Last month's answer -

b) The Hershey Bar has a product, a company, a town, an institution and a school named after it.

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This month's question is:

What does PDF stand for?

a) Page Draft Form
b) Personal Desk File
c) Portable Document Format
d) Printed Data File

Be the first to e-mail Sue Worthing sue@ezsolution.comwith the correct answer to win a $20 gift certificate to Isaacs Deli or Starbucks!

Technology is continually advancing, allowing us to run our businesses better, faster and cheaper than ever before. It's not surprising that technology can be intimidating, as it is such a huge and diverse area. The following guidelines will help you take advantage of the latest advancements in technology.

1. Look for ways of implementing new technologies that are relatively low risk. This will allow you to evaluate their effectiveness without tying yourself into a long term commitment and expense. It is quite common for companies to offer their products to you for a free trial period so that you can test and evaluate the product. Make use of this free trial and spend some time to evaluate the product to see if it will meet your requirements.

2. Don't be afraid of using technology ... it's there as a tool to help you improve the way you do things and should not be thought of as a barrier to getting things done. The best technology companies will design their products to be as user friendly as possible and will provide support to you as you implement their products.

3. Make use of internet based technologies. Where possible, utilize technologies that do not require you to install and manage complicated software and hardware. This allows you to concentrate on learning and using the technology in your business rather than worrying about installing and maintaining it. The latest version of software is always available to you without requiring any upgrades to your computers. And the software will be accessible to you wherever you are in the world, provided you have a computer and an internet connection.

4. Take the time to learn how to use new technology. Time spent learning and understanding exactly what can be done with new and existing technology will pay off many times over. Most modern software has extensive help documentation and tutorial information. Use this information to get the most out of your investment.

5. Focus on introducing technologies that will make it easier for your staff to do their jobs and interact together. Don't get caught up in the hype of the latest and greatest technology. Technology should be viewed as a business tool and you should be able to justify its cost with quantifiable results and a return on the investment to your business.

It can also be helpful to talk over your technology decision with someone who deals with technology all the time and can help you keep the long term perspective through the process of identification and evaluation. If you need someone to bounce an idea off of, or just brainstorm with, give me a call at 291-0370. I am always glad to talk with you.

I had an ad agency friend who called a few years ago and said "Tom, what do you know about Facebook?" My first question was, "Why?" His answer was, "I have a client who wants to build a site that has some Facebook qualities in it."

So I did what any 40 year old would do: I called the 22 year old in my office and said, "Teach me Facebook."

If you are not on Facebook, you might not realize that you can have a business as well as a personal profile. I know, you are asking, "Why would I want to do that?"

Facebook is probably the social network that has the broadest audience and the most community functionality of any of the social media sites. Of course, you can find a large number of college students and many people in the 20-40 year old range on Facebook. (I'm even Facebook friends with cat that lives at Penn State!) However, the fastest growing demographic is the over 50 group.

There are several ways to interact with people on Facebook.

Individuals. Make sure that some people in your company are on Facebook as individuals. This is the best way to learn how people use Facebook. You should start by setting up a personal account, entering your information, and finding some of your friends.

Company Page. Create a company page on Facebook. Do not create a personal profile on Facebook for your company. It looks weird and it is outside of what people expect to see on Facebook.

A company page lets you provide information about your business along with an event calendar, video, photos, discussion board, and much more. With special Facebook programming, you can customize your Fan Page to have pages similar to your website. People can then choose to become "fans" of your company.

Here are some examples of our clients who are using Facebook Fan Pages:

EZSolution [www.facebook.com/ezsolution

Isaac's Deli [www.facebook.com/isaacsdeli

Cherry Crest Farm [www.facebook.com/CherryCrestAdventureFarm

Water Fowlers [www.facebook.com/WaterfowlersRUs

There are all sorts of tips on how to craft your profile and build your friends and fans. Call me at 717.291.4689 and we can talk about what is the best way to use Facebook in your business.

Fred Hauck

Fred joined the EZSolution family in December of 1999 as Tom's first employee. He previously owned the local Anheuser Busch wholesaler before selling the business.

Fred and his wife then went on their dream trip of seeing a baseball game in all 30 major league stadiums. (They also completed a second goal of having a beer in all 48 contiguous states!)

After returning home from the six month adventure, Fred joined up with Tom. As he did then, he now fills in wherever Tom needs him, from helping with special marketing projects to working on websites.

Fred is a graduate of Penn State and follows them religiously. He also is a big fan of the Phillies and Eagles.

He lives in Centerville with his wife Joni.

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."

- Bill Gates

Hermansaders
www.hermansadersartgallery.com

Zambian Vocal Collection
www.zambianvocalcollection.com

Find Executive Offices
www.findexecutiveoffices.com

Inshanti
www.inshanti.com

AIC Auto
www.aicauto.com

Popovsky Studios
www.popovskystudios.com

JDAE Parathon
www.jdaehealth.com

Pellman Foods
www.pellmanfoods.com

For 22 years Anthony L. Vecchiarelli has operated Black Rock Financial Services (BRFS), a full service accounting, tax, financial and investment planning firm, in Kirkwood, PA. BRFS has been an EZSolution client for many years.

Tony has said, "over the years as I've expanded my staff and services, I wanted to maintain the one on one, personalized attention that has been the foundation upon which Black Rock Financial Services Inc. was built... As we've grown to meet the ever changing needs of our customers, it has been the personal inter-action I've maintained with my clients that separates Black Rock Financial Inc. from the larger accounting firms." You can view Black Rock's full line of services at www.blackrockfinancial.net.

