The Hot Iron

An Oasis in the Chaos

2009-07-05T10:00:50Z

As I was writing this blog post in my head while at the same time scurrying down concourse D at LaGuardia airport in New York a couple of days ago, the working title for it was, “F&$# You LaGuardia.” After realizing I had to leave security and re-enter just to (barely) make my connecting flight on the same airline (American), I was less than pleased.

Then I saw it, just by my gate - D10 - all the way at the end of the aging concourse - the Sam Adams beer stand. Not only did it serve one of my favorite microbrews, but it was how it was served, by the friendliest employee at the airport too! Oh, and they also had hot dogs too.

It was a true oasis in the madness of this flight, which was compounded by delays in our departure. The man pouring and serving dogs knew he was serving more than just that, and it showed in his enthusiasm. And it worked - not only did I write this but I snapped a photo of the booth.

After paying to redeem miles for my flight and to check luggage, the best value I got on my return trip was the cost of the beer and dogs and the tip I left for the beer man.

Next time I’ll probably fly direct on Southwest or AirTran home, but if I have to go to LGA, I’ll be heading down to gate D10 no matter my flight.

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Happy Independence Day

2009-07-03T10:00:10Z

Tomorrow, July 4, marks the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking the start of the United States of America.

As I think about Independence Day, something that comes to mind is the polarity in politics today. I say that as people have always had differing opinions – even in 1776. It’s easy to blame the 24/7 media world we live in, but in order for us to come together, we need to do so in person, and not through our chosen medium.

Maybe that’s why the picnic is such a big part of celebrating the Fourth of July? To all my friends and readers in the US, not to forget those who are defending the freedoms stated in the Declaration here and around the world, a safe and happy holiday!

Photo of US flag on the Wrigley Building, Chicago by Mike Maddaloni

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The Total Cost of Switching Vendors

2009-07-02T15:24:57Z

You get those offers in the mail all the time - open a new bank account with us and get X dollars, where can be anything from US$50 to US$150. As enticing of an offer it is - who doesn’t want free money - it does not take into consideration the total costs of switching over to this new bank.

Allow me to introduce what I call TCS - the total cost of switching.

Taking the bank example above, some of the activities involved in switching bank accounts include the time to actually open the new account, balancing 2 accounts until you close the original account, switching auto deposits and debits to the new account (if switching a payroll check, add the hassle of getting a paper check in the middle of the switch), the cost of new checks, and learning the processes of a new bank. And these are just a few things that come to mind. When you consider paying somebody to perform these tasks, their salary negates any “free money” from the bank.

Of those, learning the processes has the longest lasting impact. When things work, everything is OK. When it is not, the first time going through the process is truly a leaning experience. Unfortunately this is nothing you can find out for yourself until it happens to you or your business personally.

Poor Service Always a Catalyst to Switch

One factor that outweighs switching cost is poor service. The opportunity cost of dealing with poor service from a vendor is huge, especially if their products or services are in turn offered to your clients or customers. This is something that has unfortunately happened to me one time too many! It not only cost me time in the interim dealing with the vendor but setting up with a new vendor, accommodating my client and not to mention stewing over it.

Plan Ahead with Backup Vendors

If you do need to switch, it is good to already have a vendor lined up and some form of working relationship with them. Even a list of names and emails is better than nothing, and names and mobile numbers are the best. Depending on the service, doing some amount of business with them will help mitigate risk. The cost of spreading business around may be more upfront, but it can help preserve client relationships and revenues - not to mention brain cells - in the long term.

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Chicago Loop L Ride Recorded by Nokia E75

2009-06-30T10:00:29Z

Last week I was riding the Brown Line in Chicago north and I got an idea to truly test out the video on the Nokia E75 I am evaluating. So I held it up against the window of the car and pressed record, and the following is what was captured.

If you cannot see the video above, follow this link to watch my Chicago Loop L Ride Recorded by Nokia E75.

This is a view heading north from the Randolph/Wabash stop to the Merchandise Mart stop. You will see the famous Chicago Theatre sign, the Chicago Board of Trade building and the Chicago River.

