Archive for Avallach Technology
Getting Things Into Focus
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As we approach the end of yet another year, it is only natural to look back, reflect, and contemplate the year ahead. In my case, 2009 has been particularly eventful. This year I hit 40, celebrated the arrival of a wonderful baby son, and said a sad farewell to our 4-legged Greyhound "daughter" Billie. It’s also been a very interesting year from the point of view of personal development, with my priorities, direction and attitudes changing in subtle (and not-so-subtle ways). No doubt this has partly come about due to the major events listed above, and there’s been a definite "life begins" theme running since May.
One of the things I’ve read a lot about lately is what Napoleon Hill calls "Definiteness of Purpose". The more I think about it, the more I realise that I have been fairly vague with my business efforts, and overall ambitions. At the same time, I can also see that these things HAVE become more clearly defined over time, so there’s some positives for sure. Many moons ago I had a vague notion of maybe winning the lottery, and the usual "if I was rich" day-dreaming that usually accompanies such thoughts. I most definitely had a phase of "money sucks – materialism sucks – we should find ways of living without money" but in the end this hasn’t turned out to be terribly practical (OK so I could sell the house and adopt a basic nomadic lifestyle, but my wife probably wouldn’t appreciate that).
I eventually arrived at the point this year where I was (sort of) able to reconcile anarchist and socialist tendencies with a growing appreciation for capitalism and business. I had also spent 20 years noting the things that I liked and disliked about different companies I worked for. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was time to make my own business a reality. So Avallach Technology was registered as a business and my thoughts turned more and more to this area.
The "problem" with Avallach so far has been a certain degree of vagueness – ideas have been growing in my mind, they’ve even been scribbled on notepads from time to time, but I have never truly laid out the reasons why I am doing this, and what it is I want to achieve. That’s not to say that some things haven’t been clearly defined, they certainly have and Express Webz is a shining example of this. No, the issue here is more about overall "strategic" thinking, putting some overall shape on things.
This is the "definiteness of purpose" that Nap Hill talks about; establishing what it is you want to do with your life and allowing those goals to completely fill your mind, leaving no room for doubts, fears, negative thinking and so on.
I already know the 4 main strands to what I intend to do with my life – my next task is to flesh these out more fully, commit them to writing, and commit to achieving them. For this to happen, I’m going to need to be a lot more organised, and certainly exhibit more self-discipline. All in all 2010 is going to be a massive year on many different levels. The thing is, I know I can achieve them and what is more, I know the sacrifices and efforts are going to be worthwhile.
Watch this space as I fully intend to share these plans via this blog – perhaps it will be of value to someone else caught in a similar situation, who knows? What I do know is that publishing those types of thoughts will a) scare me shitless and b) help build strong foundations to my efforts.
OK, so there’s a lot of "me" and "I" in that, but if you can’t be self-indulgent at this time of year, when can you? LOL
Back to Basics
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Having spent the best part of 20 years developing business software, it occurs to me that the business software industry, and the business users/consumers of the software, have (perhaps unwittingly) led us down the garden path.
The idea of a computerised system that captures and models the very essence of a business, automating the decision-making process, and cutting out paperwork is an attractive one, but it has become clear that this is something of a holy grail that remains agonisingly within sight, but out of reach.
In pursuit of this ideal, we create more and more complex computer systems, using increasingly sophisticated design methodologies. We have drawn parallels with the construction industry, and have held up hopes that principles used to build bridges (for example) could be applied to the creation of software solutions.
Now let me say right now, if you are designing a weapons control system, an application that controls and monitors a nuclear reactor, or any other high risk, specialised modelling or control system then yes, absolutely, I want you to test every aspect to the highest degree possible, I want you to capture every rule possible, and I want you to build multiple levels of safety measures into the system.
But… business sofware is a completely different beast. Whether in a private sector or a public sector organisation, day to day business involves people, interactions with people, and regular changes to business rules. In many cases, business rules themselves are flexible and need to be applied in different ways according to circumstances. Capturing and encoding this into fragments of computer logic is not only resource-intensive, but such rules are likely to become stale before final testing has been completed.
