The Importance of Asking About the Contract: Our 29-Page Lease

In my work with clients, I often remind them how important it is to carefully review documents before signing them—especially as it relates to inserting yet more provisions.

For a while now, Causeit has been searching for a new office space. After a round or two of false starts, including one we were almost ready to sign on, we found the perfect spot. What has the new place work so well is that we carefully crafted a list of wants (negotiable) and needs (non-negotiable) before we ever saw an office. We even came up with a one-sheet of what it might look like and a list of our needs and wants:

Our mini-floorplan and wishlist Our mini-floorplan and wishlist
This meant that when we looked through the lease (a generic and exhaustive document covering almost every industry and largely, of course, favoring the landlord,) we were able to quickly identify potential sticking points. Some of the changes we made:


  • Negotiating a less-restrictive clause about bringing material in and out of the building (we have a lot of loading and unloading to do)

  • Clarifying use of the office to include our deskshare concept for business incubation and network-building, so that no confusion would happen in the future regarding whether or not deskshares qualified as sublets

  • Finding out exactly what we were permitted to do with the space regarding subletting and assignment (the process of handing off responsibility in the lease to another party) so that we know exactly what will happen when we go to expand
These are just little things, but, left unchecked, they can become a laundry list of little anxieties for the tenant as they attempt to conduct normal business without being in standing violation of their lease. As an added bonus, our new landlords were very impressed with our attention to detail in the lease, and knew that we were committed to open and honest communication—a bit of social capital (relationship) which could help, perhaps, in the selection process if we are in competition with more-established businesses when we next choose to expand to larger space in the building.

Use Google Docs to Share for Free

How many times have you wanted to work on a simple document with a friend or colleague, only to be stopped by problems constantly sending files back and forth? Or needed to share a spreadsheet with a client, only to find their copy of Excel won't open your file? As part of our series on web applications for small business, we'll take a look at Google Docs as a way to save you money.

Google Docs is a free service which allows you to work on basic documents (word processing, spreadsheets and presentations) in your browser. At a basic level, it provides the most commonly used functions of programs likes Microsoft Office for free. Your files are stored online, instead of on your computer—which means that crashes and viruses don't affect them, but your ability to access the web does (for example, if your cable modem goes out, you can't access your documents until you find another internet connection). This sort of online file storage is referred to as 'the cloud' in Web 2.0 parlance.


Google Docs also allows for the wonderful experience of jointly authoring or editing a document. Say, for example, that you are working on a notice from the board of your neighborhood association. You could try to get everyone together in the same room to edit at the same time, or attempt to pass around a document (while tracking revisions of it) or delegate the task to just one person.

Instead, Google Docs allows you to create or import a document and then share it with other users (either in an editing or read-only capacity) to make it easy for everyone to contribute (or just comment). No downloads, installations or virus-scanning is required. This is also a great way to work on joint budgets or other technical and rapidly-changing information. During one busy period, my partner and I used the spreadsheet function to track apartments we were looking at and the status of each rental application. It saved us a lot of 'missed leads' or duplicate communication. Google Docs can even send notifications to other users when a file is modified, taking out the step of emailing 'look at this change.'

While there are a few bugs in its implementation (formatting isn't as fluid, as, say, Apple's iWork program, or even Microsoft Word), the convenience of shared documents and the ease of use make Google Docs a great tool for just about any user looking to either save money on Office or bring friends and co-workers into the editing process.

Saving Money with Web Apps

If you've ever checked your free e-mail account from a friend's computer without paying a dime, you've experienced of glimpse of web apps. Most small business owners don't know that everything from accounting to conference calls can be achieved online for low or no cost, so we've chosen to write a series on small business savings via web apps. We'll evaluate the benefits, utility and cost of a number of applications. Since Causeit, Inc. is in the process of converting many of our desktop documents into web-capable systems, many of these trials will be supported by our own experience or those of our clients. Here are some of the potential topics [please suggest more!]:

  • Mind-Mapping and Outlining Tools to Organize Your Thoughts

  • Bookkeeping in a Browser: Online Bookkeeping & Invoicing

  • Using Google Documents to Share For Free

  • Teleportation: Remote Access and Meetings Via the Web

  • Save on Saving: Online Backup Tools

  • Can Facebook Actually Get You Clients?

