The FuzzyBlog!
Marketing 101. Consulting 101. PHP Consulting. Random geeky stuff. I Blog Therefore I Am.

Friday, June 07, 2002

Focus, Focus, Who's Got the Focus. Adam Wendt has an interesting counter point to my piece on focus -- A *nix window manager.  Damn good point.  7:49:30 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

High Tech is Just Everywhere -- Consultants - Do Not Overlook This. I am astonished more and more each day by the shrinking borders that IM and blogging are bringing to us.  I was just contacted by someone to ask if I could do some writing for them.  We did the back and forth bit for a little while and he (quite smartly) got my price down.  The conversation went on for a while longer until he told me that he was in Nigeria!  And working for a company doing something pretty cool (not fair to say what yet).  I'm also in touch with a cool Java tools company in Luxembourg for a different type of work but still for work.  Think about this if you will ....  Would you hire a contractor sight unseen 3,000+ miles away from you?  This is just wild.  So, the question becomes... How can I, the consultant, make $$$ from this ?  Sad but true $$$ make the world go around.  Here's what I recommend to you: Blog.  Start a blog.  Why?  It lets people know that you not only exist but what you are good at.  If you write frequently and well, people will notice.   More ... Contact Info.  Make your contact info public.  Why? If people can't find you, accept that you won't get work from them.  Concerned about spam from this?  Want something free?  Watch this space for a cool new thing coming very soon (and, yes, that means I was cranking on code last night.  It now works, just twiddling the bits around, setting up bug tracking and such.  Thanks go to the usual set of characters: Natrak and Guy. No Prejudice.  Abolish any shred of prejudice from yourself.  Not only is this the right thing to do, it's required.  I was horrified to hear what this person told me that people online say to him when they find out he's from Nigeria.  That's just wrong. Be Flexible on Rates.  I wasn't certain where this person was from (I thought India) but I knew it was overseas (i.e. not U.S.).  I gave him 1/3 off on rates when he asked.  And I might or might not be more flexible than that.  Bear in mind that U.S. $$$ are very expensive for them.  Be flexible.  If nothing else you'll feel good about it.  There might also be a tax advantage in it (my accountant is actually looking into this with respect to work I do for non-profit organizations).  Perhaps the same applies here.  Another thought -- charge your full price but defer it over time. Friendly & Helpful.  This always is just plain good business sense. Get Something Up Front.  I'm a huge believer in professionalism for consultants.  And a part of that is protecting yourself upfront by getting some dollars when you start. Global IMs Today: Nigeria, Indonesia, Norway, Germany (and the day is still young) Word of the day: o dabo.  That's goodbye in the Yoruba dialect in Nigeria. 10:21:14 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Why I Still Love PC Connection... I just got a phone call, probably one of the single nicest phone calls of my business career, from Rick Gilligan of PC Connection.  Somehow, I don't know how, he saw my blog article talking about my experience with being spammed.  He was concerned, apologized and then really listened while I gave him input.  And, as you can imagine, I gave him a lot of input -- ideas about how to better sell to small business, etc.  What a nice way to begin the day (or in my case continue).  Here are several things about PC Connection that you may not know: They are always within 5 to 10 % of the cheapest prices that I can find if not the cheapest.  To be very honest -- at that level of difference -- price doesn't matter.  It's more important that I know I can get what I need when I need it. They are 100% reliable on shipping.  They have rarely if ever munged a shipment to me. They let you order by phone up to 2:00 am or later. They support enterprise level sales.  Need Cisco?  Need Compaq DL 380 rack mount servers?  Need FibreChannel networking gear?   They do all this (I spent > $750,000 with them back in my dot com days -- 80 + 1 U servers at Exodus, etc). They have excellent technical support.  When someone's mother needs to buy something, I never have a problem recommending them. They have an excellent clearance / close out section which lets you buy stuff more cheaply. My rep from my dot com days, Steve Pierce, was / is outstanding.  He took care of me every time. PC Connection.  I'm a fan.  I've been a customer for 15 years now and I can easily see being a customer for 15 more.  Great company to work with.   Don't overlook them. 9:57:44 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Very, Very Practical Tips for the Busy Person I don't know about you but I am busy.  Very busy.  And, if you don't want to make mistakes when you are busy, you need help.  Over the past many years, I have found that these tips really help me quite a bit.  Listed below are 10 tips for busy people.  You'll laugh and some are silly perhaps but I use most of them every single day. ==> Read Story <== NOTE: A friend who looked at a draft called this "Tips for the Forgetful".  Perhaps.  That's also the natural reaction when you're a bit younger and still have all neurons firing. 6:44:37 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Don't Steal My Focus or You're My PC -- I Am Not Your Human Good morning.  Any day that begins with waking up out of 4 1/2 hours of sound sleep with a new feature idea "What?  Cool!  Must try it now ..." is bound to lead to a rant.  Perhaps a well thought out, well considered Rant, perhaps not.  But a Rant none the less.  So here goes .... ==> Read Story <== 6:33:33 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This