Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock
Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock

The latest fake-alert variant spreading on the web right now attempts to play on the passions of the green-Earth movement to trick unsuspecting victims into installing fake security software.

Green AV infects your computer through click jacking (only Norton 360 can stop it).

The new threat actually plays off of a Norton 360 trade name, calling itself the 3.0 Premier Edition, and claims to be the “World’s First Antivirus Which Cares About the Environment.”

Unlike other fake alert infections, Green AV demands a price premium for those who are unfortunate enough to fall for the scam.  Typically fake alert infections demand around $50 to stop popping up in your face and “heal” your PC.  Green AV demands $99.

Green-AV’s website reads:

Fighting viruses, spyware, malware is not only a question of security. Spyware actualy abuses your computer, overuses CPU speed, network bandwidth, makes your PC run slow. As a result you start consuming more power, working longer, think of replacing your PC with a new one which brings more unrecyclable wastes (many computer’s parts contain toxic wastes).

This way Green AV actualy cares about the environment. We thought that our application can guard not only your PC, but whole Earth – our home planet. So to show how much we care we desided to send $2 from each product sale on saving green forests in Amazonia.

The misspellings, poor English, and the fictional land of Amazonia should tip off any reasonable person that this is a scam.

Kim and I had a great time cheering the Nebraska Cornhuskers to victory yesterday over the Florida Atlantic Owls.  This was the Husker’s season opener and the first game that Kim and I have been able to enjoy from the skybox.

It was a blowout game with Nebraska winning 49-3, although the Huskers are going to have to tighten some things up if they expect to do well in Big 12 Conference play.

Our skybox used to belong to Larry the Cable Guy.  Even though the bathroom is literally right outside the door of our skybox, every time Larry opened his door there was a throng of autograph-seeking fans waiting for him.  Larry (Dan is his real name) has kids, and it made it tough to enjoy the game with his family at times.

Larry moved on over to one of the new North Stadium skyboxes that has its own bathroom to resolve the situation.  Aside from giving Larry a new kind of stadium seat, it gave us the opportunity to log a few games in his old skybox!

The skybox was definitely nice (it had better be at an annual price tag of $85,000).  We had a dedicated hostess who was there to make sure we had everything we needed.  All of the typical stadium favorites were available (hot dogs, pizza, etc..) and they are even more irresistible when they are absolutely fresh from the oven.

Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne sat about 20 feet from us, and he was just as calm and reserved as he was when he was coaching the Huskers on the sideline.  He mechanically ate one tortilla chip every 42.5 seconds, took notes after every play, and did not speak to anyone that I saw.

Occasionally you would catching him nodding ever so slightly in approval.  By the third quarter those tortilla chips started catching up with him.  If you were quick you could see him dozing off a little once the Huskers had the third stringers in the game.

We can’t wait for next week!

Most computer repair companies are started by technicians or IT professionals. They are usually confident in their technology skills, have experience serving customers for others, and believe they can earn a significant income if they were only working for themselves instead.

When an IT professional takes the entrepreneurial leap, the immediate focus usually lands on how to acquire clients, customers, or jobs.

As the newly-born entrepreneur sets out to build a business, he or she finds that for some reason they are having a tough time making ends meet even though they are working twice as hard as they did in their previous job.

That single misstep is why many IT professionals will fail to find success within the first year of their entrepreneurial venture and will be pressured back into servitude as an independent contractor or employee.

What good does it do to ferociously hunt new clients and customers if you are not able to have profitable interactions with them when you do find them?

Before you leave your job, before you invest the first dollar in your future, and before you even attempt to get your first client, you need a revenue model.

What is a Revenue Model?

Simply put, a revenue model is how you plan on making money by satisfying your clients’ needs.

Take a moment to think about the businesses you have interacted with today. Why did you buy what you bought?

Gas stations will offer inexpensive fountain drinks, hoping you will grab a bag of chips or a candy bar to go with it. McDonald’s asks you to try their latest sandwich for free with the purchase of fries and a drink in the hope your come back for more. Even my plumber was using a revenue model when he tried sold me a “hydro-scrub” of my sewer line for $50.

The point of a revenue model is to have a basket of products and services available that your customers might need, and then moving them through those products and services in a way that maximizes the profitability of each interaction with those customers.

