free you up now?
Check out this remarkable story: The Past is Not True
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Sep 12, 2024 | Business Tips, Systems
This week I will send you detailed information on four relevant topics for your business and organization…
- Working effectively and productively
- Cyber-Security essentials
- Do we as small business owners need Global Password Protection?
- How Well is Your Website Working?
Working Effectively and Productively
In todays wired world, distractions are as common as sand in the Sahara.
Focusing is difficult. Software and news feeds are designed to pull us away from what we need/want to do. They are time thieves.
Strangely, even though software is designed to diffuse our focus, there are tech tools created to help us.
These tools put a tech wall around us, leaving us free to focus on what really matters to us.
Check this out: New Way to Boost Productivity
Cyber-Security for Small Business
Cyber-Security is not only for big business.
We need to give attention to it as well.
Most security breaches in Canada do not come from outside hackers.
They come from right inside your company….
Yup, it is true. They come from…. your…employees.
On purpose? Nooooo.
They happen from opening attachments to email with malware built in.
Or highly sophisticated requests for payments to bills that appear to be coming from your suppliers.
Check this out: Computer Security Checklist Small Businesses
Global Password Protection
How many of you have passwords that you:
- Repeat for all your software?
- Almost never change?
- Create so you can easily memorize?
For me, guilty as charged. 😊
I am looking at software to protect everything inside a protected vault. The software creates complex passwords, not easily hackable.
There are three types of password vaults you can use:
- Browser based (lease secure, and usually free)
- Cloud-based (not free, more secure)
- Desktop based (most secure, not free)
Check this out: Are Password Managers Safe
How Well is Your Website Working
Websites are more than a brochure for your company/organization.
They should be designed to attract new clients and draw them into taking some action step.
Check out these five steps to create an effective website: Business Website Tips
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Aug 30, 2024 | Business Tips, Selling Tips, Systems
The end never justifies the means.
The means are the end.
How you do one thing is how you do everything.
These are the simple secrets to a happy business.
I see businesspeople claim to endorse awesome service. They talk nice to strategic partners and customers.
Then they turn around and talk trash to their Team and suppliers.
No, if you want a happy business, you need to give happiness away in everything you do.
Here is the secret – it does not start with your customers.
That may be your end point – happy customers who refer and keep coming back.
Remember? The means are the end. The end does not justify the means.
Start with your family. Treat them like the diamonds in the rough that they are.
What? Your family? What the heck has that got to do with business?
Everything.
See the other cliché above – how you do one thing is how you do everything.
If that is too much to bear, start with your Team. They are the ones who are your real clients/customers.
They are serving your customers.
How you treat them is how they will treat your customers.
Money follows happiness.
A happy culture attracts customers. And they want an experience, not only a great product/service.
And because you are happy you discover that the means and the end are one. Because you are being happy before the end goal happens.
A colleague of mine, Ryan Lazanis has this to say about creating a successful business:
“I asked my LinkedIn network to fill in this blank last week:
The key to a great firm is _____.
I received dozens of answers:
- Streamlined processes.
- Standardized systems
- People
- Vision
- Checklists
- Communication
- Leadership
- Etc.
Want my answer?
Here it is:
Happy people.
This is the key to any great business.
We want the team to be happy (including you).
And we want your customers to be happy.
You cannot run a great business without this.
And “happy people” is the culmination of most of the things that my connections chimed in about.
Optimize the business for “happy people” and there is no way you can have a bad business.”
And now for my next topic…
Are News Feeds a Distraction, Or Worse An Addiction?
When you take a work-chill break do you scan through the news?
I admit I do. Until now.
Do you know what though? Before the Internet I used to read books voraciously. Classic books like the lives of Saints (Confessions of Saint Augustine, Saint John of the Cross, Dickens, Lord of the Rings).
Now most of my many Kindle books are about 10-15% read. I wonder why?
Could it be my attention span is lower now?
Possibly. I do have a laser focus at work, yet I am going back to having chill breaks by reading my Kindle.
Check out this Blog about news feed as an addiction.
Should Your Business Create a Niche?
Yes.
Create a niche and get rich, if not, life is a b^&%h.
Sorry, I am full of clever cliches today.
Too many businesspeople suffer from shiny object syndrome. They think the more they offer the more sales they can get.
Problem is that the more you offer the more problems you have, the more you lose your focus.
Okay, and here is my last cliché for the day. I promise.
He who is a jack of all trades is the master of none.
Here is a remarkably interesting fact for those of you thinking of taking the dive into creating a niche in your industry.
General Motors sells about 6.2 million cars per annum.
Ferrari sells about 13,200 cars per annum.
GM is valued at $55.3 billion.
Ferrari is valued at $88.45 billion.
I rest my case.
Thank you for reading…
by MHolland | Aug 20, 2024 | Business Tips, Systems
A colleague of mine recently had a great experience with buying a car online…
He firsthand experienced how making things seamless, customer-centric and awesome has tipped his buying decision almost solely on that distinction.
Thank you Ryan Lazanis for sharing your story with us…
Customer Service Trumps Almost Everything
Since moving to the suburbs, my wife and I have been in the market for a second car.
Our current car is a 5-year-old Tesla that we’ve been very happy with, but the market has changed and we wanted to keep our options open.
I was doing my initial research and was struck by a few things:
- The Tesla website is just so much easier to use than the competition.
- I was offered a trade-in online and within 12 hours I was chatting with a sales rep via SMS (amazing!)
- Their sales experience is unparalleled (simple, clear, concise). I could buy the car online within 5 minutes. No haggling.
This is over and above the amazing customer experience we’ve received since owning the car (the technology, the servicing, etc.)
