The Power of Prayer - Business Owner's Edition

Foggy future? Read on...

I don't admit this often, but sometimes money is tight.

I imagine some of you out there reading this can relate. =)

But something magical happened to me a while back, the story of which I'd like to relate to you. In telling you this, I am opening up a part of me that I do not share with the world very often, mainly because it brings up raw feelings of childhood. But since what happened in the scope of this story is so amazing, I had to share it with anyone that might benefit from it, and possibly allow it to enrich their lives.

(As a disclaimer, I nor my Family was ever seriously impoverished, but we had to struggle to make ends meet. There are people that suffer much worse than I did. In comparison, I was the equivalent of a spoiled brat. Just sayin so this story is in the right context.)

So here we go.

A while back I had a serious cash flow problem in my business. I wouldn't necessarily call it a product of the recession, since I try not to pay attention to that. But I had several bills that were increasingly overdue, and needed to be paid or else the whole setup of dominos would fall over in one cataclysmic kersplat. You get my point.

Account receivables were pretty bad. I'm sure you know the feeling when business is flat, but the expenses just keep on coming in like a tidal wave. It is a feeling that is like few others, for me a mix of frustrated, paralyzed and resentful that could easily cause some to just give up and let it all go to poo. Yes, poo.

This one week I had to raise several thousand dollars in a single day. Nothing was really happening that day thus far. It was all quiet, and I was all at the end of my rope. My chest was so tight I thought my heart was going to explode inside of it. I needed to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I needed it fast. I did have one appointment though...

So a potential client came in to do his scheduled appointment for an initial consultation on his website. It wasn't a signed project, and I didn't expect it to be a big, profitable project. However I did see it as a possible starting point to the rest of the day. If I got through this and it went well, perhaps I could generate some internal momentum to get some things done that would at least save me from total disaster. At this point, partial disaster would be just lovely.

I should also side-note to you that although I am no Saint, I do have a pretty cool Faith in God. Not Bible thumping, but I try to pray each day in a Spirit of being thankful, ask for a blessing before meals, and on occasion read some Scriptures. (GenXers and GenYers: Check out the version of the Bible called "The Message". It is plain English, down to Earth, and sometimes kind of funny. Wikipedia explanation here.) I know it's annoying for most, so I keep it pretty low-key (my friends to tend to bust my chops, but it's all good) I also do believe in miracles, but recognize that those huge "parting of the Red Sea" ones don't really show up too often, like every millenia or something. But perhaps little small, tweaking, unnoticeable "nice, thank you God for the bird that is singing in the window this morning" miracles can and do happen. They are just much more personal.

Anyway, so just before the appointment began, I got down on one knee in my home office, and opened up a quick dialogue with God. I basically said, "God...I need help. I'm on my last thread of Hope. Please - whatever you can do...would be awesome." Note the lack of Hail Mary recitals.

This pic chosen because he
has long hair and he looks cool.

As I closed the prayer, I happened to remember a lyric from a U2 song: "If you wanna kiss the sky, better learn how to to kneel. (On your knees boy)". And at that moment, it gave me some serious comfort, which was counter to the situation at hand. Nothing in the physical realm had actually changed. I was still deeply in short-term debt, and I needed something to happen. But I definitely felt different, as if a weight had been lifted from me. My chest felt a little more relaxed, and I was comfortable enough to do the appointment without feeling the need to close or pressure the client in any way shape or form. (By the way, that high pressure crap doesn't work. Here's why.)

So I went and did the appointment with the potential. Everything actually worked out fairly well with the consultation, and the client was ready to initiate. So I wrote up a contract and set up the terms, which are typically 2/3 at inception and 1/3 at website launch, plus any additional work done that is requested. I proceeded to explain all details of the contract to the person, and he opens his wallet and asks, "Do you mind if I pay you cash up front for the entire thing?"

(Every business owner that accepts checks or credit cards knows that there is a small waiting period when you deposit checks or process cards, ranging from 1-4 days.)

I was flabbergasted. Although this wasn't the entire amount of what I needed to raise, it definitely got things moving in the right direction. Thankfully I was able to maintain external composure and said, "Sure that would be fine. Thank you and I will generate a receipt for you." My original instinct was to cry and hug him, but um, that might not bode well for the client's confidence in getting the project done effectively.