Components of a Sales Model

Revenue models have 9 basic components. No matter what mix of products and services you keep in your basket, you need to know exactly what they are and how they interact with each other in your revenue model.
Your revenue model needs to:

1. Have a client (A Customer Who Presents A Problem)
2. Have a solution that resolves your client’s problem
3. Bridge that Solution to Another Item in Your Basket of Products and Services
4. Provide an Opportunity to Investigate for Further Up-Sell Opportunities
5. Close the Sale With the Customer in a Compelling Way
6. Back-sell With Customer to Reaffirm Their Decision
7. Deliver the Products and Services that Were Promised
8. Back-sell Again in Person to Prevent any Buyer’s Remorse Feelings
9. Stand Behind Your Warranty With a SMILE if it is Called in

How to Build Your Revenue Model

Building a revenue model is not a daunting task. In recent years there has even been a counter-push against revenue models in light of hyper-successful companies like Google that did not have a revenue model when they started.

The truth is that for every Google there are hundreds of thousands of business failures that a good revenue model might have prevented.

It is easiest to think about your revenue model as the thread that links your products and services together. Just because you offer a Maintenance Checkup, or Anti-Virus software, or memory upgrades doesn’t mean that people will come to you looking for them.

You need to have a planned way to let your clients know what you have that they can use and give them compelling reasons why they should let you solve their problems.
Steps to creating your revenue model:

1. List all of the products and services you offer. It might be easier to list each one on a note card so you can literally line them up in the order they might happen.
2. Determine which of your products or services will satisfy the largest number of clients. I creat5ed the Maintenance Checkup because it has a little of everything. Every computer problem touches the Maintenance Checkup in some way. It was a great way for me to get my leads into my revenue model. This is called your gateway offering.
3. Starting from your gateway offering, develop lines of reason – based on specific problems – that would lead you to recommend each of your other products or services under certain circumstances. For example, if you offer data recovery services, a customer complaining of a blue screen of death may be suffering from a failing hard drive. When this happens what options will your customer have?
4. Take the model one step further into your product and service basket. Continuing from the example above, does that data recovery customer need a new hard drive? Did the hard drive die because it was being over-used for virtual memory because the computer does not have enough physical memory? Find one more thing that the customer needs (assuming they truly need anything additional) and figure out how you would offer it.
5. Rehearse your pitch. Nothing sounds worse than a person who sounds like they don’t believe what they are saying or know what they are talking about. Find someone who won’t think you are crazy and role play. Ask your partner to challenge you. This is best done with a non-technician because that is who your customer will be.
6. Make real-life adjustments. When you are implementing your revenue model there will be times when you have to make adjustments based on input from your client.  Remember that people don’t buy what they can’t afford.

Up-Selling is Not Evil Unless You are Evil

Some technicians find the revenue model – or selling in general – to be distasteful. I even consulted with one business owner whose entire reason for going into business was because other repair shops i town were “always trying to sell something.”

A good revenue model does more than generate profits for the company that employs it. Businesses that are successful in the long-term rely on repeat customers and word of mouth.

A good revenue model is designed to extract as much profit from a customer interaction as possible while at the same time providing superior services that are deserving of a premium price.

Life Without a Sales Model

Consider for a moment how awful your experience as a consumer would be if the companies you visited today did not employ a good sales model.

If the gas station didn’t have the inexpensive fountain drinks, you may have never found what has become your favorite snack. If McDonald’s didn’t get you to try that new sandwich you might have eaten the same old thing every day. If my plumber didn’t sell me that hydro-scrub, the scent of old poop might be wafting up my drains right now.

Superior revenue models deliver good products and services at a price the customer is willing – and in most cases eager – to pay.

Failing to recognize the need for a systematized sales model is the single greatest factor in the failure of small businesses in general. Having a good revenue model will put you 10 steps ahead of most of the IT shops and consultants in your market. Ignore the need for a revenue model at your own peril.

My morning (and possibly most of my afternoon) today has been tied up in depositions in a case brought against Schrock Innovations by one of our local Lincoln competitors.

One of our local competitors is claiming that I have said things on this blog that have damaged their business.  They are demanding $7,500 in unspecified damages.

We have offered a settlement, which was quickly declined.  We have tried to move this case to trial, but have been thwarted by procedural tactics for almost 4 years by the plaintiff.

On one hand I am annoyed that I have to spend a half day on this, but on the other hand I am happy to finally start moving this thing to a conclusion.

Despite everything that has happened over the past four years between Schrock and this competitor, I hope that one day we can all sit down together peaceably and laugh about all of this.

Follow me on Twitter for up to the minute updates…

Brad Donner has been a key web design employee at Schrock Innovations for almost two years now, but many of our customers don’t know that he is an award-winning photographer as well.

Last year Brad’s company, Donner Digital Photography, was voted the top photographer in Omaha in the KETV viewer survey.