It is this fixation with business modelling that has led to a number of different systems development strategies, all of which have brought great techniques and tools to the table, but none of them have provided the silver bullet, or the holy grail. The simple fact is that they can’t – organisations, whether large or small, are infinitely complex beasts and trying to pin down the intricacies of daily operations is like trying to carry water in your hands. If you freeze it, you can carry it easily in the form of ice cubes, but you lose all the dynamic and fluid properties of the original substance!
The problems associated with “freezing” a business into a software model has produced a multi-billion dollar industry, where projects fail, business analysts come into an organisation on a regular basis to re-analyse requirements, and software teams are constantly adding code to cope with caveats, anomalies and changes to business rules. After a while, a system becomes so bogged down with these additions and changes that a system rewrite is recommended, and the whole lucrative circus starts again.
There IS a solution, but I suspect I am somewhat ahead of my time when I suggest this, and so we will have to wait quite a while before it happens (sadly). We need to strip our business systems down to the core requirements of record keeping, report creation and data analysis. Allied to this, we need to return to the situation where skilled, experienced business experts are employed to work with these systems, use them as decision support tools, but ultimately business rule enforcement comes from the application of brain power, and not a reliance on a software system that’s probably using a stale rule-base and is a very efficient way of compounding errors very quickly.
Systemising a business, allowing low-skilled, low-paid staff to operate that business works fine for a fast food franchise, but in most other cases businesses should regard the “meat ware” within their organisation as more vitally important than any software or hardware. It is a fact that people are the greatest resource any business has and, until such time that a bio-computer can make real decisions, we really need to stop looking to computers to do the thinking for us.
In a nutshell, business software is a powerful, flexible way of managing important records that are relevant to your business. By stripping things back to basics, business software can become simpler, more reliable, easier and cheaper to develop/maintain, and businesses can avoid risks associated with vendor lock-in, and the need for massive system rewrites every few years.
Remember this: Software is a business tool that can aid and support decision-making, and inform businesses at operational and strategic levels. It is NOT supposed to run your business for you, nor can it ever accurately capture the up-to-the-minute nuances of your business.
I look forward to a time when we see a return to simpler software, and leave fuzzy rule-enforcement and decision-making to the devices that are capable of that; our brains.
A Bit About Avallach
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For those not aware, Avallach is the name I chose for my business (Avallach Technology) and, in line with the way I view the world, it most definitely sets out to be a little different.
The number 1 focus of the business is to cater for “the little guy”, now and into the future. To help illustrate this point, perhaps I should explain that I have spent most of my working life in businesses that start out providing excellent value for other small businesses, but wind up being lured by the “Enterprise Dollar”.
While it may be tempting to go for that “million dollar deal”, a lot of companies then find that the large corporate clients take up all their available time and resources, leading to a rapid deterioration in the service levels provided to the small business clients. Sound crazy to you? Well, I can assure you it DOES happen, and it seems to happen far more often that not.
The difference with Avallach is recognition of the vital importance of small businesses, the need for high quality, affordable services for those businesses, and the significance of making a long-term commitment to those same businesses.
The fact is that in the wake of the global financial whatsit, small businesses are an increasingly important part of building strong local communities and will continue to be so. Besides which, working with small business owners is infinitely more fun than dealing with soul-less corporate types (in my experience anyway).
Beyond this founding principle, Avallach also sets out to be a fun business to be involved with, and to do business with. The personality of the business pretty much reflects my own, so there should be no real surprise that Avallach is so “different”!
I get asked a lot about the name, the pronunciation of the name and the logo, so I’ll try and explain those briefly…
Despite being relatively young, Avallach actually has a heritage going back to about 2001 when I was involved in a joint venture under the name “id64.com”. When I was thinking of a name for the business, I reflected on the fact that while the name “id64″ had a catchy feel to it, it held no value or meaning to me personally. I really wanted a name that reflected the Celtic (Cornish) aspects of my heritage and my personal beliefs.
Avallach is strongly associated with Avalon, is sometimes referred to as “King of the Britons”, and according to Celtic legend had a daughter called Modron (not dissimilar to Madron, a village where many of my Cornish relatives can be found). I actually stumbled on the name, but as I explored the various references in Celtic literature the name quite simply started to feel more and more “right”, so that was that – done deal.