  • Using LinkedIn for Networking Knowhow and Reference-Checking

  • Online Phone Systems: Press 1 For Cheap Voicemail & Calls

  • Google Calendar: Scheduling Your Success/Workgroup Calendars for $0 a User

  • Remember the Milk: Free, Powerful Online Task Management

  • E-Mail Marketing: What's the Best Deal?

  • Online Project Management: Does it Really Save Time?



Web apps, those hallmarks of the Web 2.0 age, have promised to be the future of computing. These apps are often as part of what's called a Software as a Service (SaaS) business model, where users pay for usage of the software on a subscription basis (sometimes with a limited or basic free version, occasionally ad-supported). As a general principal, web apps which charge a subscription fee offer flexibility to the purchaser, because you pay as you go, instead of a costly up-front fee. Take Freshbooks for example: Freshbooks, an online invoicing system whose feature set we will explore later, offers a number of different pricing models: a free version with support for one user and a total of three clients (suitable for demoing the product or the one or two clients you have who are postpaid) and a number of of paid versions with larger capacity and featuresets starting at about $14 per month.

First Look: Comapping: Shared Mind Maps

At Causeit, we often use outlines or other organizing tools to help process the huge volume of information and brainstormed ideas in staff or client meetings.

comapping.com comapping.comWe've struggled to find a solution that works to meet the needs of our clients across the board, though. Simple solutions like word processing documents are often too limited, graceful desktop apps cost money and/or are platform-specific and may not share easily, and web apps online only work with a good internet connection and often have limited features.

In a blog entry from GTD Times we may have found a solution in Comapping. It's not 'battle-tested' yet, but seems to be an affordable software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for sharing thoughts, collaboratively authoring outlines and mindmaps, and even beginning the work of coming up with task delegation. It looks like it will work both online and offline (using Adobe Air), and the interface, while not the sexiest, is a good blend of power and entry-level accessibility.

Jury's still out, but you can check it out at Comapping.com.

Bad Weather. Good Business.

When the weather gets foul, as it has recently here in Portland, business can grind to a halt. Service-based businesses, however, can use it as a chance to get a leg up on their less-prepared (or less-committed) competition. 

The general guideline to keep in mind is that your clients are encountering big hits to their routines and likely their own profitability, efficiency and stress levels. You can help ease their weather pain. A well-prepared plan of your own can make you stand out from the competition by providing special attention to your clients, while 'snow-day' time can allow you to catch up for the end of the year.

When you see storms coming, make sure you've at least: 


  • Printed out hard copies of critical documents needed to maintain business function (directions, calendars, deposit schedules, etc.)

  • Prepared for your own needs at home (food/water, weatherizing, emergency supplies and childcare plans, to name a few)

  • Ensured access to transportation (bus schedules to critical appointments, etc.) and communication (mobile access to email and phone with fully charged batteries)

  • Notified key business partners (especially banks and other institutions whom you may not be able to pay in a timely manner)

  • Planned communication to employees regarding office opening times/snow day status (consider linking your snow-day status to a nearby school until the weather becomes less difficult)
Then, with the extra time and calm, support overwhelmed clients:

  • Use time from cancellations of networking meetings or other routine events to create new value for your clients. For example, could you bring your business to them, rather than have them come to you? If a client who typically comes to your office can stay warm and safe at their own office or favorite coffee shop while you brave the weather on their behalf, it lets them know how committed you are to their business and their needs. 

  • Catch up on past-due work or do 'extra credit.' If you have assignments which are near-due or past-due, use 'snow day' time to finish them up and deliver them while your client has time to review them more carefully than normal. If you find market info for them while you're cruising around the net, save it and send it in a courtesy email. 

