Automation for the SOHO Business

Automation for the SOHO Business
9.13.2006
Andy Stetzinger

I'm going to take a thing or two forgranted for this article.

#1 - You have a Small Office / Home Office Business.
#2 - You are running a primarily Windows based environment.
#3 - You'd like to make your day run a little smoother.

The good news is: You can!
The better news is: It's Free!

Windows comes with a Task Scheduler built in. (Start->Programs->Accessories->Scheduled Tasks)

A basic wizard will walk you through the process of setting up things to run on their own. However, you'll just do some basic tasks with that.

My suggestion is to create a Batch File and list the things you want to do in there, then schedule the batch file to run at certain times.

I also highly recommend you download NirCmd, a free command line tool from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html . It's got some great examples of things it can do.

For example, my personal automated schedule is as follows:
12:01am - Back up files
02:00am - Virus Scan
03:00am - Burn backup to DVD (if needed)
04:00am - FTP download of various work-related sites
06:30am - Open various webpages (my morning routine)
Open personal email client (not my work one)
Display notification regarding backup
Eject DVD drawer
Run ccleaner (great win32 program)
System Unmuted
07:00am - I sit down, swap the DVD for a blank one if needed.
I do my morning routine / personal email
07:45am - One click of a button:
Web Browser closed.
Personal Email closed.
IM Client started
Skype Started
Work Email Started
Open work-related websites
Various work-related programs launched
12:00pm - Notification of time
Quick backup (file copy only) of work folder
Personal Email Client run (gotta check it too)
1:00pm - Notification of time
Personal email client closed
5:00pm - Notification of time
Quick backup (file copy only) of work folder
Blank DVD check
Personal Email client launched
End Of Day One button routine:
System Muted
Monitors shut down
All browsers closed
All email apps closed
IM client closed
Skype closed
Work-related Apps save/close
Ccleaner run


A sample of a batch file I use is:
----
@echo off
taskkill /im outlook.exe /f
taskkill /im firefox.exe /f
taskkill /im thunderbird.exe /f
taskkill /im trillian.exe /f
nircmd.exe monitor off
nircmd.exe mutesysvolume 1
nircmd.exe emptybin
----

takkill is a program that comes with WindowsXP. Quite nice. Quite helpfull.

Simple SOHO Automation of repeated tasks saves time and energy. Not to mention the brain cells you'll save never having to wonder if you did that daily task or not today.

Until next time,
Andy

Truth In Advertising

Truth In Advertising
9.5.2006
Andy Stetzinger

Scott and I had just finished a long meeting with a customer of ours, and were headed back across town. Scott had a phone meeting to conduct while enroute, so I offered to buy us both something to drink. We pulled into a gas station that had a large sign in the front offering a particular sports drink for a very affordable price.

Upon closer inspection, the advertisement included the phrase "when you purchase fuel".

The posted advertisment contained no information about where I had to buy the fuel, it did not say with the current purchase of fuel, nor from whomI bought my fuel from. It just said, when you purchase fuel.

I wondered how serious they were about that. I mean... I buy fuel all the time. We all do! I didn't buy any fuel there, nor did I intend to, but the advertisement did not include the purchase of fuel from them at that point in time as a prerequesite for the discount.

Scott laughed at me, made some questionable remark about my sanity, and handed my a $5.00 bill.

I got my drink, and Scott's sports drink, and headed for the counter.

"I'd like the discount on this sports drink", I said.

"Did you buy gas?", the attendant questioned.

"Yes, I sure did. I think it was last Tuesday. Could have been Wednesday, I don't recall."

She looked puzzeled. "From us?", she continued...

"No. I don't live close to here. It would be silly for me to drive all the way out here just for gas.", I replied.

"You can't have the discount. It's for when you buy gas from us."

I pointed out the sign to her. I suggested we read it together. I then explained to her there nowhere in the advertisment did it indicate anything about time or location. That it merely said I get a discount if I was a purchaser of fuel.

"But that's not what it means...", she said, with a sigh.

"Perhaps not", I conceded, "but that's what it says. And I would like to excersise my right to the advertised price."

After some snide remarks, she did give me the discount.

I then asked for a receipt, not just for the proof that I did get the discount on the sports drink... but also because that's a valid write off.

While the whole scene was amusing, the main point of the entire ordeal that I put the poor cashier through is that there has to be truth in advertising. If a company is going to claim something, present something, or otherwise state a "fact", then that company should stand behind it.

Years ago, a pizza delivery company would guarantee a 30 minute delivery, or your pizza was free. We all know how long that lasted.

Cable companies used to say if the technican wasn't out by a certain time, your call was free... now, whie some are still offering a discount for that, many are shunning such deals.

Sometimes a "Catch Phrase" can catch a company off guard. A claim the company makes can land them in hot water when the claim turns out to be false. The use of "gimmicks" or "hooks" can easily turn against a company.

What sounds good in a marketing board room might not work the way we think it will in the real world.


Until next time,

Andy
KeyThing Marketing Technologies