A Google Search will reveal plenty of references and additional information. As for pronunciation, the first part “Avall” is pronounced exactly as the “Aval” of Avalon, the final syllable is pronounced “ack” and not, as some do, “atch”.
The more astute members of the audience will have noticed that the logo is very much a stylised version of the famous Anarchy symbol. A splash of green and the addition of a flare effect and you pretty much have it. I am tempted to say that it represents “Anarchy with flare”, but that’s just a cheesey line that occurred to me quite some time after I created the thing. It also sounds awfully pretentious, which is something neither I nor Avallach sets out to be!
No, the reasons for the logo are quite simple; the first letter of Avallach is ‘A’, the chosen colour for the business is a shade of green (reflecting my nature-based leanings) and I have a lot of sympathy for the notion of anarchy (from the Greek word meaning “without ruler”).
Does all this really add anything to the business? For many people, probably not, but for ME it lays down the core essence of the business I am building, and what it is setting out to achieve. Others may find it all to be of casual/passing interest.
Babies, Bathwater, You Know The Rest…
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An online presence, SEO Techniques, paid advertising and online press releases. ALL these things are great for helping grow your business, but there’s a disturbing trend I have observed lately, and that is the way that many people seem to concentrate on the hip new cool techniques and tools, and forget some of the basic methods (losing themselves business in the process).
There is a tendency to think wholly in terms of “online” when considering your online presence. This leads to strategies and solutions built around web pages, keywords, back links and targetted advertising.
While all this is going on, there’s a whole range of things that can be done in the “offline” world, and in many cases things that can bring you more business than some of the online things you’re doing (or more likely paying for!)
The fact is that if you run a traditional “bricks and mortar” business catering to your local community or local businesses (even nationally and internationally) then what are the chances that THOSE people are searching for exactly the keywords you’re focusing on with your online campaign?
Depending on the nature of your business, you might find that people actually hear about your business, or see your business signage, and think “hey these guys might solve xyz for me”. So they might then set about doing some research on your company.
They might ask around for people who have dealt with your company before, and they might search your business name online. If they see a web address in your signage or advert (even on the side of one of your vehicles) then they will go directly to your site and read what you have to say about yourself.
If you listen to some of the online business experts, you would think that search engine marketing and other purely online techniques are the be all and end all. They’re most definitely not.
For example, I consider myself to be very familiar and comfortable with the Internet, and I spend hours on Google searching for various things. But when it comes to finding people and companies to fix something, I regularly use the method described above.
Why is that? It’s quite simple really – no matter ow good Google is, you can’t beat reviews/recommendations by friends you know and trust, you quite simply DO NOT start out with a Google search. 9 times out of 10, you will keep an eye out for suitable businesses as you drive along, or as you read the local paper, you will ask friends for recommendations, and you will delve into the Yellow Pages.
I don’t want to labour the point, but it’s almost impossible to over-stress this. People do NOT use Google by default, especially when it comes to very practical things. They will use the net to perform aditional research, and with consumables they will often do searches, and will try to find a “nearly new” version on EBay.
In fact I used the Internet today to find out how much a battery charger was going to cost me. So what did I do? Did I got to Google and search for “prices of car battery chargers in Perth” ? Nope!
I searched on the name “supercheap auto” first and foremost because I knew they sold what I wanted, and I couldn’t remember their web address. Once I got to their site (in a split second) I was then able to use their product search to find options and get an idea of how much a battery charger was going to cost me.
On a similar vein, you won’t find my web site, or the Avallach Technology site, by searching on “web site creation Perth”, or similarly general terms. What happens is I talk about my business, I include the business name AND web address on all printed materials, and I talk about the business a lot in various groups, both online and offline.
Over time this creates a LOT of people who a) know the Avallach name, and b) associate Avallach (or Gary Wilmot) with “web sites and technical stuff”.
Do a Google search for “Avallach Technology” or “Gary Wilmot” and you should see a lot of first page search results, though not so much on my own name, which is in fact shared with a celebrity in the UK.
The key thing is, people can get to my web sites very easily, with just a small piece of information. What I have done prior to them doing their research is to make sure that the business name is “out there”, and a memory is ready to be activated in the future when someone is thinking about getting a web site.
