Aug 27

Total Cost of Ownership: PC versus Mac

8 Operations, 9 Finance, Apple, Entrepreneur, Hardware, Information, Mac, Planning, Startups, Tips, software No Comments »

As an entrepreneur using a Mac I, like anyone else, tries to control costs of my business. One of the factors in my business is the cost of my Mac. Most PC users point out that they can get cheaper PCs than Macs and therefore Macs are more expensive. While there is some truth to that matter, let’s find out where the costs lie in their argument.

There is a term called Total Cost of Ownership that tries to quantify the total cost of owning and running something, whether it be a car, truck, SUV, or even a computer. So what goes into owning a computer for a business? From strictly the computer perspective there are four areas that part of using a computer:

  1. Cost of hardware – The computer itself, peripherals, cables, etc.
  2. Cost of software – Licensing.
  3. Cost of installation and configuration – How long does it take to install and configure your computer to where you are being productive.
  4. Cost of training, use, and maintenance for three to five years of use – Here is where most people get lost in quantifying their costs because they don’t measure this affect on a user or users.

In my book, “How to Start a Business: Mac Version” I go into more detail in Chapter 2 about these above issues and show additional ones that most businesses need to know and understand that affect the costs of using a computer as a business owner: The Total Cost of Ownership.

To be accurate, the PC users do win the argument “out of the gate” that they are cheaper than a Mac. I grant that to them. But, and this is a big but, what else are PC users not telling you?

So how does a PC stand up to a Mac in Total Cost of Ownership? First, read my friend Mitch Rushing’s OpenSurge blog post “In Mac vs PC cost comparison – Downtime Statistics Key” about how these numbers figure out for Windows vs Windows and then Windows vs Mac.

I’ll let you read the results, but Macs win!

What are your thoughts?

Aug 23

Importing csv, LDIF, tab-delimited files into Mac Address Book

Mac, Tips, Tools, software No Comments »

As an entrepreneur on a Mac I recently received over 700 contacts to add to my contact database in Address Book, but they were not in the usual vCard format that it likes to take natively. So, I had to see what it takes to get it done.

After reading a few sites I found that Address Book takes csv (comma-separated value), LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format), and tab-delimited files under the File > Import menu function.

However, there are some steps that need to be done before you embark on a one step process.

  1. Ensure your data is up-to-date. Make sure that the data you’re exporting to Address Book is up-to-date.
  2. Export the contact data. From the File > Save As… function of a spreadsheet  or File > Export  in most database programs, export the data into a file. Export the contact names into one of the three formats that Address Book takes: csv (comma separated value), tab-delimited, or LDIF.
  3. Verify the contact data. When you get an exported file you need to check the field names in the headers against the ones Address Book uses. Address Book has the names of the fields, such as “work address” or “cell phone,” that might be different from the exported file headers (a spreadsheet row) where it might say “business address” or “mobile phone.” Whatever the case, open the file in a spreadsheet and make the necessary changes in the header row to reflect what Address Book has. Otherwise, your data will not import completely or correctly. Also, delete all other rows or data records that are not needed.
  4. Add a Note for Address  Book now. When importing a number of contacts it is best to add a note in the Notes section for Address Book and you to remember, such as where and when you got the data from. Add a column in the spreadsheet titles “Note” and add the short note such as “Joe’s data, 08/15/10″ and repeat it for all of the rows.
  5. Save the file as csv or tab-delimited. Once you have checked your data and added a note you can save the file.
  6. Open Address Book and import. Now you need to open Address Book and go to File > Import and select the file to import.
  7. Check field names. Here is where you line up Address Book’s field names with the header of the file to ensure that they are the same. The address field is the only field that has multiple fields of “street,” “State,” and “Zip” for “home” or “work” address. If your fields do not show up correctly, repeat step 3 above. Also go through some of your records to double check your work.
  8. Click OK. Clicking on the OK button will now import your contacts.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions you’d like to have answered.

