Systems

I am a fan of anything that brings people together and few communities are as strong as the open source community. These people work hard to bring quality, earth-changing products to you and me.

I am also a big fan of increased security, greater user control, system flexibility and fantastic prices.

My latest open source infatuation is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a flavor of Linux that is incredibly user friendly.

I used to dabble in Linux though it has been several years since I actually did any installs myself. Putting Ubuntu on my new laptop took less than an hour including downloading the free software, reading the directions, moving my Windows partition to make room and getting it all installed and running.

On this laptop I’m trying an experiment to see just how far open source has come. I do have a Windows XP partition just in case but even that only uses the commercial software for the operating system. The rest is all open source including OpenOffice, Thunderbird (for Win) and Evolution (for Ubuntu).

For the record, OpenOffice works even better than expected, especially Calc (their version of Excel) and Presentation (PowerPoint) looks amazing! I’m also particularly impressed with the robust features of Evolution.

Like you, I am an incredibly busy person. This transition has been easy and even… fun! In fact, I’m already thinking about setting up a server so I can get even more functionality from Evolution like an online calendar.

Total cost so far: $0

Total time: 2 hours (1 hour to install and a second hour to configure various programs)

If you are a small to medium sized business looking for ways to make life easier and reduce expenses (like the one where you have to track all your licenses!), there is probably a flavor of Linux out there waiting for you. Or, if you are unsure about the process go ahead and contact me. I’ll be happy to discuss my experience and offer suggestions for your situation.

Simple will sink in.

Simple will be read.

Simple will be understood.

Simple will be remembered.

Simple will be used.

Simple will be purchased.

Making things simple can be the hardest work there is to do! And the most rewarding.

Apply simple to everything from company memos to systems to the products you sell and see how powerful simple can be.

It is smart business to track everything. Especially the flow of money. I hate accounting. But I love the information accounting reveals.

How much does it cost, really? What is our profit margin? How much does [random customer] owe us? Only accounting can answer these questions. (And many, many more.)

I get memorized by general ledgers, P&L statements and projections analysis. I hate to do the work. I love to reap the benefits.

It is important to have a love affair with good accounting information in your business. And because of this, it is easy to fall into the Accounting Trap - that place where creativity and innovation die because the intangibles just don’t match the “bottom line”.

Words like “brand” and “experience” and “passion” look out of place on a general ledger. So they rarely find their (rightful) place there. And that is the Accounting Trap.

Accounting can be used as a limiter or an enabler. The trap is when accounting is used to show how you can’t instead of revealing what needs to happen so you can.

The best (only?) way to avoid the Accounting Trap is to remember that those numbers only show what was… Not what could be!

PS. If your accountant is constantly impeding your efforts to move your company up fire them and get one that will show you how projections can be used to help your efforts.

Years ago I worked at an art gallery while attending school. My major bounced between business and art so running a gallery was a good fit. I even got to work on my homework when it was slow.

Most of the business at this gallery came from custom framing. The owner, Miya, was brilliant. She had people driving in from all over the Sacramento area to work with her in Folsom. She even had customers from the Bay Area - a 2 hour drive!

Miya taught me how to do what she did. There was a lot to it, but the most important thing about custom framing is that when it is done right, nobody notices.

A frame should guide the viewer’s eye into the picture.

If the first thing someone says when they see your art, carefully hung on the walls is, “what a great frame” there is a problem! They should say, “great picture!” (or painting).

Business Design is similar. When your business is well designed, the customer does not notice the process. They are naturally led to the finished product. The result.

Where do your “extras” distract from the sale? Where does your process interrupt a smooth experience? Debugging your systems can save you thousands of dollars and earn committed repeat business.

The proof is that within a few months I had customers driving 2 or more hours to come work with me! You can too.