I work every day with Brad and I know he takes his work seriously and strives to give his clients – and our customers – award winning services every day.

Take a moment to look at Brad’s work and vote for him in this year’s KETV survey.

I happen to have some inside information about KFOR’s Best of Lincoln survey (due out in October) and its only fair that I do my best to help an employee win a consumer award when he gives his all so Schrock can win one as well.

One of my readers forwarded me a report from the Better Business Bureau.  The US Census is taking place this year, and the government is hiring thousands of temporary workers to help get the job done.

Unfortunately, the Census also provides a ripe opportunity for identity thieves to knock on your door, ask you personal questions, and use the U.S. Government’s name to compel you to answer.  Here is the waring from the BBB:

BBB Alerts Consumers about U.S. Census Workers:
Be Cooperative, But Cautious!

For years, Better Business Bureau has educated consumers about not giving out personal information over the telephone or to anyone who shows up at their front door. With the U.S. Census process beginning, BBB advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.

The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually,more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race and other relevant data.

“Most people are rightfully cautious and won’t give out personal information to unsolicited phone callers or visitors, however the Census is an exception to the rule,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson.

“Unfortunately, scammers know that the public is more willing to share personal data when taking part in the Census and they have an opportunity to ply their trade by posing as a government employee and soliciting sensitive financial information.”

The Census data will be used to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds every year, as well as determine a State’s number of Congressional representatives. Households are required by law to respond to the Census Bureau’s request for information.

During the U.S. Census, households will be contacted by mail, telephone or visited by a U.S. Census worker who will inquire about the number of people living in the house. Unfortunately, people may also be contacted by scammers who are impersonating Census workers in order to gain access to sensitive financial information such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers.

Law enforcement in several states have issued warnings that scammers are already posing as Census Bureau employees and knocking on doors asking for donations and Social Security numbers.
Question is – how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice.

Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.

Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home.

However, they will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the look out for e-mail scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Today, computers are incomplete without their peripherals. These peripheral devices have greatly enhanced the ability of computers and have helped us achieve a lot more. Several new devices have been created that are not only improving the quality of computing, but are also allowing us to phone friends, play games, watch movies, click photographs and much more.

One device that stands out among all these devices and continues to be used most extensively is a computer printer. A lot of businesses and their processes are completely dependent upon printing devices for providing service to their clients. Another big user of printing devices apart from various businesses is the student community.

This important peripheral device can also be a cause of lot of frustration when it gets stuck or generates errors at a crucial time. While most of the large businesses can afford to immediately summon printer experts to resolve the problem, the smaller businesses and common users have to attempt to troubleshoot the printer problems themselves.

DLL errors are also one of the causes of a few PC printer problems. These printer DLL errors are usually a result of obsolete printer drivers. In other cases a newly installed application may also cause interference in the working of DLL files related to printers and prevent the printer from functioning properly. This is evident in case of the hpslpsvc32.dll file which exhibits very high CPU usage if there is problem in driver related to Hewlett Packard All-In-One Series printer.

Other similar errors are hpzimc09.dll error related to the DeskJet printers of Hewlett Packard and zsr.dll which is associated with the 1020 series of LaserJet printers from Hewlett Packard.

Fixing Printer DLL Errors:

You need to perform the following steps in order to fix hpslpsvc32.dll and svchost.exe and other printer DLL errors.

1. Start with getting rid of existing printer drivers. You may need to uninstall them either by using Add/Remove program utility present in the Control Panel or by using the Device Manager tool.
2. Delete all files from the directory named Spool Driver. The path of this directory is C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers.
3. Next, delete all files with the extension .spl and .shd from the Printers directory. The path of this directory is C:\Windows\system32\spool\printers.
4. Delete all files from the Windows Temp folder.
5. Open the built-in Registry Editor (RegEdit) which is provided by your operating system and go to HKLM\SYSTEM\Current Control Set\Control\Print\Printers. However, you must be very careful during this process and take a complete backup of your registry before you begin editing it. You need to remove all entries associated with your printer. If you are unsure, then it is recommended that you use a good third party automatic registry cleaner to scan the errors related to your printer and repair them.
6. Next step is to rule out any malware infection by performing a thorough scan with a reliable anti-virus and anti-spyware.
7. Find all the icons related to your printer and its configurations, and remove them from your PC.
8. Reboot your computer.
9. Now you can install the new printer drivers. The new drivers must be of latest version and should be downloaded from the official website of the printer’s manufacturer. If you find it cumbersome you can take assistance of a reliable driver scanner tool which will automatically do this job for you.