  • If your client is overburdened by managing the weather, lend a hand. If you have a weather-worthy car and give a ride, or have extra supplies around, offer yourself to your clients. Could you be the sand-man and bring salt or anti-slip grit to your client's doorstep, perhaps with a note?

  • Be proactive about keeping appointments. My partner and I have been leaving twenty minutes earlier to get to the office, and I have been confirming every appointment which might be affected by travel, adjusting timelines to ensure that I can get myself there on time or that my client isn't rushed in bad weather.

  • Catch up on correspondence, blogs and social networks. If you are on Facebook, Linkedin or any other sites, use the fact that many more people will be home on the net than usual; start conversations with new contacts and catch up with acquaintances you haven't been in touch with recently.

  • Don't surprise your clients with a bill if they're not expecting it. If your clients normally pay you in person or from their office, but you know they're stuck at home, make polite arrangements to collect in advance. Framing the conversation with "So that you don't have to brave the weather…" or another statement which will genuinely provide value. I've let trusted clients know that they can put off their retainers a bit, or offer to come pick up their check. Especially if the bill is unexpected (eg, not a retainer or subscription), consider the other expenses your clients may be incurring to deal with the weather, and think about delaying until after the storm.

  • Be clear about cancellation policies, and revise them prior to the next storm.

 

Tools Causeit uses in storms: 

 

Oregon Department of Transportation TripCheck and Google Maps traffic view

Safe Driving Tips

For all the Portlanders our there, here are a few great foul-weather driving tips a business associate forwarded to Causeit.

Considering the early and continuing winter weather we are having, I decided to fire off an email to my son, who is now living in New Mexico. As a TV journalist, he will be doing a lot of traveling on snow and ice-covered roads and up and down mountains. He has relatively little experience driving in these conditions, and that is true of many of us living here in Portland. After sending this to him, it occurred to me that I might share it with some of my friends. I am not insinuating that anyone is not a "good" driver. However, I have traveled on snow and ice and over steep mountains more than anyone I know. I was also a licensed instructor at several trucking schools, as well as training director at one. I hope there may be something of value for you as well in this letter I sent to him. Feel free to forward this if you think it's worth something to others you know.

 

—————————————————————————

Hi Son,

Please allow me to be not only a "dad" who sometimes (rarely but yes, sometimes) worries about you - but also a professional driver.

Remember this comes from years of experience and literally hundreds of thousands of miles in bad weather on 18 wheels (with as many as 30 wheels - three trailers - sometimes) in weather worse than most people ever even see! And no accidents. But I have seen too many injuries and deaths in bad weather. The vast majority were avoidable and were caused by driver error and often, stupidity. I say stupidity because most people know these rules. They don't remember them when the time comes and that is their downfall. Portland is a great example because it snows so rarely here. That will not be the case in New Mexico. So, to start out, the following rules for driving in cold weather and/or isolated areas:

RULE # 1: ALWAYS drive with your HEADLIGHTS on when weather is rainy, snowy, foggy, or just plain dull. In fog, usually low beams are better. Use fog lights in fog and turn them OFF when it is not foggy. Fog lights are blinding to oncoming traffic. Don't jeopardize the safety of others. It's your safety too.

RULE # 2: ALWAYS adjust your speed to the road conditions. Want to have a wreck? Just speed on snow and ice. More on that later.

RULE # 3: ALWAYS carry safety equipment with you. A thermal blanket. Water. Food (crackers, chips, health bars, etc.) Extra Jacket. Hat. A change of clothing (including footwear and socks). Seriously, you could run off the road and not be discovered for a long time - long enough to freeze to death.

RULE # 4: ALWAYS keep your fuel tank filled. Never park overnight with the fuel tank below 1/4 tank in freezing weather. Consider the halfway mark as empty. Bad weather causes businesses to close - including gas stations. If you get ice in the gas line you are stuck. No motor means no heat. (If you do run the engine to get heat be sure to keep two windows partially open - not just cracked - open - for proper ventilation.)

