Innov8 Blog

TripIt | Online travel itinerary and trip planner

2009-03-10T14:18:00.000+08:00

TripIt | Online travel itinerary and trip planner

Email TripIt your travel plans - airline, hotel and more - no matter where you booked

TripIt creates a master travel itinerary with all your trip plans and more

With TripIt it's easy to access and share itineraries - online or from your mobile device

Send Large Files Easily & Securely

2009-01-12T23:04:00.004+08:00

Free and simple service for sending large files such as zips, powerpoints, videos etc. via email without the hassle

Send Large Files Easily & Securely | jumpsend

Online HK Map

2008-06-10T13:23:00.001+08:00

YPMap

New Boutique Hotel in HK

2008-06-10T13:23:00.000+08:00

Came across a new budget hotel not far from HK Central district ... these new boutique hotels are a great alternative to some of the established names and general better service...

Hotel in Hong Kong Official Site Hotel Jen Hong Kong

Adam Bell invites you to join Yoober

2008-02-24T09:41:00.001+08:00


	Adam Bell wants to send you mobile text messages using Yoober!

		A New Way To Text. Yoober uses your mobile internet, so you can send heaps of text messages, to anyone in the world - without paying a cent for SMS!
		No Limits. With Yoober, there are no 160 character limits, AND you can send a message to 1 person, or 1000 people at the same time - without paying extra.
		Easy To Start. Just download it to your mobile, help your friends get it as well, and start exchanging messages! All you need is a compatible phone & plan.
		Get Yoober. It doesn't cost anything, and it's easy to register.


This email was sent to you on behalf of Adam Bell, please do not reply to this message.

Innov8 Network Newsletter - January 2008

2008-01-07T00:00:00.001+08:00

Firstly a happy and prosperous 2008 to all ... despite the recent ups and downs 2008 promises to be a better year, so I will be focussing the newsletter on ways to make the most of the opportunities which abound, with articles, online resources, and offers to help you build a better business, and a better lifestyle.

With an early Chinese New Year (7~8 Feb) this year, the first issue is focussed on getting organised for the year ahead. Some of the other topics which I will cover during the year incude:

Effective networking
Attracting new business
Keep your PC running smoothly
Making the most of your valuable time
Delivering successful online marketing campaigns
Communicating more effectively

I hope you will find the newsletter interesting and informative. One of my aims is to help you reduce the time you spend searching the web, so if you have any suggestions either on the format or topics, do feel free to drop me a line. As many people now use Blackberry's or similar, I've decided to switch to a 'text and links' format, but will be adding links to podcasts and video in future.

I would also like to remind everyone that the site is growing as I add more content, everything from articles and tips in the blog, to news & events, travel tips, and useful software. And if you're used to using search engines you can search for items of interest easily, you'll be surprised what is already there, and I'll be adding content as fast as possible in available time. If you have items you'd like to share drop me a line or please do feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and associates who may be interested.

Last but not least, a few links to items of interest, both work and play...

How to be the laziest person in your office...

Consulting or coaching ? what works ?

Web books - a great new marketing, communication and training tool...

Get your web related information organised...

What's on in HK

Best Wishes for the New Year!

Innov8

For articles, tips, offers and resources join the Innov8 Network today!

Get Organised!

2008-01-06T23:24:00.000+08:00

If there's one thing we should all be doing at this time of year, its getting organised to have half a chance of fulfilling those new year's resolutions. How many times have you cleared your todo list only to find it fill up again ? I'm not suggesting that the list will never fill up again but there are things you can realistically do to keep it at bay, with a little effort. And if even thinking about getting your life better organised sends you running for the nearest happy hour, here's some tips to get you started before you head out of the door!

First off, you need to pinpoint where the clutter is coming from...emails, paperwork, and meetings are common offenders, and its time to get tough. Ask yourself 'what will I achieve by responding to this email?' or 'would I just be better making a note to phone the sender up this week?'. Ask yourself what action is needed on letters and files, whether it is essential or not, and thin out the contents of your action tray accordingly - place everything else in a 'weekend tray' and bin any unactioned contents at the end of the month. Drastic ? maybe but as long as you don't bin anything critical it works! Then there's meetings - a one hour meeting can take out a whole half day once you've got there, the meeting has overrun, then you've got back and answered emails and phonecalls. Thats without even thinking of followup, so unless a meeting is essential try a) putting off non essential meetings till then end of the week b) using the phone or c) using internet software to conference and share info online.

