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Cal Wilson / July 26, 2021

Waste Across Industries, No. 1: Why is waste so expensive?

Depending on what industry you work in, your waste removal expenses are potentially a significant burden on your bottom line. Sure, you can reduce waste — but compromising the quality of this service isn’t really an option. Finding savings is possible, but first you must understand what goes into the cost.

A five-part blog series by Schooley Mitchell.

In the first of Schooley Mitchell’s five-part series on waste expenses across industries, we explore why waste removal can be such a hefty business expense.

Waste cost categories.

It may be hard to imagine the price breakdown of waste removal, when most of the process happens away from your facility.

Your bill is most likely composed of four main cost types:

  • Container costs
  • Collection costs
  • Transfer costs
  • Landfill costs

Understanding your options among these four categories can go a long way in helping you reduce your bill.

Container costs.

Containers are the aspect of waste removal that you’re probably most familiar with, and an area where you have a fair amount of control. Commercial waste containers come in an array of sizes and are typically available for purchase or rent.

Pricing is based on the cubic yard sizing of a container. On average, a 4yd3 container costs $15 a month to rent, and $350 to purchase outright. Prices increase incrementally as size increases.

Knowing what size you need might come with trial and error. Come collection time, the optimized container is the one that is filled, but not to the brim or overflowing. Excess waste is often subject to excess fees.

Renting vs. Purchasing.

Whether renting or purchasing is more effective for you is going to depend on what you need. Depending on your line of work, a permanent container might not make sense. For example, temporary construction or landscaping projects are more likely to require a rental, compared to a residential building or school.

Expert Market advises that purchasing a container is more efficient if that bin will be in use for at least 23 months.

Collection costs.

Waste collection fees are going to be the most variant depending on your location, container size, and collection frequency. This could be as little as $30 a week, or as high as $3,000. Figuring out your needs can include some trial and error and industry research. A restaurant is likely to require more frequent collection than an office building.

The kind of waste your business generates, as well as local health codes and in-person traffic throughout your premises, is going to determine your collection frequency.

Transfer costs.

Factored into your waste removal fees are the fuel and other transportation costs of moving your waste to a landfill.

Transfer can be arranged in two ways, direct or indirect:

  • Direct transfer transports the waste from your premises to a landfill in a single trip.
  • Indirect transfer transports waste from your premises to a transfer station, where it’s stored and batched before being shipped to a landfill site.
  • Because transfer stations aren’t free to use, indirect transfer is the more expensive option.

Based on your premises’ location, your transfer method may be out of your control. Businesses located far from landfill sites must rely on transfer stations to dispose of waste, which inevitably increases costs.

Many waste management providers have discounted rates with transfer stations and commercial landfills that are worth investigating.

Landfill costs.

Every time waste is disposed of at a landfill a landfill tipping fee is charged. On average, for commercial landfills, these range from $25-150 per ton.

As with transfer costs, many commercial waste management providers have preferential rates for customers at landfills.

The hidden costs of commercial waste removal.

Even when you’ve accounted for the four main cost categories of your waste removal bill, you may notice that there are some extra, unexpected charges on your bill. Keep these potential fees in mind when budgeting:

  • Dismount and push charges, which apply per bin when drivers have to get out of their vehicle and push your containers to an unobstructed spot for emptying.
  • Key charges, which apply per bin when drivers require a key to open a locked container.
  • Enclosure charges, which apply per bin when drivers must remove bins from a fenced enclosure and then replace them when emptied.
  • Gate service charges, which apply per bin when drivers must open a closed or locked gate.
  • Long walk charges, which apply per bin when your containers are placed in such a way that the drivers have to walk over a specific distance — such as ten feet — to access them.
  • Regulatory charges, which are depending on region, and cover the cost of providers complying with environmental regulations.

One way to avoid many of these charges is to evaluate the container situation on your premises and see if you can optimize the location to make it easier for haulers to collect your waste.

Reduce waste expenses.

This information might seem overwhelming. Waste expenses can really add up. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to optimize your services and reduce your expenses.

Start by considering an internal or external audit of your waste removal system. Are your bins being emptied too often, or not often enough? Could you be paying transport fees for a closer station or landfill? Are your prices increasing multiple times a year? Are your containers the right size for your waste output?

Ask yourself these questions and pay close attention to your waste removal bills. You might be spending more than you need to.

Next week…

Next week, in part two of our series on waste expenses across industries, we will examine the cost of food waste on businesses, and what yours can do to find savings.

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Cal Wilson / July 20, 2021

Why podcasts are effective in business

You can find podcasts on almost any subject, from dog training, to true crime, to board game reviews. You want it? Someone has done it. That includes business.