It’s been three years since Kim and I adopted our Son Jacob through Open Adoption.  My wife and I suffer from unexplained infertility.  That’s what the doctors call it when the stars don’t line up and there aren’t enough hormone shots in the world to make them line up.

Its really a surreal experience to not be able to have children how you want, when you want.  But that initial loss lead us down the path of Open Adoption, and eventually resulted in us adopting the world’s greatest kid, Jacob Kent Schrock.

Jake is now three, and tearing around like the wanna-be big boy that he is.  The love I feel for my little guy is more powerful than anything I have ever experienced.

After much discussion with my wife and Jake, it is time for him to become a big brother.  Kim and I are starting the process of adopting our second child, and I want to ask for your help.

How Do Open Adoptions Work?

Open Adoptions are different from the standard, closed adoptions that were the norm up through the 1980’s.

In an Open Adoption, the birthmother selects the family that will receive her child, and a relationship is maintained between the child, birthmother, and the adoptive parents.  This type of adoption is better for the child because they will always know how they came to be, their medical history, and that their birthmother loved them and that the adoption decision was made out of love for the child.

An Open Adoption is the same as a closed adoption in the sense that once the adoption is finalized, the adoptive parents are the legal parents of the child.  However, it is different in the sense that the birthmother gets pictures, phone calls, visits, Christmas presents and other bonding experiences that children in closed adoptions miss out on.

Sometimes adoptive parents are hesitant at first to consider Open Adoption because they are afraid.  Adoption should always be about what is best for the child, and there is no doubt in my mind that Jacob’s Open Adoption will be a relationship he will cherish throughout his life.

How Does the Process Work?

First, we have to locate a birthmother who is considering adoption.  While we prefer an Open Adoption, it is the birthmother’s prerogative to choose the type of relationship she wants to have.

This is a touchy subject because birthmoms make the decision to place a child for adoption for a lot of reasons.  There is a stereotype out there that only drug addicts or lousy parents place their children for adoption. This is simply not true.

Many birthmoms have plans for their futures that did not involve having children at this moment.  Some birthmoms are the victim of sexual assault.  Others simply are not ready for the responsibility of children.

In the adoption process, this search for a birthmother is called networking.  As you might imagine, there is no gathering place where potential birthmothers all hang out and look for adoptive families.  Most birthmothers are found by means of word of mouth.  Someone who knows someone who might be considering adoption.

We were able to adopt Jacob because his birthmother’s mother did a Google search for “adoption in Nebraska.”  The grandmother could not afford to adopt Jacob herself, so when she found our website, she called her daughter and asked her to take a look.  Six days later I cut Jacob’s cord at his birth and we were parents.

This is why I initially said that we need your help.  If you know of a birthmother who is considering placing her child for adoption, please ask her to take a look at our website at http://www.nebraskaopenadoption.com.  Everything about our family is on that website, so she will be able to learn all about us without even having to pick up the phone if she doesn’t want to.

How Do Things Work After Contact?

Typically a birthmother makes the initial contact with the adoptive family.  This can be done through a toll-free number (ours is 888-580-7228), a website, or through an in-person meeting.  It all depends on what the birthmother is comfortable with and her relationship with the adoptive parents.

After the initial introductions are complete and the necessary questions asked and answered, a lawyer is involved in the process.  In Nebraska we hire an attorney to represent us in the adoption process and we also hire a equally competent lawyer for the birthmother.  This second lawyer does not communicate with us or our lawyer and is hired to act in the birthmother’s interests.

Why Are There Lawyers Involved?

It is incredibly important that all of the adoption laws that govern the community where the birth is taking place be followed.  The lawyers are not a replacement for communication between the birthmother and the adoptive parents.

The lawyers are there to make sure that all of the t’s get crossed and the i’s get dotted.  Almost every adoption horror story you hear about in the news is the result of someone taking some kind of shortcut somewhere along the way.  Good lawyers don’t take shortcuts and they prevent mistakes.

For example, someone needs to make sure that the birthmother is not being forced in some way into entering into the adoption.  Someone needs to make sure the birthmother understands that adoption is a permanent arrangement.  Successful adoptions work for everyone involved – the birthmother, the child, and the adoptive parents.  The lawyers make sure that everyone knows what is going on and what is coming next.

Leaving the Hospital

When Jacob was born, we stayed at the hospital with his birthmother until she was discharged.  When we all left and prepared to part ways it was an emotional experience.  We all hugged each other, cried a little, then hugged each other again and then we all went home.

