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“Growing Good Corn”

There once was an old farmer who grew award-winning corn. Every

year he entered his corn into the state fair and won the blue ribbon.

One year, after winning yet another competition, a young newspaper

reporter requested an interview with the famer to try and uncover the

famer’s secrets to his prize-winning corn. Although he expected to be

turned down, the farmer welcomed the interview. He asked the old famer

several questions about his techniques and then discovered something

interesting about how he grew it: the reporter discovered that the farmer

shared his seed corn with his neighbors!

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors

when they are entering their corn into the same competition with yours

every year?” the reporter asked. “Why sir,” said the farmer, “didn't you

know? I can’t afford not to! The wind picks up pollen from the ripening

corn and swirls it around from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior

corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am

to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn as well. It’s

one of my secrets to success.”

The moral of the story is simple: If we are to grow “good corn” in our

businesses, we must be willing to help our fellow business owners grow

“good corn” too. When times are tough, it affects us all. That’s why we’ve

decided to offer a FREE “Network Tune Up” to any business in Denver

during the month of December.

At no charge, we’ll send our technician onsite to conduct a complete

27-point audit of your computer network to make sure your data is secure,

protected from hackers and viruses and being backed up properly. We’ll

also look for ways to cut costs and save you money on hardware, software

and services.

While this may not make a huge difference in any one company’s

success, it’s our way of helping our neighbors “grow good corn.” To

request this service, simply call or e-mail our office and ask for the “good

corn” offer. There is zero cost or obligation; and if you know of someone

who could use a little technical support during these tough economic

times, please forward this on to them!

“As a business owner, I know you don’t

have time to waste on technical and

operational issues. That’s where we

shine! Call us and put an end to your IT

problems finally and forever!”

- Debi Bush, CMIT Solutions of Denver

Volume IV, Issue XII

December, 2010 Denver, Colorado

Inside This Issue…

“Growing Good Corn” – A Powerful

Short Story On How Helping Your

Neighbors Helps You...................Page 1

Tax Advantages To Purchasing

Hardware in 2010………………Page 2

Meet Our Client Of The Month,

Bayaud Enterprises ……………Page 2

The Shocking State Of Small Business

Security: Are YOU Making These

Terrible Mistakes Too?........…...Page 3

Attention Business Travelers: How To

Carry Your Laptop On A USB

Drive.…………………………….Page 4

SEO Poisoning: What It Is And

What You Need To Do To Protect

Yourself ……………..…..….......Page 4

Unified Threat Management: The New

Swiss Army Knife Of Total Security

For Your Office……....………....Page 5

How To Keep Your Computer

Network Up, Running And Problem

Free…………………………….. Page 5

Looking Forward to 2011 While

Reflecting On Accomplishments

In 2010.………………………….Page 7


Tax Advantages to Purchasing Hardware In 2010

I was reminded by peers in the industry and a CPA that Section 179 of the

IRS tax code allows businesses to take advantage of purchasing hardware

up to a certain limit. The IMPORTANT thing for 2010 is that the upper

limit is $250,000.

According to CPAs, Section 179 allows a business to deduct the full

expense of capital assets purchased instead of requiring them to spread it

out over 3-7 years. Congress has increased the allowable amount to $250k

to spur investment in the economy, and may keep it there for future years

as well. There are limits on the types of equipment that Sec 179 can be

used for so it is very important for the controller/CFO or business owner

to confer with the firm’s accountant before investing in large dollar

amounts of hardware.

CMIT Denver is ready to consult our clients and businesses in the Denver

area on this topic. Whether it be servers, desktops, laptops, firewalls,

switches or more (remember, check to see what hardware is included in

Sec. 179), we will take care of your hardware needs in 2010 and beyond.