You'll also need to get your filing system in shape -make sure you seperate new and pending items and logically sub divide the files so as its a) clear what's in them and b) matches your schedule for doing something about it. Use colours to reflect importance and make sure any urgent items are somewhere you will see (and action!) them regularly. If you really have more documents than you can handle, some businesses do, it may be time to consider a scanning and filing system for your PC, there are various solutions around but you'll need to find the right one for your needs and budget. If you're interested to know more drop us a line and we'll send you some tips. And remember you'll need to do the same with your PC files - its often not necessary to keep paper and soft copy files, but as with your paper filing system your data files should be organised for the way you work, and you MUST have a proper backup system.

If you're still having problems look for a professional organiser - as with anything else having someone help you break the backbone and break the bad habits can make all the difference. Innov8 offers affordable organising sessions and tools, for more information please visit our website.

Consulting or Coaching ?

2008-01-01T14:37:00.001+08:00

I recently read an article which suggested that designers were the new management consultants..interesting idea...there is certainly an element of 'designing' a small business, not so much in the creative sense (corporate ID excepted) but in terms of developing the business concept into a working business.

This brought me back to the age old question - consulting or coaching ? Some people can't keep away from crossword puzzles, I guess I can't help but dig into these questions and try and shed some light, at least in so far as I'll feel I have some understanding, and hopefully be able to bring clarity for others.

One potential client once asked 'why can't I just buy a book and work out how to do it myself'. The topic was business planning. OK I said, give it a try, but let me know if you need any help. He looked at me as if I was supposed to have said something more or tried to talk him round, but I was genuinely curious to see the result, so having felt I'd satisfied my need to be professional without having pushed the guy into hiring me when he clearly felt he had the capability to tackle it himself, I decided to let it run and see what happened.

Not having heard anything for a couple of weeks I figured I'd either met at business planning genius or he'd run into problems, so decided to make a quick call to find out. It took around 30 minutes to establish that he'd bought a good book, read and digested it and had created a suitable outline, but had developed writers block and was struggling to process the business issues and how to write intelligible text at the same time. After a soft intro, he then switched tack to 'do you know a consultant who can write it for me?'. Yes, I replied, but is that really what you want to do ? you clearly know what you want to do with your business, if you ask a consultant to write the document for you we'll lose the sublety which describes 'who' the business will be, and if you don't do it yourself you won't have been through the exercise, which by the way is an invaluable journey of discovery - discovery of the reality of what you are proposing to do, and how you are going to do it. After a long period of silence the reply comes 'so tell me what should I do' - the green light for progress. Somewhat painful process though it had been I felt that I had learned enough to be able to genuinely help him to achieve his objectives, and importantly to meet his expectations, and he had learned enough to understand where he needed help and why. The game is afoot.

What has this got to do with our question - consulting or coaching ? Don't people love labels ! The short answer in my opinion is most things boil down to a mix - hence the element of design. To be truly successful you need to have both a certain degree of knowledge, and the gut feel to design the successful mix, and of courses the people and resources to help you make it a reality. In most cases this boils down to a combination of the following...

Coaching: to help you develop an effective strategy and plan, a viable business concept and model and a roadmap for building a successful business, mentoring and motivating you as you go along, pointing out your strengths and weaknesses. A coach needs an insight on your business, you need to feel comfortable with them, and they need to be available, especially in HK where free time is virtually non existent. Once you get to a certain point you can even use web conferencing to speed things up.

Consulting: when you have a particularly important issue, problem or specialist/technical matter to deal with which exceeds your comfort zone and knowledgebase. The right consultant again has a good knowledge of your business area and subject at hand, and preferably a demonstrable track record in this area. Make sure you get at least a firm estimate before you hire.

Books, training, seminars and groups: range from worthwhile background to a waste of time. Buffing up on routine info can be a good idea, but if its anything important you should seek experienced help, if for no other reason than to make sure your proposed version of the 5W's (What, Why, When, Why, Who, How) is going to work in practice. How many people come out of training courses with a sense of true satisfaction ? and how many times have you been to a seminar or group and felt it fell far short of your expectations ? These are all great ways to build your knowledge, but there's no substitute for human experience and interaction, when push comes shove.

Of course each of us will need a different mix according to our skills, capabilities and past experience.

I've left the shameless marketing till the end but if you've got this far, let's get it over and done with...I formed Innov8 to help small business owners get a helping hand starting their business...start as you mean to go on...and to get help during periods of change and growth. Whether you decide to go it alone and call for help when things go wrong, you want a few hours a month to discuss particular issues, or someone to walk you through the entire process, we're here to help...affordable rates, alarmingly clear insights, and a no BS approach to getting the job done...

