Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

How to get by with a little help from your friends

When I think about the vital necessity of networking, I do not view it from an academic viewpoint. Finding new friends and linking up with them for our mutual benefit is how I have supported myself since I left the mothership (Sun Microsystems) in 2001.

When I occasionally do career counseling and use the dreaded word "networking", it is not unusual to see the beginning of an eye roll or a curl of the lip as "networking" has been downgraded for many people to an exchanging of business cards at job fairs or business mixers.

The truth of the matter is that an independent business person selling directly to customers is always networking whether he delivers music lessons, custom framing, or handling bankruptcies. It is an attitude one creates that makes customers want to refer others to you for services.

It is an attitude that you carry with you of wanting to help others. If you truly want to help others, it shows in your conduct and it prepares you to discuss what you do at the drop of a hat.

When you meet someone, one of the first questions that gets asked on both sides is, "What do you do?"

The new age of Do-It-Yourself hard drive data recovery

 When your laptop or desktop computer dies, you can recover the data yourself.

In the recent past, when your computer crashed, you had to hunt down a professional to recover the data from the hard drive.

That is no longer the case. There are several handy units available which make hard drive data recovery a relatively straightforward task.

The 80 GB drive shown here was pulled out of a laptop that crashed a few weeks ago. The motherboard failed and much of the data on the hard drive was scrambled.

I Googled "hard drive data recovery" and plugged in details like 2.5 inch SATA HDD until I discovered a handy video showing me how to recover data using a device like the one shown below.


This particular device is a BlackX SATA and USB docking station made by Thermaltake. The hard drive plugs into the top of the unit and a USB cable connects the unit to a computer on which you are running a program like Disk Doctor.

Disk Doctor recovers the files from the damaged hard drive and stores them where you can organize them and put them back in use. Disk Doctor is not included when you purchase the BlackX unit.

The big advantage of units like BlackX is that you don't have to open up your computer and fiddle around with hard drive cables to recover data from another hard drive. The BlackX unit acts like a docking station for the recovered hard drive and allows your computer to access the data easily. Once the damaged hard drive has been reformatted, it can be left in the docking station and used as a spare drive if desired.

The unit is quite small so it can be stored away quite conveniently until the time your next hard drive fails. The cost is quite reasonable as you can buy it for $34.99 on Amazon.com. If you have multiple computer systems, one of these and a Disk Doctor program are an excellent investment for continuing peace of mind.

If your computers are more than four years old, your hard drives may be living on borrowed time. Backup storage is one solution, but recovery software and hardware similar to those  mentioned in this article will protect you against random catastrophic failures that can put you out of business for weeks.

Are we circling the drain yet?

With unemployment steadily worsening, our elected representatives living a life of luxury on our tax dollars, and favored companies and individuals getting "waivers" to avoid the effects of recently passed laws that will cripple most American businesses, it sure is easy to feel that the end days are here with respect to the 250-year-old Amwerican Dream.


Incidently a recent poll found that 85% of recent college grads are living at home with Mom and Dad. (That's up from 68% just a few years ago.)

If you doubt that power corrupts  and absolute power corrupts absolutely, you only have to look at the behavior of Nancy Pelosi to see how a dedicated polititian became a symbol of legislative arrogance and a lightning rod for allegations of graft and corruption.

It sure made me feel frustrated until I realized that we can take action this November 2nd and every Election Day from here on out to bring Congress back under voter control. Getting rid of all incumbents who fail to respond to voter requests for information would be a grand start. Becoming active in the Tea Party movement and any other voter-centric activity will give you a sense of purpose and will channel your frustrations and your energy where it can do some good.

The images at the top of this article shows the harbour at St Ives in Cornwall when the tide is out. The image below shows what the harbor looks like when the tide is in. The fishermen of St Ives have learned to live with the  extreme differences in water level by preparing for the worst and then taking advantage of the tide when it comes in.
 

We as American voters, should follow a similar course of action while our economic tide is going out. 

We should use these lean times to learn what we can and cannot afford and marshal our collective strength to make changes that will encourage American businesses to expand again. Adding Government jobs does not contribute to our national economy as all government jobs are paid by taxes. Putting more people on the Government payroll as a solution to unemployment is no better than the Roman solution of free corn and games to entertain an increasingly restive population. We need an economic recovery and that comes from motivated businesses, large and small.

