What real entrepreneurs have on their phone.

Applications for the Entrepreneur on the go.

I love my local chamber of commerce.  I love them so much that each year I pay them dues and attend many of the functions they host.  This week there was a bit of a kerfuffle on social media when they posted an article from thenextweb.com about the top 13 mobile applications an entrepreneur should have on their smart phone.  Crestfallen, I replied, “May-be you should ask one of your members who writes mobile apps?” They replied saying that I should write something up so this week on the blog for my regular readers and members of the Joliet Chamber of Commerce here are some of the web application I can’t live without and I am an entrepreneur.

Esponce QR Code Reader – I am a big fan of QR codes and using them to have pieces of paper communicate with the internet.  Esponse QR code makes this as easy as taking a picture on your phone.  What makes Esponce so good is that in addition to reading QR codes you can create them on the fly from your phone.  Finally Esponce offers a tracking service and a history of all the codes you have scanned.  Download the application here.

Ubersocial Pro Twitter Client - If you are on the go staying on top of your Facebook and Twitter reputation can be a full time job.  Ubersocial makes using Twitter and Facebook is a snap. You can follow particular users or hashtags update both Facebook and Twitter with one touch from your phone and be instantly notified when someone talks about your organization.  There is a pro version with advertising and then Pro version for $4.99.  Ditch the ads and pay for the pro version, you can thank us later. Download it here. 

Google Keep - It is hard to take notes and save them electronically.  Google Keep is a simple introductory tool to save notes on your phone of tablet.  If you find a web page you want to read later you can share it with Keep to read later.  Grocery or to do lists can be set up with a click.  You can even set up reminders to send e-mails or text messages to do something.  Even if you lose your phone or tab let you can access your Keep notes via the web.  It is not the biggest or must fully feature note taking tool but for someone learning to take electronic notes it is a great start.  Find it here.

Kindle Book Reader – Entrepreneurs spend a great deal of time traveling.  Lugging around books and magazines can be a hassle.  The Kindle reader app allows you to have an entire newsstand and bookstore at your fingertips the next time you are on a long flight. The reader automatically hooks into Amazon.com’s website and you can get the latest best sellers with a swipe.  For people who love to read or need to keep up this is a must have.  Download your version here.

Google Drive - Being an entrepreneur means sales presentations, demonstrations, and lots of travel.  It would be nice if your spreadsheets, documents, and presentations could be accessed in one place.  Google Drive makes this a reality.  The Google drive behaves like a regular hard drive but instead of physically existing on your phone, tablet or PC it exists on Google's servers safe and secure.  So if you change a spreadsheet on your tablet when you view it on your phone or PC the changes are saved.  This is easier to use and safer than a thumb drive. Learn more here.

Songza – All work and no play make the life of an entrepreneur dull.  Songza is a music application which helps find music for any mood or moment.  Instead of playlists and stations being managed by computers, Songza employees human being to keep the music selections fresh so if your tastes range from early sixties jazz bebop to the latest hits you have your pick of quality commercial free music.  I especially like the Space Age Bachelor Pad channel playing lounge music from the Mad Men era of history and College Memories 1980 – 1989.  Try out Songza an you will not use another streaming music service.

As an entrepreneur those are the application I have to have on my smart phone.  At E₃ systems we also make mobile and web applications which might help you.  Our first application is called Sully and it is an inventory management system which can produce Bills of Lading, Invoices, and packing slips from your phone, tablet or PC.  We also have an application named Tony which helps you track the care and maintenance of item in your fleet of vehicles.  It also works on a phone, tablet and PC.  This system will help you stay on top of insurance risks and maintenance warranties with the swipe of a finger.  To learn more about E₃ systems and our products please click here.

Kerfuffles are a good thing and I hope this one helps you find the applications to make doing business easier.

Until next time.

A Trillion Dollar Trend

One Trillion of anything is huge.

I hope that everyone had a good holiday weekend.  During the time off, I stumbled upon an interesting article about Silicon Valley investment banker, Sanu Desai. For those who don't know who this individual is, he helped Amazon go public back in 1997.  As a venture capital banker he seems to know where all the bodies are buried in Silicon Valley and all the latest trends regarding money.  He said something this week which is directly relevant to our business this week.  The times are changing and we are about to the transfer of over one TRILLION dollars from companies involved in business to consumer products to companies involved in business to business products.  This is good news because it is part of a trend which we caught early.