I relate this story because I have a feeling I'm not the only one who has experienced something magical like that happen. If you are a businessperson, or even a person that has to deal with income and expenses a lot, you probably have had a few times where you didn't know how things were going to work out. Somehow, as you look back, was it as bad as you anticipated it would be? Did you hope for some resolution to the problem? Did something cool happen? I hope.

The rest of the day - as well as the week - went quite well. I was able to generate enough money to take care of the most immediate concerns, and the rest I was able to effectively renegotiate for more time, because by that point my belief in one single idea had become more powerful than all the fear I had experienced before. My belief in that single idea helped to "tweak" the physical world, but more importantly it helped to change my outlook on what was going on in the present, and what could possibly happen in the future. It was such a simple idea, but I had to embrace it again for the first time like a little boy that somehow knows without being told what it is. And it is an idea that I hope that will help you in your Earthly travels, especially when you are ready to give up on your last glimmer of hope. It's a very comforting idea...

God is watching. =)

LinkedIn 201 Workshop - Saturday Nov 12, at 2 pm

Our second LinkedIn Seminar will be at the Haverstraw Library this Saturday November 12, from 2 to 5 pm. Last week we had our first annual workshop on this topic, and went into the basics of creating a profile, filling out your profile, connecting with your business associates, and joining groups. (Please click here to download the PDF file for LinkedIn 101.)

This week we will be looking at the various applications that you can use through LinkedIn, such as Box.net, Slideshare, and other useful tools. We will also cover LinkedIn mobile, to allow you access to your connections from the road, as well as further discussing the psychology of posting to your profile.

Closer to God...through technology?

A good friend and business associate of mine recently started creating podcasts of individual chapters of the Bible, and posts them at his website scriptures.podbean.com. I must say, he has a great voice for reading out loud. Everything is very clear to understand and enjoyable to hear...not an easy feat to say the least.
It also prompts an interesting phenomenon in our culture today, the use of technology to give and receive Religious and Spiritual messages. I find it very encouraging that people are using computers, phones, websites and more to stay close to God, regardless of Religious affiliation.
I'm no Saint. I have done my fair share of stupidity during my existence thus far, and I'm sure that I'll do more. But cool this like my friend's website help me to stay on target with the fundamental (not fundamentalIST, mind you) beliefs that I grew up with as a kid: 1. Believe in God 2. Obey God. Simple as that. The rest is training.
Here are some other things I use to stay on the Path:
+ RSS Feeds: I can keep up to date with my friends podcast, right from my phone.
+ YouVersion: Mobile Bible App you can download for your iPhone or Android device.
+ Facebook: There's a few good people that I've friended that update their statuses with Spiritual messages. Always good to see them amongst the 8000 messages about people doing laundry and some think our country sucks and blah blah.
+ Email subscriptions: I subscribe to some nice websites, like Tres Dias, Guideposts.
Again I must emphasize that I'm nobody special, and this post isn't intended to brag or push anyone. However it is to let you know that if you do have a basic belief in God (or even if you just feel the presence of a Higher Power...), and you want to stay reminded of that Faith, Presence, or stay on your rightly guided Path, consider using one or more of the tools described as above.

Wordpress 101 Whitepaper Available for Download

For all of you who came to the Rockland Web Design Wordpress Seminar, we thank you. =)

In conjunction with our free seminar at the Haverstraw Public Library on September 17, 2011 at 2 pm, we have created a 38-page presentation which will act as a supplement to all the cool stuff we'll be talking about in the seminar.

You can download the Wordpress 101 guide here.

Stay tuned for more of our seminars. You can view some upcoming seminars by going to Rockland Web Design's site here. Also, if you have suggestions for other seminars, please let us know by calling us at (845) 877-7333.

Quick blog post: Our Freebie Website offering for new businesses is gaining rapid steam! If you need more information on this great package for startup businesses with a very very small budget (nothing wrong with that, we've all been there), give us a call at (845) 877-7333.

Twitter: The Almost-Forgotten Social Network

In between all the buzz about Facebook going IPO next year, LinkedIn gone public this year, and Google launching a new Social Network called Google+, we've nearly forgotten about our little friend Twitter.

Nearly.

Slowly but surely, over the past few years I have been following people here and there via @rocklandweb, primarily for entertainment purposes such as @DeathStarPR, @DanielTosh, and other funny users. But I also follow up on how Rockland Web Design's clients are growing and building their respective businesses. Primarily I do this using my laptop, but every once in a while I'll follow someone via mobile updates. Today I followed HP's Social Media exec brynaatp to see if I could get a hold of one of those tasty $99 HP Touchpads. So if Bryna posts at 3 am that they are getting a shipment in at 4 am that morning, I'm right on it!