OK, now general info:

Anti-Lock Brakes:

Know if your vehicle has them and find out if they work. Anti-lock brakes function TOTALLY opposite to standard brakes and for a lot of us older folks, this can be a problem. On slick roads with anti-lock brakes, you hit the brake pedal and let the vehicle do the work. The pedal will pulsate and often the first response is to take your foot off it because it "feels" wrong. NO!!! What you are feeling is the brakes being applied and released lightning fast by the computer system and this is why you do not go into a skid. If you keep your foot on the brake pedal, you should come to a stop in a straight line. However, even vehicles with anti-lock can go into a skid. It's up to YOU as the driver to keep control. Don't push the system beyond its capabilities. Steer  as straight as possible when the brakes are applied.

If you do feel a skid coming on, for example if you do NOT have anti-lock brakes, then by all means, take your foot off the brake. If the vehicle swerves, then gently turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. DO NOT turn the opposite as this will likely put you into a 360 spin. When brakes lock up it is because you hit them too hard. Remember, easy braking is very important on slick roads, especially if you do not have anti-lock brakes. When you think it's safe, resume braking - slow and easy.

Practice! Find a parking lot covered in snow or ice and practice these events. If you have some feel for an emergency you will react better. Put yourself into skids. Lock the brakes up. Get used to what it feels like because it is very likely to happen at some point. You don't have to go 50 mph to do this. Be safe but do it. Even at 15-20 mph, you'll get a feel for what it's like.

Road Hazards:

In cold weather, when snow begins to melt and disappear from the road, it usually leaves a dangerous layer of ice in its place. If possible, keep your wheels on snow pack to increase traction. Ice is very tricky to drive on and should be avoided. However, do not stop on a highway shoulder. Get off at an exit. If there is no safe place to park, pull off the exit ramp onto the entrance ramp to park on the shoulder. Never park on an exit ramp as traffic is too unpredictable and traveling faster than on the entrance ramp. People have to turn to get on the entrance ramp so their speed is decreased. Pull as far off the traveled roadway as possible but don't go too far and get your vehicle stuck. Duh!

To know whether or not you are on a wet road or ice, watch for spray from other vehicles (especially trucks with a lot of axles). You can even lower your mirror to watch your rear tires. If you see some water spray coming up, the road is wet. If you see no spray and the road looks shiny, you are probably on ice.  Wet roads (like rain) will throw up a spray. Ice will not. Adjust your speed if you cannot pull off the road.

Watch your speed in curves. On slick roads it is imperative to slow down well before entering a curve. This, and going down a hill are the most likely places for you to lose control. There is one way to avoid losing control on curves and hills and that is control your speed. Once in a curve, if you lose it there's no telling where you'll end up. You could go flying off into a ditch or a river and no one would even know about it. Going too fast down a hill is a losing proposition from the start. Once you exceed a speed at which you can stop, you won't stop until you reach the bottom, hit something or drive off the mountain - whichever comes first - and it is likely you'll hit something either on the way down or at the bottom, assuming you manage to stay on the road at all.

Do not make any sudden changes in driving. For example, don't speed up - gradually increase speed -  same for slowing down. Do not change lanes or do any movement erratically. Keep steering tight and smooth. Be prepared well in advance for traffic signals changing, stop signs, cross traffic. Don't trust that the person approaching a stop sign will stop - or be able to. Defensive driving is its most important in this kind of weather. No driving with your head up your ass. You must pay full attention to driving at all times. Use gears to help maintain control. Just because a car has an "automatic" transmission does not mean the you - the driver - the boss - cannot select a better gear for conditions. Drop gears in order. Don't go from 5th to 2nd on the fly or you will spin out. Shift ahead of the need to be in a lower gear. Let the gears keep your speed safe while going down hills and you won't have to touch your brakes. Remember that braking is when control becomes an issue.

At the storm's end beware of sand and gravel on the road. This causes slippery conditions even when the road is dry, especially in curves, turns, and when stopping. Remember this is true for leaves in the fall as well. They can be as slippery as ice.