E₃ systems has been pioneering a new cloud based systems which makes it possible to track your invoices, bills of lading, purchase orders and inventory online.  This is perfect for small and medium sized businesses.  You don't need to install software.  You don't need to purchase expensive servers and you don't have to worry about hassling with software upgrades.  We take care of this.  We are also perfectly focused on business users who don't have a lot of time for training their people to use new systems.  This is what makes Desai's commentary so heartening.  The technology business has spent the last twenty years making life easier for consumers.  Now it is time to make life easier for business owners. 

As technology has gotten to resemble magic more and more it is becoming hard for the small and medium sized business to provide the same kind of customer service which larger companies provide.  This is a big deal because you are now at a competitive disadvantage.  What I felt was needed was a technology service which makes it possible to provide the same tools the big firms have at a fraction of the cost.  What makes this even more important is that consumers are becoming more technologically savvy.  They will just take it for granted that they can track their products online and via mobile phones. 

This is where the one trillion dollars of wealth transfer comes from.  Larger firms like Oracle, Amazon and Microsoft will not be able to fill this important business niche. And so it will be up to smaller companies like mine to fill in the gap.  So E₃ systems is competing for over a trillion dollars of money up for grabs.  If we receive just a fraction of it then we will have accomplished our mission. 

If you want to learn more about how you can be part of this growing trend please give us a call we will be glad to help. 

I can't even fathom a trillion dollars of wealth.  There has never been a trillionare in the history of human kind.  Still it is hard to ignore when this amount of money is moving in your direction.  It is nice to know you are part of a positive trend rather than swimming against the tide.  I look forward to having you join us. 

Until next time.

Customer Anger Management

Don't get angry; get smart.

When you are having a dispute with a customer wouldn't it be nice if you had some means to help answer their concerns.  Customer service can be a very thankless job and for a small business it is made even worse because you do not have systems in place to keep track or inventory or invoices.  This is the world I understand because I have been on the end of the phone line desperately looking for a receipt or invoice for a customer.

One of the great things about our Sully 2.0 software is that it makes customer service less difficult.  You can look up invoices on-line or via your mobile phone and get answers when you need them.  We also have numerous reports illustrating how much you have sold and what your margins were when you sold it.  We have also come up with reports to give to your line employees so that when you do a physical inventory of what is in the warehouse you can compare it to what you have in Sully.   Consider it like balancing your checkbook.

Now you don't need complicated servers and software to do this.  You just need to contact us today and we will be glad to give you a demonstration of how our business intelligence platform works.  All you need is a connection to the web and all of us at E₃ systems do the rest. 

So the next time an angry customer gives you a call and you can't find an invoice, remember Sully 2.0 can make your life much easier. 

Until next time.

A Moment of Clarity

This is not how we do business. 

Business people are idealized and vilified in equal measure.  For every Geroge Bailey there is a Gordon Gekko, I live in the world of business people.  I have been fortunate to know good business people and I have been cursed to work for a lot of the bad ones.  After a particularly bad day at the office, I sat in my cubical in utter misery.  It was what alcoholics call a moment of clarity.   I decided that I was going to become a business person and I was going to make sure that no one who ever worked for me felt as rotten as I did that moment.

This was why I founded E₃ systems.  I wanted to make business easier for other entrepreneurs by streamlining their shipping and receiving work.  I wanted them to have the power of a Fortune 500 company at a fraction of the price.  I also wanted the system to work over the web so that they could transact business away from the office and spend time with their family and friends.

It was a noble goal and we are going to continue to pursue it.  This week we are releasing another batch of improvements to Sully 2.0.  One of them features the ability to filter addresses so they are easier to find.  We are also coming out with a series of new videos which will show you use our systems. 

It is an exciting time and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Until next time.

This is What We Do

We make business intelligence look pretty.

I have spent over a year promoting and blogging about my company E₃ logistics systems.  What amazes me is as people get to know about my company they always ask me the same questions about what we do.  This week, I want to explain what E₃ systems does.

