The HelpDesk Company Blog

Todd and I experienced a first last week. We went to Vegas - and quickly learned that it’s wonderful to live in a state that bans smoking, slot machines are a scam, you can have a lot of fun with just $40 at a pai gow table, and we’re older than we thought. 

We were in Vegas for our semi-annual meeting with our peer group. We shared numbers, best practices, and biggest challenges with 8 other companies who do what we do across the country. As usual, we’ve brought back some great ideas that will enable us to provide better service as well as some new technology products to research that could increase your productivity. Keep an eye out in coming months for these. You know us, we won’t recommend anything until we’re confident it will deliver. 

Most importantly, we were reminded how fortunate we are to have a fantastic team at the office.  We observed our peers stepping out to answer support questions, manage their staff, and handle sales and admin duties. The only time either of us had to step out was to handle an eleventh-hour crisis for our daughter (ever try to find a student harmonica less than 2 hours before a performance?  Yes, I felt like supermom once I got over the guilt of not being there). 

I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll gladly say it again. Our team is awesome. Thank you Will, Jordan, Mason, Les and Sarah!

I recently read an article in Inc. magazine that profiled the time management skills of some of the most prolific entrepreneurs out there today.  Fascinating read that I highly recommend.  You can see it online here - http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100301/americas-most-productive-ceos.html 

One of the entrepreneurs featured uses keystroke short cuts to minimize his time on the computer.  He’s actually been able to calculate the time he saves annually (not just hours - DAYS!).  We thought we’d share a few that we like in hopes that they might help you. To understand the shortcuts, know that each key is listed with plus signs in between - this indicates that you should hold all keys down at once. 

Have multiple applications open at once?

Quickly toggle between them: Alt + Tab

Working in Outlook?

• Open a new email message: Ctrl + Shift + M
• Open a new appointment: Ctrl + Shift + A
• Open a new contact: Ctrl + Shift + C 

Application hung up and you can’t close it?

• Hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open the Windows Security window
• Select Task Manager
• Select the Open Tasks tab to see what is “Not Responding”
• Right click on the offending application and select End Task 

What shortcuts do YOU use?

Please share so we can all learn from each other.

We are pleased to introduce our newest team member, Les Venable. A graduate of Morgan State University, Les brings over twenty years of sales experience in  the technology industry.  He cut his teeth in the telecom sector with Rolm Communications and has worked for a handful of other IT companies including A&J Technologies and, most recently, Electronic Systems (ESI). 

We are thrilled to have Les with us - not only because of his ability to do the job, but especially because of his general outlook and approach to life.  Les has been mentoring an elementary student at Hopkins Elementary for three years now.  He’s quite active in his church and community, and shares our desire to partner with his clients to help them make the best decisions for their business - whether it’s a non-profit organization, educational institution or privately owned business.

Welcome aboard, Les!

As I write, Richmond is anticipating yet more snow.  Okay, snow/sleet mixed, but still - it’s another 1-2 inches.  I suspect this is a year our children (7 & 9 years old) will remember fondly when they’re grown.  Me?  I have yet renewed appreciation for my folks as I recall the “big snow” when I was in elementary school.   I remembering thinking how much fun it was to help my Dad dig our cars out on Hanover Avenue.  Fortunately, we only lived two doors in from Malvern.  I even thought it was cool (sort of) when the snow plow made it’s second pass down Malvern - just as we’d finished shoveling through the 3 foot pile from its first run! 

Todd and I are getting pretty good at the shovelling, though we’re no where near as good as Dad was at getting our kids to help.   

Even though the weather may make spring and the new beginnings the season brings seem far away, we are feeling pretty joyful with the new beginnings here at the HelpDesk.  We’ve added to our staff (see below to learn about Les Venable), and Elizabeth is just weeks away from the birth of her baby.   

Boy? Girl?  Early?  Late?  These are just a few of the questions we’re all asking.  We encourage you to join in the guessing fun at Elizabeth Sundberg’s Baby Pool.  

We are also talking with some great new prospects and look forward to introducing you to them as new clients soon. 

Wishing you a warm and sunny day!

Microsoft recently engaged market research firm Vanson Bourne to survey over 3,000 small and midsize firms (SMB’s) worldwide about their use of technology and their revenues.  The result: “SMB IT and Hosted IT Index 2010.”  Jake Widman recently summarized the findings on Small Biz Resource, the essential IT blog for small businesses.  You can see his article here - http://bit.ly/b3pPmH

The Good News

• 52% of all respondents increased revenues in 2009 (compared to only 39% in 2008)
• Nearly twice as many SMBs who view IT as “critical” versus companies who view IT as merely “complimentary” saw increases greater than 30%

The WOW News

• 70% of SMB’s who reported that IT “complements our business but is by no means essential” saw revenues stagnate or decrease.
• Only 40% of SMB’s who view IT as “critical” saw the same trends.

Proof is in the Pudding

I’m not surprised.  We, unfortunately, saw a couple of clients close in 2009.  They were both firms who viewed technology more as a piece of office equipment than as a productivity or business tool. 