Podcasting has had a significant impact on business culture. In this issue of the Pulse, we look at that history, and how a podcast might fit into your business model.

History of the podcast.

The earliest iterations of podcasting can be traced back to the 1980s, in a form called ‘audioblogging’. The term podcast wasn’t coined until 2004.

In the years following its official invention, the term was adopted into the dictionary as podcasts began to win popular awards, hit record download numbers, and garner six-figure deals. Notable figures such as Steve Jobs and Ricky Gervais jumped on the bandwagon, making the entertainment format a cultural phenomenon.

By 2013, Apple announced that – on its platform alone – podcasts had collectively amassed over one billion subscribers.

Today, it seems almost everyone with any kind of celebrity status has done podcasting at one point. Comedians, YouTubers, and business leaders alike have all found success across podcasting platforms.

If you don’t listen to podcasts, you might be wondering, how does this entertainment media apply to a professional landscape? Well, many podcasts have always taken an educational or advisory position.  Due to this, they have become firmly entrenched in the business zeitgeist.

Why do business leaders podcast?

The answer is: they’re effective. If you have the voice and personality for it – or you can find someone who does – as well as interesting things to say, a podcast is a great way to disseminate information about your business, products, industry news, and thought leadership.

In short, a podcast can be a great part of your marketing plan.

Why are they effective?

When done well, podcasts establish you as an industry expert. As well, it gives the host the opportunity to highlight their enthusiasm and speaking skills.

A regularly released podcast with well-researched, credible information tells customers they can trust that you’re a leader in what you do, and that you’re passionate about knowledge-sharing.

Podcasts also provide the medium for an authentic connection with your audience. It allows them to get to know a specific side of your brand that feels more genuine and human than just reading a website or looking at social media posts.

As a bonus, many listeners build podcasts into their daily routines, such as their morning dog walk or commute. In that way, your podcast can become a part of their day more naturally than other forms of content.

Listening to podcasts will also strengthen your business leadership skills.

Maybe you’re not in the right place with your business to produce a podcast right now. Or maybe the format doesn’t appeal to your skillset. Either way, there’s still something to be gained from listening to them!

There are so many business-related podcasts available, and surely you can find something of value. If you need a place to start, The Balance: Small Business has several great recommendations, including:

  • The Mind Your Business Podcast
  • Entrepreneurs on Fire
  • HBR IdeaCast

These podcasts, along with the others on the list, aim to motivate, educate, and give the spotlight to other businesses. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, fresh perspective, or some industry advice, one of the podcasts on this list will surely help.

In conclusion…

For nearly two decades, podcasts have been entrenching themselves in the business culture. Whether you’re a listener or a producer, podcasts can be incredibly valuable to your mindset, knowledge, and business leadership.

Cal Wilson / July 12, 2021

What will it take to implement electric fleets in urban areas?

 

In cities across North America, fleets comprised of electric vehicles make a lot of sense. Reducing fuel costs and emissions is a big goal of the trucking industry. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for adopting electric vehicles (EV) into your fleet. It depends on your business’ unique needs and capabilities.

The Pembina Institute recently released a publication outlining key tips to deploy battery-electric urban delivery vehicles. In this Schooley Mitchell blog, we take a look at some of The Pembina Institute’s findings, and give you the run down on EV adoption.

Why make the switch?

Studies have shown that, in urban areas, EVs are relatively easy to charge, cost-effective, and reduce emissions significantly in comparison to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. For freight companies worried about the practicality of switching from ICE vehicles to EVs, the process may be less daunting than you think.

The Pembina Institute’s research found:

  • All electric cargo van models currently available, as well as new models under production, are expected to satisfy the energy demands of urban delivery companies — even under the most energy-demanding scenarios.
  • EVs are expected to result in considerable fuel savings over the course of a year, ranging on average from CAD$3,800 to $4,400 per vehicle (or approximately USD $3,090 to $3,578 per vehicle).
  • The switch to electric would result in an annual reduction of 12 tonnes CO2e per vehicle – equivalent to taking 2.6 passenger cars off the road for one year.

The incentives to adopt electric vehicles are clear; but adoption and deployment is easier said than done.

Electric vehicles are expected to result in considerable fuel savings over the course of a year, ranging from $3,800 to $4,400 per vehicle.

An action plan for EV adoption.

Part of the Pembina Institute’s findings on EV adoption and deployment in urban areas included a twenty step action plan. Specifically, the plan targets battery-electric urban delivery vehicles (medium-duty, class 2b-3) with on-site depot charging.

Here are some of the best takeaways from that action plan:

Start early.