Phil’s In The Corner

I am a happy guy. People tell me

and my wife that I always have a

smile on my face. Happiness is

the ultimate goal and when you

are happy, things happen to you

and for you. I fondly remember

my father always having a smile

on his face. He was a successful

individual, father and business

man. I have chosen to continue

this practice of Dad’s. A couple

years ago, Debi bought a DVD in

which one of the 7 Decisions that

determine personal success is

“Today I choose to be happy.”

My clients, prospects, colleagues,

vendors and of course family and

friends see how this choice to be

happy (and thankful/grateful) is a

constant every day of my life.

Have you heard that people like to

do business with people they like?

Granted, the services/products

must be of high quality. However,

a key differentiator is you. If

you are the “face” of your

business, everything comes back

to you. My technical consultants

do great work. One of our com-

pany’s beliefs is “To have a

smile in your voice and on your

face.” It makes an enormous

difference. Try it some time.

Have a delightful December and a

safe and happy holiday season!

See you in 2011!

Page 2

Client Spotlight:

Bayaud Enterprises (www.bayaudenterprises.org) has the

mission “to provide Hope, Opportunity and Choice, with work as the

means through which people with disabilities and other barriers to

employment can more fully participate in the mainstream of life.”

How exciting and rewarding for CMIT Denver to support an

organization with a mission such as this for more than five years.

Dave Busenbark, CFO, wrote “We recognized that our IT needs

had clearly outgrown our ability to support them with internal staff.

There were a number of issues that required action and the necessary

resources were not available. By partnering with CMIT we have been

able to address our needs and significantly improve our IT environ-

ment.”

Would you like your company highlighted here in our “Client

Spotlight?” Then give us a call today at 303-756-2648.

http://www.bayaudenterprises.org/


The Shocking State Of Data Security

In Small Business: Are YOU Making

These Terrible Mistakes?

According to a survey of 2,100 businesses conducted by

Applied Research and commissioned by Symantec, the vast

majority of businesses are frequent victims of cyber attacks,

data loss and non-existent backup and recovery systems. Here

are just a few of the shocking facts discovered:

74% of the businesses surveyed were affected by cyber

attacks – including hackers, viruses, worms, etc. – in the

past 12 months.

62% had lost at least one mobile device in the last 12

months, and 100% admitted they had no password

protection on these devices.

Less than 1/3 of the devices lost had a way to wipe these

lost devices clean to prevent unauthorized access to confidential data.

42% of businesses have lost confidential data in the last

12 months and 40% reported a direct financial loss

because of this.

47% of those survey said they STILL do NOT backup their data!

To be perfectly blunt, this is just plain stupid and irresponsible

behavior on the part of businesses who allow these attacks to happen. Even worse, it’s a black eye on their PR if the confidential information

is CLIENT data, such as credit card numbers, bank account

information, medical records or other important identity information

like social security numbers, birth dates, passwords, etc.

ALL businesses know of the threats to their computer network, be it

viruses, hackers or internal employees; not taking some simple

measures to protect against theft and loss of confidential data is

completely foolish – not to mention expensive!

If you have any doubt whatsoever about whether you’re backing up

your data properly, protecting mobile devices and maintaining up-to-

date firewall, patches and security updates, NOW is the time to get this fixed! Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation, and we’ll be

happy to review your current network security and backups to see if

you truly ARE protected, or if you’re more likely to end up another

statistic.

The Lighter Side…

Heaven Knows Results A minister dies and is in line at the

Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a

guy in sunglasses, a loud shirt and

jeans. The guy ahead of him says,

“I'm Joseph O'Neill, taxi-driver in

Noo Yawk City.” Saint Peter

smiles and says. “Take this silken

robe and golden staff and enter the

Kingdom.”

Next in line is a minister. He steps

up to Saint Peter, stands erect and

booms out, “I am Michael Snow,

pastor of Saint Mary's for the last

43 years.” Saint Peter consults his

list. After a moment he says,

“Take this cotton robe and wooden

staff and enter.”

