Smith Bytes

Summer Singing in the City

2008-06-12T13:09:00.002+01:00

Summer Singing In The City was a huge success on Tuesday. A dozen ladies singing their hearts out in Dot-Art's gallery. And believe everything the Liverpool Echo says, it was therapy and is a total stress buster. So much so, that North West Tonight will be joining us for a good old singalong next Tuesday (17th June).

See you there - or be very stessed - and very square.

You've heard of Sex and the City ...

2008-05-22T14:35:00.003+01:00

... new, exciting, stimulating and fun at lunchtime ... now there's

Singing and the City!

Gotchya!

Starting on Tuesday 10th June at 12.30pm join in Singing Our Socks Off at the Dot-Art Gallery

This six week course will help you de-stress, improve your shower voice, network with your business comunity and make tuesday lunchtimes something to look forward to. You will sing African songs, songs fromour city and more. It may even lead to a performance for your colleagues and friends.

Each session costs a fiver and your first one is totally free.

So don't be shy and call Su to let her know you're coming on 07717 181 826. I'll be there - you'll hear me for miles!

Listen on Sunday at 11am on BBC Radio Merseyside

2008-05-08T01:05:00.003+01:00

And my day just gets better.

If you ever listen in to BBC Radio Merseyside, you'll perhaps know about Linda McDermott's late night live show which starts at 10pm. Myself, Christine Corscaden, Jo Lambe and Moureen Nolan have a girlie night in on the radio show with her on a Wednesday. It's pure therapy (for my part).

But we've been asked to give it up! Instead, we've been promoted to prime time at 11am on Sunday mornings. No more late nights on a Wednesday. And thank God it's radio, so if I look dog rough after a Saturday night out only those in the studio will see!

Listen in - you may get a mention!

Bighand round of applause for Outsourcing

2008-05-08T00:50:00.003+01:00

It's been a great day! After weeks of blood, sweat and tears Document Direct is now compatible with Bighand's digital dictation system. "Uh?" I hear you say.

Bighand are one of the major suppliers of digital dictation systems in the country. In fact they have about 80% of the top law firms in the UK as customers. And boy, would I like to have just a few of those 80% of law firms as customers. But there was a problem. Bighand digital recordings are in a different format to my system and that meant that I couldn't play their sound files to transcribe them. My problem was I was trying to put a Betamax video tape into a VHS video player - square peg/round hole. Our systems were just not compatible.

So we invested in some serious software development and computer programming to make all of this work. Graham Pengelley of Mainline Consultants has been stress tested today (and his software too) and the results have been brilliant! We passed all of Bighand's tests and checks and we're now working with Bighand as one of their approved outsourcing partners. Woo hoo!

New Website-New Blog

2008-05-01T13:40:00.004+01:00

I'm very guilty of not updating my blog. But I do have a good excuse. I've been working on our new website for Document Direct which also contains a blog.

I'll be focussing on getting some more typing work for our fantastic team so they can be kept busy and live their work-from-home dreams (pictured left).

Is it flexibility you're looking for?

2008-03-23T14:34:00.005+00:00

There are many reasons why people want to work from home and one of the most powerful motivations is the flexibility it gives you. When you're your own boss, you can choose when you earn and when you learn.

I've met a few virtual assistants recently who started their business because it will give them the flexibility to spent more time doing the things they really like - spending time with horses; studying to become a personal trainer; or studying for an alternative career.

If you're looking for an alternative career, why not consider I.T. There are many online training courses available which are affordable, offer flexibility which means you can learn whenever and wherever it suits you. And the area of IT is vast - so if you want to become a web developer, a support technician, computer programmer or an applications specialist, there are the right courses available for you.

The Learning Space is one such company which has a whole catalogue of training courses to suit any individual interested in any area of I.T. My particular favourite is Microsoft User Specialist.
With this course we can learn how to use Microsoft Office 2007 to its fullest and it comes with a whole host of resources which would be a dream to anybody who trains other in this field.

