Continuing with my theme differentiating yourself from the competition I thought I would share with you how the Small Business Community Network (SBCN—an organization I co-founded) decided it was time to check out new technology. We needed something that would not only display we were moving with the times, but could also save us time.

Even the smallest of businesses receives hundreds of emails, a lot of them spam, but some of them are legitimate and need to be read. I know I am guilty on occasion of reading the subject line and deciding the email does not need my prompt attention, or when I do read the whole email I sometimes skip through it and not read the message properly.

We decided to offer our SBCN members and non-members the opportunity to receive reminder text messages, which would be displayed on their mobile phones (the text messages are a quick reminder that an upcoming meeting was happening). In the first few months of using this service we have found that it works for some of our members, but not all. Obviously not everyone embraces new technology at the same pace, but we find as time goes on the numbers increase, as members understand more clearly how the text messaging service works. More importantly it costs our members nothing to receive these text messages, as long as they have an existing text messaging plan.

Here is the information we posted on the SBCN website so that people could be aware of what we were offering and why, and we feel this is the important part because by making people aware they are more likely to embrace change.

We know that your day can be busy! With so many appointments, we want to help ensure you don't miss meeting that great connection at one of our networking events.

In addition to our e-mail based reminder that let's you know about upcoming meetings, we're introducing our new FREE* SBCN TXT service. This will allow you to subscribe to receive automated reminders via text message straight to your mobile device.

How It Works

To subscribe to automated reminders on your mobile phone, simply text one of the following messages to 54500:

Text the words SBCN Waterloo to receive reminders for the Waterloo Region Chapter

Text the words SBCN YN to receive reminders for the Young Networkers of Waterloo Region Chapter

You'll receive a confirmation text message back to confirm your subscription. If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, instructions are included in your welcome message.

The SBCN does have an automated reminder via email that alerts the contacts who subscribed to the list when our events are, and this works well. But for those who prefer not to receive those emails the automated text messaging service is a good substitute. Both of the options we chose to use save us time and in turn save us money. The SBCN is also seen as an organization that moves with the times and looking to the future generation of leaders, they are more likely to want text messages versus emails.

Another nice aspect to the text service is a time saver for me when networking! We have an auto responder setup that replies with my contact details (akin to a business card) when someone texts my name to our special ‘short-code’ number. They then have my number, e-mail address and web-site details directly on their mobile phone. This is a great way to save money and is quick to do, and also works well if you find yourself out and about with no business cards.

We are lucky that one of our members introduced us to the text messaging service; otherwise I am not sure we would have known to look into it. My advice would be to check out what other organizations are doing to save them time and money and you will probably find there are a lot of applications and such like out there that can be put into place.

I am not a tech savvy person but I pick a lot up from my business partner and husband Dave. If you are not lucky enough to have someone on hand like I have, just ask your connections who do know about these kinds of offerings. I find it exciting to see new and useful technology being used by small businesses in particular and it is definitely something that is growing all the time.

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.” - Stewart Brand

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is President of Motivational Steps and  Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in  Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

Did you know that being able to let go can make the difference between success and failure? Did you know that trust in an organization is vitally important to employers and employees?

If you take a second look at my last blog post, "Attracting and Retaining Top Talent" you will see in this blog post I am continuing a theme. Being able to attract and retain top talent is a challenge for large and small organizations, more so today with the Internet opening up so many new opportunities. This time I wanted to share with you how managing a team can definitely impact your team member’s decision when they are offered a chance to move to another company.

I have to admit I am a bit nervous when it comes to outsourcing some of the work I can no longer do because my business has grown. I’ve also have had challenges retaining some of the people I trusted to take on the work. My challenges have centred on the Small Business Community Network group I co-founded 8 years ago. Finding young leaders who had a vision and a desire to learn and to become Chapter Directors was not as easy as I thought it would be. Thankfully I found the middle ground and offer rewards my fantastic Chapter Directors felt they would benefit from. These young leaders were less interested in the financial rewards but knew the benefits of the training involved and the business connections they would be making relationships with. Obviously as these positions are on a part time basis this works well for them, so it’s a great outcome for everyone involved. But as we discussed in my blog last time it really is not all about the money and as you read on you will discover how managers can definitely impact whether their top talent stays or not after they have attracted them.