I don’t want them searching for “web site perth” because it will cost a lot of money to be found on those key words, and to maintain that. What I want is people ALREADY thinking about doing business with me, looking for ME online.
So this is where the more traditional techniques come into play – when you get yourself a web site, by all means take advantage of various online techniques, but don’t forget to do the “low tech” things that have stood the test of time.
- Put your web address on all your advertising; print, TV, radio and web.
- Put your web address on the side of your vehicles
- Make sure the web site is mentioned on your business cards
- Talk to people, tell them what you do, give them the web site address
You’re going to get very interested, very high quality traffic from these activities; of that you can be sure. If you do enough work on “building your brand” you should see plenty of web site visitors who have come there by searching for your business name!
This is of course why Avallach promotes getting back to basics with business web sites. Forget about flashy, slow loading, web sites, forget about spending a fortune on Google Ads, search engine “specialists” and so on. Promote your business by talking about it, put your web address on everything, and then ensure that when people DO visit, they see a good clean site that is fast to load and gives them the information they want/nedd.
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the high-tech hype, but even in the modern connected world, many of the basic promotional techniques from the past are as relevant as they always have been (and probably always will). So, don’t throw them out with that bathwater!
A Better Way?
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People are attracted to the “start a business from home” industry for various reasons; some because they desperately need a few extra dollars, some because they are fed up with being an employee, and some because they think it’s an easy way to make a fortune.
Now I will say that the majority of online opportunities, MLM businesses and affiliate programs are fantastic; they offer a genuine opportunity to people who are willing to work to make changes in their lives. There ARE a few “bad apples”, and they really don’t help the reputation of online business at all.
In between those two extremes, you will find the majority of people; the business they are in IS a good one, but for some reason or other it never quite works for them. All too often they wind up in a never-ending cycle of putting their offers and opportunities in front of other people who are trying to do the same thing.
That’s partly the reason for the latest release from Avallach Technology; the pricing model, and the simple “1-tier affiliate” style commission structure create a product that is very easily marketed and sold by home business operators. The key difference is that the target audience is NOT other home business operators.
The way in which business is conducted is a welcome change from the endless round of affiliate links as well; the Partner Program is intended to foster old-fashioned customer service, with a genuinely personal touch. In fact, it is the personal touch aspect that lends itself to the home business environment, and enables people to carve out a position that helps them stand out from their competitors.
The service itself is unique, and is something that every small business should be investing in; web site creation and hosting.
Now before you run away, thinking you’re going to have to be a computer scientist… think again. The Express Webz service from Avallach blows away all the barriers and objections that the whole web hosting/design thing usually raises.
To start with, there are only two packages on offer instead of the huge array of options people are usually presented with. Both packages are built on the premise of “buy it and we do the work for you”. As for the pricing, well I don’t think there’s anything quite like this in the market place at the time of writing (in time, I think you can either expect plenty of copycat solutions, or a lot of people scratching their heads wondering how the prices can be so low!)
Now these are benefits to the actual clients; the people running small businesses. So how does this benefit the home business operator?
Express Webz has been designed from day 1 to offer a legitimate business opportunity for individual “work at home” enthusiasts (as well as a more traditional reseller channel). Instead of offering the usual “replicated site”, affiliate links and banners, Avallach operates an Express Webz Partner Program as a sort of umbrella for individuals who:
- Identify opportunities locally; networking, advertising or whatever methods suits them, and the small business scene in their area.
- Work with small businesses in their local area, providing hands-on assistance, advice and support to the small business owners.
- Refer their small business clients to the Express Webz site, where they purchase a package.
- Inform Avallach that they a client sale is from them, so that commissions can be organised.
Assuming the Partner will be working directly with their client, and with Avallach providing technical infrastructure and ongoing support to the Partner, 50% of all fees (initial and monthly recurring) are paid to the Partner.
This process actively encourages interaction between Client/Partner and Partner/Avallach. This helps reinforce the “personal touch” message, and drives a customer-focused delivery of services. Ultimately that is what it is all about and everyone benefits from working cooperatively.
It also means that the expertise is firmly placed where it needs to be; understanding of individual client needs, and creation of actual content sits with the Partner, the need to understand how web hosting works, what services need to be activated etc. lies with Avallach. What of the client? Well they get an entire technical team AND a personal consultant doing pretty much all the work for them, while they focus on their own business!
