Communication is key in small business.  A recent post by Brett Snyder at Intuit's Small Business Blog highlighted one small business owner's struggle with their virtual phone system.  The virtual phone service provider made a key mistake -- omitting to inform its customers of a system change which would affect their service -- that led to significant consequences:

Our service provider decided to “update” its system, and the new version decided to stop interpreting our custom settings properly.  That meant incoming calls weren’t being routed to the right people at the right time.  Sometimes, they were even going straight to voicemail, even calls to our urgent line.

What can we learn from this as providers of business support services?

• Broadcast changes in service well in advance
• Troubleshoot foreseeable errors but
• Respond quickly and graciously to unexpected errors
• Own your mistakes

For those looking to separate the cream from the chaff of phone services, we found this list at Small Biz Trends that might be helpful.

When Rutrell Yasin at GCN asks us whether , "...the answer to records management in the cloud," it appears that he thinks the answer is rhetorical.  He cites a lack of reference in a reference MeriTalk survey on the possibility of cloud computing to addressing inefficiencies, and then points to the success story of the Oregon Records Management Solution, which allows "state, city and county agencies manage and provide access to records in an efficient, uniform manner and will save money on storage, risk and litigation costs," according to their officials. While acknowledging the its strengths, industry leader Iron Mountain has warned against thinking of the cloud as a "magic solution," going on to assert that, "General purpose cloud storage vendors are not focused on the specific needs of ERM implementation, and the services they do provide don't quite fit those needs."

As cloud-based solutions grow increasingly prevalent in all sectors, AGi believes that these are conversations that we will need to continue to have, and certainly welcomes any thoughts from our readers!

AGi has seen two recent posts that look at records management in a way that can be helpful for laypersons or businesses that are just starting to get their bearings around the subject. The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) has a great starting definition for records management drawn from the ISO standard:

ISO standard 15489: 2001 defines Records Management (RM) as the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records.

Melissa Strawhecker at Iron Mountain recently posted an amusing anecdote of an interviewee that described records management as "not rocket science."  The whole post is worth reading, but this sentiment expresses something important for small businesses beginning to hold their records management to a higher standard:

The only difference between records we keep at home and records that we keep for business is that, for the most part, we know how long we need to keep the records at home.  Bank statements can be shredded once all the transactions are cleared, taxes need to be kept for seven years, I keep receipts and warranties (for big purchases) until I no longer have the product or the warranty has expired.

Business records are a little more complicated... all companies should have a records retention schedule that their employees can refer to and determine how long they need to keep things.  The retention periods provided in most records retention schedules are intended to be as short as possible to minimize the volume of records while still complying with all legal, contractual, or operational requirements. Records should neither be kept longer than the periods stated in the schedule, nor should they be destroyed or discarded before the stated retention period expires.

If you follow us on twitter, you may have seen us link to this excellent toolkit offered by the Department of Veteran Affairs that highlights important information for employers looking to utilize the special skillsets of veterans moving into the civilian sector.  For instance, one tool offered is known as the "Military Training Model," which offers concrete steps to create a clear sense of expectations for the role that they'll be moving into.  An example:

Identify responsibility for mission objectives. In the military, each Service Member has different responsibilities and works together with other members of his or her unit to complete a mission. Working together this way as a team may best ensure success when each member knows which components are his or her responsibility and which components are the responsibilities of others.

We'd also like to draw your attention to a great post at the NYT highlighting a military spouse and entrepreneur, Amber Turner, whose business assists military spouses to develop portable and flexible careers that acknowledge the frequent moves that military families make.

Earlier, AGi shared some of Intuit's small business tips for getting started after retirement age.  One of those tips talked about the recommendation to use a financial source separate from your retirement funds.   At the New York Times, Josh Patrick talks about the tax implications might be if you decided to make that decision, specifically discussing ROBS — rollover as business start-up:

"...using a ROBS strategy increases the tax bite from 48 percent to a little more than 60 percent. And that’s my point: even if ROBS transactions are legal, the tax implications are significant."

If this is relevant to you, we encourage you to read the finer points of his article.  And if you're considering using the equity on your home to start your business, we encourage you to read this post at the Small Business Blog by guest poster Brentt Taylor.  Here he talks about the possible benefits with caveats:

A home equity loan can provide additional funding to get through slow seasonal periods, weather a weakened economy, or overcome an emergency set-back. There is always the option to sink additional funds into the business to help promote its growth even if it’s doing well. A home equity loan, while viable, should be held in reserve until it is truly needed.