From Greg's Head

Note: Running most Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, this is the first in a series of business tips offered by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the  BusinessMaker's Radio Show on FM Newschannel 97.5. Audio files can be found online at the PKF Texas Radio/Television page.
 
According to Fortune Magazine, “Blogs have become a force businesses can’t ignore.”

With all the buzz about business blogging, perhaps you’ve already considered whether this tool would be a good fit for your business.

What is a blog? Well, a blog is simply an online journal. Web log = blog. More than that, blogs are conversations among human authors, not marketing departments. They are part of online communities where information is shared and commented on.

Ask yourself: Do I have something to say? Can I make it interesting and relevant? Can I keep talking about it?

Two great resources to look at if you’re thinking about blogging are problogger.net and lexblog.com. These sites were excellent guides during the development of my business blog, fromgregshead.com.

A blog can be a useful communication tool for the technology minded entrepreneur. The possibilities are endless and you limited only by the information you provide to your audience.

Posted In PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook Comments Permalink

As many of you know, I was featured on the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show several times, and now they have asked me to present a series of best practice business tips to air during their Saturday morning show on FM Newschannel 97.5.

I am going to be the voice of PKF Texas’ Entrepreneur’s Playbook.

The first tip from the Entrepreneur’s Playbook will air this Saturday – July 1. Each Friday, I will post both the written and broadcast versions of the current tip here in the blog.

Here is a list of some of the topics The Entrepreneur’s Playbook will cover:

• Blogs
• Inventory Control
• Profit Enhancement
• Human Capital
• Cash Management

As someone who writes a blog with a technology focus, it is always interesting to see how technology plays a role in different industries. The amount of time that went into recording and mixing these spots, as well as the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show, is commendable. Thanks to John Whiteside and Russ Capper who helped make me “One Take Jake.”

Let me know what you think about the Entrepreneur’s Playbook and especially using the blog for broadcast clips. Were the tips useful for your business? Are there any topics you would like me to touch on? What are your own best practice tips? I look forward to your interaction on my blog.

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I was elated to learn that my blog won the top award from the Association of Accounting Marketing (AAM) during its annual conference in Denver.

The award, “Best in Show,” was ranked highest among 200 entries in 16 categories. AAM also honored the blog in the Public Relations and Multi-Media categories – competing with firms with more than $15 million in annual revenue.

In case you didn’t know, AAM is an organization of marketing directors and gurus from accounting firms across the country. Its annual conference draws hundreds of members who participate in educational sessions and networking to learn more about the marketing function within their firms. PKF Texas – my firm – has always been a big part of this group.

The awards are given in honor of accounting marketing and communications. Congrats to my fellow winners!

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Ok – so not all of my blogs are serious and I’m not always on my soap box.

It’s summer in Houston, which means hot-as-Hades weather … but it also means summer vacation. Those days when we can get away from the world of meetings, e-mail, reports, deadlines, e-mail, the phone, e-mail – well, you get the point.

Recently, I ran across a few Web sites with some good listings on the ideal summer vacation. See what you think and send back a comment on your own fun vacations or resources for others to view.

Summer Vacation: A-Z

Best Summer Vacation Cars (why drive something you usually drive?)

Coping With Summer Vacation

Saving on Summer Vacations

One Weird Summer Vacation (It’s all here in North Carolina: Monster Truck Rides, Hillbillies and the Dinosaur Museum)

Posted In In Our Community , Observations Comments Permalink

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then this one comprises an entire encyclopedia. PKF Texas is once again co-sponsoring the Houston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work competition.

If you are chosen, this cream-of-the-crop opportunity is both an internal and external coup for your company or organization. It’s great for PR, marketing and recruitment, but also a terrific morale booster for your employees and stakeholders.

Deadline for entering is July 28. Visit the Best Places to Work area on the HBJ’s Web site.

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The number of security breaches and stolen identities gets longer and longer all the time. Let’s put it this way: You know the list is long when Web sites start to chronicle and categorize the number of incidents. Just ask the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse – they’ve put together a list of all incidents since the ChoicePoint incident of February 2005.