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Aug 18

Quotes about questions

Information, Thoughts, Tips, ideas No Comments »

As an entrepreneur and Mac user I regularly get asked questions, but it was not until I took at look at a handout list of questions that I began to think about the questions themselves. So here is a list of quote about questions that just might get you to thinking.

  • A timid question will always receive a confident answer. Lord Darling
  • To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science. Albert Einstein
  • Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. Voltaire
  • You see things; and you say, “Why”; But I dream things that never were; and I say, “Why not?” Karl Bismarck
  • It is not every question that deserves an answer. Syrus (Publilius Syrus)
  • Every clarification breeds new questions. Arthur Bloch
  • A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. Francis Bacon
  • The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions. Anthony Jay
  • You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions. Naquib  Mahfouz
  • Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing. Engineer’s Motto
  • Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. Anthony Robbins
  • No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions. Charles Steinmetz
  • To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask? Jim Rohn
  • Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new. Og Mandino

The event that I attended speaker had arranged the questions on the handout so that the answer of each one built onto the next one. Much like building a house, you start with the foundation. And each subsequent question was essential to getting stuff done.

If you don’t ask, you won’t get an answer.

What are your questions?

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Aug 16

The Goose that laid the Golden Egg, how it applies to business

1 Business Idea, Business, Information, Startups, Thoughts, Tips, ideas No Comments »

As an entrepreneur using his Mac I can find many ways of learning new ideas. In the story about the Goose that laid the Golden Egg I find that I can apply it toward business.

As the story goes, the goose that lays the golden egg the owners get too greedy and decide to kill it to get at the gold, like right now. Problem is, they killed the opportunity for the goose to keep producing the golden eggs, and therefore their future chance of every getting any more gold.

There’s two other sides to the story that proceed this, the greed of those that want to get at the gold before “it’s time” and kill the goose. First, what about another goose owner that does NOT kill the goose and keeps earning a living from the goose as it lays the eggs? These owners reap at the level of production that goose can produce. They feed it and take care of it and allow the goose to produce at it’s pace. No more, no less than the goose can. Smart business owners here.

Second, but what about the owners that are so enamored with the golden egg they don’t see the source of the golden egg? The goose! They go spend the money from the egg on their immediate needs and wants and actually forget about the goose. Have you ever seen someone act like this?

I recently had someone ask me for a FREE copy of my book How to Start a Business: Mac Version so they could start a business with their Mac. I ask them that if they could find three people that will buy my book I’d give them a copy of my book as a commission for their work. They balked at this!

As I have seen in the past, if I had given them a free copy some would walk off with nary a “Thank You” or a positive response of any sort to someone generosity. You can see this in the “entitlement” or “I want something for nothing” crowd. They’d take the golden egg and vamoose. They’d forget about the goose that lays the golden egg completely.

You see this when you help others and don’t receive anything “in kind” back. Not that I’m expecting it, but it says a lot about the type of business people they are.

These are not business people, they’re freeloaders.

How do you see this story playing out in your world?

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Aug 09

iWork magazine templates: either time or money

1 Business Idea, 5 Marketing, 7 Sales, Creativity, Startups, Tips, Tools, ideas No Comments »

As an entrepreneur you either have time or have money, but usually not both. Later on you’ll trade time for money by allowing others to do things they are better at than you are to free you up to do what you do best. But in the beginning if you don’t have the money then you have to do things yourself. But how can you save yourself time and money? Let’s take a look.

First, in creating marketing materials such as a newsletter for your clients or customers you can use Apple’s iWork to create some good looking documents. However, sometimes you need some fresh ideas.

You can take a look at Brad Gosse’s magazine templates and purchase them and make the adjustments you need and then create the documents. He has some great ideas and flair for this thing called marketing. Getting his templates will save you time, especially as low the price is for them.