Managing a team in today's environment means more than telling your team what to do! I believe that there are managers out there who already know this and exhibit a leadership ethic that promotes a healthy and happy team.

Obviously there are different ways to ‘manage’, finding your comfort zone is crucial, but you are not able to do that unless you truly know ‘yourself’.

Ask yourself a few questions and this insight will help you gain an awareness of what kind of manager you might be:

• Do you trust everyone in your team
• Are you comfortable delegating to others
• Can you ‘let go’ once you have handed over a project
• Are you available to your team
• What do you know about your team
• Do you feel it is important to socialise with your team
• How often do you have one on one sessions with members of your team

Do you trust everyone in your team?

That is a good question. What is trust? I believe trust comes from knowing the other person, believing in their integrity and knowing they trust you. Once the common theme of trust is developed the manager knows he can leave the other person to get on with the project. If there is a problem at any point knowing they will ask for help or advice gives the manager a sense of security.

Are you comfortable delegating to others?

Being able to delegate projects to others without feeling you have to baby-sit the team enables you to move on with more important matters only the manager can do. Not being comfortable delegating means that you are probably checking up on the team and making them feel uncomfortable. Leaving them to get on with the project, and knowing they will ask for guidance if needed is what the team deserves.

Can you let go once you have handed over a project?

This is where the ‘clinging process’ can hold back a good manager. Trying to cling on to the project and always have a say in it, even when you have handed the project over to someone else, can only lead to members of your team believing you do not trust their judgement. Obviously you will be asked for your opinion somewhere in the process and this is where a team collaborates and works towards a common goal.

Are you available to your team?

This is quite a basic part of being a manager. A good manager always conveys to his team that he is ‘available’. Whether it is a work challenge or a personal challenge, advice or support is a valuable asset to offer your team. Some managers make it easier for their team to know they can be approached by setting aside a special time that is allotted purely for chatting about how their week has progressed. Other managers may prefer to arrange a lunchtime event where the atmosphere permits more time and is a bit more relaxed than within the office. True leaders make it known to their team that their door is always open and this promotes a comfortable feeling, with none of the fear of being told "this is not a good time". Obviously there will be times the managers door may have to be closed, but that can be made apparent in the calendar everyone sees.

Do you feel it is important to socialise with your team?

Socialising with your team members is important in the sense that it fosters the ability to be more relaxed and open. Lunchtime events are normally the most popular choice for socialising with just the team members. After hours socialising events may, on occasions include the spouses/family members of your team. This promotes a feeling for the spouses/family members of being included and it enables everyone to get to know each other better in a less formal setting.

What do you know about your team?

True leaders realise that being part of a successful team comes from knowing each member of his team. You know their strengths, weaknesses and, if they wish to share with you, you know some things about their personal life. Some things that might be beneficial to know are:

• Does this member of your team have interests outside of work.
• If the answer to the above question is "no" you have to make sure that stress and overwork is not a conflict in the sense that "all work and no play" can prejudice judgement and health on occasion.
• What hobbies the members of your team may have outside of work. This can give you a better idea what kind of person they are and what personality traits they have.
• If the members of your team have families, do they want to share information about their families? This can give you an idea what kind of support they might have outside of the work environment. Most people like it when someone takes an interest in their life and enquires how their weekend went etc.
• What visions do your team have for the organization and for their career transitions?
• Most importantly of all, are your team members happy and if not, why not?

How often do you have one on one session with members of your team?

If you read back over the questions and answers we asked earlier, this question will be easier to answer. You will know why these sessions are important and decide if you want to implement such sessions.

True leaders are not always born to lead; some leaders had to learn the hard way. Living life's experiences and learning from their mistakes, recognizing their strengths and weaknesses and being authentic makes a true leader a visionary!

“I'm slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.” -- Scott Adams

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is a President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in  Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

It’s LindaOJ here again today, happy to be writing another TELUS Talks Business Blog post, and I have a few questions for you today about communication.