If you would like to learn more about the careers and courses available then fill in the form below and you will receive information by email.

This is an emailed joke but it made me smile ...

2008-03-20T18:35:00.003+00:00

The European Commission has just announced that English will be the official language of the European Union. German, which was the other possibility, narrowly missed out.

During negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly this will make sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favor of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer pepl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und after zis fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German; lik zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Sky TV: Bad Customer Service Or Theft?

2008-03-19T11:46:00.001+00:00

Sky TV steal £1000 (£2000) from a customer and refuse to give a refund. Why should these large companies be allowed to get away with blatant theft?

read more | digg story

Benefits to working from home (for others)

2008-03-09T21:20:00.002+00:00

Our poor Sharon has been poorly the last few days with tonsilitis and it was during a conversation when we were trying to cheer her up that we came up with some unusual benefits to working from home:

You don't get to spread the germs around your work colleagues, so the rest of the team has no excuses and can still shift the work. (Where do these germs come from anyway?)
You can keep the bucket by your desk so you can puke while you carry on working.
You don't frighten other people because you look like Alice Cooper.

But the best story comes from Sharon:

"Well, put it this way, on a night out with friends when I got sick (and that was through alcohol) she phoned an ambulance as she thought I had alcoholic poisoning – well, it turned out to be that I’d had my face so far down toilet, it had got stained with blue Toilet Duck – I can still hear hospital laughing!"

I should probably add footnote here for any international readers who don't know what Toilet Duck is: leave a comment with her email address and I'll explain it to you.

Unscary new technology

2008-03-05T10:45:00.002+00:00

How old is your mobile phone? It may sound a strange question, but my guess is that your phone isn’t more than 2 years old. And even if it was more than 2 years old, it would still have modern capability of sending and receiving a text message, perhaps be able to take a picture and maybe even have access to the internet.

Now do you have digital television? That could be either Freeview, Sky or cable TV. In a couple of years’ time we’re told that we will need to be switched over to digital or else we won’t be able to receive any television signals on even the main 5 channels so we’ll have no TV. I’m sure that with the cost of Freeview set top boxes falling at a daily rate that there are not many people out there who don’t yet have digital TV.

We’re constantly having new technology thrust upon us. We don’t always openly embrace the changes unless the benefits are clear cut and immediate. And when it comes to computers, or anything that’s linked to them, those changes are less likely to be embraced as it usually means learning a whole host of new skills.

Most manufacturers and service providers are aware that human beings, for the majority, don’t like change. We’re creatures of habit and we like our comfort zone. That’s why the modern digital TVs still have the same functions as the old analogue type, and mobile phones are, well, basically phones, with other bits and pieces stuck to them. If devices were made complicated, nobody would buy them.

So the same can be said for a new digital dictation device. Philips are still making a digital recorder with the slider control because that’s what people are used to. The main difference in the new technology is how the recordings are transferred to the secretary. Using internet technology means the secretary no longer need be in the same office as the author and a wider choice of people to complete the work is now available.

The digital revolution is well and truly underway. Just as the switch over to digital TV is taking place, the same is true for digital dictation systems. Dictaphone is just one company who are no longer manufacturing tape dictation machines and are choosing to manufacture digital recording devices only.

If you would like to learn more about digital dictation system and discover for yourself the benefits of Document Direct’s service please contact Jayne Smith on 0151 227 9150 or email jayne.smith@documentdirect.co.uk.

We're getting busy

2008-02-18T15:02:00.002+00:00

We've upgraded our systems, have the right people in place to do the work, and it's all going well. In fact, so well that we're now really busy. If you're reading this blog and think you know of anyone who may be interested in working with us then please direct them to the left hand of this page so they can ask for an application form.

We're also working on our partnership with Big Hand and will be up and running within the coming weeks and ready to help our all of those firms who use the Big Hand dictation system. Watch this space for future announcements.

Recruiting Success

2008-02-10T17:10:00.000+00:00

Just a quick update on how successful Recruiting Success has been for Document Direct.

