SBS 2003 Installation Part 5 video

Part 5 in our series of installing Small Business Server 2003 R2 is now on YouTube. Simply click here to view it. This video deals with connecting Small Business Server to the Internet by running the standar Connect to the Internet Wizard. Remember, that will all SBS configuration you should always run the wizard if there is one available.

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SBS Backup failure – Error in log 0x800710d8 Gettapemediapoolname failed

So we saw this on an SBS 2003 R2 Premium machine that had been up for a long time. When we did some Googling we came across the following article which we figured would be required, http://www.taznetworks.com/rss/2006/01/sbs-backup-error-code-0x800710d8.html . Simple easy, with just a few server reboots.

When we examined the server more closely we discovered that it had the well known SQL memory issue that SBS seems to suffer from on the MS Firewall service. What happens here is that you see an sqlsever instance consuming a huge amount of RAM. When you look closer at the source of the instance you find it is the ISA 2004 reporting database. You can find more information about the solution to that here but basically you need to run the command line WMSDE tools to limit the amount of memory the WMSDE instance uses (WMSDE is the cut down version of SQL you get for free). So we did that since the server couldn’t be rebooted and low and behold the backup the following day worked!

So it would seem that not only is the backup error 0x800710d8 potentially related to a corrupt RSM database but it is dependent on the memory in use on your server. So before you go recreating your RSM database try seeing whether your server maybe consuming an inordinate amount of RAM. If it is try throttling some of the SQL instances as detailed above or like most things, maybe a simple reboot to free up memory again will do the job.

Advanced Virtual PC video

We have posted a new video that cover some of the more advanced features of Microsoft Virtual PC. We cover features such as virtual machine additions, virtual hard disk compacting as well as creating differencing virtual hard disks. You’ll find the video by clicking here. As always we welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have for us about our video creations as we are always trying to develop material that is beneficial to people.

How to Master the Art of Selling

This book by Tom Hopkins proved to be very eye opening for someone who really isn’t a “sales” person. I think most people who are not “sales” people don’t hold “sales” people in high regard ( in some cases for very good reasons ). This book show you how anyone can master the art.

It isn’t filled with tricks, it is instead filled with some very thoughtful insight into creating successful sales processes. The first thing that struck me was the authors insistance that sales be a disciplined art where you thoroughly practice what you are offering and how you are going to offer it long before you are ever faced with a customer. As we all know most successful business people already have this approach in other areas of business, why shouldn’t it apply to sales ?

The book also shows how most sales people threaten the customer rather than making them feel comfortable. Ever walk into a shop and find yourself jumped by an eager sales person asking if they “Can help with anything ?”. As the book shows, a much better way to approach this is to say something like this to the customer ,“If you have any questions I’ll be right over here to help you”. Subtle, but it can make all the difference as I recently found out when I went shopping and was constantly jumped by eager ( who appear aggressive ) sales people asking “if they can help me”.

Another insite that the book provided me was the fact to actually ask for referrals. Too many times we expect our clients, even our best ones, to be constantly referring us new business. Problem is they are usually too busy to even think about it. If instead we ask them, then chances are they’ll know someone immediately, if not then at least it has been placed at the front of their minds. As the books says, you have to ask and ask on a regular basis.

In summary this is a great book for anyone. Why ? Because we all sell in some shape or form. You may not think so but chances are when you sometimes even have to sell family and friends on your ideas, so don’t think selling is just limited to business. I was generally very impressed with the way the books makes a comprehensive coverage of the selling process and what you need to be a “champion” ( as the books defines ). The author strives to take you from an ordinary sales person to be one of the select few who are truely successful and happy selling.

Rating = 9 out of 10

See http://www.tomhopkins.com for more details about the author.

Thick Face Black Heart

This book by Chin-Ning Chu touts itself as being able to help you suceed in life and work using the ancient wisdom of the East. Chin-Ning says that Thick face is a shield that when developed gives you the ability to put aside the negativity of others and exceed beyond the limitations that others impose on you. Black Heart is a method to develop a ruthless side that allows you to succeed where others fail.

The book incorporates a many ideas from two of my favourite strategy books ( both from the East ) – Sun Tzu, The Art of War and Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings. It is amazing to look at size of both of these books ( a maybe not even 100 pages ) when compared to strategy writings from the West ( which are 100’s if not 1,000’s of pages ). The biggest difference is probably the fact the Eastern philosophy speaks about ‘The Way’ ( or do in Japanese ). This means that whatever you do must become part of your everyday life. So if you study strategy then you must learn and apply its teaching in every aspect of your life. If you don’t then you are no following “The Way”.

