With the popularity of WordPress new ‘website designers’ are coming out of the woodwork.  It’s true, the WordPress CMS framework is ideal for business websites as well as easy to work with in comparison to flash and html websites. That doesn’t mean that just anyone can create a well designed, professional website  that is uniquely fit to your business.

The truth of the matter is that some of the so-called designers are totally reliant on pre-fabricated WordPress theme designs and plugins.  Don’t get me wrong, part of the beauty of WordPress lies in plugins and themes, but there should be a lot more to building your business website than adding a custom header to a theme and installing a bunch of plugins.

The Mechanics

A good WordPress website designer is going to have skills that allow them to go beyond themes and templates.  They will understand the theme they use as well as its capabilities and know how to use them to get the look and functions you need.   A really good designer should also know how to use CSS, HTML and PHP coding to do things like position elements uniquely and add functionality.  And a great WordPress designer is also going to understand the possibility of conflicts when it comes to plugins and know how to troubleshoot, find the cause of conflicts and repair a ‘broken’ website.

Eye for Design

Another skill they should possess is aptitude with graphic design.  This not only includes an eye for color, but an understanding of how those colors as well as fonts, images and other elements  effect readability and visual appeal. Just because fuchsia is a your favorite color doesn’t mean it works for your website.  A good designer won’t be shy about explaining that to you.

Marketing Savvy

They will also understand the marketing aspects of your website , including SEO, and will be able to utilize the great SEO friendly tools inherent in WordPress and put them to work for you.  While you shouldn’t expect your designer to be an SEO guru, they should be knowledgeable and able to add descriptions, keywords and meta to get your site found on Google and the rest with no ‘black hat’ tactics.

Copywriting Skills

Have you ever landed on one of those web pages where there was so much to read that you just clicked away?  Or maybe the wording was too technical or clumsy leaving you less than impressed?  A good web designer may not need to be a copywriting genius, but they should have stellar language skills and an understanding of what makes good web copy.  They should also know how to format it so that your message is eye catching and makes you want to find out more by exploring the other areas of your website.

Graphics Capable

What about images?  Your designer may not need to be a graphic designer by trade, but they do need to know how to create and modify images for the web.  They will know that rather than resizing large images on your pages, smaller versions should be created or the bloated images will affect your page load time.  They will also use purchased stock images, not just images they find through Google image search, keeping you free of copyright infringement problems.

Tutoring & Advice

A great website designer will also be able to consult with you about the elements that may or may not work for your website. And since the beauty of WordPress is giving you the ability to make changes to website copy easily or post to an included blog they should also be able to give you clear instruction on how to do so.  This is an aspect that even html and flash designers never had to consider, but a WordPress designer should either be able to direct you somewhere that does a great job of teaching these things  or provide the tutoring themselves.

 Regardless of how ‘easy’ creating with WordPress may be you will still want to be cautious about just whom you are paying to create that site.  You’re paying for a professional business website, you want to be sure the person creating it for you is capable of producing one.

It’s a rare occurrence when reading an article about a city budget makes me sad, but it happened just a few moments ago.  The article discussed how the City of Hickory, NC proposed offering early retirement to 84 of their employees. Reading the details of what would be offered in exchange for taking the early retirement deal didn’t really strike me as a wonderful option for those 84 people., especially in the current economy.  But that wasn’t what made me sad, it was the following quote:

Wood admitted that Hickory would lose a lot of experience if the eligible employees opt to retire and that their younger replacements would make less money. But, he said, the city could use the payroll savings.

How tragic is it that the City of Hickory is willing to sell out their experienced workers, workers who probably have created relationships with the people they serve, in exchange for saving money.  And that made me wonder, “Could some of those people provide the same high quality, experienced services virtually and still save the city money?”  It’s a hard one to call not knowing just what positions these workers are in.  Some positions do require in office personnel, but it’s possible that some don’t.

So how would a city government or any other type of business determine how they could adopt virtual services to save money? 

There are two options to consider.  The first is to keep the worker as an employee but turn the position into a telecommuting position.  The second is to offer that worker the option of starting their own business as a virtual professional, allowing them to not only provide needed services to them but also to other businesses that may benefit from their expertise.  There are money saving pros to both.

If your employee or employees are sitting at their computers all day, making and taking phone calls, working on documents, data input and other tasks that are computer based with little to no public interaction in person they are a good candidate for either choice.  Once this has been determined it comes down to deciding which option works best for the situation. And don’t use filing as an excuse to ‘need’ an in-office worker,  if you haven’t moved to an electronic files system it’s high time you did. Even the medical field, infamous for paperwork, is transitioning  to electronic files.

