Welcome to Business Consultant Weekly

Vol. 2 Issue # 27 July 5, 1999

Happy Independence Day...America!

In this issue:

1) Tip of the Week

2) FEATURE ARTICLE: Y2K - Year 2000 - Millennium Bug - What is it? by Al Anderson

3) CLASSIFIEDS

4) FREE Resources

5) POWERQUOTE

6) MOTIVATIONAL MARKETING MINUTE: Seven Deadly Sins in Internet Marketing by Robert Dobyns

If you'd like to read previously ran tips and features, go to http://netcheckspayroll.com/newsletter.html

Well, have we all heard too much about Y2K? Are you numb from all the hype? Today's feature is an article written by Al Anderson, Publisher of "The y2k Files". He offers a basic, layperson's explanation of what caused the problem and how it effects your PC. If after reading it you want to look into it further, I suggest subscribing to his ezine at mailto:files@y2kEasyFix.com?subject=subscribe.

"y2k - Year 2000 - Millennium Bug - What is it?" by Al Anderson (Publisher of "The y2k Files")

Do you have visions of some "creepy, crawly things" scurrying around inside your computer? Some techno bug that bumps a resistor here, shorts a memory chip there, eats data off your hard drive, tells lies to your software and leaves "droppings" in your BIOS. Maybe you shouldn't go and tell your friends (or your Dr.) about this, but you are not far off from the truth.

The y2k bug and its fix is the biggest technical challenge of this end of the century. In terms of resources, both human and monetary, it is bigger than the space program. So it seems hard to believe that the cause of all this stems from early computer programmers' failure to identify the year as a 4 digit number. In the interest of saving a couple of bytes of memory, they programmed computers to accept a 2 digit value for the year and gave them the power to infer what century it is. The catch is, programmers never told the computer about the 21st century (year 2000 and beyond).

Oooops! I hear some Mac users out there. OK, OK... you got it right on this one. The good news for Mac users is that your hardware and operating system is y2k compliant - meaning your computers understand the year 2000 but be careful later in the century. The not so good news is that you may still have software and application problems. I will address this in a future newsletter.

Back to the PC. Quite simply then, your computer will most likely have a problem recognizing the year 2000 (yes - even those newer models are likely to have a problem). Now, rest assured your computer will not explode or melt down. In fact you may not even notice a problem until such time as you run a piece of software or application that requests the current date from your system. Then... watch out! This simple query may have results ranging from "locking up" your system to telling you that your bank balance is currently -(minus) $2,478.00. Hmm..mm, this is not good.

Here is the explanation (techno phobes - close your eyes). The date and time is maintained by a piece of hardware in your computer called the CMOS RTC (RTC stands for real time clock). The RTC is battery driven and keeps the time and date (as a 2-digit number) even when the system is off. When your system boots up, the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) always asks the RTC what time and date it is. It does that so it can provide the same to your operating system. The operating system in turn provides this info to your many software applications that are time and date dependent like your banking balance application for instance.

Here's the y2k bug in action: On 01-01-2000 you boot up your system. The BIOS asks the RTC, "What date is it?" The RTC responds with "00". The BIOS has no knowledge of the year 2000 and so infers the century digits to be "19" and the year to be 1900. But that causes another glitch because there is no record of the year 1900 so the BIOS says, " Oh no it's not - it must be Jan 4, 1980" (because that is the earliest date that programmers told the BIOS about). The BIOS is happy and your system is chugging along until you hear news about a "run on the banks" so you decide to check your bank balances. Oh! Oh! The BIOS tells our application that it is Jan 4, 1980. Now we really don't know what this will do to your specific system until it is tested but it may lock it up or it may result in your application giving that negative bank balance I mentioned before. Either way, it's a problem. Sorry about that - but you're not alone by any means.

Now that you understand the problem, watch for future info in my newsletter to include topics such as "Testing", "The Hardware Fix" and "What Survivalists are Saying". I should mention a couple things about testing. There is a lot of misinformation (some from usually reliable sources) floating around on the internet about testing your system and changing the date in your BIOS. **DO NOT DO IT** - until you have the facts. Changing the date now in your BIOS could cause you more problems than the bug itself. I'll tell you why in a future issue. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Al Anderson is a computer consultant for Y2K EasyFix and Publisher of a free weekly e-zine, "The y2k Files". Y2K EasyFix has one of the top selling Y2K compliance packages available as an E-Book for individuals and small businesses. Subscribe: mailto:files@y2kEasyFix.com?subject=subscribe More info: http://www.y2kEasyFix.com/ Reseller Partners... http://www.y2kEasyFix.com/afflogos.htm

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"You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it."

- Charles Buxton

Questions to Ponder

What tasks do I wish to 'find' time for? (make a list)

What tasks take up my day? (make a list)

What am I willing/able to take off the second list to make room for things in the first list?

Submitted by Kevin Eikenberry from Powerquotes kevin@discian.com to subscribe http://discian.com/pq.htm

Seven Deadly Sins in Internet Marketing by Robert Dobyns ----------------

# 1) WAIT TOO LONG......Barnes & Noble is playing a hard (& expensive) game of catch-up with rival bookseller Amazon.com Instead of jumping onto the internet shuttle at first sign of it's competitor's great success, they had to analyze it and do reports on it and feasibility studies, etc., etc. The bottom line: they etc'd it to death and it cost them millions. It's going to be a hard game for Online Bookstore # 294 to make a successful venture!

Are you marketing on the internet yet?