“Just a minute!” says the minister,

a bit shocked. “That man ahead of

me was a taxi-driver - and he was

given a silken robe and golden

staff! How can this be?” Saint

Peter says, “Up here, we work by

results. While you preached,

people slept; while he drove,

people prayed.”

The Tardy Bagpiper A bagpiper was asked to play a

graveside service for a man who

had no family or friends. He got

lost and finally arrived at the

funeral site an hour late.

Rushing in, he spotted a backhoe

and a crew of men eating lunch,

but the hearse was nowhere in

sight. Feeling guilty, he assured

the workers that this was the

proper thing to do and gathered

them around as he poured his heart

and soul into his performance.

Many of the workers began to

weep. When done, the bagpipe

player overheard one of the

workers say, “Man, I never seen

nothin' like that before and I've

been puttin' in septic tanks for 20

years!”

Page 3


SEO Poisoning On The Rise

One of the latest tricks hackers are now using is search engine

optimization to promote malware infected websites for popular

search terms. This new threat is called “SEO

Poisoning.” In fact, at any given moment,

three of the top ten search results contain at

least one malicious URL within the top 70

results! Here’s how it works…

Hackers use well-known search engine optimization tactics to

create web sites that will rank in the top results for popular

keywords. For example, the BP oil spill and World Cup keywords

were riddled with these infected sites. When you click on them,

you are presented with pop ups, free software downloads, fake

virus warnings and other ads. If you click on anything, you’re

instantly infected with malware.

What makes this so dangerous is that most of us have come to

trust search engine results and click on the links of web sites

without question of security. Plus, hackers have learned that the

more “normal” their web sites look, the easier it is to get users to

trust them. To protect yourself, make sure you have up-to-date

anti-virus software installed. Some security companies offer a free

browser plug-in that will warn you if it detects a site is a poisoned

site that will harm your computer.

Shiny New Gadget

Of The Month:

PC On A Stick

Technology

Road warriors know that packing light on business trips is a must; but one of the things you just can’t leave behind is your laptop – until now…

Thanks to new “PC On A Stick” technologies, you can carry your desktop around on a simple USB device. Simply plug this specially equipped USB device into any PC and you’re instantly working on what appears to be your own desktop. Unplug it, and all traces of your data vanish! Here are the top 3 options:

MojoPac: This is a free software option that enables you to “clone” or copy your desktop applications and files to a virtualized machine that will work with any USB device, be it a pen drive, iPod or external hard drive. However, it will only work with Windows XP computers and lacks encryption capabilities.

Ceedo Personal: This inexpensive software product will give you a near-perfect facsimile of your desktop on any USB device. At $39, you’ll get Windows 7 compatibility and integration with secure TrueCrypt devices.

CheckPoint Abra: Out of the three mentioned here, this is the most secure. You’ll pay a bit more ($140 to $210) but it will give you security encrypted access to your cloned desktop.

Page 4


Unified Threat Management:

The “Swiss Army Knife” Of Security

With all the talk about security in this issue, we wanted to let all of our clients and subscribers know about a new, more effective and lower-cost way to have a complete “do it all” security system for their networks. The techie term is “UTM” or “unified threat management.” That’s simply a fancy word for an all-in-one security device that does the work of your firewall, anti-virus, spam filtering and web content filter.

There are several advantages to going this route. First, simplification. Instead of having to monitor and maintain several different types of security and software, you only have one device. That makes the entire process of maintaining, managing and even updating your security far easier. You also won’t have the problem of conflicts between various hardware and software devices.

If you’re about to upgrade, install or add to your current line of security systems (spam, anti-virus, firewall, etc.) contact us for a free consultation on how a UTM solution may be a better option!