But if you’re low on the ol’ mulla, then do what I do on occasion. I look at what Brad or any other magazine have done and try and recreate it the best I can and then add some of my own flair in it. It might take longer to do it, but I’ll learn how it’s done and get ideas for later.

If you are a true entrepreneur at first you can’t help by keeping your costs low and get ideas from others. Later on as you begin to make money you’ll save yourself time by hiring others to save you and your time.

So:

  • Get idea from others to keep your costs down
  • Hire others when you have the money so you can concentrate on your business

Now get going and create.

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Jul 28

Converting MS Publisher and other files to iWork Pages

Change, Mac, Tips, software No Comments »

Entrepreneurs that move from Windows to Mac usually have MS Office files to deal with, and to a lesser degree, MS Publisher files. Office files cross over with little to no problems, but with MS Publisher, that’s a different thing altogether. There is no easy way, until now.

Well, my wife is in real estate and she has some old files that are in MS Publisher’s .pub file format. Of course, she turns to me to see what can be done.

After much research I found a cool web site that helps out (it’s currently in beta) by converting files into various other formats. The web site is Zamzar.com and it converts a LOT of file formats.

WARNING: Converting files into various formats loses, at the very least, some of the formatting of the file, at the worst, you’ve lost some of your data and may not recover much of it directly. But, there may be workarounds.

As with any file format issue, there are six things that come play:

  1. Direct file conversion: here the file that was created in iWork Pages uses the “Save As…” menu export function to put the file into MS Word straight through with few, if any, problems.
  2. File translation: while most programs such as iWork Pages and MS Word have filters built in (under the “Save As… menu) that will translate file formats, Zamzar.com does a whole lot more translations.
  3. Work arounds: Translating files can do a good job, but somethings the translation just doesn’t quite make it. In the case of MS Publisher files converted to MS Word .doc file an iWork Pages files do not come through well enough and there are some problems. That’s where OpenOffice.org, a FREE office suite, will see the .doc files correctly allowing you to work with the elements of the file into your iWork Pages documents. Sometimes it’s a “Save As…” function, sometimes it’s a cut and paste of some of the elements.
  4. Scan and recover: Sometimes scanners have Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software that can scan a page and convert it. Just run the text through a spell checker if the document is a long one.
  5. Redo by hand: If you have a printed copy you can at least retype your document into your program, if you have one somewhere.
  6. Start from scratch: Here you begin again with a blank screen.

In my case, getting a MS Publisher file into iWork Pages I had to download Open Office, translate the file into a .doc format using Zamzar.com and then open the file in Open Office Writer program in order to access some of the elements, such as graphics, that do not come through the conversion well.

With a little luck I was able to recreate my wife’s file so she can continue her business. It may have taken some effort, but from here we can make many changes in the iWork Pages page layout part.

What are your thoughts?

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Jul 26

Creativity being killed in the US classroom?

1 Business Idea, 2 Business Planning, Creativity, Information, Thoughts, Tips, education, ideas No Comments »

As an entrepreneur you’re always looking out to solve problems, but where do we get this skill? Is creativity learned? Is it innate? How are our next generations going to solve some of our future problems?

There’s a new trend in the US school system that started in the 1990s: killing creativity. This Newsweek article “The Creativity Crisis” outlines where the US is diverging from the rest of the world in instilling kids with creativity.

Jul 19

Full Circle: A Mac Story

Entrepreneur, Small Business, Startups, Tips, ideas, software No Comments »

Today we have a guest blog post by Lena Lapper. Enjoy her Mac business entrepreneurial story.

Full Circle: A Mac Story

by Lena Ludwig Lapper

The quote and subsequent belief that “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” has probably always been a fundamental building block of the entrepreneurial community. As an entrepreneur, I recently had a full- circle experience with this notion.