Tony has often relied on Jeff Weaver and his staff at EZSolution to provide quick and affordable IT support through hardware and service solutions.

Last year Tony and BRFS joined the EZSolution total care program wherein we provide 24/7 proactive monitoring and remote support for all of their servers and work stations for one monthly fee. With quick access and emergency service available, BRFS does not have to worry about coming into the office on a busy day during tax season and finding a downed server or computers that are off-line during a critical time.

Now with EZTotal Care, BRFS can go through tax season, knowing they are being monitored 24/7 and when They come to work in the morning their business critical network will be working.

You can reach Tony and his reliable staff by phone at 717-529-1400 or by email at brfs@epix.net.

Can you hear a smile on the telephone? You bet you can. Our attitude is projected in all of our voice qualities. If you are in a bad mood today, your caller can hear it. If you are feeling up, positive, and in a great mood, your caller can hear that too.

What does your telephone voice say about you today? Remember this: the person on the other end of the phone can't see you - can't see your facial expression, can't see your smile or frown, and can't read your body language. But that person can definitely hear what frame of mind you are in today.

My business associate and friend, Susan, understands this concept very well. When she answers the phone, she always (and I do mean always) welcomes her caller with a pleasant, professional voice. In the 15 years that I have worked with her organization, Susan projects a wonderful positive attitude. What a joy it is to call her!

Your voice is setting the tone for the conversation. Whether you are calling a customer or answering a call, the impression you make is critical. There are some positive things that you can do before you use the phone to help you project that professional image. Here are a few techniques that guarantee a smile.

Place a photograph next to your telephone. It should be a photo that will bring a smile to your face the moment you look at it. Perhaps it is a picture of your vacation in Hawaii or a family photo taken on your child's birthday. Doesn't that make you feel good!

Take a deep breath. Remember to take your deep breath before you answer or dial the phone. And I do mean before. If you are in the middle of a deep inhalation, you may give the impression that you are having a medical emergency. This is definitely not the impression you want to make.

Check your smile. You may think that you are smiling, but you may be very surprised if you could just see yourself. Many corporations have decided to place small mirrors next to all their telephones. Employees can look at themselves as they answer the phone to see if they are really smiling. This is a great idea. And it really works. I have encouraged my clients to do the same thing. The feedback I receive is always positive.

Now you are ready to use your phone skills. Look at your photo, take a deep breath, and smile. You will be amazed at the difference these quick techniques will make. So put a smile in your voice - I can hear it.

If you would like to improve your phone skills or sales skills, contact Linda at 717.898.0664 or visit malesic.com.

Well, consider turning your fantasy into a reality.

Visit AICauto.com and take a look at these high quality classic Porsches. John Witmer, owner of AIC Auto, has been a client of EZSolution since 1999. He has been selling his Porsches all over the country through his website.

When John first started his website he said, "Going online for us was a natural transition. We listed our cars on Internet classifieds for some time with just an e-mail address. It required a lot of work to respond to the many, many questions that each customer had, as well as to photograph and send the many pictures that they wanted. The web site really saves us a lot of time. It explains 'our story' to our customers, and provides most all of the details they need to know before driving or flying here to buy."

Last month EZSolution did a new 'look' for the AICauto.com website and also increased John's ability to add new cars to his inventory.

John's thoughts on his new website: "I am thankful that you were genuinely concerned about the web sites ability to reflect my personality. The new inventory manager has made it really easy to update our ever-changing inventory."

Some of the keys to John's internet success have also been through search engine marketing. His site is listed in the top 10 on Google for competitive phrases like Used Porsche and Used Porsches.

If you don't drive a classic Porsche, you should give John a call at 717.529.2025 or visit his site at www.aicauto.com

Free Backup Check Reveals the Truth Act Now! Only 5 Available in July Due to Vacations.

Have you ever lost an hour or two of work on your computer because it crashed? Now imagine if you lost days or weeks of work - or imagine losing your client database, financial records, and all of the work files your company has ever produced or compiled. Imagine what would happen if your network went down for days and you couldn't access e-mail or the information on your PC. How frustrating would that be?

Most small business owners have no idea of the importance of disaster recovery planning because they are already swamped with more immediate day-to-day fires demanding their attention. If their network is working fine today, it goes to the bottom of the pile of things to worry about. In most cases, no one is watching to make sure the backups are working, the virus protection is up-to-date, or that the network is "healthy."

This is like saying you're too busy driving your car on the highway to put your seatbelt on. Taking that simple preventative step doesn't really show its true value until you get into a head-on collision; at that point you are either extremely relieved that you had it on or incredibly sorry that you didn't.

The same holds true with your data backup. Obviously the information on the disk is far more valuable than the disk itself. If your company depends on having access to the information stored on your server or PC, then it's time to get serious about protecting it from damage or loss.

Want To Make Sure Your Backups Are Working? Then Call Us Now For A FREE Backup Check!

During the month of July, we're giving away a FREE Backup Check to review your backup procedure and uncover any problems or failures you might not be aware of. If we find anything amiss, we'll let you know and make a few recommendations on how to remedy the problem. You are under no obligation to purchase anything or to take our recommendations.

Don't wait for a disaster to find out if your backups are working!

Call Rich Crockett at 291-0370 to schedule your NO OBLIGATION backup audit.

When your referral becomes a client (and has spent $1000 or more) then we will pay you $50 more. And, we will give your referral $100 off their purchase.