What do you think of the video? Is it of good quality? I have been using the camera for still photos and video and even took it to a wedding - look for a full report on my use of the Nokia E75 soon!

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Guest Post - My Pool Guy Called Me Cheap

2009-06-22T10:00:41Z

Editor’s Note – The following is a guest post by Ralph Ingrassia, President of Endeavour Technologies, LLC, and a project management consulting guru. A longtime reader of The Hot Iron – not to mention client of Dunkirk Systems, LLC and close friend of Mike Maddaloni – he shares some of his wisdom and experience here, which we hope will be the first of many guest posts.

Who isn’t trying to cut costs these days, whether those be business or personal costs? One cost I was considering cutting was my weekly pool service. But, having tried that in the past and failed miserably, I had decided that maybe this wasn’t a cost worth cutting yet.

Over the years I’ve used the larger pool servicing companies, but have always been left disappointed by the higher prices, nickel and diming and lack of professionalism. So, being a small business owner myself, I settled on an independent Pool Guy and have been happy for the last few years. I could pick up the phone and he’d be here if I was having a party or if I had any problems whatsoever and it was always clear that his priority was that I was happy with his work.

Things started to change this year. The first point of concern was that his price went up this year again for the third year in a row. Now last year I understood a price increase due to the rising cost of gas but this year’s price increase left me confused. If anything I would have anticipated a steady price this year. Still, his prices were much more competitive than the larger companies mentioned above so I didn’t say anything. Then the nickel and diming started. Not much, but a few bucks here and there. Again, I was still saving money so I decided to just keep an eye on these charges over time.

Last week, however, was the deal-breaker. After completing my service he knocked on my door for payment and I happened to be on a conference call that I had muted. I decided that it would be easier to pay cash which left me $8 over the service price. I informed him that if he didn’t have any change we could just apply it to next week. The response was, “Ralph, you’re cheap just like my Dad.” “He won’t give a tip to save his life.” Now, anyone who knows me knows that I value good service and in situations where a tip is warranted, it is awarded. I worked in the restaurant industry and completely understand how the American restaurant system makes it so gratuities make up the lion’s share of a server’s income. Jokingly, I also thought that the fact that I actually had a Pool Guy would classify me as being not cheap.

But from the customer perspective, a line had been crossed here. As small business owners, we try to price ourselves competitively, prevent scope creep to manage the need for cost increases or business losses, and provide the utmost in professional service. In most cases, I find that it is the professional and personalized service that is most valued by my customers relative to my fees. The example I’ve detailed with my Pool Guy can be applied to my own business as well.

So what has gone wrong here? Is it just a case of temporary insanity or has the service provider forgotten that I am a long term customer that he has a pleasant relationship with and not a friend? Or, is it that this particular small business owner has forgotten to holistically look at their services and fees and evaluate if his customers are really receiving a superior service for their dollar regardless of a competitor’s price? In this case maybe it’s all three.

In the end, the decision that I made was to cut back on my service to bi-weekly instead of weekly. Was this decision driven solely by the lack of professionalism? No. But, it was a factor in a decision I had been teetering back and forth on.

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Is pizza.nyc More Valuable than pizza.com?

2009-06-16T10:00:56Z

There is momentum around New York City getting its own generic top-level domain (gTLD) - .nyc. The team organizing it, dotNYC LLC even has a ringing endorsement by former mayor Ed Koch. Where there has been a lot of controversy about the mass unveiling of gTLDs, this one has a lot of traction and makes a lot of sense to me, especially for a city of 8 million plus people.

So this got me thinking – which would be a more valuable domain name, pizza.com or pizza.nyc?

Last year pizza.com was sold in auction, and the price was reported to be around the US$2.6Million it sold for earlier. There is a Web site at pizza.com that has the tagline of “everything about pizza” but isn’t a compelling Web site, especially to someone like myself who 1) designs and develops Web site, 2) is 100% Italian American and 3) has eaten quite a bit of pizza in his time! I am not quite sure of the revenue model here; I can perform what is a Google search through the site for pizzerias, but you can’t order a pizza directly through the Web site.