Who are we going to blame? The quick response is to blame the hackers who infiltrate our systems, but at second thought, I’d like to put partial blame on the backs of big business and government who have not spent enough time or resources on ensuring their systems are secure, or paid enough attention to their employees – a prime source of what we call the “inside job.”

The breach on May 22 involving the Department of Veterans Affairs concerns some 26.5 million veterans whose IDs were put in jeopardy after an employee’s laptop was stolen. The employee took the laptop home (unauthorized) and when the person’s home was burgled, the laptop and its hard drive with the Veterans Affairs’ records, was stolen.

I’m going to repeat that number: 26.5 million! However, a number is just a number. Compare that to the American Red Cross’s breach of 1 million (check the Privacy Clearinghouse list again – it’s toward the bottom on May 24). Although not nearly as large, the effect is still immense.

We can point fingers all day. At the end of the day, we need to be more responsible to our companies and ourselves to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect and ensure accuracy.

Who do you think should be held responsible for security and privacy breaches?

Posted In Tecknowledgy , Observations Comments Permalink

Richard Scruggs’ article from the Center for New Ventures & Entrepreneurship’s May newsletter – “Lessons Learned From an Aggie Ring” – really hit home for me.

When was the last time you stopped and assessed your progress during a project or client/customer engagement?

Take a look at an excerpt of Richard’s article:

“I wondered if we celebrate interim milestones enough. I wondered if managers remember the value of celebrating the little accomplishments that add up to success. I wondered if we all remember the how it feels to be told that you are on the right track, making good progress and we’re confident you’ll get to the goal.

“For 25 years I worked in project-oriented companies. I remember many end-of-project dinners, parties and happy hours. I remember very few mid-project celebrations. I remember mid-project get togethers that were more team building than celebration. I remember many interim events that were driven more by the staff than leadership.

“I know a lot of celebrating goes on in business. I’m also sure we can do more – especially celebrating interim accomplishments. It is important to let people know that they are on the right track, that they are making meaningful progress and that, while the goal may be a ways off, we know they will get there.”

We’re usually so wrapped up with expectations and outcome that we sometimes forget that an interim temperature check is just the remedy to ensure you’re on the right track. More than that, it gives you time to change your processes and actions in case something is inaccurate or just plain wrong.

Posted In Observations Comments Permalink

OK, so I’m still on my Sugarland kick. I reported to you the other day that Sugarland had the 4th highest percentage of residents with advanced degrees – based on an Inc. magazine story on Boom Towns ’06.

In a related story on the State of Job Growth, Sugarland is mentioned again in a sidebar as having the Highest Household Median Income of any city with $84.842. It edged out Missouri City, another suburb of Houston, which had $71,902, followed by San Jose at $71,765.

I think the area around us either has the best PR person around to work with Inc. magazine, or it’s time for us (again) to shine.

While Texas, overall, only realized a 1.6 percent increase in job growth compared with some states that had VERY high growth (Nevada: 19.3 percent, Wyoming, 9.5 percent), I think South Texas can be very proud of our accomplishments in income.

Income drives growth, right?

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Buried within Inc. magazine’s recent report, “Boom Town ’06,” is a factoid of some interest. Our very own Sugarland (“Texas,” for those who are not from around these parts) has the 4th highest percentage of adult residents with advanced educational degrees in the country.

Who would have guessed that to be the case?

In the story, coming in #1 was Washington, D.C. (26 percent of residents with advanced degrees), followed by Seattle (21 percent) and San Francisco (19.5 percent). Sugarland came in just behind the Bay City with 19.2 percent.

Makes sense to me. While Houston has some of the finest educational institutions around (Rice, for example), the fact is more significant and substantiated by the residents who live and work here. They, or rather “we” are here because of our local economy and national/international scope.

So if this is the case, then why don’t we do a better job of promoting ourselves? When will we cease to be known as the city of Urban Cowboys and begin to be admired for our business marketplace, culture and lifestyle?

Posted In In Our Community , Observations Comments Permalink