Entries Tagged 'Employment' ↓

I set up my new blog, GregOnSmallBusiness.com I created it so I would have a place to share my thoughts, ideas, and comments about small business. My hope is that I can reserve SmallBuinessTransitions.com and TheRemoteControlCEO.com for the purpose for which they were created.

GregOnSmallBusiness.com will be where I try new things like Mind Mapping, discuss developments on the small business front, express my opinions, and observations.

As a long time mind mapper I was delighted to find the MindMeister online application. What follows are some observations and tips for using MindMeister Mind Map application to collaborate online.

Here is the text I exported from Mind Meister. Not quite the same. Go to this link to view a larger version.

Browser Based: The Internet is gradually becoming the new “operating system”. All you need is either Firefox or Internet Explorer web browser plus an account at mindmeister.com

• Must Be Online: Right now you have to be online to use MindMeister, I was reading in their forum and I think MindMeister has being able to work on your maps offline on their development road map.
• Cross Platform: Works in all browsers regardless of the operating system.
• Free and Pro Version: Mind Meister offers a free and a Pro (paid) version.
• No Software to Install: If you recently installed your browser you likely already have everything you need to start building Mind Maps.

Visual Collaboration: In my opinion, Mind Maps tend to appeal to visual, big picture or analytical thinkers.

• Meeting Bridge: Using a mind map within a meeting can take the focus off of a contentious issue, people, and gets everyone focused on the task at hand.
• A Visual Outline: Most every business owner I have met are big picture thinkers. They tend to see things first on a visual level. Mind mapping allows visual thinkers to get the ideas and concepts out of their heads and onto paper or the screen.
• Easy Note-taking: When I want to keep track of what people say in a meeting, I simply create a branch with their name. Then all I need to do is add a branch or a note.
• Changes Made Easy: Dragging, moving, adding, and deleting is as easy as grabbing an object with your cursor. In collaboration mode you can easily see what changes were made using a handy slider control.
• Icons Communicate: It comes with a variety of icons that you can add to help get your point across. I would like to see more icons but there is an advantage to keeping the selection limited to lessen clutter.
• Great for Brainstorming: Whenever I get stuck I turn to building a mind map. It allows me to add concepts and capture ideas that I can reorganize later.

Project/Task Management: These icons change when you click on them.

Ordered Lists

• Plans
• Actions
• Results

Track Progress

• Start
• 25% Complete
• 50% Complete
• 75% Complete
• Completed

Interactive Icons

• Arrows
• Flags
• Traffic Light
• Stop
• Caution
• Go

Sharing Options: You have three options to share your work live. You can also set up to be notified via email or twitter.

• View Mode: Invite others to view your MM without making it public.
• Public Mode: Allows you to publish your MM on the Internet and anyone in the world can view it.
• Collaboration Mode: Invite others to help you build, edit, and create a MM on any topic of your choice.
• Communication: When collaborating online, you can launch Skype from within Mindmeister to chat and discuss.
• IM Support: Twitter, Skype, E-Mail

Import: Both the free and Pro version allow you to import MIndManager or Freemind MM.
Export Functions: The Pro version provides the ability to export your MM as Freemind or MindManager files for use in the software. PND, Text, PDF are also options.

• PDF
• PNG
• Text
• Freemind
• MindManager

From the mind of Greg Balanko-Dickson, The Remote Control CEO.

I added a new widget in my sidebar, BlogRush which provides a link back to your blog for every page load. Plus when people signup from a link or my sidebar widget I get a link displayed two layers deep. You can see the video that explains how it works. A great way to get traffic and it displays relevant links to blogs similar to your own.

BlogRovR, is a reading tool that displays an auto hide window when any of the blogs you track have written something and linked to the blog you are currently reading. Works like a charm and when you decide to click a link from the auto window it opens in a new layer on top of the page you are viewing - no need to leave the page. Handy.

Anita Campbell hosted a great post titled Economic Dark Clouds and Your Business, by Tim Berry of Planning, Startups, Stories and Up and Running.

Seriously, the economic news is clustering now. As I write this, Today’s NYTimes has “4-Year Growth in Jobs Ends” and “Dow Drops 200″ combined into one story. That headline will change as the DOW changes, I assume, but these days it seems it’s likely to go down. We also have Rate of Home Foreclosures Hits Record and even what seems like good news — retail sales up — is just a silver lining.

Economic news should not scare you because as Tim says “…it’s what you do with your business that moves it up and down, not what happens in the headlines…”

Crowdsourced Opinions

I assembled a live mind map of the 12 opinions and comments from the great small business minds who have commented so far on Tim’s post this far. It is pretty enlightening, I read every comment so you don’t have to (unless you want) and linked to the comment authors too.

A few weeks ago I got a book in the mail called Hermanisms: Axioms for Business & Life.I get lots of books in the mail – far more than I have time to read, much less review.  But this book caught my eye for two reasons. First, the author included a sheet of paper with a printed blog post where he talked about discovering blogs.  He also mentioned Lisa Haneberg, a blogger I respect and whose work I read.  That got me to open the book because I recognized Lisa’s name.Second, the book starts out with the author, John L. Herman, talking about all the businesses he’s owned over the years, and how some were successful and others were failures.  It’s refreshing to read an honest assessment of what it takes to succeed — and to admit when you failed. The honesty appealed to me. That’s what kept me reading. Before I knew it, I had read half the book.The book is set up as 77 “Hermanisms” or lessons contained in short chapters.  Here’s a short excerpt from one lesson that I’ve learned the hard way myself:

Hermanism #21: Know math or no money.If you do not understand the number details of what you are trying to do, you probably won’t enjoy a big payday. Regardless of what field you’re in. *** You have to be willing to study the numbers. Know the numbers. And know what buttons to push to change the numbers if you want any money left over at the end of the month.

The author has a blog that he calls The Herman School of Business. Do check it out.Tags: hermanisms, success, business failure, business advice