When I think of pizza.nyc, all I think of is opportunity. The competition for this domain name will be significant, with parties from within New York City and beyond. The name recognition will almost be automatic in the City as there will be other .nyc domain names plastered throughout the city and people will start to naturally go to whatever dot nyc to get to a product or service. Then there is revenue. Pizza.com could be one pizza chain or a consortium of many. Whether it is direct or affiliate sales, there is definitely opportunity to make money from pizza in a city where people are passionate about their pizza.

This is not to say there is not opportunity for pizza.com. I do not have any insight or knowledge into its owners or their business model. What I am saying is based on what I see – both from what pizza.com is and what pizza.nyc can be.

What do you think? Are you in the pizza business? Are you a resident of New York City? Or do you just buy pizza? We’d like to know.

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Nokia E75 Unboxing Video

2009-06-15T19:27:33Z

Thanks to the great folks at WOMWorld/Nokia, I will be evaluating the Nokia E75 device for the next few weeks. It arrived last week, and here is a video I made of my first impressions as I was unboxing it.

If you cannot see the video above, follow this link to watch my Nokia E75 Unboxing Video.

Since then, it has been my primary device, as I have switched my T-Mobile SIM from my Nokia E70 device to this. I am going to give it some time and really try it out, including installing the new Ovi Store and several apps, including Qik, ShoZu, Facebook and a Twitter client. I also plan on reading the instruction manual – seriously.

Since I made this video, I discovered a few things. The camera does not have a Carl Zeiss lens, though it has taken some decent pictures and video so far. The case that comes with it is very cool – the strap is not a locking, Velcro strap as I first thought. It is wrapped around the inside of the case, and I pull the tab to slide the E75 out of the form-fitting velour-like case. I haven’t seen such a case idea before, but I definitely like it.

Watch The Hot Iron for a full report when I am done reviewing it, or if I decide to share something in the interim, like photos or videos or who knows what! I will be sharing thoughts on it on Twitter - follow me @thehotiron.

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Save Trees Save Money

2009-06-09T03:47:49Z

Earth Day has come and gone, and the Green Festival has blown through the Windy City. So does that mean thinking green is put aside until next year? Hardly! Especially for us entrepreneurs, thinking goes on all of the time, and in many instances it is often labeled as merely saving money.

Last week I was talking with a business partner and she was commenting on the cost of faxing for her, with an aging fax machine and a separate phone line. Asking me how I fax, I told her I use eFax and I don’t have either. The monthly cost is much less than a phone line, faxes come in as PDFs, and with Adobe Acrobat Professional to markup faxes no paper is involved.

I have been striving to be as paperless as possible, mostly to reduce clutter and to organize and index content for future use. Though eFax is nothing new, I have created one convert, who will be getting greener in more ways than one, just as I have been.

What ways do you save money and the environment at the same time?

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My Internet Consulting Business Does Not Physically Have To Be Here

2009-05-20T20:49:30Z

My Internet consulting business does not physically have to be here. In reality, it can be anywhere. Most of you reading this probably are saying, “duh” as you already know that. This message, however, is not clear to politicians who make laws concerning taxes and favorable business climates.

As I write this, I am sitting in the corporate headquarters of my business, Dunkirk Systems, LLC, a 5-year old Internet consulting firm. I founded the business shortly after moving to Chicago from Boston, as I decided to go on my own after then working on the Internet for almost a decade and in IT for over 15 years. As my business would be initially based in my home, the business was established in the city of Chicago, in Cook County in the state of Illinois. I live here, my business lives here.

But I don’t always work here. As my computer can travel with me, I have done work in cities like Minneapolis, Oshkosh, Helsinki and Copenhagen. I have done work at 30,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean and in the basement of friend’s houses. All I need is an Internet connection and I can connect to my clients and provide the Web site strategy, design and development services they pay me for.

It is one thing I can work from anywhere, but my clients can be anywhere as well. Most of my clients are outside of Chicago. This is not specifically by design, though, as my business has mostly grown by referrals from existing clients. As well, some of my clients have relocated to other states. Even for the clients I have in the Windy City, I typically work with them by email and phone. Don’t get me wrong, I am a very social person and prefer to personally work with my clients. I don’t always have to, which is the beauty of it.