Begin the implementation planning stage as soon as possible. It can take over a year to install charging infrastructure and secure the vehicles you need. There is a supply and demand imbalance in the industry, and you could find yourself waiting on your selected vehicle model.

Understanding your needs.

Before you make any decisions, you need to have a plan that takes all your needs into account. In understanding your needs the Pembina Institute has a number of recommended steps.

As the data above suggests, there is a great cost reduction and environmental incentive to making the switch to an electric fleet. Of course, these are just averages, and your business is unique.

“Developing a business case that is specific to your needs is important. Costs and benefits will vary depending on fleet size, vehicle model selection, charging schedule, the power of the charging infrastructure, and the electricity pricing scheme, among other factor.” The Pembina Institute said.

During this process, take an inventory of your current fleet and assess its operations. You may be able to optimize the number of vehicles you need to best serve your operational needs, meaning a replacement ratio of 1:1 is not always necessary. Downsizing your fleet is a great opportunity  to reduce costs.

Your business case should include the minimum requirements for the EVs that you would like to purchase. Some considerations include:

  • Vehicle type/model
  • Gross vehicle weight rating
  • Charging capabilities
  • Range
  • Climate control, such as cabin heating or cooling
  • Transmission type
  • Auxiliary electrical systems, such as automated doors or power lifts
  • Other auxiliary accessories, such as tire pressure monitoring

Explore what’s available on the market.

Once you know what you need, explore what you can reasonably find.

Currently, there are three main options for fleets looking to go electric:

  • Retrofitting existing diesel or gas-powered vehicles
  • Procuring EV models currently available on the market
  • Working with companies to create a custom solution

Depending on your business needs and budget are, one solution may work best for you.

Develop a phasing plan.

You don’t need to jump in all at once. It’s possible to phase in EVs slowly and decide if they are a right fit for your fleet. Methods include:

  • Trialing a vehicle from a manufacturer — some EV manufacturers are willing to work with prospective customers on a trial basis.
  • Launch a pilot period — consider starting with a smaller number of EVs to begin with for a pilot period, so you can monitor their performance in comparison with your traditional fleet.

Assess your facilities.

Charging infrastructure is important, and taking a look at what your facilities can support is crucial.

Based on operational needs and distances driven, charging strategies look different from fleet to fleet. Determining how often you will need to charge, how many charging stations you will require per vehicle, and your charging speed requirements will all make an impact on your electrification process.

The Pembina Institute recommends looking into smart charging.

“Smart charging can help you better manage your energy use and electricity costs. Smart charging enables remote management of chargers, allowing fleet operators to turn chargers off entirely or adjust the rate of charging in response to grid conditions. By minimizing the use of chargers during peak periods, for instance, fleets can save on electricity costs,” it said.

You may be eligible for funding.

Many governments take carbon emission reductions seriously, and will give funding and grants to fleets looking to go electric. Look into municipal, state/provincial, and federal opportunities to subsidize the cost of making the switch.

In conclusion…

These are just some of the Pembina Institutes thoroughly helpful action plan steps for fleet electrification. For more information, you can read the press release, here.

The combination of convenience, expense reduction, and environmental benefits mean that electric vehicles are likely the future of urban freight. Implementation is simply the hurdle in the way of realizing the possibilities.

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Cal Wilson / July 6, 2021

Why humility in the sales process yields results

You might associate the exciting world of sales with words like ‘hustle’ or ‘grind’ – but what about humility? While this word has a great connotation in our personal lives, humility is often overlooked in the business world. Yet, it remains an incredibly important quality in sales.

What is humility? 

Humility doesn’t mean holding yourself in a low regard. A person with humility is humble, emotionally intelligent, and has a proportional sense of their own importance in the world. 

In business, this can mean taking a service-based mindset, and seeing each and every customer as an individual human with a unique set of circumstances, rather than just a potential sale. 

Why does this work in sales?

Humility lends to your credibility. You don’t have an inflated sense of self, or of your service/product. You’re able to make genuine connections with customers, and truly assess their needs. You won’t upsell them on something they don’t need or can’t afford. In short, you’re looking out for their best interests, and they can trust you. 

Consumers want a brand, service, or product they can trust, and that often begins with a sales representative.

Likewise, humility often goes hand in hand with active listening. Active listeners are going to be able to better hear their prospects’ concerns and questions, and answer them empathetically.

Think about ordering from a restaurant. You might ask the server for a recommendation off the menu. If the server said, “the whole menu is great! Everything here is great!”, it would be less helpful than if they took the time to recommend a dish based on their personal experiences and your stated preferences. That server would be more likely to help solve a problem, and potentially earn a better tip. 