For those of you that don't tweet via your mobile device but might have an interest, below are some really really easy ways to do so. Mind you, you do not have to follow everyone via your mobile, only specific people! This makes things a little more manageable.

You can find more information on using devices with Twitter here.

Twitter commands

Do more than Tweet! Send these commands to Twitter:

FOLLOW username

Start following a user

UNFOLLOW username

Stop following a user

ON/OFF

Turn all Tweet notifications on or off

ON/OFF username

Set Tweet notifications for a user on or off (you'll still be following them even if you set it to off)

GET username

Shows you the latest tweet from any user

RT username

Retweet a user's latest tweet

FAV username

Favorite a user's latest tweet

D username your-message

Send a direct message to a user

The @Font-Face Lift - An Easy Way to Pretty Up Your Website

I don't know about you, but if I see one more website with an Arial or a Times New Roman font, I'm going to deeply stick a razor into the biggest vein on my arm.

Not that I don't find them useful. For many years, Arial and Times New Roman were the de facto standards for "web-safe fonts", which is a fancy way of saying that these were fonts

that would show up on pretty much any browser no matter what you're using: Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer (or as we call that last one - the scourge of mankind that will not die). You could be in Yemen, on a foreign browser created by a Taliban warlord that just harvested and tested opium poppy seeds, and yup...Arial or Times New Roman!

Then there were a few fallback fonts: there was Verdana, which always sounded like a classier font, but the truth is that it is simply a fatter Arial. So if you ever

read a Verdana font that says "do i look fat??" respond back immediately with a vehement "of course not, sweetie."

Comic Sans: Honestly, my favorite font. I always thought it went well with our cartoon logo. But of course, it is cartoonish. So it might not be the best font for, say...a funeral home. You don't wanna go to find out when your loved one's services are about to transpire at Wally's Wild Water World .com or something. Go bury your loved one and get 15% off the mega water slide.

I'm probably getting a little irreverent at this point so I'll say for the record now;

I apologize if I have offended anyone. But I am pretty stoked about something I just saw on one of our client's blogs, which is a completely new font! You can see it here: www.vacationonyourmind.com. BTW Rockland Web Design can't take credit for that one,

Kathi Handt has a very talented relative that was able to set it up that way in her Blogger account, which unbeknownst to me is a new setting in the system. When I heard about this I checked it out and changed my own blog font.

So a little background just in case you are getting confused why this wasn't able to happen in years past: Every computer (including the one you are on) has a set of fonts installed inside. Then, when that computer goes to a website, the page that shows up tells the computer what font to use to display the text on the page. The problem of course, occurs when a certain font (such as Futura, Gothic or Amazing Grace) is not installed on a computer. Then all that shows up is nothing, or in most cases the backup font. Guess what that is? Yup, Arial or Times. Ugh.

What changed? A seldom-used technique called @font-face. I won't bore you with details, but essentially it makes the font in question hang out on the website, and when somebody goes to the aforementioned website, the pages will temporarily install that font on the computer that is being used. Pretty simple, huh? Unfortunately, few people used it up until now.

But designers are starting to catch on. And when something reaches a critical mass and starts getting used more, it reduces the cost needed to install on a website. This means that now, if you have a website, you can probably have an @font-face setup installed for just a few hours of work from your friendly neighborhood Spiderman (um, web designer). Wallah! Instantly, your website looks a little less vanilla, a little sexier, and more likely to attract people to stick around.

The reason why you want to do this is that it is a very easy way to change your entire website with very little effort. And when you change, update and modify your website often, it is a great way to have your customers coming back for more! Aesthetics definitely count, and if you pay attention to them, you won't end up with yet another customer leaving because he subconsciously got turned off by a fat arial. Rather, he (or she) will stick around - Amazing Grace is on the screen, and it is quite the bedazzling @font-face, one which certainly encourages a few extra clicks over to the shopping cart, contact form, or phone to give a buzz.

The Meaning of Customer Service

You know, for many years I have heard people boast about "customer service" in their business being the thing that sets them apart. And I always thought that something like that should be pretty freaking Captain Obvious. But I'd like to share with you a story that will open your eyes a bit; it certainly has done so for me...

