Posts tagged Bandwidth
Finally Back Online
May 1st
Word to the Wise:
Never sign a 24 month contract with a CRAPPY internet service provider. It can cut your business off at the knees. I am *so* behind right now, with stuff that needs to be done online, and my income has taken a kink because of it. Bad. Bad. BAD.
Even though my contract with my current provider is only finished at the end of this coming July, I am going to get a new one – which doesn’t force you to sign a contract – it’s a simple month to month deal starting on Monday. I would be signing up for it today, but today is a public holiday in these parts, and NO ONE works around here (except me…clearly) if they don’t have to. My existing ISP will simply become a 2 gig backup if the new one runs out/doesn’t work etc I simply cannot afford to NOT be online.
It’s so stressful, it’s better than popping a diet pill because I’m constantly up and down pacing in frustration.
SO, back to my latest design project. A blog header for Simply Mel B. You can see the designs in my flickr feed up top if you’re fast enough before I’m working on my next project! They’ll be up later today.
Catch you all on the flip side bandwidth willing!
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- Working Abroad and Sales Leads
- Yet Another Reason Why Freelancing Rocks
- Making things happen for yourself
- 3 Hours Sleep
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How To Amuse Yourself When the Internet is Down…
Mar 24th
…or at least your connection to it, has been terminated by your evil ISP, who cut you off at the knees if you so much as breathe near your bandwidth limit. What the hell are bandwidth limits for anyway?
Okay, so here’s what I’ve been up to…
I photoshopped my backside off to create a range of freebies, for you. Yes that’s all of you millions out there logging in everyday to view this page, wringing your hands in despair at my lack of updates, wondering if you should send out a search party.
Or at least that’s how my vivid fantasy was playing itself out in my head until I logged in this morning using a borrowed 3G modem, and got a stats update on email.
Anyway, yes, coming very very soon, like say April 1st (not an April Fools Joke I promise) I’m going to start giving away free (awesome wonderful) Photoshop Templates. At least one a day for a week. So please send out riders, fire arrows with this message onto an obliging tree nearby, and spread the word. Free, cool stuff, coming here, April 1st.
Until then I’ll be doing copious amounts of housework, researching new ISP’s using mainstream means such as the phonebook, or the newspaper, or a magazine and maybe fiddling around with a playstation 3. Or housework. I can’t decide.
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Know Your Strengths, Outsource Your Weaknesses
Feb 3rd
Knowing your strengths is a key to business success.
This does not however mean, that you should ignore your weaknesses and blunder forth.
Let me give you an example. I am a photographer, who dabbles in graphic design. If I have a client who suddenly comes to me waving big bucks and looking for swish flash animation, or video production, I must not be so blinded by the big bucks and say yes – and produce substandard stuff, given that I know that these are not my strengths, rather, instead of turning the client away, which would be down right stupid, I should outsource that work.
Your client need never know that you outsourced that work.
Afterall, when you go into a furniture store, do they tell you where exactly that sofa was made? Or that they had it made by a new supplier? Not generally. Unless it’s going to enhance your oppinion of it – and generally if you’re happy with your purchase, they’re far more likely to want to bask in the reflected glory of your happiness. Why should your line of business be any different? By outsourcing those things which are not your strengths you are:
- Retaining Business and making money which you would not have had.
- Improving on relations with other suppliers, who may in return send you business back that IS your strength.
- Maintaining your brands integrity, by not producing work, that you are aware is not the best for the client.
- Keeping your customer happy, since they came to you in the first place, and now you’ve delivered what they wanted.
One of the ways in knowing how to outsource is, quite frankly, keeping your eye on the ball. That is, the internet.
You need to keep abreast of as many new things out there as you can, in order to keep your business current. Believe it or not there are some shops out there, that *still* spend hours on the phone, ordering off manual stock lists, because they don’t believe in that ‘fax machine phenomenon’. Um, welcome to the 21st century!
How many companies out there need video conferencing, but think it’s a huge expense, and are not willing to look into it?
Are they even aware of something like web conferencing affiliate programs? The fact that they could join a service that would allow them to use a web based conferencing service, improving their productivity and efficiency (at a fraction of the cost of say setting up an in house system) AND produce returns by joining the affiliate programme?
Well, if they never bother to do the research, they’ll stay in the dark ages, which is frankly, not somewhere I’m willing to let my business be.
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Essential Business Services
Nov 26th
One thing I am constantly reminded of at home, and in business, is that you need the RIGHT tools to do a job. It’s no use trying to change a lightbulb in stilettos (even if it can be done).
I’ve recently evaluated several different web hosting companies, in order to find the best deal for my home and business web hosting needs. AGAIN of course I get the best deal overseas, because naturally the prices locally are either too high, or if they are reasonable, then the specs are insufficient.
The one thing that I can’t avoid dealing with locally though, is my ISP. We have a love hate relationship. I hate them, and they love my money. They also love ripping me, and probably several hundred other customers off. The price of internet availability in this country is ASTRONOMICAL, shocking, and it has to change. For what I pay here for a measly (grossly insufficient) 2gig of bandwidth monthly, in another country (say New Zealand for example), I would get their best and fastest 40gig package. The mind boggles just how much more I could market my business with that kind of availability.
I think that the fat cats in certain ISP businesses need to consider taking some alli, and slimming down by lowering their prices to their consumers. It’s going to generate so much business, and will help the much needed investment flood into this country where it’s sorely needed.
Right. Back to my lemon meringue pie.
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Hazelnut Latte and a Mexican Omelette
Oct 19th
Yes, that’s what I’m having for breakfast right now, at a local cafe (yes without OPU* and offspring).
*OPU = Other Parental Unit for those of you who’ve just started reading moi.
So what’s a mexican omelette I hear some of you locals asking me? Well, let’s see shall we?
It’s a very delicious, egg and potato omelette topped with chorizo sausage, salsa and cheddar. Oh so tasty and probably oh so bad for my arteries, but I digress…
The hazelnut latte is needlessly explained, of course, but very definitely necessary to put some energy into my veins. I remember a line from that old TV series “Dweebs” (why oh why did they cancel it – it was FUNNY man!), where the ‘coolest’ geek in the office turns to someone who offered him a cup of decaf, and says, “I drink coffee, because it’s the *only* drug they let you use in an office.”
Anyway, I’d better go and check out my bank account balance before I sit here too long, because of course the longer I sit enjoing the free bandwidth, the more likely I am to order something, but sadly it’s that time of the month that the account is running on vapour, and I’m more than likely going to have to offer to wash their kitchen sinks if I’m to get out of here wearing my shirt!
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