Converting an in-office worker to a telecommuting employee saves money by reducing overhead costs.   Maybe you don’t need that huge office space, running lights, computers, air conditioning/heating all day.  You’ll also save money on lost time due to sick children or bad weather.  Many in-office employees are even willing to take a small reduction in pay due to the fact that they are saving money on transportation, work attire and other related expenses.  In fact many view the benefit of being able to work from home as worth a small pay cut.

The second option is more extreme, but can save a business even more.  Offering the employee the option to strike off on their own as a virtual professional  and then sub-contracting them to do the same tasks they are currently providing as an employee.  This option will require the current employee to open their own service based business, but it is generally a very low cost start-up and you could offer to help them get started.  Most employees are going to have the equipment needed at home already, a computer, an internet connection and a phone.  You will need to be prepared to pay a higher hourly rate, but remember, you won’t be paying taxes, insurance  or benefits because they will no longer be an employee.  In fact you can go here to see just how much it can save you. You will also need to be a hands-off type of person, meaning that you won’t be able to dictate the exact details of how the work gets done.  But should that really matter as long as the work is done and done well? After all, you don’t tell your attorney how to draft your legal documents right?  And since this person has already worked for you, they certainly already know how to do the job well.  Make sure you have this last bit under control as the IRS frowns on you treating someone the way you would an employee but getting the benefits of a sub-contractor.  The important thing here is that  this former worker now works independently of you.   Plus, they also will have the right and the opportunity to offer their expertise and services to other businesses the same way your attorney or accountant does.

If the situation is right, either option saves you money but allows you to keep your experienced help and not risk some of the nightmares of hiring new, inexperienced workers.  Perhaps more businesses and city governments should consider the new opportunities that technology makes possible before ‘offering’ early retirement options.  That would make me, and possibly those 84 workers, happy.

Those of you that have been reading here for awhile know that I’m a believer in building your business website on  the WordPress framework (and strongly recommend the Headway theme).  But articles like this one that I read this morning always prompt people to ask, “Is WordPress Safe…is it Secure?”

My answer ? Yes, absolutely.  So how do I explain 30,000 websites being hijacked as the above mentioned article described?  A combination of sloppiness and lack of knowledge.

Because WordPress makes it super easy to create a website, tons of people are doing just that, but unlike  self proclaimed geeks like me, they aren’t aware of some of the simple things that you must do to secure your site. It’s not a weakness in WordPress, but rather sensible ‘housekeeping’ type tasks that should be done on every installation.

1. Create a unique username.  Don’t use the standard ‘admin’ user name.  If it was created automatically, create a new user with administrative privileges with a more unique username and delete the admin account once you’ve logged in with the new one.  For even more security in your username use upper and lower case letters and a symbol or two thrown in for good measure. 

2. Create a tough password. It should be at least 8 characters in length and a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and a symbol or two thrown in there for good measure.  Refrain from using family names, names of pets or birthdates as this information can usually be discovered pretty easily.

3. Change the Database Tables Prefix. With most WordPress installers, the SQL database name has the default prefix of wp_xxxxxx.   Hackers know that and that’s why many of the security attacks that take place exploit this default.   Changing the prefix protects you from this type of infiltration.  An easy way to do this is to install Website Defender WordPress Security Scan and Secure WordPress.  Not only will they help you change your prefix, it also allows you to address a host of other  small items that can help make your site even more secure.

4. Check your file permissions.  Different files and directories have permissions that specify who and what can read, write, modify and access them.  WordPress needs access to some files to work correctly but you don’t want to leave them open to some unscrupulous hacker.  Make sure none of your files are set to 777 which basically gives the world permission to access and change files.

5. Be sure the theme you are using isn’t opening security holes.  If you’re like me, when I first saw all the choices I had for themes I was like a kid in a candy store, but be careful.  Many of the themes that show up in searches for free WordPress themes hold hidden security dangers.  One of the reasons I prefer using a premium theme is the attention the developers take with the security aspects, including updates when they become aware of new vunerabilities.

6. Keep WordPress, your theme and plugins up to date.  The reason for the updates are often because a new security vulnerability has been found and  fixed in the new update.  This is why it’s important to do regular maintenance on your WordPress website.

By taking these six relatively simple precautions you close the door to security breaches and can breathe easy building your website on WordPress.  But what if you’re not the one building your site?  I’m sure there are plenty of people that have paid good money to have someone design a WordPress site for them only to have a security vulnerability take down their site months or even years later.