Thanks to the work I've done with Steve Wooding, we've found another star secretary. Steve's expert advice on how to design advertising, application forms and questions has made it so easy to filter out the wrong type of personality characteristics for us and to find the right person.

I've saved bags of time by having a specific application process and i'm confident now that when we find our new secretaries they will give their best which is only what our clients deserve.

If anyone reading this blog would like more info on how Steve has helped me feel free to leave a comment and/or your email address and I'll tell you more.

What are the benefits of Digital Dictation Systems?

2008-01-23T10:12:00.000+00:00

A friend of mine has given me some "headlines" to work with which will hopefully help me with my marketing of Document Direct. I have 13 pages of text to pick and choose from and it certainly helps generate ideas.

"Sending us your dictation to be typed up will reduce your overhead, increase the turnaround of documents and make a happier workforce who enjoy a flexible workplace. All of this will ultimately mean increased profit for your business. And considering it only takes 30 minutes per person to set up, all of this can be achieved almost immediately."

If any readers are interested in learning more, please leave a comment.

Sending large attachments to emails (digital dictation in particular)

2008-01-17T20:48:00.001+00:00

I'm sorry Paver Smith. It was my fault. I asked a client to send the dictation as an attachment because it was too large to be uploaded onto our website.

I didn't realise that the attachment was 70MB. In typist talk, that's about 8 hours of recordings which would take about 32 hours to type up!

So what happened today was all of our email system stopped working because of a huge fat attachment blocking the pipe. When it finally did reach me, silly me tried to open it which caused the server to use almost 100% of its resources (working overtime) and almost crashed our whole system. Oops.

There's a lesson or two to be learnt here.

Spend more time with your client to show different ways to use the recording device.
If a piece of work needs a lot of dictation then split it up. That way the work can be done even quicker by having more than one typist work on it. The document can be joined together when it's all finished and then proof read.
The best way to transport digital dictation is by using the special software provided so that mailboxes don't get filled up quickly.

If you can think of any more lessons please post a comment.

Digital Dictation and the psychology of application forms

2008-01-17T20:38:00.000+00:00

All of this blogging and and gobbing (if that is a word for using your mouth instead of your fingers to type I mean), seems to be paying off when it comes to receiving applications. You do get what you ask for and so far I've received six new application for a position with Document Direct since the New Year. Not bad considering not a penny extra has been spent on recruitment.

I've re-designed the whole application procedure and have sent out my new application form to some possible candidates already. Now comes the hard part. Receiving the completed (or incomplete, as the case may be) forms and resisting the temptation to return it and ask the candidate to DO IT PROPERLY PLEASE. Obviously the name of the game is to filter out the wrong personality type for the job. I'll only find out if it works though, if I receive a form that is completed properly and the candidate is successful through the whole process. I am so, so impatient.

Come on people - ask me for an application form!

Recruiting Success

2008-01-15T21:10:00.001+00:00

Well it's done. The final part of my consultation with Steve Wooding is finished. I now know the secrets to recruiting success and boy, am I rearing to go and see if this works.

In a nutshell, Steve has told me all about my super star secretaries' personality profiles, what makes them tick, why our clients love them, what's important to Document Direct and - this is the important bit - how I'm going to find clones in the most time and cost effective way. I'm re-writing my whole recruitment procedure and will start rehearsing some interview questions ready for the first candidate.

I've had my first few enquiries from potential candidates already during these past few days. Hey careful what you ask for as it may come true!!! (Divorce, divorce, divorce. Only joking! not.) (More business, more business, more business.)

I'll be posting a blog soon about Law Costs Draftsmen and how they will be changing the way they work - very, very soon. The way they work I mean, and the post - oh hell - writing garbage again.

Liverpool Capital of Culture

2008-01-12T17:01:00.000+00:00

I was at the people's launch last night. It was good. I never expected it to be great - you're in the middle of a huge crowd, miles away from the stage, the people look like insects, and the view of the huge screen is obscured by all of the tall people in front of you. But I'm glad I can say I was there.

