Peggy Duncan's Suite Minute blog. Computer tips and tricks that make work easy.

Every time I hear of company layoffs, I feel badly for the people losing their jobs. But I immediately start to wonder how the people left behind will make it. They were already working inefficiently; now half of their co-workers are gone.
In my work as a consultant helping people improve their personal productivity, I see [...]

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When I opened The Digital Breakthroughs Institute, a technology and productivity training center in Atlanta, Georgia, I decided that in addition to the Internet, TV would be one of the mediums I’d use to promote my classes throughout the metro area.

My first commercial will promote one of my workshops, Get Organized At Work. I’m advertising [...]

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My blog, Suite Minute, started out as a way to share my tips in the Microsoft Office suite. The name came from the notion that each post would take you a minute to read, a minute to try, but save you hours using. Its mission is to help you spend less time working but get [...]

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I saw a Feb 2007 article in CareerJournal (Wall Street Journal Website), and my mouth dropped open when I read the advice below. It is so wrong.
“Emails that don’t require an immediate reply can pile up as you respond to more urgent messages. To get them out of the way, send a quick reply to [...]

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Monday Breakthroughs
I recently recorded a coaching session/Webinar I had with two clients who wanted to get organized at work (that’s the number one way of creating more time). One is a small business owner (events planner) and the other in hotel sales. Clutter was taking over their lives and blocking them from reaching their full [...]

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I was recently interviewed by Geetesh Bajaj, a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP and administrator of the popular Website, Indezine. We reconnected at a recent PowerPoint conference and he was there during my keynote, Shameless Self Promotion. This interview is a result of that and I thought you might enjoy it.
The Interview
In this discussion, Peggy discusses her [...]

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You’ve heard all the talk and raves about social media. But you’re not the only one who hasn’t figured out how to make it work in business. This training will help you pull it all together.
The Social Media Bootcamp of Atlanta is a series of four classes you can take at your convenience. Hands-on [...]

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The Digital Breakthroughs Institute
Opens in South Atlanta
to Provide Technology Training
for Small Business Owners
On September 1, 2009, I will announce the opening of my new training facility, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute (DBI). DBI’s mission is to provide hands-on, highly interactive workshops for small business owners who want to improve their technology skills and boost their productivity.
Located [...]

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Hi, Peggy! I have lots of business cards from others. What is the most productive way to store them. I originally thought I’d use a desk top Rolodex; then I thought I should group them according to services, photocopy the page and then file the pages. What do you suggest?
None of the above. I batch [...]

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In addition to my traditional books, I also sell two ebooks on my Website. Digital products are a breeze to sell, especially when you store them on a site like PayLoadz. My customers purchase the book on my Website via PayPal with any major credit card. Before they can blink, an email shows up with [...]

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I’m helping a client develop ways he can market an upcoming conference using the Web. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with so far.
Website/Blog
Create a detailed Website with seminar descriptions, speaker photos, bios. Give visitors and people who want to help you promote your event something to link to. Consider creating a separate Website [...]

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I’m excited to announce that Bill Jula, CEO & Co-Founder of Fast Pitch!, informed me that SuiteMinute has been awarded “Top Business Blog” as part of a recent competition. A thousand businesses across nine categories participated.
The honor was based on a combination of open voting and an expert panel of judges.
Fast Pitch! is an active [...]

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I haven’t seen a commercial from the US Postal Service in awhile, and I’m finding that a lot of business people have forgotten how they can help you be more productive.
Order free packaging from their Web site. I keep a supply of Priority Flat Rate envelopes and Flat Rate boxes with postage already applied. And [...]

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I’m about to start a new business and need to get business cards. Would it be appropriate to use the punch-out or pre-designed paper stock I see in the stores?
Congratulations on starting your business! Be sure to visit your local SCORE office to increase your chances of success.
Your stationery, business card, newsletter, proposal, etc., are [...]

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When I switched from Earthlink to AT&T for Internet access for my home office, I could no longer connect when I was outside my calling area using a local access number. (I’d have to pay to connect to an 800 number and pay by the minute). I considered an aircard, but when I thought through [...]

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Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimization – SEO
I’m excited to announce my new ebook, Shameless Self-Promotion: Do-It-Yourself PR. Get Found Online. Details are on my Website, including a partial table of contents and a sample chapter.
In the two weeks that it took me to write this ebook, I received calls from Fitness, [...]

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When I started my business almost 11 years ago, as part of the Accounting section of my filing system, I had a folder for each vendor I spent money with regularly (e.g., gas, light, Office Depot, etc.). When I found myself sticking receipts in a To Be Filed folder, I knew my system was too [...]

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I’ve read several stories that report how President-Elect Barack Obama, like so many other people, is addicted to his BlackBerry. I’m sure he feels torn right now at the thought of having to give it up once he enters the White House. But I think he’s going to feel so much better once he gets [...]

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They’ll start soon. Those pesky online holiday greetings from business associates you may or may not know will start showing up in your Inbox. They claim to be from people who want to “reconnect” with you.
Paaalease!
Popping a bunch of email addresses into a box and sending a generic message that makes me have to do [...]

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I was in a meeting recently with a group of solopreneurs. We pulled up each other’s blog and talked about each one. The most important thing I walked away with was this: since the purpose of my blog is to share helpful information and not about making money from ads, I should create Web banners [...]

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A sheet of labels got stuck in my HP All-in-One LaserJet printer and I tried pulling it out. I got it, but I destroyed the sensor that lets the printer know I have a cartridge. After finding out it was almost as cheap to buy a new printer as to fix the old one, I [...]

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A financial planner sent me a letter that went into the trash the instant I opened it…without even blinking. Here’s why:

The letter was typed using the Comic Sans typeface. The typeface you select for your business correspondence should reflect the type of business you’re in. If you’re running a daycare center, a playful font like [...]

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I just got back from presenting my most popular seminar, “Conquer Email Overload with Outlook,” at a conference of magazine editors. If you think you have email issues, try being the editor of a popular magazine! They receive tons of irrelevant email from public relations companies and individuals trying to get press.
I have tons of [...]

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If you’ve seen an email addressed to Undisclosed Recipients and wondered how it was done, here are two options (I’m using Outlook 2003).
First Option
When you create a new message, on the To line, type Undisclosed Recipients, and next to that put your email address inside brackets . Then see Step 5 below to finish the [...]

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I’d been wanting to create my own affiliate program but didn’t want to spend crazy money every month paying for a service. Nor did I want to have to hire a programmer to make it happen.
idevaffiliate had everything I wanted, plus a lot of stuff I hadn’t thought of. The software is only $99 and [...]

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