Humility will help you improve your process. 

A humble person can receive and implement constructive criticism and feedback without feeling personally attacked. Often, constructive criticism is an important part of bettering our tactics and our brand. 

So, maybe you didn’t make this sale. For whatever reason, a prospect you thought was a great lead didn’t bite. It happens. However, their feedback might be valuable in helping you land the next sale. That is, only if you are open and receptive to it. 

Humble people retain relationships. 

A big part of success in business is making and maintaining strong relationships. Referrals, testimonials, and repeat customers are all a result of good business-to-business or business-to-consumer relationships. Humility is an important part of any relationship, and business is no exception.

Even within a business, humility among leadership is found to result in a more engaged workforce with less employee turnover. 

In conclusion…

Approach sales with humility. Engage with your customers, hear them, and focus on solutions for them rather than money in your pocket. You may just find it will result in both. 

Cal Wilson / July 1, 2021

Integrity is one of the most important traits a leader can possess.

Integrity is one of the most important traits a leader can possess.

Integrity is a promise that you keep – unwavering and devotedly. It is a set of values that one adheres to, even when times are tough. If your clients and customers find you to be a leader with integrity, it will reflect well upon your business, and encourage others to trust in your work.

However, presenting yourself as a person who possesses integrity might be easier to say than to fully realize. What exactly is integrity, and how do we show it? In this issue of the Pulse, we take a look at those questions.

What is integrity?

When conceptualizing integrity as a personal trait, it may be hard to know exactly which definition you are working with. In fact, integrity has several modern definitions:

  • The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
  • The state of being whole and undivided.
  • The condition of being unified, unimpaired, or sound in construction.
  • Internal consistency or lack of corruption.

So, which one of these should you be aiming for? The answer is: all of them!

Integrity as a leader.

If we look at all of these definitions as pieces of a larger whole, integrity in business leadership looks like a set of values that are made clear to consumers – and are demonstrably adhered to. These guiding principles should be upheld even in the face of adversity.

Think of integrity like a strongly rooted tree, still standing after many decades. It has grown in the ideal conditions to be resilient to harsh weather and predators, all the while reaching for the sun. When your staff, colleagues, contacts, and customers see that your commitment to business ethics and a strong moral code is as strong as that deeply rooted tree, it will build trust in you, your brand, and help foster genuine connections across your network.

Some of the virtues most commonly associated with integrity include honesty, accountability, dependability, responsibility, loyalty, and self-awareness.

Integrity on the job.

Part of integrity in a business environment is not only embodying these values as a leader, but building a team of likeminded, trustworthy individuals. Of course, you do not need to agree on everything – diversity of ideas is important – but when it comes to integrity, everyone should be of like-mind. If an employee is going to represent your brand, and integrity is important to you as a leader, they should likewise be a person of integrity.

Outside of your reputation, hiring a team with integrity is important for a number of reasons, including:

  • Fostering consistency in the quality and delivery of work.
  • Forming respectful and trusting relationships between colleagues.
  • Creating a workplace environment where employees take pride in their work and take their responsibilities seriously.
  • Allowing for honest communication and conflict resolution.
  • Ensuring all employees abide by company policies and procedures without needing much supervision.
  • Empowering employees to take accountability for their work and are open to constructive criticism.

It is evident that employing a team with integrity is crucial for any company that takes pride in what it does.

If you’ve ever managed a team, you can probably think of an employee that had very few, if any, qualities associated with integrity. They might have been a burden to you as their supervisor, or even to the whole team, by creating more work for others.

How does one demonstrate integrity?

Telling a prospect or contact that your business or team values integrity is not going to be effective. It’s one of those traits that has to speak for itself – actions speak louder than words, and all that. It’s something others say about you, or something they feel implicitly when thinking of you as a person and/or business.

So, how do you show your commitment to your values?

Here are some guidelines that may help:

  • Clearly state your values in your mission statement or ‘about us’ section of your website.
  • Only make promises you know you can keep.
  • Take accountability when you make mistakes.
  • Be sincere in your praise of others.
  • Feature examples of you maintaining your values – even/especially when facing adversity.
  • Create a culture in the workplace that values a job well done above a profit made.

In conclusion…

Integrity is a quality that one lives. Should someone try to convince others it is a quality they themselves possess, without a proven track record to back that statement up, the opposite is likely to be perceived. It is a deep morality that drives decisions that benefit those around you. This is especially true in the business world.

You can tell people that you value integrity, but it is through your actions that you will truly convince them.

Integrity is the flourishing tree which grows from your deeply rooted ethics and values. It is the meter with which you evaluate challenges and opportunities. Maintaining your integrity is one of the most important aspects of your leadership, and a key part of business success.