# 2) WALK/DON'T RUN.....Once you finally do decide to begin marketing online, the worst thing you can do is bring your picky little perfectionist attitude with you! Guess what? The internet is an imperfect system...it thrives & grows on tons of utter chaos! A little bit of chaos at your site won't matter in the least. Once you have decided to launch your internet business....RUN!!! Get the shell of your online domain up & running & then change your focus to generating traffic. If your sole dedication is to being artsy-fartsy, then you'll have a beautiful domain for you (and only you) to look at! RUN and grab & utilize every traffic-generating tool you can get your hands on and craft your site little by little.....It will always be evolving.....You'll NEVER be happy with it....Get people there & sell them something!

Are you making money from your web site?

# 3) WORK TOO LITTLE.......If you've ever read my newsletter, you know that this is my pet peave: People who lay on the couch, watch Oprah & eat bon-bons all day long & then say, "My site isn't working".

WRONG!!!!! YOU aren't working!

The internet works just fine for lots & lots of people who work IT! Turn off the TV, turn ON the monitor & PROMOTE your site.

Are you promoting your web site daily?

# 4) WHISPER INSTEAD OF SHOUT.......Are you afraid of hurting someone's eardrums on the internet? Of course not! Then SHOUT!!!!!! "But Robert, proper netiquette says that shouting is rude". SOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!!! It's effective.

Now, if I come to your site & post something there, I always make certain I raise my little pinkie as I type in UPPER/lower case as appropriate. But when someone comes to my site, I do as I please to get their attention. I won't be playing elevator music as some sites do (I don't think PUSH music belongs on a commercial web site, but that's another article). If I DID choose to play music, I would probably choose "Old Time Rock-N-Roll" or some other song along that line that would keep my customers awake for the sales pitch!

There's nothing wrong with an occasional "HEY YOU!!!!!" or "LOOK AT THIS"!!!!

CONTINUOS CAPS, THOUGH IS JUST AS BORING AS CONTINUOS LOWER CASE LETTERS THAT JUST DRONE ON & ON & ON & ON WITH NO REAL PURPOSE OR MEANING, JUST YAK, YAK, YAK, YAK ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do people know that you exist?

# 5) WHINE TOO MUCH........My philosophy...It is better to wine too much than to whine too much! At least then you won't care about your whining just like others don't care about hearing it. If there is a problem, find the solution..... Whining wastes valuable time!

If you don't know how to solve the problem, you may have to swallow that pride & break down & ask someone. Don't let your business get stale & stagnant because you are unwilling to find a solution.

Guess what?

Sometimes the solution is scrapping your whole project! Start with something fresh & profitable! Virtual Pet Rocks probably won't sell! Get over it & get on with it! As my friend, Carlo Flores from California would say, "Been there...Done dat!" I lost almost $12,000 on my last venture...a pittance to some, but to me, a debt that is still being paid off! Did I say, "Shucks, I guess businesses just don't work like they used to"? NO! My thoughts were, "Well, that sure stinks....OK, now what can I try!"

You WILL literally fail your way to the top. "If at first you don't succeed, ______, _______ again" (It's the little lessons in life that have the greatest impact!)

Can I help you with a solution?

# 6) WHIP ON OTHERS........Especially on the internet, this will lead to entrepreneurial suicide. The whole internet business scene is different than "real world" marketing. On the internet you can market your business to millions of locations for FREE through cooperative efforts & joint ventures. Can you imagine Ford saying to Chevy, "I tell you what, you can put your Cavalier at our dealerships if we can put our Mustang at yours". Think it'll happen? NOT! Thus they must spend MILLIONS to try to get consumers to stop frequenting the Chevy dealerships & entice them to come to theirs. They must whip on each other in the public arena.

Follow this kind of independent strategy on the internet & you, too, will have to spend big bucks to promote your business.

Subscribe to my newsletter and you'll see advertisements in today's issue from competitors of mine who are selling the exact same products/services which I am. Crazy? Well, my ad is ALSO in their e-zine today selling my goods. They have doubled their reach ...I have doubled my reach! Now I do this kind of swap with 15 different e-zines every day...Get your calculator out and run the numbers for 6 days per week X 15 ezines X 52 weeks......For FREE!!! This kind of advertising would cost me OVER $100,000 if I wanted to play the "Lone Ranger" of internet marketing...Play smart...Play cheap!

Would you like to join me in promoting our businesses?

# 7) WIGGLE & WRIGGLE TILL YOU DROP.......Plain & simple: If you can excuse yourself for any of the above, you're dead in the water! If you can identify any of these traits in your entrepreneurial approach to internet marketing, FIX THEM! Don't wiggle about and say, "Well, that's just the way I am" or "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". GET AN ATTITUDE CHECK!!! Or talk to someone who shoots straight and will tell you that you need to get focused. That's why I appreciate Dr. Jeffery Lant. He tells it like it is. No sugar coating. "Shape up or your ship will sink, boy!!" "Get on with it!!" "Move it, move it, move it!!" Reminds me of my drill sergeant in the Army...Gruff, but effective!!

Find someone who will give you a swift kick in the pants when you need it!!

Realize your short-comings & vow to fix them. Attitudes & habits don't form overnight and will not dissolve with wishing. If you mess up today, start over tomorrow to be the success you want to be......The internet is wide open to your ideas. EXPRESS THEM!!!!!

Do you have a goal for your success?

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Robert Dobyns is owner of the MEGA MONEY MALLS COMPLEX at http://www.MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney.com and founder of JumpStart Internet Business Builder at http://www.jibb.com He also publishes the daily e-zine MEGA MONEY. To subscribe: mailto:webmaster@MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney.com?subject=subscribe and receive 650 FREE REPORTS for everyday living

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