Make sure you ask whomever is building your site on WordPress what kind of security precautions they take in the building of your site.  They should quickly be able to explain how they address the first five items on the list above.  If not, you may be dealing with someone who’s building sites on WordPress without understanding how to insure your website security.  Building any type of website without taking security precautions is just sloppy. If you don’t want to have to deal with updates, you may want to find someone who offers maintenance for WordPress sites like I do.

Regardless of those 30,000 hijacked WordPress sites,  you can be assured with a few small precautions it is a safe and secure choice for your site.

I pride myself on internet security.  I can spot a phishing e-mail in a flash, know how to build and use strong passwords and have security on my network that makes my ISP techs proud. So how in the heck did I manage to have $284.22 stolen from my PayPal account?
That’s what I asked myself at 7:00 am this morning when I received an e-mail from PayPal telling me my account had been limited due to some suscpicious charges.
Being the geek I am, I monitor my accounts ‘like a hawk’ as my Papa used to say. I immediately noticed eight iTunes purchases in varying amounts, mostly for gift cards. Not cool. Luckily PayPal recognized that my iTunes history is never that extensive and took precautions. But I was freaking out (still am!).  How in the world did someone get access. I logged into my iTunes account and sure enough, there in my purchase history were 9 items all purchased at around 5:30 am in the morning.  One was a free game/app called Kingdom Conquest, the rest were gift cards. Whoa!

So how did someone get into my iTunes account?

Although I’m not exactly sure, through a process of elimination I’ve narrowed it down to my new iPhone. Yup..that’s right.  The geeky girl who takes security precautions like nobody’s business got tripped up by her fun new smart phone. My excitement over apps and my infatuation with my iPhone caused me to be less than vigilant.  I believe I was most likely prompted for my Apple ID by an unscrupulous party or app and didn’t recognize it as being out of place.  Naively I gave someone the password to my iTunes account thinking I was just doing the normal authorization process for the App store to do an update.
What happened to my normal vigiliance? I fell victim to something I’m sure many people do, I forgot that the iPhone is more like my computer than a phone.  In fact, the very thing I love about the iPhone is what opened me up to this attack. The fact that it’s ‘connected’ to everything and anything I may want to learn, do or ask.

Because it’s my ‘phone’ I subconsciously viewed it as secure. After all, it’s in my purse or on my desk.  I’ve never had a phone that was quite this connected before so I failed to identify the risks the same way I do with e-mail and the web. Stupid, but probably something that many people fall victim to.
Although it’s been rather nightmarish this morning I consider myself lucky on several things:

1. My iTunes account was linked to PayPal and not an actual bank account. Although it may take a few days, I’m pretty confident that Apple and PayPal will get the funds back in my account. (and trust me, I’ll let you know if they don’t.)
2. Although I was silly enough to have a pretty simple password for my iTunes account, I was smart enough to use a unique password there. None of my other accounts carry the same one, so I didn’t have to worry about someone gaining access to anything else.
3. The fact that I monitor my accounts to the point of OCD means that I was on the phone with Apple and PayPal by 7:30 this morning, a mere two hours after the charges were made. I’m hoping that helps to not only resolve my issue, but to catch the person responsible.

This has been an eye-opening experience for me, someone who thought they had all the security issues covered, and that’s why I’m sharing it with all of you. If my short-sightedness can help just one new iPhone owner from having the same thing happen to them, it’s worth the embarrassment of admitting it happened to me.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me….

If you’re anywhere near my age you probably remember hearing the saying above.  The problem is, it’s not true.  Words can hurt you. And they can hurt your business too.

Let’s say you’ve been contacted by a potential client. They point out that judging by the information on your website, not only do you have the skills they are looking for, your price is right.  They want to start working with you.  You follow-up with a lengthy e-mail or perhaps a call to iron out the details. How exciting!

But suddenly the forward momentum stops there, you either get silence rather than a signed agreement and project instructions and/or the PC (potential client) contacts you and says it’s just not going to work out for them.  You suddenly go from cloud nine to the doldrums. What happened?

There can be many different factors that can cause a PC to abandon you ranging from their own lack of follow through to not feeling comfortable with you or virtual services in general.  There isn’t much we can do about the lack of follow through, just chalk it up to doing business.  But the lack of comfort with you or virtual services is something you might be able to address depending on the cause. Did you know that your vocabulary can have an effect on how a client feels about you and your services?