Cal Wilson / June 28, 2021

Internet Outages & Your Business, No. 3: How to help your employees through an internet outage

If your employees are working from home, either temporarily, in a hybrid capacity, or full-time, chances are you don’t control their internet provider, or their network speed and quality. Like anyone else, your employees are going to experience outages. How you handle these difficulties can be seen as a sign of the strength of your business’ leadership.

Part three of Schooley Mitchell’s three part series.

Last week, we explored the disaster recovery plans and how to mitigate risk — especially in the case of internet outages. This week, in third and final installment of Schooley Mitchell’s series on internet outages, how they affect your business, and what you can do to minimize the damages, we look at how employers can help their employees through at-home outages.

Use your judgement.

The age-old problem with work from home is that it’s excellent for self-driven, independent employees, and can be terrible for employees who need a lot of supervision and direction. Claiming their network is down is one of the ways an employee can slack or make excuses for poor work.

When helping an employee through an outage, you must use your judgement and that person’s track record to help you decide how to proceed. If your employee is having genuine difficulties, there are a number of steps you can take to get them back online.

Make sure the issue is truly their internet connection.

This might sound obvious, but sometimes it’s not actually the Wi-Fi that’s the cause of a poor connection.

If the problem arises during a video conference, such as over Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Webex, there is a chance that the service itself is failing because of an overload of traffic. In this case, explore other options, and make sure the employee can do the rest of their work remotely.

One way you can help prevent this confusion in general is to use conferencing software that has a dial-in option. Many platforms offer this, and it’s a quick solution for lagging or failure to connect during an important call.

Subsidize cellular plans.

In a brief or emergency event, like a cable in your employee’s neighborhood taking damage and causing a temporary outage, your employee might have the option to do work via mobile hotspot. If you already pay for their data plan, then this is already covered. If not, consider subsidizing them for the hours that their Wi-Fi is nonfunctional.

Allow them the day offline.

Likewise, if it truly is a brief window of no connectivity, allow your employee some time offline. If there are tasks they can do offline, have them work that way; if not, it’s probably not the end of the world for them to take the hour or two, and not stress.

Let your employees know how much you value them by not punishing or pressuring them for circumstances beyond their control.

Subsidize better equipment.

If the problem is recurring, and your employee’s connection can’t handle their workload, you might want to consider some small hardware upgrades to ensure a reliable connection, such as an ethernet cable, Wi-Fi extender, or better router.

Especially if the employee is a valuable, hardworking member of your team, the cost of helping them afford upgrading their tech will pay for itself with their increased productivity.

Create an IT help process.

If their Wi-Fi goes out, the first thing your employee will probably do is unplug their modem, and plug it back in. Maybe they’ll even wait a few minutes to see if the connection is restored.

Unless your employees are well versed in IT, they might not know what to do next. If you have a large enough IT team, or a small enough staff, it might be worth creating an IT help support process that your employees can follow, during work hours, to seek help.

If there’s a chance an expert you employ can help resolve matters quickly, it could save both you and your employee time and money.

Offer the office as an alternative space.

Depending on the laws where you work, your employee may not be breaking COVID protocol if they need to come into an empty — or nearly empty — office for the time that their internet is down. As long as everyone is safe and following social distancing measures, this could be a great, albeit temporary, alternative to keep your team working.

If you have an employee that struggles with their connection, it might be worth developing a contingency plan for working at the office during an outage. Preparedness goes a long way in reducing employee down-time.

In conclusion…

Remote employee internet outages are as inevitable as outages in the office. Although you may have less control over the quality and speed of the connection, there is a lot you can do to help your team through these frustrating periods. Proactivity, patience, and generosity will reflect greatly on your leadership.

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Cal Wilson / June 21, 2021

Internet Outages & Your Business, No. 2: A disaster recovery plan is critical for your business’ long term success

No matter how excellent your provider is, things can always go wrong. If an accident, disaster, or cyber event compromises your internet infrastructure, and thus your ability to operate, make sure you have a plan in place.

Part two of Schooley Mitchell’s three part series.

Last week, we explored the internet crash that happened because of cloud company Fastly on June 8th, 2021, impacting many big-name businesses. This week, in the second installment of Schooley Mitchell’s three-part series on internet outages, how they affect your business, and what you can do to minimize the damages, we look at disaster recovery plans.

What is a disaster recovery plan?

Simply put, a disaster recovery plan is a way to be proactive about the things that could go wrong, by describing the process, policies, and procedures for responding to them. This could be anything from a storm that causes a power outage, to a largescale cyber event. These plans lay out the necessary steps to recover or continue your IT infrastructure and should include hardware and software safeguards.