There are nicer cars on the market that are arguably of higher quality.
But I’m convinced they still provide the easiest, most pleasant vehicle experience on the market.
And for that, they might win me back for a second car.
Customer experience trumps almost everything today.
What improvements can you make in your business that will make your customers lives easier?
How Many Do You Possess
To make it in business you must have certain traits. Technical skill is not one of them…
Check out these 5 Most Important Traits of a Modern Business Owner.
I think number 1 is the most important.
What do you think?
Words Matter
Authentic is dead.
Do you use words like authentic? Or, “is dead”?
Perhaps it is time to expunge these words from your website and other marketing materials.
Check this out Authentic is Dead. And so is “is Dead”
Hire Better, Faster
Online software has become super specialized.
Take the hiring process as an example.
You would think, well, I would think anyway, that one all-inclusive human resources software would cover everything needed for the hiring process, right?
Wrong.
Just in this one area of hiring check out the possibilities to hire better, and faster.
And the point is – if they help in saving time and money, they are worth it, don’t you think?
After all, hiring the wrong person can be hugely expensive.
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Jul 30, 2024 | Business Tips, Remote Work, Systems
Recruiting and hiring new Team members – if you are like me – is time consuming, a bit excruciating, and, well, just not fun at all…
Tasks that are not fun, waste time, and hard to manage can drain your resources.
Hiring people is one of those tasks that most people dread!
Just think of the hundreds of applications that have to be sorted out to get to the gold.
Then the dozens and dozens of hours spent in interviews.
Ever have interviews that in the first 3 minutes you KNOW the person is not a good fit?
And then you spend the next 30 minutes in an internal dialogue – how do I escape elegantly?
The exciting news is that software has developed in remarkable ways over the past few years.
There are now multiple platforms out there that help you manage the process of recruiting.
Ever hear of a one-way video interview?
Good, if you said no. I hadn’t either until a week ago.
What is a One-Way Interview?
A one-way interview goes like this….
- You upload some basic, simple key questions, about 5, to the recruiting software platform.
- You email your candidates a link to the software.
- Your candidates answer the questions online using the video recording in the software.
- You review the video answers (at 2 times speed even).
By pre-screening candidates, you will save yourself dozens of hours.
You will narrow the field of candidates to those who:
- Resonate with your company culture.
- Align with your values.
- Can communicate clearly and professionally.
What Are the Software Platforms Offering This?
There are loads now!
Some are very expensive and others less so,
Two popular ones that my colleagues have used are:
- Vervoe
- Sparkhire
These two platforms offer much more than just the one-way screening interview. They are jammed packed with features.
Assessing Candidates
The software will assess your candidates and rank according to the answers to questions you provide, and the time taken to answer.
Here is an example from Vervoe’s website:
“We use a set of algorithmic models that measure the quality and interaction of a candidate’s responses against millions of other similar responses and actions.
If you’re hiring a Call Centre Agent, you might be looking for someone with skills like attention to detail and empathy.
Our models process thousands of responses quickly looking for certain words, sentiments and actions that reflect these values accurately. Candidates that display more of these are graded higher”.
A Lower Priced Alternative
In my research I came across a highly user-friendly alternative, with awesome ratings by their customers.
It is called Hireflix One-Way Interview Software
They seem to only do the one-way interview, yet they do it extremely well, and at a great price-point.
The independent user reviews are running 5 out of 5.
Advantages With a Remote Work Force
With so many people hiring for remote work, interviewing people online is a clear winner.
Here is a blog post from Hireflix explaining in more detail:
The advantage of one-way video interviews for remote workers
In Summary
Full disclosure – I have not yet used any of the above platforms.
I will be shortly and very likely trying Hireflix, as they offer a 30-day free trial.
I will report back on how I find it.
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Jul 25, 2024 | Business Tips, Systems
As I have written in previous blogs, I use an app called Freedom to control my app use on my phone…
There are a few things I do to limit my online usage.
First…
Block Your Favorites
What? Block your favorites? Yup.
Why block where you will never go!?
If you have favorite newsfeeds/sites, consider limiting your use to 30 minutes a day as an example.
For me, I only need to block about 6 sites that I habitually go to for good articles and news.
For example, I do not read CBC online. So, no need to block.
Sometimes I go on a complete fast of all sites, all the time for an extended period of time.
Here is a million-dollar question – if you spend 30 minutes scrolling newsfeeds or social media versus 30 minutes reading a classic novel by Dostoyevsky or Flannery O’Connor, which will nourish your mind and spirit more?
After all, we only have one life and only so much time. None of us would spend hours a day in a casino in Las Vegas month in month out. Would we?
Social media is like spending hours in Las Vegas, with no hope of a payout, except a truckload of non-cashable likes.
The way your cell phone is setup to addict you and draw you in and keep you in is frightening.
Check out this blog post from Freedom to discover all their tricks:
What’s Behind an App Design?
Turn Off Your Notifications
Notifications are a major distraction.
I read somewhere recently that it takes 20 minutes! (yikes) to refocus after a minor disruption in your work.
I use Telegram a lot. For business, for setting up community groups, staying in touch with our children, and for friends.
What I do is archive chat groups that are particularly busy and annoying. By archiving I do not see the notifications at all. When I want to know what is going on, I have to physically go to them and find them in the app.
My email notifications are turned off.
Heck, ALL my notifications are turned off. My phone is usually on silent mode (not even vibrate).
I have all my messaging apps blocked using my Freedom app from 9:30pm to 6:30am. No possibility of late night, nor early morning messaging.
I turn my phone off at night and leave it in another room.
All of the above has immensely improved my productivity and peace of mind.
I wish you the same!
Thanks for reading…