There have been studies that prove that a strong business vocabulary has a direct influence on how far up a career ladder a person climbs. So it stands to reason if you’re using an everyday vocabulary when talking to clients, it just may be giving them the wrong impression.  We’re not talking about bigger, longer words here; we’re talking about polished and professional sounding words.

For example; rather than start your response:

I’m really glad what I do fits what you are looking for.

try this:

I’m pleased to hear that my services fit your current need.

See the difference?  They say the same thing, but the second one just sounds more professional doesn’t it?

How does one build a business vocabulary anyway?  Reading is the number one method of vocabulary growth, so it stands to reason that reading business books, articles and blogs would help.  You can also check out websites that have a business vocabulary section  and even take courses to help.

While the lack of a strong business vocabulary may not be the only reason that potential client isn’t following through, making an effort to choose words and phrases that sound more professional could make a difference in how professional you are perceived to be.  And a high level of professionalism causes PC’s to become happy clients.

Sometimes life has a way of taking you to task.  As the owner of Clerical Advantage, I tend to put in long hours, often working through holidays and weekends.  Even on the occasions when I travel I generally try to keep a somewhat normal work schedule.  That was my intention when I planned my holiday trip to visit my new granddaughter who was born on December 14^th.

It was business as usual the week before Christmas, with the occasional pause to snuggle the baby and a couple of half days to finish up shopping.  Then as Christmas passed and we started toward the New Year, things changed.  My daughter lives in rural Maine and her internet service isn’t the most reliable in the best of cases, but I have the handy, dandy hot spot on my phone, so I wasn’t concerned.

I guess I was a good girl because Santa brought me an iPhone for Christmas. And then it was back to work on Monday.

Except life had other plans.

Maybe it was trying to tell me that it was time for a real vacation.  Or maybe it was just trying to show me that I needed more balance in my life. Whatever it was, by Wednesday of last week every time I seriously tried to work, the internet went down.  Not only that, but the hot spot on my iPhone was less than reliable too.

At first I freaked out. After all, I had things I needed to get done.  But late Friday, in the midst of a frustrating attempt to record a tutorial with the internet going down every 10 minutes it dawned on me.  I was wasting precious time with my daughter and granddaughter worrying about something that was obviously out of my control.  I relaxed and enjoyed sitting quietly with my granddaughter in my arms, knowing that in a few days I’d be flying home and it would be back to business as usual.  I was able to make memories that I’ll cherish forever.

Too often as business owners we get so wrapped up in being an entrepreneur that we don’t even realize what we are losing out on as we put in those long hours.  And while it’s important to work hard, what good is a successful business if you never get the time to enjoy life and your family?  After all, isn’t that part of the reason we wanted to be our own boss?  Didn’t we envision being able to balance our work and family better and not miss out on all of those special moments that we too often miss out on when working for someone else?

So in 2012 I’m making one resolution and it’s not to lose weight or exercise more.  It is a promise to recognize the fact that those precious family moments are just too valuable to pass up.

I think we’d all agree, free is good. When you’re a small business, especially when you’re first starting out, the mind is boggled by the abundance of free stuff on the internet .  In fact, it can be a big help for strapped for cash entrepreneurs.  Services like Dropbox and Skype can be budget savers when you’re first starting out.  And of course there is all of that free information.

I’ve discussed reasons to be cautious about getting all of your learning for free on the internet, pointing out that it can end up costly in terms of time spent seeking quality information and/or taking erroneous advice.  Today I felt it was time to discuss another reason to be cautious of free.  It can increase your security risk on your computer and network.

Before you give in to the temptation to download all of those nifty free programs, forms and templates stop for a moment and consider this:

Most computer viruses are contracted through e-mail and downloaded software.  That’s right, that bit of free software could be hiding something.  Viruses and malware often hitch a ride on those free downloads.  This means the more free stuff you try, the higher the probability of one of them having a nasty side effect.  Up to date virus programs can help, but even then you could be putting yourself at risk if the virus definitions don’t recognize the virus or malware.  Even if you’re lucky enough not to get a nasty virus, some software can mess with your browser settings while installing, changing your default search engine settings or adding  a toolbar you don’t want or need.

While taking advantage of what’s available for free on the internet can be a cost saving thing for start-ups and small businesses, be sure you proceed with caution.  Research  any free software you are considering and weigh the risks to your computer and your business.