Why should you invest in one?

A disaster recovery plan can be the difference between your business’ ability to resume operations or not. Last week we discussed the disruption of an hour-long global outage, but not all events are so brief. A larger outage could eat into your revenue, reputation, and productivity. It could cost you customers and employees. Doing the work to mitigate these risks is an important part of business leadership.

Likewise, data loss can be devastating for your business operations. If you can coordinate protocols for offsite storage or backup schedules, you can soften the blow of a disastrous event.

So, what steps should you take?

If you don’t have any experience with disaster recovery plans, it can be beneficial to work with professionals who can offer impact analyses and identify potential risks.

However, there are also steps you can internally to help you prepare.

Take a thorough inventory.

Document your telecom operations details. This includes your computers, phone systems, servers, and storage. List the diagnostic tools used to monitor systems. Keep track of the software, cloud services, and web-hosting platforms you rely on to operate.

In other words, know what you need to function, and what alternatives can be employed, in the case of a system failure.

Identify the risks.

It’s important to know what has the potential to affect your organization’s operations. This can include natural disasters, industry-specific risks, or larger external cyber events.

Not everywhere needs to prepare for a flooding event but may have to instead prepare for winter storm damage. Likewise, some industries are going to have different risks than others. Institutions like universities may want to prepare for strain on computer systems during registration and exams periods, for example, while online retailers might experience overwhelming traffic during a sale. Knowing times when you are vulnerable to a potential crash will help you provide better support and backups.

Forbes also suggests mapping the trends impacting your business system. Have you thought more broadly about factors such as your reliance on other companies and hard-to-replicate specialist firms? What happens to your business if a cloud company you work with has an outage? After all, the June 8th Fastly outage shows that a small glitch at a big provider can cause trouble for hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses.

Create a list of circumstances that will invoke your disaster recovery plan and rank their severity.

Spend time on events or conditions that are likely. It can be easy to overwhelm yourself with a list of potential catastrophes, but you want your plan to stick within the realm of probability, not fantasy.

Focus on telecom.

Our telecom systems do so much for our businesses, despite oftentimes being very fragile. One disruption can do a lot of damage. Part of your disaster plan should be focused on assessing your telecom situation.

Some questions you can ask in the case of damage to your telecom system:

  • What cables are still intact?
  • Can rerouting accomplish anything?
  • Can critical segments be remapped?

As previously mentioned, working with a third-party professional to help assess this damage, and the risks to your systems, can go a long way in damage prevention and recovery.

Come up with recovery strategies.

Once you know the risks and what’s at stake, your plan should involve steps towards partial recovery. This could be an alternate site you could operate from during an event, or a scaled-back level of services to be prioritized.

Implement prevention strategies.

You can implement preventative measures to protect your equipment and avoid unnecessary loss. This could include data backups, fire containment doors, generators, or connecting your telephone system to an uninterruptible power supply that would maintain coverage for several hours in the event of an outage. This can also be as simple as strategically planning where tech is placed based on where your building’s sprinklers are located.

Security tech, like higher quality locks and motion sensors, can also be included in this plan.

Build company-wide compliance.

This is not just a senior leadership activity. Part of a disaster recovery plan’s success is in its adoption by each department within your organization. Middle management and employees should be reviewing policies and procedures and making suggestions when appropriate.

Parts of your plan can be delegated to trusted members of your team. Who is responsible for doing a regular inventory? Who is responsible for shutting off computers during a weather event?

Everyone should be on board to keep your operations running in the case of an accident or disaster.

Make preparedness a competitive advantage.

While this investment in preparedness may seem like a lot of extra work, it could potentially give you an advantage over your competitors.

Forbes says you can use disaster recovery to benefit your business, by being more reliable when events swamp other businesses. Maybe aspects of your plan are even the reason a new customer chooses you over a company with less risk mitigation implemented.

In essence, a disaster recovery plan is best business practice.

In conclusion…

Disasters happen. They’re not always avoidable, despite our best efforts. Whether it be a weather event, accident, theft, technical error, or large cyber event, there is a lot you can do in terms of damage prevention and risk mitigation to keep your company online and functional.

Next week.

In Schooley Mitchell’s three-part series on internet outages and your business, we have looked at what happens when the internet crashes, and how to set up a disaster recovery plan. Next week, we will take a look at your role as the employer when a remote or hybrid worker has an outage on their home network.

Related articles:

 

 

Cal Wilson / June 18, 2021

Highlight your business leadership by writing strong testimonials.

