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An important aspect of building a business that’s scalable – one that operates when you aren’t around to “press the buttons” – is eliminating paper. I’m going to be writing about what I’ve put into practice over the last couple months to eliminate all my paper in my software consulting business. One of the easier (and obvious) aspects of going paperless is eliminating the fax machine. Yes, even if you run an internet-only business you will run into a vendor that only offers a fax machine as an alternative to snail mail. Here’s how to setup your business to send and receive faxes online with no monthly fee…

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I have the amazing opportunity to attend Michael Hyatt’s platform conference. I’ve followed Michael Hyatt for many years ago – I’ve read his books, blog posts, and religiously listened to his podcast. I’m a big fan. Although in a web application and website developer by trade, I love marketing. I’ve made learning marketing a priority over the last year and I’m excited to dive into a full two day conference dedicated to building an online platform and an online business. Here’s what I’m looking for from the conference. Copywriting I’m a horrible speller. I got a 10% on the state spelling exam in high school. However, I love the craft of communicating ideas and grabbing someone’s attention. How to effectively test multiple headlines?..

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Change is hard. Challenging the status quo is scary. Hurting “the existing business” is a real concern that has short term consequences. If you don’t attack your own business – whether you’re a consultant, small business, or large corporation – someone else will. Someone else who has the pressure of a smaller budget, the focus of not being distracted by less important projects, or the freedom from red-tape, will make a game changing move. You have to be flexible and bold enough to to replace your legacy business, to create a product or service that will change or possibly destroy your current business model. As the marketing classic The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing states, you have to attack yourself.

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Work is often valued on the number of hours you put in. It’s complex to price work on a per-project basis. It’s easy to set an hourly rate as opposed to pricing on a per-project basis. However, there is a hard limit to return when working on an hourly basis. I was recently challenged to change the way I value and price my work, this quick comment has triggered a significant paradigm shift over the last week: You have to move to be outcome driven. Stop concentrating on inputs. All that matters is the outcome. Most of the time it doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as the goals are met (hopefully surpassed!), timelines hit, and executed within budget constraints…

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