We also saw several companies grow, even add employees, in 2009.  They are all in our Business Care programs - most at either the SELECT or COMPLETE level. 

As much as I’d like to say that our expert proactive approach to maintaining their systems caused their growth, I know it’s not the case.  Rather, it was the owners’ approach to business that made their success possible. 

Do you share their vision?

• Focus on the strategic decisions
• Ensure products/services are delivered professionally and reliably
• Minimize time employees spend preforming activities not core to their job description
• Keep cash flow predictable and overall expenses in check

It used to be that only retail stores and restaurants accepted credit cards.  My how times have changed.  Now, you can pay just about everyone - from your plumber to your attorney - with a credit card.   

Do you accept credit cards? 

With the added convenience of rapid payment comes the additional responsibility to maintain the security of your clients’ information.  The rules governing the credit card world are known as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard. 

What are the rules? 

Companies who accept credit cards must adhere to the following rules:  Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect data.

We’ve addressed this before and have decided it’s worth repeating.  You NEED to use strong passwords.   

Don’t Believe Me?  

In December, a security breach at RockYou resulted in a list of 32 million passwords being posted online for the world to see.  Haven’t heard of RockYou?  They develop a lot of the software applications that run on FaceBook and MySpace.  What’s really scary is that analysts scoured the list and determined that the most commonly used passwords are quite simple - and easy to guess.  Check out this New York Times article to learn more - If Your Password is 123456, Just Make It HackMe.  

So What’s a Secure Password?  

A password is considered complex if it meets the following minimum requirements:

• It is at least six characters in length.
• It contains characters from three out of the following four categories:
  • Uppercase English characters (A through Z)
  • Lowercase English characters (a through z)
  • Base 10 digits (0 through 9)
  • Non-alphabetic characters (for example, !, $, #, %)

And they’re off!

What a busy start to 2010!  It’s almost as though the country gave up on 2009 about half-way through and everyone is now getting back in the game, ready to win.  I’m certainly glad to see it.  There is still a lot of uncertainty around the economy, government, etc.  However, we can choose to make this a great year.  It’s not too late - care to join us?

We are starting the year by celebrating our anniversary.  True, we have been taking care of our clients since 1998.  However, The HelpDesk Company as we know and love it today officially began on February 1, 2004. Six years ago!  What a ride it’s been for the Todd and me.  Thank you for making it possible.

I am pleased to announce that as we celebrate another year of partnering with our clients, The HelpDesk Company is continuing to grow!  Please join us in welcoming our newest clients.   

• Biegler & Associates
• RF&P Richmond Federal Credit Union

 We’re thrilled to be working with you!

As many of you know, we are a strong supporter of and believer in the local business news resource, RichmondBizSense.com.  Today’s guest opinion is a perfect example of why.  Local business owner, Mark Smith (Midas), did an incredible job addressing the three ways businesses and non-profit organizations can grow - new clients, client retention and process improvement - and the importance of doing all three.  It’s a great read for anyone looking to grow/strengthen their organization (you can read it here).

Although all are important, I’ve found that it’s hard to truly focus on all three at once - and be successful.  I recall a study (from Harvard?) that indicated a success rate around 90% when a single goal is pursued.  Adding a second goal to the mix drops the likelihood of achieving either of them down to about 65%, and a third drops it to just over 30%.  I’m not a betting person, but even I know which odds are best.

I recommend evaluating the current state of each growth option in your business.  Then, strengthen the weakest first before tackling the next.  Have great clients who consistently come back, internal processes that consistently deliver quality results, and few new clients?  Focus your time & energy (and money) on increasing your new client base.  Once you find that you are attracting new clients consistently, go back and look at your client retention and internal processes.  Find that all clients (new and old) are returning at the same rate, but your internal processes are starting to falter?  It’s time for process improvement. 

It’s an ongoing cycle of process improvement that will strengthen your business (or non-profit) while still maintaining balance.

What area are you focusing on now?

We all “go online” - most of us on a daily basis.  Often for work and even more often for fun - from social media to games to shopping.  Just like we tell our kids, it’s all fun and games till someone gets hurt.Todd and I have been mentioned in a few articles recently.  The articles are from the perspective of the employer - what risks are associated with employees going online from the office - yet the advice is appropriate regardless of where you’re accessing the Internet. 

Social Media Hold Promise, Peril for Companies

“Loss of bandwidth: Bandwidth is the network’s capacity to get to the Internet. It’s like the pipe connecting your network to the outside world. The larger the bandwidth, the faster the connection. The big eaters of bandwidth: photos and videos.

‘They are really hogging that pipeline,’ said Jennifer Whitlock, co-owner of The Help Desk Co. in Richmond. ‘They’re slowing it down.’ “

ALEXA WELCH EDLUND / TIMES-DISPATCH

Protect Yourself While Shopping on Cyber Monday

“Don’t save login or password information on your browser or use programs that automatically fill in information, such as name, address and credit card info, said Todd Whitlock, co-owner of The Help Desk Co. in Richmond.

‘Sometimes malicious code can get on someone’s computer and look for these nuggets of info and transfer that info out of their computer,’ he said.”

HATLEY MASON/TIMES-DISPATCH