Bridges, Overpasses, Ramps - ANYTHING that can get cold air from all sides (unlike the roadway) or that is not traveled on regularly, will freeze before the roadway and can REMAIN frozen even after the roadway is back to being just wet. This is especially true for highway exit ramps, entrance ramps, rest areas, side roads, parking lots, etc.  anywhere that does not have a continuous flow of traffic can be very dangerous. The higher the traffic flow, the warmer the road stays from friction. But as soon as traffic drops off, it's freezing time again. When you exit the highway, be careful that the ramp is not covered in snow or ice, even as the highway is clear. At the very least, there are likely to be icy spots.

Remember that when you go through a tunnel where the road is now just wet,  you'll eventually come out of it - and back on a slick or even icy road. Truth is, there is so much to think about when driving in this kind of weather that when I was in the big trucks, I used to seriously wonder about a lot of the people out on the road. They should have been home. Yes if you "have to go out" you do but a lot of people don't really "have to," they just "want to."

Again I remind you of going downhill. You live in an area that has a lot of steep grades. Anything marked as a steep hill for truckers is an advisory to you too even if it does not say the grade percentage. A 4% or steeper grade can be very dangerous. From 5% to 6% to 7% gets even worse. Get going too fast on these mountains and you have inertia AND gravity working against you. BTW, the percentage means that for every 100 feet you travel, you drop five feet in elevation on a 5%, six feet/100 on a 6% and so on. I have been on grades as steep as 10% and I'll tell you what, it's scary.

Finally, remember to watch ALL around you. Front, sides AND rear. Know who is coming up behind you and be prepared for a moron. If they want to go around, slow down and LET them. I cannot tell you how many times when I used to truck, I'd have other TRUCKERS come flying around me and making fun of me on the CB, asking what I was scared of, did my truck break down, why was I going backwards, all sorts of smart-assed comments. And then, further down the road, there they were in the ditch - stuck - crying for help. And I will be honest and tell you that I got on the CB radio and asked if they were injured. And that was the ONLY time I would stop. If they were not hurt, then I said goodbye. That I was too chicken to stop.

Driving Rules:

1. Regarding speed, I don't mean drive 10 mph when it is safe to do 30. But DON"T drive faster than you are comfortable driving. Then drop it by 5 mph. Always allow yourself a 5 mph buffer. The reality is that once you run off the road and get stuck, the trip is over. So there is no benefit to driving faster than you should. There is a lot of benefit to driving slower. I know I am repetitive here but  cannot say it enough time. Speed is the major factor in almost every bad weather wreck.

2. When braking, gently hit the pedal. If there is traffic behind you, gently tap your brakes once or twice before you get to where you will actually be slowing down to alert the drivers behind you. Do not brake in curves. Slow down BEFORE the curve.

3. Keep moving, especially up hills. The worst thing you can do on an ice or snow covered uphill grade is stop, especially if you do not have all wheel drive. Keep moving, however slowly is necessary even just above idling but try not to come to a dead stop.

4. Front wheel drive and rear wheel drive vehicles are different on slick roads. Usually, front wheel drive will get going better because it is pulling, rather than pushing, as in rear wheel drive. However, in curves, watch that rear end if you have front wheel drive and watch your front end if you have rear wheel drive. Oh, and there's a reason they are called "snow" tires. Don't be fooled by "all weather" as it's not the same. In order: snow tires, chains, cables, stay home.

5. All wheel drive? Great. You can go a lot easier. But you CANNOT STOP BETTER. In fact, it is likely it will take further to stop, as many all wheel drive vehicles are heavier - in some cases WAY heavier than a car. You still have four wheels on the ground, four brakes to apply and the same road surface. You may have better gripping tires but please do not have the illusion that you can drive like a moron and there will be no consequences. If you are driving a Chevy Suburban for example, you are already way heavier that an average car, you are in a vehicle that has a higher center of gravity, which contributes to rollover crashes, and more weight to throw you into a curve, or push you down a hill. So, the fact that in an all wheel drive you can go flying, remember you have to stop. Keep in mind when driving a truck or SUV, you need to drive differently than a car. Remember, NO sudden turns of the steering wheel - even on dry roads.