How To Keep Your Computer Network Up,

Running, And Problem FREE

Are you frustrated with on-going computer problems – slow machines, error messages, viruses, spyware, printers not working, applications crashing, and other issues that drive you nuts? If so, then I’d like to show you a way to completely ELIMINATE those problems from cropping up, finally and forever…and it won’t cost you a dime. The Best Way To Deal With A Computer Problem Is To PREVENT It From Happening In The First Place Did you know that practically 99% of all computer crashes, downtime, viruses, and other problems could have been prevented or completely avoided? That’s because computers need regular maintenance to run fast and clean – but most people just use their PCs day in and day out and never think about this critical maintenance UNTIL something stops working. By then, the damage is often done and you end up with unexpected downtime and possibly even lost data, identity theft, and expensive repair bills.

Dirty Money?

Here’s What You Can

Do With It…

Here’s a job that belongs on the

popular TV show “Dirty Jobs”

with Mike Rowe: The US

Treasury’s job of replacing and

cleaning up dirty money.

You probably didn’t even know

this service existed unless you

have lost a lot of cash, usually

through fire, flood, exposure to

chemicals, rodent or insect

infestation or deterioration from

being buried. But each year, the

Treasury exchanges unusable

currency for new money. It

fields about 30,000 claims and

exchanges about $30 million

every year for some very

relieved people.

In one case, a farmer dropped

his wallet in a field and a cow

ate it. He slaughtered the cow

and sent its stomach to the

Mutilated Currency Division.

Though identifying the money

was not a pleasant task, the

farmer got his $600 back in the

form of a check. In another

case, a dog ate a lady's money,

and it ultimately came out the

other end in pieces. Identifying

the pieces was smelly detective

work, but she got her money

back, too.

Cash buried in a dry climate

can petrify, making it difficult

to pry apart to determine

denominations. Money buried

in wet climates can turn into a

mass resembling oatmeal. The

Treasury has tactics to identify

the bills and will redeem them.

Sometimes the sender has to

swear an affidavit in support of

their claim.

Page 5


Our FREE CMIT Marathon Will Show You How. As a special offer during the month of December 2010, we want to give all new prospective clients (10 or more computers) a FREE 90-day trial of our CMIT Marathon proactive management and support program to show you how we can help PREVENT computer problems from happening. Here’s what’s included with this free service: • FREE 24/7 Monitoring Of Your Network. We’ll monitor your network’s “vital signs” to look for hidden problems such as a tape backup not working, a hard drive about to fail, a critical security update that wasn’t applied correctly, and dozens of other potential system failures. If we find something, we will alert you immediately so you can fix issues BEFORE they turn into bigger, more expensive problems. • FREE E-mail Alerts. This works like a security monitoring system in your home or office and will allow us to notify you of an unknown virus attack, hacker invasion, or other security breach so you can immediately take action to protect yourself. • Instant “On-Demand” Computer Support And Repairs. If you choose to have us resolve an issue we uncover (and you’re under no obligation to), we can diagnose and fix most problems directly over the Internet via a secure, private connection while you watch! No more waiting around for a technician to show up. Plus we’ll give you a special “new client” preferred rate for any repairs or updates you’d like us to do. For more information and to sign up for your FREE 90-day trial, contact Debi or Phil Bush at 303-756-2648 or by email at [email protected]. What better way to start off 2011 than to know that your business is being looked after all the time!

Top 5 Reasons That Make

CMIT Solutions Unique

1 We are the very best IT outsourcing company for small businesses in America. 2. Locally-Owned & Leverages National Company

3. Proactive IT support, services and consulting

4. 700+ local, regional and national technicians

5. Guaranteed Service

Top 5 Reasons To Be

Thankful

There truly are reasons to

be thankful for technology

and here they are:

1. It allows us all to be more

“earth-friendly.”

2. We can instantly access information on practically any topic we want, whenever we want.

3. It keeps us in touch through cell phones, blogs, social media, Skype. Just keep it under control.

4. It saves us time and money. I use Amazon Prime frequently for ease of use and time and cost efficiency.

5. It’s a great scapegoat for any number of mistakes you’ve made. Missed an appoint-ment? Blame your system being down. Don’t want to talk to someone?...