Every business owner knows how important a testimonial can be for building credibility and attracting new customers. The written experiences of those who have worked with you carry a lot of weight.

Likewise, a great way to showcase yourself and your business as a community leader is to write meaningful testimonials for other businesses. It shows thoughtfulness and good will, while having the potential to strengthen relationships and invite testimonials of your own.

In this issue of the Pulse, we will be looking at why writing testimonials is an important business practice, and how you can write them with purpose and eloquence.

Why write testimonials?

When a potential customer visits a business’s website, displaying a testimonial can be more impactful than what a business has to say about itself. Other than data and statistics, which provide great concrete evidence about a business, social evidence, like testimonials, is a highly effective way of winning-over new customers.

Sincerity is key.

You don’t want the testimonials you write to come across as formulaic or robotic. Testimonials should have a human voice that readers can relate to.

Start by writing for the businesses of which you are truly a fan. Where will you go out of your way to shop? Which restaurants always have the best service? Where would you want your friends to visit? Focus on the things that make these locations truly stand out for you, and you’ll find writing sincerely comes naturally.

Pay attention to real world examples.

You probably read or hear more testimonials than you realize. Examples of ‘real world’ testimonials include:

  • Grateful emails messages.
  • Social media love and shout-out posts.
  • Handwritten thank you notes.
  • Gushing in-person gratitude.
  • Hearing others have been talking positively about your business through a third party (the grape vine).[EF1]

Pay attention to the honest, off-the-cuff way people express gratitude and satisfaction with service[EF2] . What are some of the best compliments you’ve received, one that made you exceptionally proud of the work you do? This is the kind of language and sentiment you’re looking for.

Furthermore, if you are receiving a lot of these ‘real world’ testimonials, it might be worth making a file of them, and asking the customer or client if you can feature their words on your website or social media – while, of course, thanking them for their kind words.

Keep it short and direct.

If you write an essay, a prospect is less likely to read it. A few short paragraphs is all it takes to drive the point home. Begin with the most poignant statement, so that if that is all that a visitor reads, they will absorb the message.

If you do have a longer testimonial written, consider refining it to only the most impactful points.

Include the relevant information.

Build credibility by including your personal information, such as your name, title, company, and potentially a photo of yourself or your logo, where appropriate for the given platform.

Adding a photo with a human face, preferably a happy one, can have a huge impact on the conversion of a prospect to a customer. In fact, one study found that including the face of a happy customer on a review or testimonial increased conversion rates by 102.5 percent.

In conclusion.

A testimonial can go a long way in helping business owners in your community thrive. Not only that, but a great way to show your leadership and character is by preemptively writing them – generously and sincerely. You may just find that you receive more in return.

Cal Wilson / June 14, 2021

Internet Outages & Your Business, No. 1: What happens when the internet goes out?

On June 8th, 2021, several major websites from some of the world’s biggest companies went offline for about an hour. The outage, linked back to cloud company Fastly, has since shined a light on a critical weakness of global internet infrastructure.

A Three-part Blog Series by Schooley Mitchell.

In the first of Schooley Mitchell’s three-part series on internet outages, how they affect your business, and what you can do to minimize the damages, we look at what happened on June 8th, and what it shows us about our dependency on telecom services.

So, what happens when the internet goes out?

June 8th, 2021.

For an hour on June 8th, technical problems at cloud company Fastly, caused widespread outages around the globe. Major websites such as Amazon, Hulu, The New York Times, The Verge, and CNN, among others, went offline.  Several airports worldwide were also impacted. Social media sites such as Reddit, Pinterest, and Twitch also experienced outages.

Perhaps most concerningly, the government web pages for the United Kingdom were unavailable. Citizens were temporarily unable to book services or find information regarding COVID testing and vaccinations, as an example of the outage’s real-world consequences.

Fastly is a ten year-old San Francisco-based service provider that is very popular with larger companies, such as the aforementioned brands, for helping their websites load faster for consumer traffic by storing larger files like images and videos closer to their end users.

Fastly announced on its website at 09:58 UTC that it was investigating the problem and, an hour later, reported it had identified and applied a fix. At the time, it declined to say what the problem was, leading to much speculation.

Later, Fastly blamed the problem on a software bug that was triggered when a customer changed a setting, revealing how very fragile internet infrastructure can sometimes be.

Although the outage was brief, and the solution quick, the hour of global confusion and dysfunction has highlighted some of the weaknesses in the way businesses operate online.

Are we too vulnerable?

Before the outage, Fastly was not a household name. It’s strange to think one company could bring so many parts of the internet — economic, governmental, and social — to a sudden halt, without being a widely known name. With every aspect of life, from schooling to grocery shopping to even health care, moving online, a vulnerability like this is scary.