I found the point about negative traits most interesting. Most “traditional” self improvement courses, books, etc always seem to focus n your negative points. For example helping you manage your time better or organizing your time better. Chin-Ning speaks of embracing these negative and learning how to use them. Sure you need to work at improving them but don’t waste all your time and energy on just that. You must forget that you have positive advantages in your being and you need to use these to move forward and not be held back by trying to eliminate your negatives constantly. This concept is a very interesting twist on “traditional” self help topics.

A good example is something like the “Postitive aspects of procrastination”. Basically Chin-Ning is saying that we should take time to just think and not do anything else. If we sometimes rush into things then they turn out badly. The concept of the Black Heart is interesting. Basically it means that you need to have the ability to “be mean” to get what you want. Chin-Ning is not advocating being evil but sometimes you do need to look after number one. It also means being a bit coy ( deceptive ) in your dealing with others, which she says Eastern culture thrive.

After reading the book I had an interesting business conversation during the week where the other party basically spilled the beans on their life when there was no need to do that. I was somwhat shocked at the conversation because I didn’t expect this subject matter in a “business” conversation, however from the book I did see how people in business are far too willing to ceed others information that potentially can be used against them and they do it almost willingly.

All in all I found the book and excellent read and discovered that it stirred a generally deeper level of thought that I have had after reading other books. I would definately add this book to my top 10 list of “business must reads”.

Rating = 9.5 out of 10

You’ll find more info about Chin-Ning Chu at her web site http://www.strategic.org

What’s the reason for running your own business ?

Why do you want to run your own business? Many owners could probably give many different answers but I think the answer is simple. PROFIT.

The trick here is to define what PROFIT is. I like to think of PROFIT beyond simply the money left over after you have taken out all your expenses. PROFIT for some people may be having more time to be with their family, for others it may mean being in control and able to make their own decisions and for some it maybe to make money. I think the trick to realise is that the PROFIT owners derive from their businesses doesn’t have to just monetary.

On the other hand you need to make sure that a business is making a PROFIT ( be whatever you consider that to be ). If money is your definition of PROFIT then it doesn’t make sense to be running your business constantly at break even or with minute returns. If control is your definition of PROFIT then it doesn’t make sense then it doesn’t make sense to let yourself be at the mercy of customers or suppliers. As any business owner will tell you, you have to take a hard look at your business and ensure that it is making a PROFIT.

If the business isn’t profitable then you normally have two courses of action. You either need to determine why your business isn’t profitable and make it work or you need to get out. Owning and operating a small business is not a bed of roses, there are going to be tough times, again and again. They will test your resolve to remain in business. However if you know what sort of PROFIT you are after then at least you know the direction in which you should be travelling.

You can’t hope to get to your destination if you don’t know where it is! Firstly, define what PROFIT you want from your business ( money, control, world domination, whatever ), then make sure you are working towards that every day.

What I wish someone had told me starting out

Probably the one thing that I wish someone had said to me before I had started my own business was “… yeah, that’s all great but how are you going to get OUT of the business ?”. In simply terms, what is your exit strategy ? My exit strategy ? You must be joking, I would have said, I want to do this for the rest of my life. Hmmm…that is all well and good but working in your own business for the rest of your life is only one possible scenario. So many OTHER things things could happen along the way that may cause this to change.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want to work in my business for the rest of my life BUT what happens if I don’t ? What happens if my circumstances change and I need to get out ? What’s is my strategy ? If I try and sell my business would I get the value that I have invested in it ? Probably not. A great book that deals with this issue is the E-myth by Michael Gerber. He basically says, what do you have if you can’t take holidays when you like, when you can’t afford to have a day sick and you are always behind on your work ? You don’t have a business you have a job! Which is exactly the thing that most people who start a business are trying to get away from !

It wasn’t until I read Gerber’s book that I realized that I didn’t have an exit strategy. Again, not because I needed one but because it provided me with options. When I started to look closely at my business, through a buyers eyes, I realized that the business didn’t have nearly as much value assocaited with as I thought. A good example of this was my accounts. I had done all my accounts in a spreadsheet that I designed myself. I worked really well, was flexible and I knew the in’s and out’s but if someone from the outside looked at it they would say it wasn’t standard and they would want something like Quicken. D’Oh how stupid of me. I’d made that part of my business unattractive to a potential buyer and therefore destroyed value.

When I started looking at the business as a whole through a buyer’s eye I realised that my accounts weren’t the only place where I’d been destroying value. Every where I looked I had custom one off systems, lacking documentation and procedure. It wasn’t that the business didn’t function successfully, the problem was all the best bits where in my head. That is all well and good until you try and exit the business. You can’t simply dump your brain into the new owner’s and move on.

Now I had to start the long ( and still on going ) process of getting everything out of my head and down on paper. I am now constantly working to add value to my business for a potential buyer. I can tell you that it is a right pain in the butt and I wish that someone had made me think about my exit strategy before I got into my own business. So take heed from me. If you are planning to go into business for yourself, plan an exit strategy first, even if you never need it, it is always reassuring to have.