Page 6

mailto:[email protected]


Looking Forward to 2011 While Reflecting on Accomplishments in 2010

This is the time that you start to read and hear about setting goals for the new year. Person-

ally, I read about this all the time whether it’s December, January or June. Why is this and why should we care? Goal setting isn’t what’s just for business. It’s

for life. For business, it’s about revenue goals, activity goals that will yield increased revenue, and your personal growth goals within your organization. At home, you may have individual goals (health, exercise), family goals, goals for fixing up your home and so forth. Zig Ziglar said on a video (I watched it on the internet!) to:

1. Write it down (and even create a goals board if you are a visual person)

2. Put a date on achieving the goal 3. List obstacles to overcome 4. Identify people, groups or organizations to help 5. Spell out plan of action 6. Set a time limit 7. Identify all of the benefits to you

I have done a lot of the above steps and the one that continues to resonate with me is Step #4 – Identify people

or groups that can help me achieve my goal(s). It gives me that extra push and energy to focus on achieving my goals. I have always enjoyed and appreciated collaboration and

interaction with my peers, even way back in my cable TV industry days. Some of you know that my husband, Phil, and I have been part of a mastermind group within CMIT Solutions of top performing CMIT offices. We are known as the CMIT Pacesetters. Together, we push each other to go the extra mile in each area of our respective businesses. Over the past 2 ½ years of being in this special group I have grown personally and professionally (always room to grow, share and nurture) and CMIT Denver will have its best year ever in 2010. Is this a coincidence? I don’t think so. Due to the fact that I apply value to my growth, I am in another accountability group in which I have an accountability buddy, Jennifer. She and I have a lot in

(continued on back page)

Quotes from famous

sports figures:

“The strength of the group is the strength of the leaders.” - Vince Lombardi

"Every game is an opportunity to measure yourself against your own potential." - Bud Wilkinson

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination." - Tommy Lasorda

"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." - Vince Lombardi

“Success is never permanent, and failure is never final.” - Mike Ditka “You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” - Arthur Ashe “You miss 100% of the shots you never take." - Wayne Gretzky

“I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.” - Yogi Berra

Page 7


common in that we own and run our IT firms with our husbands, wear a lot of hats, AND have a family and ourselves to take care of with the lofty goal of limited sacrifices for both our families and businesses. Each and every week we check in to inquire if our To Do’s or Actions were completed (looking back/reflecting) and setting goals for the next week (looking forward). In order for you to be on top

of your business, it is critical and crucial to know your numbers (key performance indicators or KPIs) that drive your business.

A by-product (an extra benefit) of my participation in these groups has provided me with enhanced working relationships and friendships that will endure. I speak with these peers more than I do with non-business friends (that’s for another article or blog). We look out for each other and in a “crazy busy” world (check out Dr. Ned Hallowell), this is key.

Well, from all of us at CMIT Solutions of Denver “Have a happy and safe December, eat a lot of delicious food and plan for a successful 2011.”

Warm Regards,

P.S. In case you are not receiving my monthly e-newsletter and would like to, please email me at [email protected] to request that your name be added. The e-newsletters have different content than this newsletter so you can gain even more insights.

P.P.S. Here are more books that continue to help me and those I know in thinking about business and life or give a fresh reminder of what I already know.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea – Bob Burg and John David Mann

Endless Referrals – Bob Burg Little Black Book of Connections: 6.5 Assets For Networking

Your Way To Rich Relationships – Jeffrey Gitomer

925 S. Niagara St., Suite 220

Denver, CO 80224

Phone: 303-756-2648

Fax: 303-484-7314

Web:

www.cmitsolutions.com/denver

Blog: cmitdenver.wordpress.com

Email: [email protected]

E-Newsletter Articles:

cmitdenvernews.wordpress.com

Call us now at 303-756-

2648 to request your copy of

our book!

Page 8

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Documents

Growing Good Corn - Pronto Marketing · instantly infected with malware. device into any PC and you’re What makes this so dangerous is that most of us have come to trust search