I bring this up as there is talk in the Illinois legislature about imposing taxes on software and Internet services. Though no particular bills have been presented as I write this, apparently legislators are trying to see what they can “get away with” as far as a bill, one that would pass rather than be defeated.

As much as I strive for The Hot Iron to not get into the abyss of politics, it is almost impossible today. It goes without saying that such laws to add taxes on the services Dunkirk Systems, LLC and other similar firms in Illinois provide would have a huge negative impact on my business, not to mention on clients. There is the administrative impact on my business for calculating, collecting and paying such taxes. I have all that I need to do for employment taxes! Then there’s the additional line item on client invoices. When people and businesses are doing all they can to pay their bills, here comes more to pay.

Will my clients simply accept a tax without a peep? Hardly! Who knows what the tax rate would be, but I am sure some will start to look around for other providers in other states whose rate – including tax rate – is lower. As I try to competitively bid on projects, the fact I will be charging a certain percentage for tax will be a bad mark on my proposals. Not to mention the higher cost I myself will have for technical services I get from other individuals and firms. This, on top of the myriad of high taxes and fees including the highest sales tax in the United States at 10.25%, put me in a huge disadvantage against other capable consulting firms around the country and the world.

So what will I do? This blog post is my first step, as I plan on also forwarding it to my state legislators. However knowing the political climate in Illinois, I hardly believe it will make a difference. Beyond that, I can only react in the short-term as to any passed tax laws. In the long-term, though, if it does have a true negative impact, I may be forced to move Dunkirk Systems, LLC from Illinois, which would more than likely mean I would be leaving as well. My business moves, I move.

Taxing our way out of the current business environment will not work. Tough cuts and imaginative thinking are needed to recover to the greatness we are capable of. I will continue to do my part, though it may have to be from someplace else.

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Is His Business Card Better Than Yours?

2009-05-07T14:43:59Z

Business cards. For some, it is a straightforward decision on their design, layout and information to be presented. For others, it is a process more agonizing than it should be. When I designed my initial cards for Dunkirk Systems, LLC, I was somewhere in the middle, and eventually went with the recommendation of my designer. But over time, you see other cards or people comment on yours, and you agonize once again.

The other day I came across this video, and needless to say it made me think. Watch the video below or view the video on this guy’s business card.

Just like I do not review books, rather identify takeaways from them, I am able to take-away ideas from this guy. A quality business card with style stands out. Do I need to have a die-cut profile of myself on it? My guess most people would agree with me that I should not!

What do you think?

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Next likemind Chicago on Friday May 15

2009-05-06T10:00:20Z

The next likemind will be Friday, May 15, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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Challenges Following Blog Comments

2009-05-06T10:00:05Z

For me, it is more fun reading and replying to comments on my blog The Hot Iron than it is writing the blog posts themselves. Where I do enjoy writing, reading comments means someone was interested in something I had to say, for whatever reason, and was compelled to join the conversation. I also enjoy commenting on posts on other blogs for those very same reasons.

Once I have commented on a blog post, I sometimes forget about it, or forget to go back to the post and see how the conversation has evolved, if it has at all. These challenges of following blog comments – and as a result conversations – means I am missing out on something, from alternate ideas to if anyone is interested in the topic at all.

Many blogs have functionality built into it to help users following the conversations on a blog post. One form is email notification, where if you posted a comment and opted-in, you can receive an email every time someone else posts a comment. This is handy as you can follow without having to revisit the Web page. Most all blogs which offer this also allow you to unsubscribe, though I have found some blogs that do not and I continue to get emails from them. I have heard larger, more popular blogs don’t offer this as the potential for large volumes of email could be viewed as spam by some email networks. This is an option on The Hot Iron, and as the blog owner I get emails for every comment posted.

Another way to follow along is by RSS feed. Some blogs have a link to subscribe to the comments of a blog post. This is nothing I have tried myself, as I wondered if I would truly be able to follow along. The opt-out of the RSS feed by unsubscribing is very clean. This is not an option on The Hot Iron, yet. I will try this out and am hoping with using folders in Google Reader it will be easy to manage.