Jake’s birthmother checks in from time to time to see how he is doing, what he is learning, and to share funny stores about how he is so much like his big brother (adopted to a different family).  She is able to give us insights we otherwise would not have had and we recognize her as the mother who gave birth to our son.

We have had three in-person visits since Jacob’s birth, and he instantly recognizes his birthmom when he sees her.  After all, he does see her face almost every day in the pictures we have hanging in his room.

In the past three years Jacob’s birthmom has married, moved out of state, and had a third child.  She and her husband are raising Jake’s half-brother and Kim and I can’t wait for the day when they can play together for the first time.

We Need Your Help

If you know of a potential birthmother who is thinking about placing her child for adoption, please tell her about the benefits of Open Adoption, and that Kim and Thor are seeking a birthmother right now.

Please tell her about our website or ask her to call us directly at 888-580-7228.  We have completed an open adoption before, and we know how the process works.  We can help a potential birthmother learn about the process and then make her own informed decision about the adoption.

Thank you for your help.  Finding Jacob was a miracle in our lives three years ago, and Kim and I are hoping that we might just find another miracle sometime soon.

For the past few years Apple has had a heyday with ads proclaiming that Macs are inherently free of viruses and spyware because of the superior software they employ.

And for the past three years on my radio show I have said that the reason Mac users don’t get many viruses is because not many people were using Mac.

After Vista’s shortcomings gave Apple an opening to sell a LOT of Macs and their marketshare broke 10% of users in the US.

With more and more people using Macs, attackers are now realizing that Mac users are a very undeserved population.  Many don’t run any security software at all because they believe they are impervious to attack.

Do Mac Users Need Security Software?

In short, if you plan on doing anything important with your Mac, you need security software.  If you are using a Mac to play games for your 4 year old, then you can probably go without.

Before you pack your student up for college and send that Mac off to class, here is a list of security software providers who have products you can use to protect yourself and your identity.

There are a lot of ways to measure the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. You can look at market share gained, revenue generated, or response rates. But sometimes the true measure of an ad’s effectiveness is not in these numbers.

A truly brilliant marketing campaign makes your competitors whine. It makes then call their lawyers. It makes them grasp at any straw to make the bleeding stop.

There is truth to the saying “thou dost protest too much.”  If you get your competitor to respond in a direct way to an indirect advertisement you know you are doing something right.

If Your Competitors Squawk, Keep Doing It

If something in your advertising – a word, phrase or concept – draws the ire of a competitor there is usually something about what you are doing that they are afraid of.

Take this recent example:

Microsoft recently launched a series of TV ads called Laptop Hunters.

These ads illustrate how much less expensive it is to buy a PC than it is to buy a Mac.  This was Microsoft’s counter to Apple’s highly effective “I’m a Mac” TV advertisements.

It seems that the ads were effective.  Last quarter Apple lost market share to Microsoft and also dropped the prices of its low-end MacBook.

It also seems that Apple’s lawyers called Microsoft and tried to put an end to their ads sighting that they were invalid because you could now buy a MacBook for less than $1,000.

Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner said:

“They took like $100 off or something,” he said. “It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business.”
“Microsoft is “just going to keep running them and running them and running them.”

Once you know you are under your competitor’s skin, you know you are doing something effectively and you should continue to do it.

If Their Ads are Working, Shut Up

The same thing goes in the opposite direction.  If your competitor is doing something to you that is highly effective, don’t whine about it.  Focus your efforts and energy on coming up with a response in the marketplace.

Answering your competitor’s challenge is not enough.  Find the weakness in their strength and counter-punch.  Put them on the defensive.

Using the above example, Microsoft never whined to Apple’s attorneys that Macs can (and do) get viruses and malware infections.  They found a weakness (Apple’s price point) in their strength (controlled distribution channel) and exploited it.

Check Your Emotions at the Door

In small business things can get personal very easily.  It is not uncommon for small business owners to make stupid business decisions because they are emotionally compromised in a situation.

Don’t fall into that trap.

When you feel yourself getting angry, sad, scared, or personally intimidated, take a step back and remember that you are not your business.  Your business is a whole separate person.

It’s ok to defend your business in the same way a parent would defend their child against another youth bully.  Its not ok to be the dad that jumps out of the car and smacks another kid for calling your kid fat.

Measure and Revise

The last thing to remind yourself is that you need to constantly measure the effectiveness of your ads.  Remember the Bill Gates & Sinfeld ad flop?

Even Microsoft will quit a multi-million dollar campaign if it isn’t doing anythig positive.