Quick W.I.T.S.

I didn't really have a proper article planned out for today, so it seemed like a good time to talk about time management. As a small business owner, you have to wear a lot of hats on a regular basis. In addition to whatever your actual company function is (IT consultant, plumber, electrician, artist, or whatever), you may also have to act as your company's accountant, bookkeeper, lawyer, tech support, receptionist, marketer, ad executive, web designer, research assistant, and so forth. That's just if you're a single employee company! If you have actual employees working for you, then you may also have to act as HR, trainer, manager, payroll, and conflict resolution as well, on top of your normal (paying) work. As a self employed family man with a working wife, the list gets even longer - I'm also a chef, personal shopper, house cleaner, and chauffeur. It's a daunting list of daily tasks all cutting into your work time, potentially preventing you from doing ...

When I came up with the idea for Tools of the Trade, the very first thought that came into my head was Process Mapping. It's pretty much the first thing any business analyst or project manager whips out of their bag of tricks whenever they start a new project. It's ubiquitous in the industry, because it's so powerful and diverse. Despite this, it's not something that has really made its way outside of the project management toolbox. I think that's a real shame, because it's so useful. With a bit of work, it can easily be adapted to almost any industry or small business, and help them to identify problems, make better decisions, and track their progress. So for my first Tools of the Trade article, we're taking an in-depth look at Process Mapping. What is process mapping? On the surface, process mapping is exactly what it sounds like. It is a visual representation of all the steps in a process from start to finish. To create one, you map out all the st...

Since I started this blog several months ago, we've talked extensively about many subjects related to running a modern small business, but almost all of it has been focused in some way or another on web design. We've talked about why businesses need a site, methods and design philosophy for the building the site itself, how to write good content, how to market yourself, and what makes good social media content. Starting this week, in my new Tools of the Trade series, we're going in a slightly different direction. For those who don't know, I worked as a Business Analyst and Project Manager for 20 years before I started Whistler IT Solutions. My job was to help companies streamline and optimize their operations, which included making custom reports, automating mundane tasks, reviewing and updating processes, and creating other custom software solutions to improve the level of information managers had access to and help them make better decisions. A lot of the skills ...

When I started this blog, my goal was always to help other businesses by offering tips and advice based on my own experiences as a small business owner, and on my professional training as a programmer and project manager. I wasn't looking for a platform or to make a name for myself, I just thought I could be helpful and maybe tell some interesting stories (also, if I'm being brutally honest, I also like to talk at length, so a blog seemed like a good outlet for a socially awkward person like me). Today's post is nothing like anything I've written before. I can only call it helpful in that, at best, it is a perfect example of what not to do. Sometimes, a company does something so bad, its only purpose could be to serve as a warning to others. Today, I want to talk about the worst customer experience I've ever had. The Setup For those that don't know, my work laptop has actually been dying for the last several months. Some of the components have stopped wo...

Nobody likes to hear this, but there is no such thing as a quick and easy solution to social media. Lots of people have lots of advice on the subject (I've offered some great tips of my own), but all of the good advice out there requires time, effort, and dedication to properly implement. You can't just throw a few pictures up on Instagram or post a few tweets and expect people to flock to your door. Don't get me wrong - doing something is better than doing nothing... just don't expect to get amazing results for zero effort. The truth is that social media isn't a race, it's a marathon. It's a strategy, not a solution. You have to prepare for it, pace yourself, and be dedicated. You have to stick to it, even when it seems hard and you feel like you're at the end of your endurance. Also like a marathon, there are a lot of other people out there with you. They're not necessarily competing with you; really you're all competing with yourselves, ...

Over the past month, we've been talking in depth about website content, and really focusing on design philosophy to maximize the impact and effectiveness of every page of your site. Today, I'd like to look back briefly on that overall design, and share some final thoughts on putting it all together into a complete, unified package. This is the final article in my Design in Detail series, the post mortem. If you haven't read the previous entries in the series, be sure to click the "Design in Detail" label at the bottom of this article to see them all, or just click here to go to the first entry. First, let's take a quick look at the four main pages of most business websites, and review what you should be trying to accomplish with each page: The "Home" Page Your Home page is usually the first page visitors see when they come to your site, unless they searched for something very specific that took them to a sub-page instead. So this is where fi...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope your weekend and your Turkey Day are both excellent. And to my American friends and followers out there... happy Columbus Day? :) I'll be back with a new article on Thursday, the final installment of our Design in Detail series. If you haven't read it yet, it's well worth your time. We take an in-depth look at all the major pages of a standard website, talk about design philosophy, and go over tips and tricks to make the most of your customer interactions on each page. If it sounds interesting, check out the first article  here . Thanks for stopping by!

Today, in the fourth installment of Design in Detail, we're talking about the Contact page of your website. While it's true that the Contact page is probably the most straightforward page on the site for most businesses, there are still some key pieces of information and best practices we should use to make sure we're getting the most out of the page, and that it's providing our customers with the tools and information they need to connect with us and conduct business. So, with that in mind, here are 5 tips to improve your website's Contact page: 1. Be Accessible You want people to get in touch with you. That's the whole point of the contact page. So be sure to include as many ways for them to reach you as possible. Some people are turned off by contact forms, since they don't know what happens with the info after they submit it. So include a phone number or email address as well. Also include your hours of operation - people shouldn't have to con...

Sometimes in business, your word is all you have. This is especially true for small businesses or businesses in small towns or rural areas, as you have fewer customers to interact with. Every interaction is vital, and a negative review or impression can drastically influence people's opinion of you in the community. It's important to keep your word, deliver on promises, and never commit to something you can't make good on. When you're running a small business, you are always "on," and can't afford to have an off day. It doesn't matter when someone calls, they are immediately your number one priority. This is the price we pay to try to go from a startup to a successful business. It may seem hard at first, but once you realize it's all the golden rule anyway, it's not so tough. Just treat every person you deal with the way you, personally, would like to be treated when you walk into a store. No, I don't mean accosted by 5 sales reps in 3...