Perfect…
Express Webz Partner Program
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Details are coming together in relation to the overall Express Webz business model, and the type of Partner Program / Reseller Channel that we want to operate.
A lot of the overall concepts are captured on a blog post in a business networking site I belong to:
http://www.thatsbusiness.net/profiles/blogs/seeking-partners
Check it out!
Online Business Presence
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Express Web is a new service now available via Avallach Technology. While this sort of solution has always been part of the plans, the actual details have been defined recently, and are designed to fix some issues I believe exist in this market.
Firstly, while accepting that we need to be the “experts” providing web solutions to small business operators, we do not feel it is appropriate to take advantage of our situation, blind people with science, and charge far in excess of a fair rate for the work.
Secondly, we aim to provide solutions that put control in the hands of the client. Instead of putting together a 10 page static site, and raising an invoice every time a change is needed, we put the sites together in a way that anyone who can use Word can update their web site content.
This is very much part of the goal to provide real solutions, delivering value for money, and ensuring affordability so even the smallest of small businesses get a chance to compete with the big boys.
Check out the initial announcement at http://avallach.com/2009/06/express-web-service/
Fanfare for the Common Man
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So I have been reading a lot of the product launches lately, and I have noticed a trend that mirrors my experience in the small business software world – please bear with me, there IS a point to all this…
I have been involved with many companies in the past, who start off by offering fantastic value to small business operators, drastically under-cutting the prices of the big players in the market, and achieving a loyal customer base very quickly. Over time the software is improved, tweaked, and larger companies get interested in being clients/users. This in turn leads to an expansion in the company producing the software, and eventually a review of the business, producing processes more closely aligned to “big business” clients.
When this happens, the circle is complete; a small, efficient, bold-as-brass upstart is absorbed into the establishment, forgets its roots and foundations, and becomes yet another vendor of over-priced products. The original client base slowly gets forgotten.
So, let’s take this story and see how it applies to online marketing… to be honest, I am SICK AND TIRED of some of the stuff being pumped out lately. I have seen far far too many scenarios that go a little like this:
1. Person or Company X put out some great PR and hype in relation to how they provide free and cheap tools and information, that will really help the little guy share in the success.
2. Over time, various updates and articles start to talk in terms of “successful people spend lots of money on tools and education”. While true, and while valid – a LOT of this talk is grooming you to a mindset where you will happily pay money to these people.
3. Ultimately a new and improved service is launched, perhaps in conjunction with another “big name” – only now, instead of being a few bucks – it’s serious money. But hey, serious people will pay serious money, right?
What annoys me, similar to what annoys me with the small business software world, is not the people doing this – hey, if they want to move themselves into a, quite frankly, more lucrative but more competitive market, then so be it. No, what annoys me is that those people who need the cheaper solutions, who ARE serious but don’t have serious dollars to spare – these people get left behind every single time.
I will be brutally honest with you here – if you’re going to make a success online then you WILL need to invest time and money. If you’re on a limited budget then you are going to have to invest more time for sure.
BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPEND THOUSANDS!!!!
Sorry for shouting, but it’s true. Some courses and systems will cost you plenty of up-front dollars, or hefty subscriptions. Is the content worth it? More than likely, but that doesn’t make it any more affordable for the ordinary punter – and forget all that “can you afford NOT to do this” crap – it’s a sales/marketing device!
No, there is a vast “underclass” of serious online marketers with limited budgets, unlimited desire, and they keep getting crapped on over and over and over.
Do I have solutions? You bet – and in many ways perhaps this rant itself is a marketing technique. Ultimately I want to continue to make money, and I am not yet in the position where I can give everything away for free (though that would be nice!)
But do I have to rip people off in the process? NO WAY!
This why you won’t see recommendations from me for expensive things – my recommended traffic education is 30 bucks per month (a small percentage of what others charge for the same information), my recommended list building tool is under 10 bucks per month. My recommended mail software is the same low flat rate regardless of how many people in your list!
My own toolkit costs 17 bucks per month and I often give it away for FREE – if people partner with me, either through product purchase or my back end businesses, I reward them rather than ripping them off!
