Monday, December 29, 2008

Looking Forward to 2009

I used to post positive news notes in the invoice cover letter. I got a lot of comments on those...all positive. In the darkest days it is nice to find the silver lining. Media loves to sensationalize and right now there's nothing they like to talk about more than the demise of manufacturing and the collapse of the American economy. You wouldn't know it from listening to the news but there are good things happening in Michigan. In fact we've even been named State of the Year! Where's the media coverage?

So in keeping with my tradition of looking on the bright side, I went out in search of good business news. If you need a pick me up, as you look to the new year, try these articles:

GM may be talking a lot about their electric vehicle but Ford's Fusion hybrid is ready for spring production and with second generation technology. Ford hybrid expected to get 41 city m.p.g. 

Electric Car Battery Production Coming to Michigan? New Tax Incentives Approved During Lame Duck Session Could Make it a Reality.

Start-up lightweight hybrid bus manufacturer, Fisher Coachworks, will invest $7 million in three Michigan-based manufacturing facilities and create more than 500 Michigan-based jobs.

S3 creates $10 million financing fund for film. The money can be used for a broad range of needs, such as renting film equipment. S3 supplies numerous production services and equipment to filmmakers. It has worked on a number of major films shot locally, such as Gran Torino, The Butterfly Effect 3, Whip It! and Youth in Revolt.

Global Wind Systems is getting a $32.3 million start in Michigan, a five-year investment that positions the wind turbine system manufacturer to be one of the state’s leading alternative energy manufacturers.

The company that is now Great Lakes Recycling completely reinvented itself a little more than two years ago. Since then the Roseville-based firm, which traces its roots all the way back to 1927, has added about 100 people to its payroll and taken on two new facilities.

Amy's note: Great Lakes Recycling holds a special place in my heart. Back in the mid-1970's I didn't have a paper route, I had a newspaper recycling route! I collected newspapers until there was enough to fill my mothers HUGE Cadillac trunk and then she would drive me up to Great Lakes in Roseville, from Harrison Twp. to cash them in. I'm really glad to see them still doing well.

Business Facilities, a corporate site-selection magazine, named Michigan the 2008 State of the Year for its development projects. The dovetailing of 10,000 new jobs and nearly $14 billion in corporate investment leads to a blowout victory for Michigan, our 2008 State of the Year.

Happy New Year to everyone!

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Quickbooks Pro 2009 - Free Monday Only

To help small business owners grow and run their companies, Intuit will offer the Windows version of QuickBooks Pro 2009 for free* at all Staples stores on Monday, Dec. 22, for one day only.

Why? This effort originally started out as a small test, but Intuit decided to expand the offer. Intuit wants to help small businesses through tough economic times.

The Meaning of "Free"

It works like this:

  • The regular price at Staples is $199.99.
  • The customer will receive $40 in instant savings.
  • The customer at the store will receive a $159.99 mail-in rebate form.
  • When the customer mails in the rebate form they will receive, some weeks later, a rebate for $159.99.
  • Once the customer obtains the rebate, their base costs are zero: $199.99 - $40.00 - $159.99 = $0.
  • The buyer may still be responsible for sales tax at the time of purchase; sales tax is not free.

Here is a link to the promotional advertisement.

You can find the nearest Staples store at www.staples. com or buy on-line. I would recommend getting there early. There's bound to be a line.

Learn more about Quickbooks Pro 2009.

Client Data Review in QuickBooks 2009 saves you hours of drudgery by automating many aspects of clean-up chores. Learn more here.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Alert: Web Surfing

I received this from Microsoft on the recently discovered vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The issue is caused by insecure websites being hijacked and loaded with malware. It's a serious flaw that makes this possible but the good news is that, so far, if you stick to business websites then you'll be safe.

The new IE exploits for Advisory 961051, now hosted on pornography sites

Two days ago, we blogged about attacks that involve exploits of the recently discovered vulnerability in Internet Explorer. We would like to give you a quick update about these attacks.

Based on our stats, since the vulnerability has gone public, roughly 0.2% of users worldwide may have been exposed to websites containing exploits of this latest vulnerability. That percentage may seem low, however it still means that a significant number of users have been affected.

