Have you ever wondered what your entrepreneurial style is? Are you even aware you have one? Well, yes, every business owner has their own style and Michelle DeKinder-Smith has identified the five types of female entrepreneurs and written a book, "See Jane Succeed" which provides and accurate depiction of each style.
Once my style was identified, by taking a quiz at her site JaneOutoftheBox I read the related chapter in the book and could quickly identify with the qualities and challenges of being a Merry Jane. I felt very validated in my choices of merging my business and my life. She not only provides the description of each Jane but an action plan for each Jane to create a joyful life and prosperous business. I was also happy to find that she included a chapter on changing my type, just in case the day comes that I want to move from being a Merry Jane to a Jane Dough.
If you are looking for a book to help you reveal what it takes to win in business and life, then read this book! You can get it atAmazon.
You can see more recommended reading for business and life on my site RhondaHSmith
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Summer is in full swing and many of us are enjoying summer activities, vacations, and family time. We tend to get a little more relaxed and laid back in the summer. But have you ever left for a wonderful vacation only to wonder if turned off the iron and locked the doors? In your business backing up your data and securing your flash drive is the equivalent to turning off the iron and locking the doors.
If you have ever worked with me as your QuickBooks ProAdvisor then you already know I preach 'back-up' your data. In most businesses a computer crash is the equivalent to an office fire! If you've backed-up your data you can be back in business quickly. However, within QuickBooks there is a certain way to back-up, not only to give you to the option to recover your data but also to maintain the data integrity. Read, "Backing-up QuickBooks" for this important information.
Many of us use flash drives to store or back-up data. Since flash drives are inexpensive and small, we may undervalue the true value of the data we store on them. What if you lost your flash drive? What information would the person finding it have access to? Read, "Secure that Flash Drive" to learn how to protect your data.
This summer back-up your data and secure that flash drive so you can enjoy that "Summer" state of mind.
Remember, you can create Your Business and Your Life, YOUR WAY!
If you have ever worked with me as your QuickBooks ProAdvisor then you already know I preach 'back-up' your data. In most businesses a computer crash is the equivalent to an office fire! If you've backed-up your data you can be back in business quickly. However, within QuickBooks there is a certain way to back-up, not only to give you to the option to recover your data but also to maintain the data integrity. Read, "Backing-up QuickBooks" for this important information.
Many of us use flash drives to store or back-up data. Since flash drives are inexpensive and small, we may undervalue the true value of the data we store on them. What if you lost your flash drive? What information would the person finding it have access to? Read, "Secure that Flash Drive" to learn how to protect your data.
This summer back-up your data and secure that flash drive so you can enjoy that "Summer" state of mind.
Remember, you can create Your Business and Your Life, YOUR WAY!
Secure that Flash Drive
Many of us use Flash Drives to save files, move data, and/or back-up data. But how safe is your flash drive? What if you lost it? What information would the finder have access to?
Through our ProAdvisor's website I found an interesting article on just this topic. The author, Dr. Bob Spencer, offers advice on how to encrypt the flash drive to secure and protect your company data. Continue reading.
Through our ProAdvisor's website I found an interesting article on just this topic. The author, Dr. Bob Spencer, offers advice on how to encrypt the flash drive to secure and protect your company data. Continue reading.
Backing Up QuickBooks
If you have ever worked with me as your QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor then you know I am always reminding you to backup your data. Even if you have a complete system back-up software such as Maxtor or Carbonite you should backup QuickBooks within the software to avoid data corruption. To illustrate the point let me share a story...
A client called me in shear panic. While working in QuickBooks an error message popped up which said something about QuickBooks encountering a problem and needing to shut down. When the client re-opened QuickBooks her bank balance was off and other data was in question. She immediately called me. The first question I asked, “When was the last time you backed-up?” She said she didn't know, the computer guy handled all that. I asked her to call him and find out. I also advised that she stop using QuickBooks until I could get there.