1. Did you know how you communicate can ultimately save you time and money?
2. Did you know people judge you by the way you communicate?

Communication is an integral part of our lives, from the minute we wake up until we go to bed we are communicating with family members, friends, business colleagues and customers. Some of these people may have relationships with us that span many years so have gotten used to the way we communicate, or don’t communicate. When it comes to customers it’s another matter.

As a small business owner myself I network at a lot of different events and this is where I learn a lot about communication.

One example is the networker who has just met me, introduces themselves to me, takes about 10 minutes sharing everything they do, what they sell and all the reasons why I should buy their product or service. I tend to go very quiet when this happens, listen and observe their body language. Some things I am looking for are:

• Comfortable and at ease when chatting with others, confidence when they speak about their business, knowledge about their products and services, but more importantly, a desire to find out more about me, their prospective customer.
• Are they using my name when they converse with me, or are they offering me the typical sale spiel which fits every size, budget, location etc.
• A chance to join the conversation, share some information about myself, often as not this is not possible as the person finishes their ‘elevator speech’ offers me a business card and moves on to the next person.

Communication is vital when networking, but the above examples are a great way to determine if you, the possible customer wants to take the next step and find out more about the products/service being offered you, or if you walk away. Ultimately when people communicate in a way that demonstrates it is all about them and the sale they want to make, their communication skills are not up to scratch and they lose more than they gain.

Emails are another great example of our how communication may lead to misunderstandings or no replies. It is very easy to fire off an email and fail to add the call to action. We might think that the reader knows what we want, but are they mind readers? If you don’t ask for a reply by return more often than not you will not receive a reply at all.

"We're at the point now where the challenge isn't how to communicate effectively with e-mail, it's ensuring that you spend your time on the  e-mail that matters most." - Bill Gates.

More of a concern for me with communication today is Twitter. I think 140 characters is a great idea and if you keep it simple you can communicate very well with fewer words. But, the problem arises for the people who do not understand Twitter and constantly want to sell, they take the short cut and communicate via direct message. So many businesses lose out because they cut to the chase with no run up communication and I find this rude. Twitter is a great way to build a relationship and take it from there.

I think I am a good communicator, but even I get it wrong. A few years ago I had left a message with the Mayor of Toronto and was I surprised when he phoned me back, or so I thought. This is how a telephone call ended up in a state of utter confusion and caused a lot of laughter from my family. The phone rang; I picked it up and stated who I was. The person speaking had an accent (as do I) and I asked who he was. My brain heard “It’s the Mayor”. I promptly went on to explain why I had contacted him, and I talk fast when I am excited. I told him how happy I was he had phoned me back and then I paused for breath. The guy sounded confused and kept on saying “It’s the Mayor” or so I thought. Eventually it came to light what he was saying was “It’s Damere” who was actually a friend of one of my sons. I think if my brainset had not been in the mode of “The Mayor” I might have thought twice before making an assumption, especially as I knew in the back of my mind that the Mayor of Toronto had a Canadian accent, which the person at the end of the phone obviously did not have.  I believe my thought process was so caught up on the challenge I wanted to share with the Mayor my listening skills disappeared and my communication suffered.

From Wikipedia:

Communication is the activity of conveying information. Communication has been derived from the Latin word "communis", meaning to share. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender. Feedback is critical to effective communication between parties.

From the above meaning of the word Communication you will see the last line states “Feedback is critical to effective communication between parties”, if this does not happen challenges can arise.

Have you ever noticed how in a heated debate someone’s attitude might change, they could become aggressive or even feel threatened, this can alter the image someone has of a person. If you are in the business world you could be seen to be unfriendly, or untrustworthy, judged by your actions that follow communication.

Whether you are communicating by the written word or spoken word you should take time to think out the message you want to convey. It has been said that if you smile when you are speaking to someone via the phone they can tell you are in a happy frame of mind.

Texting is a popular way to communicate; some texts are sent with typos in them and spell something different than the intended message. Most of the time this is funny, but there have been occasions when this could cause problems.