6. Pay attention to your stomach. It will speak volumes about safety to you if you listen. When I taught safety courses in trucking schools, I always told my students that their stomach was their best friend. It will react to what's going on instantly. Listen to it. If whatever you are doing doesn't "feel" right in your gut, stop doing it. On the positive side, if your gut tells you it's time to slow down, or pull off the road, do it!

All I am asking is for you to be safe. I am sure I missed something but I do hope you will use this.

 

Love you.

Dad—aka Chris R.

Mint.com and Personal Financial Management

In our courses, like Small Biz Group Coaching, we find that many of our participants are tired of managing their personal budgets by hand or with a clunky spreadsheet. Recently I found Mint.com, a personal financial management tool on the web. Once you grant it access to your online banking accounts, it downloads all of your transactions and balances into one place, looks for trends in your spending relative to your account history and to national financial data, and helps you monitor your progress with both your day-to-day investments and your long-term assets & debts.

Check it out—it's super-easy and pretty powerful. I've been using it for about a month and have already noticed some trends in my spending which I hadn't spotted in my system in Excel.

Networking: it's about community.

Networking is the practice of creating community. Creating a business requires creating teams of people. When you're a small business, many of the people on your 'team' are other businesses and professionals you meet in your daily adventures.


  • Offer value when you network—don't just look for where you can take something for yourself.

  • Listen for people’s commitments and how to acknowledge them and serve them.


Where can you build community? What communities are you already in?


  • Friends and family—make sure that you know what they’re up to, too. 

  • Can your friends and family articulate what you do and identify other people you’d like to help?

  • Neighbors and acquaintances: are there people you know who don't know what you do?


Networking in mixed crowds. Ask genuinely what people are interested in, and be prepared to answer the same question. No one wants to hear a sales pitch at a friend's barbeque, but will gladly tell you all about their career or their vacation plans.

Followup. Make sure that you follow up with people you meet, to cement the connection you began to create when you first talked to them.


  • Handwritten notes are your best bet

  • Phone calls and emails, if personal enough, are a distant second

  • Send referrals to people you do business with, or want to do business with


Convert to next steps


  • Always ask people if they would like to have coffee or lunch to continue your conversation. 

  • Carry a calendar, and ask to set a time right then.

  • Have times & places in mind already so that you can cluster-book and become a regular at a cafe or restaurant—another potential new community.

  • Confirm the appointment if you are unsure that they’ll make it


Manage your success


  • There’s an truth in business which applies particularly well to networking: If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it. 

  • Track your leads and connections, and more importantly, track what you’ve done for them recently.

What About Your (Other) Partner?

You are not the only one affected by your business decisions—partners and families are affected, too. In my capacity as a coach for entrepreneurs and business leaders, I've encountered a number of couples. Sometimes a business owner comes to me alone, and I only hear about a partner tangentially; other times partners show up at every meeting and effectively (or explicitly) serve as business partners as well. 

As the economy has gotten slammed by the credit planning (or lack thereof) of Wall Street and consumer spenders, many small business owners are piling on the hours to try to keep up. Sometimes they lower their prices, while others network more than they ever have. Sometimes they do both. Right now, many business owners who enjoyed focusing primarily on the product of their businesses (healthcare, art, etc.) are now having to pay much closer attention to their cashflows and marketing than they used to. Some business owners are looking seriously at whether they want to remain in business for themselves, and are considering part-time or full-time employment to create stability for their income. 

Who's affected by your decisions? Who's affected by your decisions?



When clients come to us and ask for support, one of my first questions to them is to ask who will be affected by their choices about the business' direction. Exercises such as value chains/webs/networks can expose the vendors, employees and end users who will be affected by your product; I invite clients to question who will be affected in your personal life as well. 