Businesses are struggling in this tough economy, and small micro and solo businesses are no exception.  Everyone is thinking twice about spending money, which means they want to see value in you and your services if they are going to spend it on you.  In order to give them that value, you need to make sure that your business is top priority when it comes to what you know and what you deliver. I re-tweeted a post by a friend on Twitter yesterday.  I didn’t re-tweet it because I agreed or disagreed with the latte factor® making one rich.  I re-tweeted it  for an entirely different reason.   To combat the ‘I can’t afford that’ brigade.

You know what I’m talking about.  We’ve all been guilty of it.  You know  business could be better,  you know that you’re lacking a skill, knowledge or even equipment that could make a real difference.  But it costs a bit more than you’re comfortable spending.  So you tell yourself, “I can’t afford that” and you continue as you have been, struggling to find new clients and make your business work.

But how much are you spending on lattes a month?  or maybe for you it’s something else.  Manicures, pedicures or salon visits,  trips to the local fast food restaurant for a quick lunch or dinner, a weekly golf game or pizza delivery are all small expenditures that can add up to big money.  For me it was paying for a wireless air card for two years when I had a wifi hotspot on my cell phone.  Often things we consider small add up in big ways.

Only you can decide how serious you are about building your business.   Is it worth skipping the lattes?

I’m currently taking an online business turnaround course.  GASP!  “But Tina”, you say, “you already have a successful virtual assistant business.  And you teach others how to build their own successful businesses.  Does that mean you don’t know what you’re talking about?”

Before you get your panties in a bunch breath deep and listen to what I’m going to say next. 

You shouldn’t stop learning and starting new things simply because you’ve gained a certain level of success at something.

No matter what I know already, I realize that there are always other people out there that know something I don’t.  Perhaps they do what I do in a different, more effective way.  Or maybe they do something totally outside of the box I’m currently in.

Too often business owners use the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ excuse.  How many local businesses dragged their heels on having a website because they were sure their customers weren’t the ‘web’ type?  Or keep sinking money into yellow pages ads but have no clue that their business doesn’t show up until around page 6 in the search engines?  The number is a lot bigger than you might think.

Even now, with mainstream media adopting social media and mobile computing there are tons of businesses that think it doesn’t affect them. They are wrong.  In a few months, or years if they’re lucky, they will find out just how wrong. Then they will either scramble to catch up or find themselves pushed out of business by those companies that recognized the need to learn new things and implement them for their businesses.

And that’s why I’m taking this class. And why I took the one before this one.  And why I’ll take the next one.  I’m aware that the level of success that I have today doesn’t guarantee that same success tomorrow.  My best bet is to learn from others and make changes that keep my business growing.

It’s one of the biggest secrets to success there is.

Oh…and did I mention that the money you spend on learning nets you an absolutely incredible return on investment?  But that’s another post.

As if there wasn’t enough confusion out there regarding virtual assistants, along comes the iPhone 4S.  The S, I’m guessing, stands for Apple’s version of a virtual assistant and ‘her’ name is Siri.  Articles and blog posts have been singing her praises, absolutely amazed at the way she answers their questions and requests.  I suppose some virtual assistants might  be irritated.  After all, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to distinguish ourselves as high level professional administrative support and now a scrap of artificial intelligence gets added to an iPhone and appears to muddle the issue once again.

Or not.  I think it’s a chance to set ourselves apart even further.  

Siri is artificial intelligence and as such is limited by both the questions asked of her and the answers her developers programmed into her.  As  helpful as she may be  and as witty as some of her responses may appear, she can’t think for herself.  Nor does she possess creativity and initiative.  There are just some things that you’re never going to get from a programmed piece of software that you get from a living, breathing, thinking human being.

While Siri may return the three closest locksmiths to you when you’ve locked yourself out, she isn’t going to call them for you, explain your situation, get price quotes and send the best deal to your door.  She may give you directions to the hotel you’re booked at, but she isn’t going to be able to call the hotel  and set up the shuttle service to pick you up at the airport when your flight arrives.

Siri holds no loyalty to you or your business.  Or anyone else’s for that matter.  She’s simply not real.

Although I don’t have Siri, or even an iPhone, I’m pretty sure she’s not capable of pulling your PowerPoint presentation together.   Blog assistance, e-book creation and website creation aren’t on her list of services either.   Sometimes as fallible as we humans can be, the human touch is just what we need most.

Rather than  be irritated by Siri, I’m embracing her.  She’s giving me a great way to set myself apart.  You see, when a potential client mentions her in the same breath as me and my services I have the perfect response.

“No, I’m not Siri.  I’m so much better than that.”

P.S. As of this writing Siri is still considered beta.  I’m not.