Richard Branson, a man I admire very much is very much into communicating with people he works with. His monthly newsletter to employees offers details for Virgins future plans, plus how to contact Richard if they feel they need to. I believe this kind of communication stems from trust, and the trust offered from Richard to his employees encourages loyalty which is a wonderful asset in any organization.

I am a good communicator, but have had to tailor how much I communicate depending on the individual person I am dealing with at the moment in time. Not everyone needs, or wants, all the information. I still have challenges when I am dealing with lack of communication, but tend to deal with each person differently. Where my business is concerned I do have my list of how I want employees to communicate with me and what kind of time frame. Knowing my expectations leads to less confusion and challenges long term. When I feel communication is not forthcoming and it should be I have to step back and review the situation, rather than act on my emotions. Again the situation is determined on the person I am communicating with, and it took me a long time to learn this.

"We never listen when we are eager to speak."
- François de La Rochefoucauld

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is a President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

Over the past year I have been sharing my blogs with you and I thought it would be great to look back over some of those thoughts and share some of the points in them. Ideas that have helped SMB’s grow their small business to the next level of success: how to network, where and why and how giving back can propel you into the limelight. They’re about how this helps your small business and you, and how your motivation can certainly be one of the keys to your success.

One of my blogs entitled, “Here we go A-Blogging” was a popular read and I think this is because once we have a small business we struggle to find ways to create more exposure, and credibility for our business. I have been writing blogs for several years now and this has been a fantastic way to gain a larger audience and certainly be noticed. I’ve encouraged people who blog to be authentic, let us into their lives, even a little bit; and this creates trust. Write about things that interest you, and that you are passionate about, and the readers will keep coming back for more. You will soon notice how Google likes to pick your blog posts and showcase them, which in turn leads to more people noticing you and what you do.

A particular favourite of mine is the blog post I wrote back in January of this year: Business Networking Lessons From The 19^th Century. Networking plays an important part in growing your small business, and this post shares how people have been networking since the 18^th Century, why and how they network and some of the benefits involved. Some SMB’s find networking confusing; some fear it and even give up, thinking that their clients will find them. They have no need to go out and about and become known by connecting with other SMB’s. I like the word “longevity”—it offers me a feeling of trust, and this blog post points out that people have been networking for hundreds of years now, so it must be a good thing to do!

I am a great believer in giving back to the community, and today more than ever the word community is a very powerful word and spans the globe, as the world has gotten smaller with the onset of social media opportunities. Giving back comes in many shapes and forms, and you may hear the word philanthropic now and then, but that word can sometimes confuse people. Philanthropy is not all about giving money, there are lots of other ways you can become a philanthropist and my blog post called “How Can Being a Small Business Philanthropist Help You” certainly gave people food for thought. Here is one of my reader’s comments that says it all:

“Linda continues to amaze me with her incredible energy and fortitude no matter what the challenge is. In the world of grassroots “Philanthropy” it doesn’t always require a huge bank account as long as one has the passion for helping others. Although money is the primary resource for most organizations, Linda continues to show her value in the giving of her advice, her skills, her depth of network and her ambassadorial role that she plays for the many causes that she supports.”

Last but not least another favourite blog post of mine is actually centred around the word ‘motivation’, a word that can often scare people and lead them to run away screaming “I don’t need to be motivated”. Our reasons for becoming a SMB vary, but first and foremost if we love what we do, if we are passionate about our work and helping others, and we are motivated (or find ways to help become motivated) we are the lucky ones. Motivated people definitely get things done. They do climb the ladder of success, and remember success has a different meaning to everyone. To me, success means being healthy, happy and having my family and friends around me. Take a look at this blog post: When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Motivated, and see what you think. Here is a favourite quote of mine

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

I want to say thank you to everyone at TELUS Talks Business for offering me this wonderful opportunity to share my blog posts with you in 2011 and also thank you, my readers for your comments and the support you offer by reading, sharing and talking about my blog. I look forward to 2012 with great excitement and hope to see you all in the New Year, Happy Holidays everyone!

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is the Social Sweetheart. She is President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

LindaOJ here again and I want to share with you in this blog how I managed to stay motivated during many challenging times whilst building my two businesses.