Realistically I would say it’s possible to arm yourself with adequate tools for less than $70 per month – and in all cases you can make money by referring others to the same tools!
This makes the task of funding much easier – for example when I first started taking this stuff seriously, I covered auto ship for a business and all my tool subscriptions by simply packing in smoking. For one of the higher priced solutions, I would have had to given up a lot more without doubt.
So, don’t buy into the hype, don’t get yourself into financial trouble – hook into my free email series, mail me, skype me, phone me or connect with me on Twitter. I’ll show you the affordable way to get this stuff going, and furthermore I promise that I, and Avallach Technology, will never abandon the little guy by chasing the corporate dollars.
THAT is my 100% money-back, cast iron guarantee, my “usp” and my total philosophy, all wrapped up in one.
I hope you like it – I know I do
Gaz
Resellers / Affiliates Wanted
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The Express Marketer toolkit has been in constant use for several months now, and providing early adopters with some great functionality that has been truly appreciated.
It is now time to move on to phase 2, and that involves ramping up the affiliate program, enabling marketers to earn generous commissions on a recurring basis.
Using the ever-popular and reliable ClickBank, Express Marketer is listed with 65% recurring monthly commissions. With the retail price set at $17, this will put around 11 bucks per month, per referred subscriber, straight in your pocket.
To promote the system you will need a ClickBank ID, which will then be used to replace the xxx in the following affiliate “hop link”.
http://xxx.avallach.hop.clickbank.net/
Whether you are marketing to fellow marketers, or your clients simply need some help getting organised, Express provides them with a great solution, while growing your business’ bottom line.
Web Apps
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Some time ago, on a previous incarnation of my blog, I mentioned the subject of web apps. At the time there was a lot of debate (and still is) about which technology was best for web apps. AJAX was really beginning to take off, Java was sticking firmly to its Enterprise world, Adobe were releasing Flex and Microsoft responded with Silverlight. In addition, there was (are) a zillion different toolkits and frameworks in various languages (Ruby, PHP, Python, Perl…)
Now everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but for me the main decision comes down to “what sort of site are you building?” If you are building an information site where people click around and read stuff, maybe fill in a contact form or post to a forum – that style of app is served very well by a combination of HTML, DHTML and JavaScript (even AJAX).
If you’re building an online equivalent to a desktop application – HTML and AJAX suck – end of story. I’ve written thousands of lines of code using this more traditional style, and it is a serious pain in the backside. It’s the biggest reason I have long held out hope that Java would become the dominant web app technology. A Java app can be programmed in the same way as a windowed desktop app, can maintain state, and can be made as robust and responsive as any desktop application.
But there is a huge problem with Java, for me anyway; it feels too thick and heavy, and all the goodies that help people create Enterprise solutions with it seem to get in the way of “Rich Internet Application” development.
So what’s the answer? HTML is too fragile, Java is too heavy – Silverlight? No thanks – I’ve been a Windows programmer for a long time but there’s something about dotNet, and Silverlight in particular, that leave me feeling underwhelmed – but that’s another topic entirely.
The technology that has won me over is Adobe Flex. I know some people have issues with Adobe, but I have used it for a number of apps now and it strikes the right balance; it’s not too heavy, but it supports the creation of very attractive and usable interfaces, easily. Coming from a background of classic client-server development, data-aware controls, and the like, one of the things that threw me initially was the complete lack of any database capability. This actually turns out to be a major strength of Flex.
Even when the pressure is on, you are forced to create a system that separates database code, and presentation layer. You can still hack the business rules in multiple places, but the fact that you are forced to make SOME separation in your code, also discourages you from making “dirty hacks” that are so easy in an environment such as VB or Delphi.
You are also free to use whatever server-side technology suits your experience and/or needs. Implement a fully-fledged Java application server, a Ruby on Rails app, a custom set of PHP scripts, or a SOAP interface in ASP.NET. The choice is yours, the list is endless, and the difference to your Flex application is relatively minimal.
Is it perfect? Of course not, but for my money, when it comes to creating interactive desktop-style web applications you’ll find a good solution with an Adobe Flex RIA, and simple HTTP/HTTPS communication with business/data layers coded in PHP on the server side.
