Small Business Success

If You're Using a Mac, Then Here's a Great Tool to Reduce Spam

I've been using Macs for over 20 years. I could go on and on why I think so highly of them, but right now I just want to let you know of a software item that can GREATLY reduce the amount of spam you get.

It's very easy to install and use. You do a bit of "training" to let it know what's good mail on your system and what's not, but after that it is VERY powerful in getting the spam out of your life.

Click here to get more info on this item. It costs a whopping $30 and it's registered to each user so if you've got 2 or 3 (or more) Macs, you can use it on all of them. I do not receive any commission for referring this product to you and, at $30, I'd prefer the author get the full amount anyway.

This is a very, very helpful software item.

Enjoy!

Don't You Make the Same Mistake

Over the last few months, I've had to call a variety of places to get a question answered about an account or a little tech support, something along those lines. In the vast majority of these calls, I was immediately presented with the automated: "If you need help with billing, press 1; if you need tech support, press 2." Now, if it were that simple, I would NOT be writing this post today. After pressing 1 or 2 or 5 or 7, I was given another round of choices and then another and then another.

After several minutes of wading through automated, robotic, impersonal voice menus, I MIGHT get to where I wanted to go. And mind you, I wanted to get to that place fairly quickly. And, most importantly, I wanted that place to include a PERSON who would talk to me and help me quickly resolve whatever concern I had.

Now, I know these automated systems can save many companies a good deal of money, but are they really improving each company's actual bottom line? How many customers get so frustrated with the tedious menus and lack of personal attention that they just decide to go elsewhere? I'd really like to see some statistics on that. I know I've just hung up several times and made a mental note to consider an alternative to continued business with the company that I just hung up with.

I did find out one interesting trick in this whole thing. If you press 0 (zero) regardless of the menu choices you're being given, sometimes that takes you right to a live person. And here's another really interesting tidbit: sometimes you press 0 (zero) and you're told "We're sorry but we don't recognize that choice" and then you press 0 (zero) again or perhaps two more times in a row and THEN you're given a live person. I've had that work several times.

What does that tell you? That these companies are not so completely disconnected from their customers that they're willing to have an "unpublished" way of reaching a live person. I'm also thinking that it's a crazy way of doing business to KEEP your customers away from live contact with your company.

I recommend you never make the same mistake.

Recent Election Results

As I type these words, the Democrats have taken "control" of the House of Representatives and depending on the outcome of the Senate race in Virginia (awaiting voter certification) could also take over the Senate.

First of all, I'm not really sure I understand this concept of a political party having control of one of our two legislative bodies by having a "majority" of simply one more person on board from that political party. In other words, we're told that the Democrats (or the Republicans) will have control of the Senate if either party had 51 of the 100 Senators. The same idea with the House of Representatives.

But this begs the question to any sane thinking person: how does just one more person from a political party equal "control?" Are you telling us that politics in our country are so partisan and so one-sided that most (possibly all) of the key issues will simply be decided by which party is in power? Our elected leaders just aren't that locked in...are they?

Well, that was one thought I had one day after a very interesting election. But the real reason I wrote this post is to let you know that WHOEVER is in "power" in Washington or your state or your city — Democrat or Republican — it matters not to the success of your business. Yes there could be influences down the road or influences you're already experiencing, but the bottom line is and ALWAYS will be:

YOU are the one in control of the success or failure of your business.

You make the decisions to promote to whom and how much. You make the hiring decisions. You decide how to price your product or service and you know how to sell it or how to get someone under you to sell it. I could go on, but you get the picture. The moment you decide someone else or something else is responsible in ANY way for the success (or failure) of your business, to that degree someone or something else controls your business.

Anyway, I didn't want this to be super serious post after a super serious day of voting, just wanted to remind you who's in control of your show.