Bearing in mind I had no intention of starting a small business when I returned to school in February 2001, I find it remarkable that I managed to stay around this long. I often say I fell into business. That is exactly what happened when one of the teachers asked me if I would offer a presentation to her health & wellness class. Like an idiot (or a very brave person) I didn’t hesitate and said yes immediately! Even though I had never spoken in public before and had no idea what I was going to say, other than tell my own story.

After my year at school I had been rather spoiled in the fact that I had spoken at most of the schools in my area and had even been paid to speak at some. I imagined that it would be really easy for me to find work once I was out there on my own. It was during that first year when I realized no one knew who I was and I had two choices: go out and about networking and meet as many people as possible, or sit at home and sulk. I chose networking and meeting people, and even though I felt like I was wasting my time because I was not making money, I carried on every day because my instincts told me it was the right thing to do. The point here was I’d had quite an easy time of it up until this point and I could have given up but I chose not to. A few reasons I kept going were:

• Before I returned to school (due to being diagnosed with breast cancer twice) I had worked 3 jobs. I was earning minimum wage and was treated badly at some of the jobs.
• I had found my true passion: Public Speaking. This in turn led me to another passion I had no idea about until it found me: Networking and Social Media.
• One of the main reasons I wanted to own my own business was to help people.

By 2003 Motivational Steps was doing really well. My husband and I then founded the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) and by 2004 everything was going smoothly. Or so I thought. I had not planned for an operation in October 2004, which meant I could not do the work I loved most: standing on a stage and inspiring the audience.

What motivated me to keep on going was my dream of writing a book, due to bed rest I had plenty of time to write my first book: A Life Like Mine. After a successful book launch in 2005, I was still being plagued by biopsies but my motivation was strengthened once my results came back OK. I loved my work and I was determined to grow my two businesses.

2007 was the best year ever from a work perspective. I was kept busy with keynotes, business development coaching and offering monthly meetings and special events for the SBCN. My motivation plummeted when it was thought I had bone cancer. As luck would have it I was rushed to hospital with a kidney infection! I then discovered I had skin cancer on my nose and the results came back when I was resting at home that I had osteoporosis not bone cancer, I felt quite blessed.

Now you might think because I offer motivational presentations along with my business related ones that it is easier for me to stay motivated versus a regular person, so to speak. Believe me I have found some of my challenging times hard to bear, but my secret weapon is my family and close friends. Being able to talk about my personal and business challenges helped also. I always believed in myself, but not always in certain aspects of my work, so that is when I turned to my mentors for advice.

Neither of my businesses has needed a lot of money to start up. I have a home office but always recognize when I need to be with people and this is where networking comes in handy. Some of the attributes people tell me keep me going are:

• Perseverance
• Belief
• Passion
• Dedication

Maybe I have been relatively lucky escaping some of the business related challenges many small business owners face. For different perspectives I turned to a couple of friends and business connections of mine I met when I was in the UK presenting at a conference recently.

Colin Durrant is Managing Director of Colins-IT and had this to say:

Well it can be really tough and recently I have had some tough times. Clients not paying, huge bills to pay and you wonder if it is all worth it. I think the best thing is to talk to someone about it and then usually they can put things into perspective and if nothing else point out how well you are actually doing.

I have a business coach and he is very good and helping me with various challenges I come across.

Having a sales pipeline also helps I find. When you can see what work is potentially coming in it motivates you, if there is a lot coming in that is.

Having strict processes in place for how you work also helps me. We have put a lot in recently. Customer quote, customer sales order, invoice etc. Just a process for how you deal with quotes and orders and chasing money. Also contracts are very important. This is exactly what we are going to do for you and this is exactly how much and when you are going to pay us for doing it. Saves so much mis-understanding in the future….

Meanwhile, Independent Consultant Richard Tubb shared his thoughts:

As a businessman, when faced with a challenge – my instinct is to “crack on” and resolve that issue as quickly as possible. What I’ve found is that it’s typically better to stand back, assess the challenge fully – often seek the advice of others for a separate viewpoint – and then move forwards to try to resolve the challenge.