We have "barbarians" at the gates right now just as Rome did and they are far more motivated and sometimes better educated than many of our ordinary citizens. Those who sit and watch TV instead of working to revitalize our government and our economy will be the effect of whatever changes take place this Novewmber.

If you are not upset with what is going on in Washington, you are probably not watching what is happening. You will get better coverage, pro and con, of real events on the Internet.

I have chosen to support the Tea Party movement. You should supoort whatever group or activity  that forwards an agenda that you can live with.

Some companies still do not understand that customers talk about their experiences

I recently purchased some supplies from a company I have done business with for three years but after this experience I probably will never do business with them again.

They sent me an email promising a 10% discount if the purchase was made in the next three days. I made the purchase the next day and although the website said the 10% discount was being honored, it did not show up in the final charges.

I sent them this email:

I placed an order today after receiving an email with your 72 hour offer. The Order number was  #24452.  While I was putting the items in the cart, the site said that the discount would be shown later. When the order was completed, there was no discount shown.

That is very bad PR and is a definite "bait and switch" tactic.
I expect to see a correction to the total on my order to show the discount.

I received my PayPal charges later that day and the final price showed no discount and the shipping charges were not broken out.

I got this email back from the president of this company:

Our system does not allow us to show the discount in the shopping cart. As for "That is very bad PR and is a definite "bait and switch" tactic." We will apply the discount here when we enter your order. this is not a bait and switch tactic. We have been in business for over 100 years and I do not appreciate attacks of our credibility. You will receive the discount you expect.

I wrote:

Thanks for giving me the discount.Your credibility is suspect when the discount does not appear anywhere, even on the final order. Making customers wrong for questioning your order handling does not bolster your credibility either. All you have to do is to say that the discount will not ever appear until you get the final reckoning and customer expectations will be set properly.

The next day I received an additional PayPal charge instead of a credit for the missing discount. (He never gave me the discount)

This company president's credibility is no longer in question. He has proved beyond a doubt that he does not know what his company is doing. He has also proved that he does not pay attention to customer complaints.

What a pitiful excuse for non-performance: "We have been in business for over 100 years and I do not appreciate attacks of our credibility.

That sounds too much like what we hear from our elected representatives in Washington, DC and elsewhere.

Any company that does not listen to its customers is on a short route to oblivion because their marketplace is well-connected on the Internet and discusses poor treatment as well as good treatment.

Stellar One goes the extra distance

This is a drive-thru window at the Stellar One Bank in Floyd, Virginia. It has all of the characteristics you would expect in an up and coming bank that is trying to create an outstanding customer experience.

Take this window as an example: a friendly welcoming smile on the face of the young lady, clear signage that can be easily read under all lighting conditions, and a bowl of lollipops for the children who accompany their parents to the bank.

This is a standard action by businesses that treat customers as people rather than as anonymous sources of income.

The extra touch that makes this Stellar One branch stand out in my opinion is shown in this next image.

While you are banking, your dog gets a treat!

I have it on good authority that the dogs perk up immediately when their owner drives up to this window. With this thoughtful gesture the Stellar One branch in Floyd has turned a routine bank visit into a special event for the entire family.

This bank provides good service in all the ways that matter to us so providing treats for children and the family dog is is not the only reason to bank here. It is another example of choosing to provide extraordinary customer experiences.

Any business that recognizes the importance of children and pets in their customers lives is treating customers as whole individuals. Granting importance to all aspects of a customer's life practically guarantees good referrals and customer loyalty.

I don't know if all branches of Stellar One are this customer oriented, but if not it is something they should consider.

Life has been interfering with blogging again

In a down economy where income can drop drastically overnight, small business owners like myself have to go from production mode to full-on promotional activity.. All non-income generating activity gets put on hold. Blogging is an incredibly satisfying and rewarding experience, but it does not produce income in the short term so it gets relegated to non prime time activity or never.

Promotion is the only way that new business relationships are created and it can take many forms. There is only so much advertising that one can do with limited funds, but there is almost no limit to the amount of personal contact that can be accomplished if one is sufficiently motivated.

About two months ago I figured out that customers still wanted custom picture framing, but most of them needed to feel that they were getting an amazing deal as well as an extraordinary buying experience in order to part with their dwindling disposable income.