I wonder if the rest of the world got the joke about the high visibility wear and safety hats and Ringo Starr's blatant promotion could have been done with a little more grace I think. But hey, he brought the world's press to the city so a small price to pay. You'll never please all of the people all of the time. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the telly tomorrow night.

The best part of the night was after the show when we went to Moureen's restaurant, Osqa. It was the first time I've eaten there and the food was a real treat. We had a table with a view directly into the white sparkly kitchen. My hubby and kids loved it. There was music from a pianist and singer rendering out show tunes and old Sinatra type classics. That part the kids didn't like. But how unusual to go to a restaurant and be entertained. I'm a bit of a saddo and have to say I'm impressed with the cutlery and the crockery. I like Moureen's eye for detail. The next time I don't fancy cooking dinner then I'll be hinting we nip out for their early bird specials!

Woo hoo - I've received a referral

2008-01-11T12:18:00.000+00:00

I said I would hit the ground running in January and I have. This week I've concentrated on havinng 1-2-1 meetings with associates in my BNI network. Andrew Kirby of Clement Gallagher will come back to me once his insurance scheme is up and running which promises to save a massive 10% of anybody's commercial insurances. You'll hear more about him later.

My meeting with Dean Scrutton of The City Servant has proved fruitful already. We had a great meeting and brainstormed ideas together on how we're going to grow our businesses. He's received my brochure and passed it to one of his clients who are interested in Document Direct's services. Fan-bloody-tastic!

I learnt so much about Dean's business. Not only does The City Servant offer a great errand running service but also does a complete HANDYMAN service. Down girls - i'm talking DIY. The City Servant Handyman service gets most of its work from lettings agents and landlords and anybody else who's involved in property management. But they can do any type of odd job for the home or office. From hanging pictures and fixing leaking taps, to assembling flat packs, building wooden gates and fitting kitchens.

So I'm going to be working hard at getting Deano a referral in return for his hard work. Anybody reading this blog who thinks they can benefit from a handyman kindly leave a comment for me to follow up.

2008-01-08T06:19:00.000+00:00

Thanks Ian for your comments left on my blog. My first action of the year is to get the right people pinned down for the job. I've realised that I'm not confident going out to prospective clients if I'm not certain that the people I have no board will do a good job. I do have high standards and I want all of my people to be just like me and really care about what they deliver to our clients. For the last six months I've had a number of people come and go and that's definately slowed me down. So now I'm focussed. And what a great day yesterday was - three people approaching me for work and interviews lined up. I'm sure I'll have at least two new people needing to be trained come this time next week. My next hope is that I get a stampede just like you, Ian. That'll definately help me on my way for my new targets.

It's that time of year

2008-01-03T00:13:00.002+00:00

It's that time of year when new resolutions are made. Or, as lots of us like to call them nowadays, new targets and goals.

From a business point of view that's an easy one - more sales please! And perhaps tweaking a few things to give us smoother processes along the way. Oh and don't forget to recruit the good quality people too.

From a personal perspective, more quality time with the family is a must. Note my choice of words.

By far one of the most challenging of goals I have set for myself is to be more creative when it comes to writing. So I make my first concerted effort here in this blog. From now on I shall write whatever gobbleygook articles I fancy and hope that someone will leave a kind comment and perhaps some words of encouragement.

By the way, Su Grainger, if you read this, I've been tapping away at the EFT to get these paragraphs down.

I've been asking some inane questions on Linked In and I'm quite surprised that I've received some answers. So my next task this evening is to respond to those kind people and get on with some internet networking. Sounds fun hey. If you've had any dealings with people on Linked In perhaps you would like to leave a comment and let me know if it's been of any use to you.

I shall report back later in the blog if anything transpires from the correspondence.

Probably not the best pic in the world

2007-12-27T13:02:00.000+00:00

And wasn't it cold! We'll have to come up with some other ideas for next year's Document Direct Christmas party.