Refresh Your Marketing Materials

2007-10-20T10:34:00.005+08:00

As opportunities abound, now is a great time to take a fresh look at your marketing materials, and the tools you use to communicate with your customers and partners.

Start by reviewing your marketing objectives, and then review your current materials to assess whether your message is getting across clearly. Try asking friends who not directly involved in your business for their feedback. From there you can decide how best to update your materials, and establish which tools or service provider to use to get the job done on time, and within budget.

Here are some tips for refreshing your marketing materials:

The basic marketing mix consists of:

Product - the goods or services you offer.

Price - what the customer pays (list price, discounted price etc.) - this may be an indicator of value to some.

Place - how and where the customer buys your product or service.

Promotion - the activities used to promote your product or service

Once you have this clearly defined, consider how you deal with your customers, in terms of your procedures and staff - remember if customers don't know your business very well, chances are they will be driven by perception.

When you have identified who your customers are and what they want, create groups, and work out your message to each of these 'segments'. Your message needs to explain in clear and simple terms what benefits you are offering in relation to each group's needs and wants. From there you can establish how you will deliver your message, whether through print, online, brochures, advertising, or increasingly these days a mix of different media, and enabling the customer to interact with your business online.

Once you have got this far you have effectively developed a basic marketing strategy, so the best thing to do is write it down - we know, nobody likes planning, but as little as two pages, or as much as you need to ensure you achieve your objectives, is time well spent in our experience.

Innov8 has been helping Clients improve their inhouse marketing capabilities since 2001, and when additional help is needed we can refer reliable designers, developers and solution providers.

PC Playing Up ?

2007-10-20T10:34:00.003+08:00

When your PC starts to slow down, or displays strange behaviour such as application hangups, print problems etc. occur, its a warning sign.

Simply put, Windows is happy when its running fast. Over time minor damage to the Windows installation on your computer can accumulate, and when too much software is loaded up or the system becomes overloaded, you're heading for problems. At best you're looking at daily fustration, at worse a system crash and data loss. It can even happen on new PC's.

Here's the minimum recommended spec for Windows XP:

PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor (Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor)
128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher and 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of free disk space

In reality to get any sort of reasonable performance you'll need a Pentium 4 CPU or higher/equivalent, no less than 512 MB of RAM, and at least 15% of the total size of your hard disk free (i.e. an 80GB hard disk should have 12GB free space). And by the time you've loaded up all that software you might as well double the memory and storage to 1024GB RAM and 30% free disk space.

No, we're not kidding. On top of that you need to be aware of which applications (and versions) run 'happily' together and which conflict. Loading up too much software, mixing different generations of software, installing poorly written shareware, free screensavers and file sharing tools are virtually guaranteed to cause problems.

No, we''re not exaggerating. You can take our word for it, or put up with the problems when, not if, they occur.

The good news is that there is a way to keep your PC running smoothly. After all you rely on your PC to run your business. First up, it needs to be properly configured and installed. New laptops for example come with all sorts of software that you don't need. New software should be installed by an experienced technician and regular system and software updates performed, as well as periodic Windows tuneup and repair, and adware/virus scans. In this way problems can be corrected, before your PC crashes at 1am when you're trying to get out a proposal.

Emails Going Missing ?

2007-10-20T10:34:00.001+08:00

Have you ever sent an email and wondered why you didn't get a reply ? Its hardly surprising if you know how email works...

First of all the text you type into your email program is encoded with language types, font styles, formatting code and so on, according to any one of a number of coding systems. Then your email is sent via either your mail server or your ISP's (the same servers sending everyone elses mail) to the (hopefully correct) email address you have typed, over any one of a zillion paths across the internet, across any number of mail relay servers, scanners, network gateways etc. Assuming it gets that far at all, your email is then downloaded by the recipient.

Unless, that is:

a) your domain has been blacklisted due to virus or spam activity (or if you are using a shared email server, email from this server can also be blacklisted due to other peoples errors or misbehaviour)

b) it has an attachment which is too large for any one of the various servers/gateways to handle

c) it is infected by a virus or other malware

d) something else goes wrong

To describe sending email as a haphazard process is an understatement, yet millions of emails are sent worldwide every hour, and most of these arrive at their destination. Most but by no means all.

By now you're probably thinking you were better off not knowing...