The next day I met with the client and her computer guy. My job was to rescue her QuickBooks and help him understand how to properly back-up QuickBooks. He had set their system to do a complete back-up but had not set QuickBooks properly; therefore the data integrity had not been analyzed and had become unstable. Fortunately, the data was rescued with a rebuild and we were able to set QuickBooks automatically back-up properly. By the time we were finished both the client and the computer guy had learned valuable lessons and were sighing in relief.
Following are the QuickBooks back-up instructions from Carbonite. These instructions should work regardless of which back-up software you use.
How to Use Quickbooks Automatic Backup
Please follow the instructions below within Quickbooks to set up automatic backups. Make sure that the location for the Quickbooks backup files is a folder selected for backup by Carbonite.
1. Select File; Save Copy or Backup. This will open the Backup Wizard.
2. Click Backup Copy; Next; Local Backup.
3. If you have not already done so, click Options to set your backup defaults (such as where you want to save your local backup) then click Next.
4. Click Only schedule future backups (to create a schedule without running a backup) and click Next.
5. Select the first checkbox and enter a number to specify how often you want your company file to be backed up. For example, to back up your data file every fifth time you close it, type 5 in the field provided. The backup will be stored in the location you specified in the Set Backup Copy: Options window. To view or change this location, click Options. In order for Carbonite to back up the Quickbooks backup files, please choose a location selected for backup by Carbonite, such as your My Documents folder.
6. Click Finish to close the wizard.
Note: These instructions are based on Quickbooks Pro 2009. If you are using a different version of Quickbooks, the instructions for setting automatic backups may vary slightly. Please consult your Quickbook documentation for details as necessary.
As always I urge you to back-up your data. When asked how often you should back-up, my standard reply is, “Depends on how much you are willing to lose.” If you call me in distress my first question will be, “When did you last back-up?”
A client called me in shear panic. While working in QuickBooks an error message popped up which said something about QuickBooks encountering a problem and needing to shut down. When the client re-opened QuickBooks her bank balance was off and other data was in question. She immediately called me. The first question I asked, “When was the last time you backed-up?” She said she didn't know, the computer guy handled all that. I asked her to call him and find out. I also advised that she stop using QuickBooks until I could get there.
The next day I met with the client and her computer guy. My job was to rescue her QuickBooks and help him understand how to properly back-up QuickBooks. He had set their system to do a complete back-up but had not set QuickBooks properly; therefore the data integrity had not been analyzed and had become unstable. Fortunately, the data was rescued with a rebuild and we were able to set QuickBooks automatically back-up properly. By the time we were finished both the client and the computer guy had learned valuable lessons and were sighing in relief.
Following are the QuickBooks back-up instructions from Carbonite. These instructions should work regardless of which back-up software you use.
How to Use Quickbooks Automatic Backup
Please follow the instructions below within Quickbooks to set up automatic backups. Make sure that the location for the Quickbooks backup files is a folder selected for backup by Carbonite.
1. Select File; Save Copy or Backup. This will open the Backup Wizard.
2. Click Backup Copy; Next; Local Backup.
3. If you have not already done so, click Options to set your backup defaults (such as where you want to save your local backup) then click Next.
4. Click Only schedule future backups (to create a schedule without running a backup) and click Next.
5. Select the first checkbox and enter a number to specify how often you want your company file to be backed up. For example, to back up your data file every fifth time you close it, type 5 in the field provided. The backup will be stored in the location you specified in the Set Backup Copy: Options window. To view or change this location, click Options. In order for Carbonite to back up the Quickbooks backup files, please choose a location selected for backup by Carbonite, such as your My Documents folder.
6. Click Finish to close the wizard.
Note: These instructions are based on Quickbooks Pro 2009. If you are using a different version of Quickbooks, the instructions for setting automatic backups may vary slightly. Please consult your Quickbook documentation for details as necessary.
As always I urge you to back-up your data. When asked how often you should back-up, my standard reply is, “Depends on how much you are willing to lose.” If you call me in distress my first question will be, “When did you last back-up?”
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