After all, that was what I was doing and is what my friends are doing for almost every purchase. We still want the good things in life and are willing to do with a more economical version, but it takes a really special deal from a business we like dealing with to justify spending money.

So, I have been making friends with potential customers and have been promoting ways for them to save money on picture framing for several months and this activity has finally begun to produce results.

As I've mentioned before, promoting a business follows the well known Law of Ketchup. You promote and promote and it seems like nothing is happening until finally people show up in bunches and you are suddenly racing around like a madman trying to stay ahead of the rush.

I am enjoying the flood of work, but it has temporarily put a halt to my blogging. Lots of interesting things are happening in Floyd and I will do my best to catch up on those that are most interesting.

I hope to be back blogging next week. Stay tuned.

Rule #1 in starting your own business - revised and updated

I have written so many articles about starting a business and striking off in new directions that I can't believe I failed to mention one of the most basic rules of them all when it comes to starting your own business. This actually applies to startups of any size.

Rule #1 - Lower your cost of living to the point where you can pay for rent and food doing outside work while you struggle to generate enough income with your new business.

If you live in a comfortable suburban house and you bailed out or were ejected from the corporate mothership, don't expect that you are going to develop a viable business in less than six months and a decent customer base in less than a year. Many people report that it takes two years or more to start generating decent cash flow.

During that time you will be laying out money for equipment and training and you will still have to pay the mortgage and all the other expenses for your lovely home. You will burn through your 401K and any savings faster than you can believe.

You need to completely restructure your living arrangements so that your cost of living can be covered during the startup period and for some time beyond.

This calls for a great deal of resolve and understanding by all members of the family. Life is not going to continue in the same old way.

Sell the Land Rover and the McMansion and look for a living and workspace that doesn't leak too badly that you can buy for cash or on terms that result in a mortgage payment of a few hundred dollars a month. Buy a used van or pickup truck or a used car for cash.

Put enough money away to live on for six months and rethink your identity. You are starting over and you are no longer a senior manager of anything. You need to get busy and learn your new trade in a big hurry.

Take classes at a good craft school. Learn the ropes by working as an apprentice if you can. If your significant other is not engaged in learning a craft, she or he should find work that provides enough income that your bank balance does not dwindle.

Make everyone part of the new solution. Ideally, your new venture should provide work for all members of the family, but if the teenagers aren't interested in helping with your new venture, they need to find employment and an educational path that fits your new circumstances.

You don't have to follow this advice of course, because you can always search for another corporate berth instead of risking everything on your own business acumen.

However, you will probably have to sell the house and the Land Rover anyway if you are over fifty because it may take you a year to find a new job and it will pay less than your last job.

This may sound unduly grim, but it has been done by tens of thousands of people and they have emerged from the experience stronger and more self reliant than ever before. The freedom that comes from managing your own destiny more than makes up for the temporary hardships of starting your own business.

Find any successful small business owner, craftsperson or artist and ask how they lived until they became successful and you will hear a story much like I have described here.

Talk to business owners who quit after a short, unsuccessful attempt at starting a career and you will find that they ran out of money before they could become self-supporting.

You will also find that their lifestyle had a lot of creature comforts that did nothing to advance their careers.

Whether this change in life is a forced decision or a free choice, changing your lifestyle and cutting your costs to the bone will give you the best chance of a successful transition.

If you have gotten this far, it has probably occurred to you that this same advice applies if you are embarking on a career in any new field.

Your lifestyle has to be leaner and meaner than you ever imagined if you are to succeed.

Wishing you the very best.

( I wrote the original post in August 2006 and am still encountering people who envision launching new businesses which will provide seamless continuity of their comfortable suburban lives. Get over it. Startups are the most exciting adventure I can conceive of, but they involve drastic changes to your lifestyle.)

I have written so many articles about starting a business and striking off in new directions that I can't believe I failed to mention one of the most basic rules of them all when it comes to starting your own business. This actually applies to startups of any size.

Rule #1 - Lower your cost of living to the point where you can pay for rent and food doing outside work while you struggle to generate enough income with your new business.

If you live in a comfortable suburban house and you bailed out or were ejected from the corporate mothership, don't expect that you are going to develop a viable business in less than six months and a decent customer base in less than a year. Many people report that it takes two years or more to start generating decent cash flow.

During that time you will be laying out money for equipment and training and you will still have to pay the mortgage and all the other expenses for your lovely home. You will burn through your 401K and any savings faster than you can believe.