There are 3rd-party services for hosting and managing blog comments. One I have heard of is Disqus. I do not use this myself and have had some reservations about turning over all of my comments to another service I have no control over. I would be interested in hearing from others about how this has worked for them.

The purpose of this particular post is to get ideas, as I am not sure how to best proceed with following comments. Please feel free to share what works – or doesn’t work – for you. And please check the checkbox to get informed on what others say.

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Tres Generaciones Unboxing Video

2009-05-05T15:07:19Z

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today is a day when many – at least in the US – drop down to their local pub and have a Mexican beer or drink. Or 5. However many may not know the real meaning of the day, which is celebrated in some parts of Mexico for the country’s defeat of the French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Ok, I’ll admit I had to look it up myself as I didn’t know either.

Isn’t it interesting how people accept something for a particular meaning when the reality is different, and in a good way? It’s almost perfect timing that I received a box from Don Cenobio of his recently rebranded Tres Generaciones (or 3G) premium tequila. As it came in an attractive wooden box, I thought it would be great to make an unboxing video. Though they’re typically done for electronics, why not tequila? You can see the video below, or watch the 3G unboxing video here.

Late last year I was invited to a 3G tasting at Chicago’s Frontera Grill. There I met people from the brand, as well as others in social media to try 3G and talk about tequila, among other things. In the presentation by the brand ambassador, stereotypes of tequila – mostly negative ones - were brought up, and this was something discussed afterwards. The idea of premium tequila, one that can have a taste similar to vodka or even a single malt scotch, breaks some of those stereotypes. In other words, revealing the true definition of what tequila is.

Enjoy the video, and now I am going to enjoy what I unboxed. Responsibly, of course.

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Go Dunkirk in the Kentucky Derby

2009-05-01T10:00:25Z

This Saturday marks the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. I have been fortunate to have attended twice, once when working and living in Louisville years back where I got a lot of the local flavor of the event leading up to it. Though I usually watch it every year on TV, I don’t get into it as much as I did when I was there.

Then the other day I found out one of the horses running is named Dunkirk! Its jockey even wears a blue jersey. As of the writing of this post, Dunkirk is listed with 4-1 odds and some news stories I have read have it picked to win. Whether it wins or loses, gotta love the name Dunkirk. Well, at least I do. I don’t know for sure if it is named after the city in New York (as my Internet consulting firm is) or the city in France (which the city in New York is named after), but I do know who I will be cheering for.

Go Dunkirk! I will be watching with more enthusiasm this year!

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Chicago S60 User Meetup

2009-04-30T16:30:01Z

A few weeks back there was a meetup for S60 users and enthusiasts at the Nokia Flagship Store in Chicago. It was coordinated by S60Users.com though as they are in New York nobody was there from them. Despite this, there was a small but might gathering of 5 of us, as shown in the accompanying photo courtesy of Jon from JDMOTO Photography.

Our hosts from the Nokia store let us play with an earlier model of the forthcoming Nokia N97. As it was an earlier model of hardware and software, they wouldn’t let us take pictures of it. For myself, it was my first hands-on with the device. I liked its size, feel and layout. Though the keys on the keypad are small, they are easy to feel, especially compared to the new N75. Drawbacks to the keyboard are no separate row for number keys (there’s room for one!) and that they are hard to read. Of course the true test of the device is in its real-world use, and I would love to help the cause and try one out – hint!

Speaking of the N75, they had them on display and I spent some time using one. Where I like the form factor and how the keyboard slides, the screen is not much bigger than the E71, and the fact that they keyboard is flat is a drawback, as you can’t “feel” out the keys as you type. They are larger keys and there is also no separate row for numbers. As I have called this out twice now, it is obvious I enjoy this feature on my E70 as well as when I evaluated the E71.

And it wouldn’t be an event without swag! The friendly staff had some S60 items, including a flat 512MB Flash drive, pen and refrigerator clip. They mentioned they may be hosting other events in the future, so I will be on the lookout for them and will report back here on The Hot Iron. You can see more pictures from the meetup on Jon’s blog.

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