A few weeks ago I dropped into The Chuggin Rhino after work for a well-deserved drink. (They are located on the corner of route 45 and 202 in Pomona, just down the block from the Rockland Boulders Stadium)

I sat down at a table by myself, and the waitress promptly came over to take my order. I ordered my usual Sam Adams draft and a burger that is the size of a small country. (I've had them before at the Chug...they're good.)

Anyway after a few minutes I got kind of restless and wanted to read the newspaper. I asked the waitress if she had one in the back, and she said "Let me go check." A minute later she asked which one I wanted, and I said the Journal News. Then she was gone for about 5 minutes...

When she returned, she gave me what looked like a new newspaper. So I asked her "Did you go out and buy this?" She said yes. I was astounded - later I asked her why she did this, and she said that the owner, John Rodriguez has always emphasized making the customers feel as comfortable as possible. She also said that she knows that some customers don't always feel like talking to other patrons and there is usually a newspaper there. On this day, it seems someone discarded it already, so she went out and got a fresh one for me. (She also joked with a wink that she knows it increases her tip. She was very right and deservedly so!) I thanked her for being so courteous.

A few minutes later, I went outside to make a phone call. When I returned, I noticed that the burger I was eating was gone. Before I could ask questions, a waiter came back with it, put it on the table again, and explained that he put it under a heat lamp to keep it warm, while I was outside making my call!

Wow.

I'll tell you this: From this experience alone I have recommitted to the practice of giving good customer service for everyone who needs work from Rockland Web Design. For many years, I focused on various elements of building the foundation of the business: marketing, design process, seo, social media, administration, infrastructure, and a whole lot of other things that segment my time. And a lot of it involves numbers, numbers numbers.

But I've come to realize that numbers alone do not make a successful business. Everyone that encounters us has to come away from the experience with that same "wow" that I got at the Chuggin Rhino that day. They should all be smiling like they just got the best...burger of their life!

I won't be following up with a post on how we pride ourselves on customer service. I just hope we simply perform more acts in the future that allow us to continually improve, and be able to smile at our customers when they thank us at the end, responding with a "...no worries, hope to see you again soon."

I hope you do the same in your business. Especially if your business prides itself on customer service.

Wordpress 101 Whitepaper Available for Download

For anyone who wants to use Wordpress to better promote their online business, we've created the de-facto guide for using it!

In conjunction with our free seminar at the Haverstraw Public Library on July 28, 2011 at 3 pm, we have created a 38-page presentation which will act as a supplement to all the cool stuff we'll be talking about in the seminar.

You can download the Wordpress 101 guide here.

Stay tuned for more of our seminars. You can view some upcoming seminars by going to Rockland Web Design's site here. Also, if you have suggestions for other seminars, please let us know by calling us at (845) 877-7333.

9 Ways to Spot an Email Virus or Dangerous Attachment

I just got a great email question from my friend David Reinhardsen of Hudson Photo Works. In it, he was trying to figure out if a chain letter email he got was legitimate. The text that was passed along read like this:

...You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail titled "Here you have it" If you open the file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful....Subsequently, you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your Name, e-mail and password...

I responded that a good way to check if an email chain is valid would be to verify using snopes.com. They are a good independent source to determine if you're getting your leg pulled, or worse yet - something else. :-)

In this particular case, the chain email was indeed a hoax, as verified here: http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/lifeisbeautiful.asp

However it's always good to be safe rather than sorry. Generally it is a good idea to be careful of attachments and web links from strange places. When you get an email from someone, if there is an attachment or a link in the email, pay close attention to the following (color coded for your viewing pleasure):


1. Is the item addressed just to you, or to many, many people?
2. Is the link or attachment's contents clearly explained?
3. Were you expecting something from that person?

4. Do you know the person who emailed you?
5. Is the link or attachment's contents clearly explained?

6. Is the text of the email very vague, like "Check this out"
7. Is the text misspelled like it was done by a 1st grader?

8. Is the file attached an executable file (does it have a .exe. extension)
9. If you put your mouse over the link, does the address it shows look like a really, really weird link, like xdflihsefon.ne.efg.gu? (That's just an example)

The darker the color on the numbered items above, the more likely the danger. Items 8 and 9 are very dangerous!

If one or more of these things occur, stop before you open up the link or attachment. in that case, the best practice is to contact that individual (call or a new email - not reply back) and find out what is going on with that attachment.

As always, try to use your gut instinct.