When you're working alone, it's easy to cut your partner or spouse out of the decision-making processes in your business, and gloss over your decisions as 'what has to happen' in the business, or what 'the economy' or some other nebulous force outside of your control is 'making' you do. Especially if your partner is not business-savvy, the difficulty of explaining business decision-making processes you yourself might not fully understand could be very challenging. 

Inasmuch as your personal life will affect your business, and vice versa, consider bringing in your partner or spouse, even if you don't 'have to,' as a way to build an ally in your business—someone gunning for your success.

Consider asking your partner the following questions: 


  • What does your partner or spouse want, if anything, out of your business? 

  • Are they excited about your business and ready to support you? Do you agree on what that support looks like? Do you have any idea how much support you will need?

  • What is the impact of what you do and how you work on them? If they're not clear what you're asking, consider topics like hours, reliability of income, and restrictions on their own self-expression in public settings (for example, as a son of a well-networked chiropractor in a small town, my actions reflected strongly on my mother, whether or not I wanted them to, and I also found that I could do far less things in public and expect them to be anonymous—the joke was that she would know who I was dating before I did).

  • Do they feel they are contributing to the business in such a way that they should be compensated in some way? In other words, is there a healthy, balanced exchange between them and your business?


Checking in with your partner about your business experience, especially when stress is on the horizon (or already here), can help your relationship and your business at the same time—and it costs nothing. It can give your partner a sense of control, even if just by the knowledge of what they can count on you for, and can give you an outlet for your own questions about the direction of your business.

Ars Technica Releases Excellent Critique of McCain Technology Policy



Ars Technica has released a comprehensive evaluation of McCain's technology policies. Check it out and research Net Neutrality, RIAA War and Sharing and other issues. In contrast, Ars Technica also reviewed Obama's technology policy, which includes provisions for more equitable access to high-speed internet in economically depressed areas and highly ambitious reform plans for our nation's technology infrastructure and government use of technology—including transparency provisions.

McCain's Tech Policy

Obama's Tech Policy

Jess Bogli Featured on OPB Piece on Sarah Palin and Sex Education

One of Causeit's clients, Jess Bogli, a highly regarded K-12 health education consultant was interviewed on OPB today. Think Out Loud aired a piece on health education as it relates to Sarah Palin's pregnant teenage daughter, Palin's stance on abstinence education in schools, and how sex education fits into an overall health curriculum. 

Find out more at OPB and meet Jess Bogli; read her blog post below: 
Today I was interviewed by Emily Harris of OPB’s Think Out Loud. It was a great experience and I hope that people listen and take out of it the following:

Teens are having sex. Not all, not even the majority. But, many are sexually active.

Family and community support is important; when you have it. Some of our teens are homeless, living in horrible living conditions, do not speak English well enough to navigate our health system, etc.

Abstinence-Only programs are ineffective. They have been proven ineffective over and over again. They work for intent, but do not lead to behavior change.

Abstinent-Based programs are effective and promote abstinence, but include contraception lessons. They have lead to behavior change and abstinence for a longer period of time.

Sexuality Education should be skills-based, not just basic biology where students learn information and are tested out of a textbook.

In Oregon, we need teachers to be supported through professional development opportunities by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Currently there is no health education specialist on staff and we’ve recently lost our school health team lead. We need to advocate to ODE to support school health programs. Because healthy kids learn better…

Posterous—One Email is All You Need to Have a Blog

Found on Guy Kawaski's How To Change The World
My favorite company of the day: Posterous. If TypePad is blogging, and Twitter is nano-blogging, then Posterous is mini-blogging. Or, blogging for the rest of us. You send an email to post@posterous.com with pictures, PDFs, video, etc, and voila! you have a blog.

Posterous logo
The implications are awesome: anyone with an email account can have a blog—no server, credit card or even ability to remember logins required.

Steps:



  1. Email your blog entry to post@posterous.com

  2. That's it.


Fall Events Announced and Open for Registration

Causeit's Fall '08 events are ready for you! Our courses combine rich, professionally designed workbooks and dynamic speakers on the business topics and skills you need to support your business and step beyond ordinary business. 