We help you stay on top of paperwork.  If you have any inventory we help you track the number of items coming and going from your stock with no need to keep track of paperwork.  Our Sully 2.0 system helps you keep track of all your items in our web based system.  You will never have to go searching around the office for a piece of paperwork again because you can pull up the Sully 2.0 system type in a search and find all the information you are looking for.  Not only does this apply to inventory, but to bills of lading, packing slips, invoices and purchase orders.  So in one place you have all the information you need to run your business.

Next, we make it easy to gather business intelligence about the progress of your business.  Fortune 500 companies have entire teams of people who sift through pies of data to gather information about what products are hot and which ones are not.  They can track shipping costs to the penny and find out if they are making a profit with each sale.  At E₃ systems we give you that ability to make you competitive with big boys.  We have a full set of reporting tools so you can track inventory, sales, and other pieces of regulatory compliance documentation.  We included this because many software packages make easy to gather data but difficult to make decisions based on that data.  Now, at a glance you know what you have in stock and if you are making money selling it.

Additionally, we make it possible to track your information via any type of computing device connected to the web.  This means if you have a tablet computer, smart phone or laptop as long as you have a connection to the web you can use our systems in a secure fashion.  No more dialing into company virtual private networks or portals.  No more messing with synching your data with company systems.  All you need is an account and mobile device and you can see your inventory, purchase orders, and invoices 24 hours a day seven days a week.  This gives you more time to interact with your customers and less time tracking down paperwork. 

Next, we bridge the gap between the world of paper and web with Microsoft Tag technology.  Thanks to Microsoft Tag technology, you can scan documents and products.  This gives you the ability to instantly communicate with the Sully 2.0 system.  Now expensive bar code scanning equipment is obsolete.  If you have a smart phone you have what is necessary to track your inventory and systems just like a major corporation.  We offer this service free of charge and make it possible to print up these Microsoft Tags with Avery 22805 labels.  No more mystery about what is on the shelf now you print out a tag stick it on a product and you have an electronic record. 

Finally, we offer this system at about the cost of digital cable television.  If you can afford $120 a month subscription fee we can make it possible to manage your inventory, purchase orders, paperwork, business intelligence and make it available 24 hours a day seven days a week on any device with a web connection.  There is no software to install.  All you need is a web browser or smart phone to access our systems.  The data is secure in our server farm located in the Pacific Northwest and you can reach us via e-mail or phone 24 hours a day. 

If you are interested in how we can help you manage your business and give you a competitive advantage over your rivals then contact us today.  You will not be disappointed.

Until next time.

Embrace the Cloud

Embrace the Cloud, you can thank us later.

Technology can be confusing and scary.  I spend much of my time explaining new technology to people and trying to ease their concerns.  Nothing causes more confusion than “cloud computing.”  This week, I want to explain what cloud computing is and how E₃ systems can help you use it to improve your business. 

Slate.com economics writer, Matt Yglesias unveiled a survey from Wakefield Research last week about public perceptions about cloud computing.  Some of the more interesting tidbits of information were, a majority of Millennials believe that stormyweather can interfere with cloud computing and 22% surveyed  confessed to admitting they have pretended toknow what the cloud is or how it works even if they didn’t.  After a good chuckle, I wondered if people had similar feelings regarding microwave ovens or color television. 

Here is the dirty little secret about cloud computing.  Most of us are using it and we don’t even realize it.  If you are using Facebook you are using cloud computing.  If you are using an iPod you are probably using cloud computing.  In fact, any time you are saving documents or files someplace other than your computer at home or work you are using the cloud.

The cloud is nothing more than a metaphor dreamed up by networking professionals and marketing folks.  It represents computing with storage outside your local computer or network.  The data resides in the “internet cloud” on a remote server or database.  This is a positive development because this is a direct result of the explosion of personal computing and the web during the 1990’s.

Today on Gmail, a typical user can have up to Ten Gigabytes of data, which is a large amount of data.  So big that if a single e-mail was two kilobytes in size that would mean that you could hold over 5-million e-mails in your mailbox without having to worry about it filling up.    What makes this figure more fantastic is that the amount of space Google is providing each user is increasing by about 128 Megabytes a year.  In addition to those 5-Million e-mails a user can archive an additional 64,000 e-mails a year. 

Thanks to cloud computing we are dealing with big piles of data and they are stored on remote servers throughout the internet.  The raw power is staggering. 