The most unglamorous of Christmas parties

2007-12-14T08:43:00.000+00:00

Tonight the virtual secretaries will be non-virtual and out in the flesh. We won't be showing any of it though as we'll be walking around Liverpool City Centre on the Shiverpool Ghost Tour on what is going to be the coldest night of the year. And snow is forecast. Perhaps for the the majority of us who who enjoy working from home this type of themed event appeals as it certainly won't involve any expensive purchases for snazzy sparkly dresses or new hair dos. I've already planned my outfit - thermal long johns, vest, jeans, jumper, boots, wooly hat, scarf and gloves. We'll look a right bunch when we arrive at the restaurant later for our meal and drinks - God knows we'll need the drink. I've asked my husband if I can borrow his hipflask (medicinal purposes only) to keep the frostbite away.

And the best part about the night will be all of the secretaries meeting each other - for the first time. We don't know who each other looks like so it promises to be fun before we even get on the tour.

Photos will be posted in a few days.

A real sporting achievement - lol

2007-11-29T10:25:00.002+00:00

I have just finished reading Dougal's blog and have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Is it something to do with sport?

Here's a real sporting achievement - Merseyside thrashed Manchester last night in the Under 14s rugby squad - 45 - 25. Well in lads (of which my son is one) woo hoo.

Family comes first and there was no way I was going to miss my lad's debut playing for his County. So apologies if you were sitting up and waiting to hear my dulcet tones on Radio Merseyside - I couldn't get back from Manchester in time. But it was worth it.

Business owner required

2007-11-25T18:18:00.000+00:00

I'm recruiting. I need to expand my team. Steve Wooding of http://www.iceandlemon.com/ has suggested looking for a certain mindset first and not skills or experience. I need to look at my best people which means I'm looking for Sharons and Andreas. Sharon and Andrea have worked for Document Direct for more than a year and our clients love them. They are definately the stars of the show.

So, first and foremost, I am not looking for an audio typist. I'm looking for somebody who wants to be their own boss. Somebody who has a mindset to work hard and deliver great results for clients.

How do I find such people? Or, how can such people find me?

How can an IT business operate without internet?

2007-11-22T10:14:00.000+00:00

Here's a true story which I find absolutely astounding.

In some huge businesses and government departments there are modern servers which, for the sake of saving space, do not have a monitor attached to them. If a problem occurs, this particular IT company is called to attend and must fix the problem, within a stated period or the IT company may face financial penalties. The IT company does not provide its engineers with a laptop computer so here's the question: "How does the engineer look at the server to see what the problem is if he doesn't have a screen to plug in?" Answer: He can't. So the engineer can't do his job, the IT company can't fix the problem within the contractual time period, and the IT company now faces financial penalties and loses profit.

Here's another true story about the same company.

I think everybody would agree that email and internet is an essential part of today's business and, to remain competitive, nobody can afford not to have this service - given the recent postal disputes we've suffered this is still very fresh in my mind. I'm sure in your office if you're expected to communicate with email that you would be given an internet service provider (ISP) and a computer, laptop, pda or smart phone with which to connect and read your mail and deal with any attachments. But this particular IT company disagrees with that philosophy for some reason. They send vital information such as security passwords, manuals, software build information via email, but they seem to have forgotten that their field engineers (the people who are the company's revenue earners) are not given any device to receive the mail, nor are they provided with any sort of internet connection.

An engineer asked his line manager "how do you expect me to read this message, download the file and obtain this software?" and the response was ... wait for it ... "Ask the customer for a computer". I mean, would you?

So we've established that the engineers do not have a laptop computer, they do not have any internet connection available to them. So how do they communicate and get their information from the company? They use the telephone of course. So rather than expend money on a neat little device such as a cost effective pda or smartphone with GPRS, this particular IT company prefers to waste money on lots and lots man hours of people talking on the telphone all day. Talk about re-inventing the wheel.

This particlar IT company shall not be named in this blog. It's ludicrous that it is listed on the stock market. As soon as the shares are available to be sold they will be - before the company sinks.