I have been using a Mac since the late 1980′s but when I entered the professional marketplace in the 1990′s, I found myself employed by PC-using, Windows-loving Corporate America. My life was split between diligent PC use by day and a secret Mac life by night. The differences in performance between the computers were so vast to me that after years of this double life, I simply could not continue to work prolonged hours from a PC any longer. Fortunately, I found the courage to break away from the corporate institutions and in 1999 started my first business, free from the infested PC world.

Although I have enjoyed the freedom of using a Mac to run my business, I have had some obstacles. The main hurdle was finding affordable, Mac-friendly business planning solutions and software. While there are some nice software packages out there, none really provided me with exactly what I was needing. My profession over the past ten years, ironically, has been offering strategic business consulting to small companies.

Then, it happened.

If I am looking for this, hundreds of other Mac users are probably looking for this too! This may be a good business opportunity. I would create a business planning tool specifically for Mac. I already had all of the information required to assemble a package from my decade-long career of building business plans. My product would be a downloadable kit that works with an existing Mac application (iWork), allowing Mac users to build a professional business plan. I did it. And I setup a website and starting getting the word out – and the response was very encouraging. The message was loud and clear:

Mac users want to start businesses and they do not want to give up their Macs to do it.

The activity surrounding this new business has taken precedence over my consulting studio. Other people do want and need this product. I always knew that the Mac would play a big part in my overall business success and happiness, but I would have never guessed that developing a business built from my Mac, because I needed something for my Mac would come together like some perfect storm.

We sometimes feel desperate and anxious when we cannot find something we need. Perhaps we could take advantage of those inner signals and instead think of it as a calling; a summoning of all of the others in need of the same thing, and our job is to help find the solution.

For more information about this business planning solution for Mac, visit: ION FreshStart

****** About Lena Ludwig Lapper: Formerly an engineer and programmer, Lena started her consulting services in 1999, offering strategic and analytical business solutions to her clients. Lena is the Managing Principal at Oyster Park, LLC, ( http://www.oysterpark.com ) a business advisory studio focused on green technology, alternative energy, and sustainable product development. You can also find Lena at ION FreshStart where she helps Mac business owners by providing business planning tools. For more information visit http:// www.ionfreshstart.com or email: lena@ionfreshstart.com.

Jul 07

Fast Company article: Invincible Apple: 10 Lessons.

Apple, Thoughts, Tips No Comments »

Great article “Invincible Apple: 10 Lessons From the Coolest Company Anywhere” about what Apple does great and how to do it.

Jul 01

Marketing sabotage by entrepreneurs

5 Marketing, Business, Thoughts, Tips No Comments »

When it comes to being an entrepreneur and using a Mac you come across a number of people that don’t like Mac users. But that is beside the point.

Recently a friend received a Microsoft Publisher document in Publisher’s native file format, not as a PDF. This customer called the business and said, “I can’t read the file you sent, what program did you use?” “I sent you a MS Publisher file, why can’t you read it?”

First, for a business to come across as “why YOU can’t read” what they sent you is the WRONG answer to the question.

The customer started with, “I use a Mac and…,” and before the customer could continue the their statement the business then began to denigrate their customer as being stupid and arrogant for not having Windows and MS Publisher. “Mac users *&@+!^)(~*”

As a customer, how would you respond to such actions?

There is a hugh difference between reducing various communications avenues or channels for customers to contact you to keep your time to respond to customer concerns to a minimum, versus shutting down completely customers contacting you completely. (Having 10 different channels to communicate means you learn 10 different systems and protocols). You don’t have to have 10 different ways of customers to contact you, it is best to have one or two, but to prevent them from contacting and even working with you is bad for business.

So, if you have want customers to work with you, you need to make sure that the one communication avenue our choose is the one most available to your customers. Sending a PDF not only can be read by everyone, but it saves on the environment.

Besides, real print publishers dislike MS Publisher files that are sent to them, so get with the program and use something that your vendors and customers will enjoy, it just might bring you more business.

Like, get a Mac? Hmm?

P.S. Mac has UNIX under the hood and Postscript as it’s native printing language. All printers understand and use it.

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