Heartbleed: how are you affected
This article was originally published on the Dolphin Worxs parent company site at http://www.dolphinworxs.com/blog/2014/04/14/heartbleed-are-you-affected/ in April 2014.
On April 7th 2014 , the news broke about a flaw in a technology called OpenSSL. OpenSSL is a widely used open source technology which underlies much of the security on the internet.
What happened at Dolphin HQ this week?
Your site is hosted on Amazon Web Services, when we became aware of Heartbleed this week, we immediately began work on identifying if there were any gaps in our security and if AWS (Amazon Web Services) was affected by Heartbleed. Amazon have provided patches to the services that are affected, and subsequent to these patches being installed, we have fully replaced all digital security certificates and recommend that if you have not changed your password since Sunday April 13th, that you do so as soon as possible.
You can find out how to change your password at this article on our help manual
So, tell me in English why I need to change my password?
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Why a “No Apologies” mentality might work for your business.
Not too long back I had some miscommunication problems with a service provider.
I use the word ‘miscommunication’ rather loosely and euphemistically to be truthful. I’m trying to be positive about it.
If I was being blunt, I would say that they never listened to me. I was never heard. They attempted to make decisions on my behalf, and really, just never got to the point where they understood why I was so annoyed with them. Which leads to my second big issue in our relationship. Assumptions. In order to explain, I’ll need to digress slightly into some background on our company.
I’m an avid student of e-marketing, normal marketing, and any other kind of marketing. I devour article’s books, blogs, LinkedIn discussions and any other type of advice I can lay my hands on. This is a necessity, as a business owner, CEO and entrepreneur, I am the head of the marketing department. I have no formal training or education in marketing, so it’s really up to me and my own discipline to find out how to do things; and then make it work. Sink or swim baby. Sink or swim.
So I know all that stuff about the personal touch, how a handwritten note makes all the difference for example. Or congratulating someone with flowers when an event happens. If you’re a local or small business owner then you are perfectly positioned to know about these events, because you generally know a good portion of your clients personally, and behaving like a human being makes doing business with you a pleasant experience.
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Who knew networking could save Rhinos ?
Saturday 22 March was our first Networking Tea ; aptly named the Autumn Networking Tea.
A resounding success on all fronts despite some minor hiccoughs at the venue with the start.
By all accounts , all the ladies and gents found good value in the Tea; not only in the interesting networking opportunities that presented, but also in our guest speakers who offered many helpful tips and interesting information for the home-based or small business entrepreneur. Much appreciation and thanks go to Barb Scott from Admin Angels and Gail McTaggart from GM Mortgage Services for sharing their thoughtful insights. And a hefty thank you to Sheridan Morris from Well Said & Associates, our MC for the day.
Ultimately though, the goal was to raise awareness about what’s really going on with Rhino Poaching, and to take the picture which is so pivotal to the Breaking the Brand campaign. Our 35 strong speak out for Rhino’s “selfie” (pictured below), courtesy of Melani’s Photography.
Find out more about Breaking the Brand, and how you can help by writing to the Vietnamese Embassy in your country.
Myth: Your time costs you nothing
Being your own boss is quite something. Challenging. Yup you betcha. Tough. Most Definitely. Tricky? Truckloads of it.
One of the most common, and most dangerous myths to believe, is that your time doesn’t cost you anything. I won’t go into detail where that particular misconception comes from, rather, I am going to take a quick look at why it’s a bad idea to think that way, and how to cost your time properly when your product is you, your skills and your services.
Know thy costs, know thy client
In a previous post, we briefly discussed what pricing on value is, and touched on why you should be pricing on value and not direct cost.
This post will dig down a little more into the 2 things you need to know before you start pricing on value.
The first is your cost of manufacture. It seems a bit counter-intuitive, and quite a few MIS and production software providers will tell you that super accurate costing in your quotes doesn’t matter. That’s because they either can’t do it, or they can’t do it at a price that works for a quick print shop. And you end up thinking - “If I’m selling on value, then I’m going to be way above my costs anyway, so close enough is good enough”
The truth couldn’t be a starker contrast:
Business Basics 101
A while ago I was having some miscommunication problems with a service provider.
I use the word ‘miscommunication’ rather loosely and euphemistically to be truthful. I’m still trying to put a positive spin on the whole experience.
Actually, they just weren't listening. They had made decisions on my behalf that I didn't agree with, and their communication style didn't suit me, or my business. And they never adjusted to suit me, preferring to rather make excuse after excuse as to why I , their client, should change everything about my business to work the way that they, the service provider wanted to do things.
What is value-based selling ?
There's a major shift taking place in the world of Print, as many small print shops expand out their business into value-based selling, and evolving into marketing specialists.
This is a good thing, short run print jobs are in fact a speciality custom manufactured good. Selling on price, and constant undercutting has led to many printers either going under, or even worse , staying afloat long enough to seriously hamper the market for those who would do well otherwise.
It takes a massive mind shift to move away from a "Cost plus Markup" mentality. If you're the kind of person ( like me) where 1+1 =2 , it's hard wrap your brain around the concept that when selling on value 1+1 =3, or even 4 or 5 if you're in the right part of town.
The truth is, it's not hoodoo vooodo, or thumb sucking. The pricing is based on factors that multiply, rather than add to the price.
Here are the broad strokes, and we'll dig down into them in future posts.