So what does this mean to you the small business person?  It means that you can have the power and capacity of a large business with an IT budget of millions of dollars for a fraction of the price.  You do not need to spend thousands of dollars for servers and software.  All you need is a connection to the web and the power of the cloud is in the palm of your hand. 

At E₃ systems we take a lot of pride in how we have used cloud computing and the internet to make it easy for a small business to manage their inventory.  With our Sully 2.0 system, you can keep track of Bills of Lading, Invoices, Packing Slips, Shipping Labels, and Purchase orders.  Contact us today and we will show you how easy it is to use. 

The “cloud” is nothing more than a fancy way of saying the “internet.”  Many of us are using it each day and do not realize it.  What makes it so fantastic is that as prices fall, storage increases and raw computing power improves it is going to make our lives easier and more connected.  As a business person you should not be afraid of the cloud but embrace it. 

Until next time.

Full Frontal Business Intelligence

Smart and Good looking systems are what we
are all about.

This week was a milestone of sorts at E₃ systems.  We had our second board meeting and it was a serious sober affair where over a few bottles of water and some store bought cookies we plotted out our path for the next year.  I do not know where I would be without the guidance and support of my board and it was nice to talk about our accomplishments and challenges over the last year.

As always we talked about marketing and sales.  Any small business person will tell you that this could always be better.  After some back and forth among the board members it dawned on us that our Sully 2.0 is more than a logistics platform it is a business Intelligence Platform.  This makes it possible for a small business to manage themselves just like a Fortune 500 company for a minimal cost. 

One of the biggest headaches of a business is keeping track of how much you have on hand.  Our Sully 2.0 system does this by saving all your information on the cloud and then pulling it down for reporting purposes.  This means no matter where you are; at the office, meeting with a client, or on vacation if you have a connection to the web then you can see your inventory at the drop of a hat.  Not only do you know how much you have on hand but how much you paid for it and what type of department of transportation regulations cover that material. 

We make it possible to print up packing slips, bills of lading and invoices based on this information.  We are also proud to announce that it is now possible to print shipping labels with Avery® label technology.  No more typing up peal and stick labels for your products Sully 2.0 can print out 5160 and 5164 Avery® labels right off the web without having to use Microsoft Word or a third party program.  This speeds up the business and makes it easier to manage shipping and receiving.

Furthermore you get more full frontal business intelligence when you leverage our Microsoft Tag technology which makes it possible to do bar coding without expensive equipment.  Now every piece of paper you have can communicate with your mobile phone.  This is a free of charge service and we include it so that you can view information about your products anywhere in the world on any smart phone. 

Finally, we make it possible to put together purchase orders and incorporate them into your business with our purchase order piece.  You order an item and you can e-mail it or fax it out to your vendor and when you receive it they can add it inventory with a click.  No more lost faxes.  No more playing phone tag with vendors and no more double counting when you get it into the office. 

In spite of our board meeting being a very sober affair most of us were pretty excited when it was over.  We have a great product.  We have a marketing plan.  We also have an easy to use and economical business intelligence package which can be used everywhere.  We have full frontal business intelligence and we are not afraid to show it off.  Contact us to learn more. 

Until next time.

Purchase Orders You Can Trust

Tracking Purchase Orders on Your Mobile
Phone is now a snap.

A purchase order should not betray you.  It is a simple piece of paper you fill out and within a few days you should receive the product requested.  The reality is that faxes get lost.  Vendors can be unreliable and you are stuck explaining to your boss why the purchase order has not been filled.

This is a common frustration for business people.  Somehow, there needs to be a better way to track purchase orders.  This is what guided E₃ systems when we created Sully.  Instead of thumbing through catalogs, filling out paperwork, and praying the vendor gets your message; you fill out a simple form and then automatically email the purchase order to the vendor.  If the vendor does not have email you can print up the purchase order and fax it. The beauty of the system is that when you e-mail a purchase order you will receive a message in the Microsoft Outlook telling you when they opened it.  Now, there is no doubt about a vendor receiving a purchase order. 

Better yet, when you receive a purchase order you can instantly place these items into inventory with a mouse click so you have a fully updated record of all the products in inventory.  You can also track a purchase order via a mobile phone or a tablet computer with the help of MSTag.

A purchase order should not betray you and at E₃ systems we understand that.

Contact us today and find out.

Until next time