We will be pushing out the patch for this issue on our regular schedule unless we receive further information that this vulnerability has spread to additional locations.

Please surf with caution, always.

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Friday, December 12, 2008

Let Your Voice Be Heard

I received this a few minutes ago from the Detroit Chamber of Commerce. As you know the loans for the auto industry were not approved last night. In my opinion this isn't about saving an industry or saving union jobs. It's not even about Michigan. This issue effects every worker in every State. It's about giving company's loans that they can't get because of the financial crisis. The hey-day of the US auto industry may be over, but the impact that this industry has upon the Country's economy cannot be under estimated. Millions of jobs, millions of businesses would be affected. We cannot stand idly by and let these companies die.

Please use the links below, from the Chamber, to voice your support for the loans.

The Fate of the Country Lies with You and the Government’s Own “Big Three”

“Imagine a category five natural disaster hits your home state and the government tells FEMA not to come. That is the equivalent of what happened to Michigan last night,” said one chamber member this morning. We couldn't have said it better ourselves, except it's not just about Michigan. It's about the whole country.

Congress failed to act on providing the Big Three with bridge loans, which now has us sitting on the verge of one of the largest economic meltdowns in the history of the United States. The government’s own big three – President Bush, Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke – need to exercise their powers now. They are the only ones who can save us from losing millions of jobs nationwide. The fate of the nation literally rests in their hands. They are the only people left who can tap into the $700 billion of TARP funds used in the financial bailout and have the Federal Reserve offer the Big Three loans.

It is of monumental importance that both you, your friends, family members, co-workers and anyone else across the country who has stake in American businesses use the Vote4Biz Action Center.

Contact President Bush
and Secretary Paulson now

Contact Chairman Bernanke now

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Ho Ho Ho

An elf arrived today and picked up a bunch of packages destined for our clients. It'll take her a few days to get them all delivered but if you see an elf standing at your door don't be alarmed she's actually carrying some goodies just for you.

Each year we try to do a little something for our clients to let you know that we appreciate you. Budgets are tight and like many of you we're going to end the year in the red. But I think that we've made the right investment in our business to build forward with even greater efficiency. As I look forward to the new year, I know that our success is directly tied to your success and so we'll be ready to work with everyone of you to help you reach your business goals.

Toward that end I've decided to make all meetings non-billable for all clients. We want to partner with you and offer any input, resources and connections we have to make your business successful. Call on us and we'll be the best strategic partner you can have. (at least we're going to try our very hardest) Together we can become the leanest, meanest group of small businesses in the Country and come out the other side stronger than ever.

Happy holidays to all. Look out for that elf and be good to yourself; you deserve it.

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Monday, December 08, 2008

SBS 2008 Certification -- Accomplishments

Ted, Diana and Amy have received confirmation that they have all passed the SBS 2008 technical certification exam. This marks an accomplishment whose journey started 2 years ago with the first Alpha release of SBS 2008.

How was Harbor Computer Services involved in the development of SBS 2008?

  • Actively participated in beta testing, submitting over 2 dozen bugs during the development process
  • Completed numerous surveys to assist the development team create a product relevant to real small business clients.
  • Amy invited to help develop technician certification exam. She worked with a team developing the criteria to be tested and reviewed exam questions for correctness.
  • Successfully lobbied Microsoft on behalf of our clients to include downgrade rights to SQL and Windows license in SBS 2008 Premium.
  • Amy, Ted and Diana achieve SBS 2008 technical certification.
  • Ted and Diana invited for final certification exam review. Ted went to Redmond to work with a team to provide real world review of technical exam questions.

SBS is probably the single most important software product to the majority of our clients. We have made a significant effort to be part of the development process at Microsoft and invested a huge amount of time to make sure that we are on top of all of the changes in the product. But most importantly, we took advantage of every opportunity to tell Microsoft what is important to our clients as they created this new product.

SBS 2008 is here and I couldn't be prouder of my team for the effort that they put in and the accomplishments they have achieved.

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