You need to completely restructure your living arrangements so that your cost of living can be covered during the startup period and for some time beyond.

This calls for a great deal of resolve and understanding by all members of the family. Life is not going to continue in the same old way.

Sell the Land Rover and the McMansion and look for a living and workspace that doesn't leak too badly that you can buy for cash or on terms that result in a mortgage payment of a few hundred dollars a month. Buy a used van or pickup truck or a used car for cash.

Put enough money away to live on for six months and rethink your identity. You are starting over and you are no longer a senior manager of anything. You need to get busy and learn your new trade in a big hurry.

Take classes at a good craft school. Learn the ropes by working as an apprentice if you can. If your significant other is not engaged in learning a craft, she or he should find work that provides enough income that your bank balance does not dwindle.

Make everyone part of the new solution. Ideally, your new venture should provide work for all members of the family, but if the teenagers aren't interested in helping with your new venture, they need to find employment and an educational path that fits your new circumstances.

You don't have to follow this advice of course, because you can always search for another corporate berth instead of risking everything on your own business acumen.

However, you will probably have to sell the house and the Land Rover anyway if you are over fifty because it may take you a year to find a new job and it will pay less than your last job.

This may sound unduly grim, but it has been done by tens of thousands of people and they have emerged from the experience stronger and more self reliant than ever before. The freedom that comes from managing your own destiny more than makes up for the temporary hardships of starting your own business.

Find any successful small business owner, craftsperson or artist and ask how they lived until they became successful and you will hear a story much like I have described here.

Talk to business owners who quit after a short, unsuccessful attempt at starting a career and you will find that they ran out of money before they could become self-supporting.

You will also find that their lifestyle had a lot of creature comforts that did nothing to advance their careers.

Whether this change in life is a forced decision or a free choice, changing your lifestyle and cutting your costs to the bone will give you the best chance of a successful transition.

If you have gotten this far, it has probably occurred to you that this same advice applies if you are embarking on a career in any new field.

Your lifestyle has to be leaner and meaner than you ever imagined if you are to succeed.

Wishing you the very best.

( I wrote the original post in August 2006 and am still encountering people who envision launching new businesses which will provide seamless continuity of their comfortable suburban lives. Get over it. Startups are the most exciting adventure I can conceive of, but they involve drastic changes to your lifestyle.)

Time for another reality check

It seems like our political class is comfortably divorced from reality. Congress voted itself another raise this year, increased their expense budgets and are working hard to pull off a trifecta of bills that will raise taxes and energy costs while the economy crumbles around us.

Government is preoccupied with saving the world from computer model "disasters" like "poisonous" CO2 and Anthropogenic Global Warming, while ignoring the rising tide of real disasters like massive unemployment, a real recession, and an indecisively managed war in Afghanistan.

Taxpayer resistance is growing, but will not significantly reverse the process until the 2010 elections.

If there is to be an economic resurgence, it will probably start at the grassroots level with local actions attuned to local needs and resources.

I do not see that government bail outs have helped GM or Chrysler and do not expect that the balance of the Stimulus money will produce significant results either, as most of the money will be funnelled to patronage jobs or to support union activity.

Certainly some money will trickle down to worthwhile projects, but the percentage of taxpayer money that arrives where it s needed is a small fraction what was borrowed and will eventually be collected from the taxpayers in future generations.

There is a question that should be asked about any government project: How many real jobs will this program create?

Failing to understand that Government and State jobs are a burden on the economy is a classic mistake. They are an OVERHEAD expense. When your company is not doing well, you cut overhead first.

No company I have ever known has improved their operating basis during a crisis by adding more levels of management, yet our current administration is adding Czars and new government organizations every day.

I don't see that as a winning strategy.

( Photo credit: wrensongfarm.blogspot.com)

Business and Art make a good mix in Floyd

(This was originally written for the Floyd Press and appeared in the Thursday, September 24 issue.)

A number of local Floyd VA businesses display art by local artists on their walls. Are they just being public spirited or have they discovered a way to harness artistic talent for the benefit of their customers? It appears that their generosity is paying off in unexpected ways.

According to the business owners who display local art, it started with their desire to support local artists but it has become a vital benefit for their customers and staff as well.