As more services move online, a handful of companies are responsible for the backbone infrastructure that keeps those services afloat. An outage like the one caused by Fastly does real-world harm — even if just for an hour.

“We’re seeing more and more being concentrated in fewer and fewer vendors,” Josh Chessman, information technology analyst at Gartner, told The Washington Post in an interview. “Everybody has this perception of the internet as this really robust thing, and it is, until it’s not.”

Essentially, a lack of diversity of ISPs and web-hosting companies is part of the reason behind our vulnerability to big outages like the one on June 8th. This is a perfect example of the importance of competition in the telecom industry.

Can more competition be achieved?

While there is a pressing need for more diversity in our internet infrastructure, the industry is extremely tough to break into.

Services like the ones Fastly provides, for example, are nearly impossible for any new company to replicate. Its business model requires having physical data centers spread across several countries; Fastly has over 50.

More than just a telecom problem.

The caliber of the websites that were impacted by this outage prove that internet outages can happen to anyone.  No matter how good of a provider you are with, accidents and disasters are inevitable.

You might remember events like June 8th in the past. In June 2019, Verizon accidentally routed a large amount of U.S traffic to a single provider in Pennsylvania, bringing down big sites like Amazon and Facebook for many consumers. In July 2020, engineers at Cloudflare made a similar mistake, pushing too much traffic to a single data center in Atlanta, which failed and crashed a swath of busy sites, including the video game League of Legends. In January of 2021, hundreds of thousands of people lost internet connection along the United States’ East coast, when a construction crew hit a Verizon cable in Brooklyn.

The takeaway here is not to despair of a technical issue or damaged cable, but rather to be aware of the risks to your business and make informed risk mitigation plans.

Next week.

Next week, part two of our series on internet outages, we will look at disaster recovery plans, and how implementing one is best practice for your business.

Related articles:

Cal Wilson / June 7, 2021

Should your business be paying for shipping insurance?

If your business ships products across country or overseas, what happens when one of those packages is lost, delayed, or damaged? As the seller, your customers are going to hold you accountable — even if it’s not the fault of your company.

One solution to this concern is shipping insurance. Shipping insurance is a service that holds shippers accountable for and protects your business against lost, stolen, or damaged packages. If an insured package is damaged or does not reach its destination, the retailer is reimbursed the declared value of the items in the package.

Shipping insurance means paying a small upfront fee, for the peace of mind that any mishaps in transit will not reflect poorly on your brand.

Your reputation is on the line.

A 2020 survey from industry expert, Convey, found that 47 percent of respondents said they’re unlikely to shop with a retailer again after a bad shipping experience.

A similar 2016 survey found that, in the case of delayed or damaged product:

  • 53.1 percent of shoppers would expect a free, expedited replacement.
  • 43.9 percent of shoppers would expect a refund or discount on shipping costs.
  • 19.4 percent would expect a coupon discounting their next purchase.

Those numbers have likely shifted somewhat since stay at home orders led to an online retail boom, but the point remains. Your money and your business’s reputation are at stake when it comes to lost, delayed, or damaged shipments.

When do you need shipping insurance?

Shipping insurance isn’t necessary for the average person sending a parcel, unless that parcel is particularly valuable or fragile. However, in a business setting, it really depends on your frequency and volume. The more you ship, the higher the chances are of something going wrong. If your product is especially expensive, the risk increases.

If you’re doing any kind of ecommerce, shipping insurance is a necessary operating cost to protect your revenue and your reputation.

2021 shipping crises are the perfect reason to get shipping insurance.

In 2021, we have already seen one of the best motivators for investing in shipping insurance. In March, the Taiwanese container ship Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal, bringing global trade to a screeching halt for many industries. On May 25th, a chemical fire broke out on a container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.

If you are shipping overseas, or even by land, there is always a possibility of an accident or disaster leading to product destruction or delay. The events of the first half of 2021 might make you pause and consider investing in shipping insurance, or reviewing your existing coverage.

Cost is a consideration.

Across all major carriers, the rates are determined by the value of the shipped item.

ShipBob provides a helpful overview of the price comparisons for UPS, Fedex, and USPS. Both Fedex and UPS offer free coverage for packages up to $100, with rates increasing from there. However, UPS has a $2.70 insurance minimum, so the value of the shipped product must be at least $300 to qualify for UPS shipping insurance.

If you’re using a different provider, be sure to do your research and see what options you can use to your advantage. Likewise, there are third-party shipping insurers that are often less expensive than the shippers themselves.

As with any business expense you take on, do your research and consult with industry experts.