This fall, we'll be offering:

 

biz plans 101

sat 9.20.08 | 10-4 @ the q center
business plans can be a roadmap for your business, provide freedom and stability in a changing economy, and empower both you and your team to make powerful, quick decisions. learn the basics of market analysis, project planning, organizational design and financial measures & projections. leave with an outline for your business plan and connections from networking!

 

small biz marketing 101

sat 10.4.08 | 10-4 @ the q center
get the word out about your business with our half-day workshop! having a great business is not enough to bring clients in the door. you can have a pitcher of the best lemonade in the world sitting on your porch, but until someone knows they can buy a glass from you, you won't have a customer. learn about print and web marketing, the basics of p.r. and more! networking opportunities included!

 

small biz 101

sat 10.25.08 | 11-5 @ the q-center, portland or
come learn about intention in your business, basic planning, finances, the politics of business and the importance of public relations, marketing & etiquette at our sixth small biz 101 conference! workshops will be punctuated by networking-meet other small business people and have fun, and leave with a powerful, succinct plan for your projects!

 

A Case for Queer Small Business

by MJ Petroni, Causeit, Inc. Principal


What inspires Queer people to begin small businesses? While the allure of the American Dream, avoiding pressure to conform to hetero ideals within workplace environments, and the entrepreneurial ‘bug’ could be the reasons, perhaps some queers choose being in business for themselves to finally play by their own rules and to contribute to their own communities.

Small business is a phenomenon which provides powerful opportunities for personal growth and development, social change and, of course, profit. The small business owner must possess and cultivate vision, drive, planning and team-building skills. Small businesses accounted for 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs over the last decade, according to the Small Business Administration, which also indicated that the United States’ most innovative products, services and ideas are most likely to come from small business. Without effective management and direction, though, those ideas may never get to market.

Fortunately, queer people are in some ways ahead of the game. We have already dealt with many of the hurdles associated with small business management in other areas of our lives. Maintaining a sense of self-worth and faith in our vision (without agreement from our surroundings) is a skill many of us have already cultivated in the face of discrimination in schools, workplaces and mainstream society. Queer people often excel at finding powerful allies, fighting for personal and collective visions and creating effective, supportive communities—all talents essential for success in small business. 

The same skills and comfort with risk that many Queer businesspeople have used to their advantage in the corporate world equip queers to transform what’s acceptable and celebrated in business. A small business allows a queer person to take the energy and effort they’ve been devoting to recognition and equality in the workplace and put it towards business itself. Performance—not their gender expression or sexual orientation—may now be the primary factor determining their success. While Queer business owners, especially transgendered people, still must manage the disclosure and presentation of their identity, the daily administration of their business no longer need be an energy-sapping battle.

Queer chambers of commerce and business associations play an important role in furthering queer businesses’ efforts. After a recent presentation by Aditi Dussault of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, I left confident that advocacy for Queer small business is more powerful than ever. Due in part to the efforts of chambers of commerce, larger companies like Intel, Wells Fargo and Apple are prioritizing the inclusion of Queer businesses in their supply chain while capital lenders, mainstream business associations and the media are recognizing the influence of queer business and the queer dollar. Queer chambers also serve to network and develop queer businesses to strengthen their collective power, providing a web of connections much like the ‘old-boy’ networks of yore.

We have never had as hospitable an environment to be out in small business, nor have we had as much collective expertise. Simultaneously, due to our ability to be open and out, queer small businesses have an unprecedented capacity to direct our efforts and economic resources into our community; we can attend to the important healing needed for equality and self-confidence—while causing our own success and livelihood.

MJ Petroni is an executive officer of the Portland Area Business Association (a Queer chamber of commerce), and founder of Causeit, Inc., which causes the success of minority businesses, social enterprises and organizations through coaching, planning and public relations. Investigate at www.causeit.org or call 877-71-CAUSE.

©2007-8 MJ Petroni and Causeit, Inc. All rights reserved. We are open to re-posting and publication; inquire here.

Posted 22 August 2007.