These enlightened business include restaurants, financial advisors, health care professionals, and coffee shops which have adopted a business model where they provide free display space for local art and accept payment for art on behalf of the artists. They do not charge a commission for this service and the artists are responsible for recording the sale and paying taxes.

One of the recent additions to the ranks of art-supporting businesses is the Avellar, Stone, & Houston Financial Group whose offices are shown in the picture above. They have made almost a hundred feet of wall space available for displaying the work of local artists. The display space will include their lobby, the main hallways and their conference room. Currently, art has been hung in the lobby and one hallway with more to be hung in the coming week.

Gary Stone, Brecc Avellar and John Paul Houston (shown in the picture above) are enthusiastic supporters of local artists and invite visitors and tourists to come in and view the art on display. They are also planning to join the ranks of businesses that are open to visitors on First Fridays.

Floyd businesses have been supporting artists in this way for many years. The Barter Clinic, The Blackwater Loft, Oddfellas Cantina, Cafe del Sol, and Tuggles Gap Restaurant are among those that exhibit different local artists every month.

Customers make a point of looking at the art on display and often provide feedback on how much the art contributes to their enjoyment of doing business in such pleasant surroundings. Employees in several businesses mentioned their enjoyment of the artwork as well.

Employees of one business confided that customers are so used to seeing art that they will actually complain when there is no art on display. Fortunately this occurs only during the brief intervals between exhibits.

This continuing cooperation of business and artists has a positive effect on the viability of Floyd as a destination for potential settlers and cultural tourists. A town with one art gallery is not as desirable for a weekend visit as a town with multiple galleries and showplaces for local artists.

Art in Floyd is an integral part of local community life, not just a commodity that is sold only in our fine gift shops and galleries. People visiting Floyd get an unusual opportunity to immerse themselves in the local art and music community. It leaves them with a lasting and favorable impression.

Floyd's galleries also support local artists and have become a significant tourist attraction. The best known are the Bell Gallery and Garden, the art galleries at The Station on Locust, Over the Moon Gallery, Jeanie O'Neill's Gallery and the Jacksonville Center.

Whether you visit Floyd's art galleries or patronize the businesses which support local artists, you will have a chance to see the latest works by a growing number of local artists.

Done any bartering lately?

As the economy worsens, individuals and small businesses are turning to barter in steadily increasing numbers. The image above is from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/7560246.stm

Bartering has usually been done on a one to one basis or through barter exchanges that charged a fee. Now there are free online barter exchanges which are generating a lot of interest. Smarterbarter.com and favorpals.com are just two of these free online barter exchanges.

This 2008 article on Thomasnet still applies today.

Before there was money, credit cards and loans, people relied on bartering. Today, as tight credit conditions squeeze cash-strapped businesses, many businesses are rediscovering the benefits of small-biz bartering.

Bartering has come a long way since farmers and merchants gathered at bazaars to trade their harvest and wares. Nowadays, many modern businesses trade through barter exchanges online, though one-to-one bartering transactions still occur.

Small Biz Owners Revisiting Age-old Tradition: Bartering By Jorina Fontelera  

Bob Bagga, the President and Chief Executive Officer of BizXchange, has an interesting viewpoint on efficiency:

At its base, barter is an efficiency tool, which is why so many companies are now discovering it—everyone’s working to become more efficient to weather the storm.  People are discovering they can use barter to pay for a wide variety of products and services for which they are accustomed to writing checks, including advertising, capital expenditures, commodities and assets.  They’re also realizing that using barter helps bring in new cash-paying customers.

Unemployment and tight credit are spurring an increasing interest in barter. If you have skills or products that others might need, consider bartering them for goods and services you need.

As disposable income shrinks to the vanishing point, I found that barter is a welcome way to service customers who have been hit by the faltering economy.  I am bartering custom framing services every week for goods and services.

I am also bartering labor for firewood. I have more hardwood logs than I can burn this year. If someone wants to cut the logs into stove lengths, they can take half of what they cut. I have been doing this for a year now and it has worked out for all concerned. Since I have a log splitter and a chainsaw, one person can cut and split two truckloads of wood in a day. I keep one and they drive away with the other.

Barter has shortcomings like lack of portability and transparency, but these are being addressed through use of online barter exchanges. Some communities are also facilitating barter through "local currencies".

I plan to write other posts on the subject of barter. If you have any suggestions, please send them along.