The key to staying motivated for me is to regular take time-out of my business and to turn my attention elsewhere. This could be by visiting a seminar or presentation, a conference or workshop, or as simple as taking a walk or reading a book during the working day. When our focus is taken off “doing” in the business, our sub-conscious mind often re-charges our batteries with new ideas and motivations that we’d otherwise have missed.

"Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner." - Les Brown

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is the Social Sweetheart. She is President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

Linda OJ here again, feet firmly planted back in Canada where I work and live after my mammoth five-week business trip to Europe and the States. On my travels one word kept popping up and it prompted me to find out a little bit more about the “Cloud” everyone seems to be excited about. As you can see the title to this blog post is actually the title of a very well known song, and in my silly moments I can imagine business rivals accessing their cloud and finding someone there who does not belong and shouting at them to, “get off my cloud!”

It appears to me that this phenomenon (the cloud) is being treated like a super star and is so unique and different everyone wants to get in on the act. My first thought here was: no one has reinvented the wheel here, but they have certainly created a great buzzword! That’s when my alarm bells sound and I know have I have to do some research, mainly because as a small business owner myself and the fact my work involves helping other SMB’s, I would not be very forward thinking if I ignored the cloud or jumped into using it without knowing why, and how, and all the other important factors.

In my own simple terms I can tell you that the cloud idea simply means instead of storing all our data on our own computers or servers we can use the cloud. The cloud is basically an online service offering us the chance to store our data anywhere in the world where the cloud has space. Obviously we do need an Internet connection in order to use this service. There are probably a lot of challenges associated with the cloud, but like anything new that’s OK. I think we have to give these new offerings a chance. One of the challenges I foresee though is, if the people who look after your cloud disappear what happens to your data? This could consist of your emails, photos, music, and client information.

This is when I turn to my very own security expert Dave OJ and ask him a few questions that I need answers to and I hope will help you too:

How long has the cloud been around?

The concepts underpinning the cloud originate as far back as the 1960’s. However, the technology that enables the modern day cloud has gained prominence over the last 10 years.

What advice would you offer a SMB who might be looking at using this new technology?

The cloud offers the potential for dramatic IT cost savings and increased flexibility and reliability. To use an analogy, many small businesses will outsource bookkeeping and accounting to a specialist. The cloud allows SMBs to do the same thing with their IT systems, infrastructure and data whilst enjoying the economies of scale.

Can we store as much data as we want on the cloud we are using?

The cloud means that computing resources and storage are treated as a utility, much like electricity. In essence you pay for what you use. Be that storage space or computing power. Whilst it’s not physically unlimited, the cloud does present the illusion of infinite resource where we pay for what we use—just like electricity.

One of the biggest concerns today is security online and hackers gaining access to our information. Is the cloud a better security choice than our own servers?

It depends. The cloud can bring some distinct security advantages such as having a comprehensive security monitoring and expertise. This can often reduce the need for SMB’s to invest as heavily in securing their critical data. On the other hand the cloud can also introduce new security considerations. As an example: cloud services typically store multiple customers’ data on the same infrastructure, a so-called multi tenant system. If there is a potential security breach this may mean the attacker has access to significantly more data than in the past.

Lastly, the cloud can introduce challenges around privacy and compliance because the SMB no longer has direct control over where their data lives and how it is protected.

What happens if the cloud we are using disappears?

The cloud may ‘disappear’ for several reasons. The cloud provider could go out of business, meaning your data may be permanently gone. Connectivity to the cloud provider may be interrupted, meaning that your data is inaccessible. The cloud provider could also experience an outage causing a loss of access such as happened with the Amazon cloud early in 2011. Businesses should therefore understand these risks and plan accordingly.

~

Thanks to Dave OJ I have a better understanding of the cloud and my understanding is, in reality, it has some of the same risks and challenges and benefits associated with it as if we were storing our data in the traditional manner.

I also interviewed two small business owners who are members of my business network group, the Small Business Community Network (SBCN), because they are using the cloud for their business needs and I felt their thoughts would be helpful. This short video features Nikos Rentas of Satner Hosting Solutions and Ron Cherry of SureVoice Telecom Solutions.

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology."

- Carl Sagan

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is a President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org