Main Article ~ Online Business Tip ~ Excel Tip ~ Training Tip
I got back a few days ago from a 10-day trip to visit family and friends in the Eastern Cape, mainly Middelburg and Gqeberha (still known on most road signs as Port Elizabeth). The company was able to function pretty well remotely with a laptop, Wi-Fi, and an internet connection. Having QuickBooks Online as our accounting system certainly helped, as did the FNB App for banking.
It was good to lie on a beach again and, briefly, swim in the sea. Kings Beach was almost empty and wonderfully clean. The dogs were surprised by the waves at first, but took to the sea like, well, a dog to water...
On the way back we had 5 stop-and-go road works between Nxuba (formerly Cradock) and Hofmeyr (formerly Maraisburg). Thanks to Google Maps, which thought that was the best route! There must be some moral there about over-reliance on technology.
Speaking of technology:
Remarkably, during the month we had a price decrease of 3.1% on all the Autodesk products we sell, namely full AutoCAD (including specialized toolsets), AutoCAD Web, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Raster Design, AutoCAD Revit LT Suite, 3ds Max, and Mudbox. We immediately passed this on to the relevant customers.
Mathematically inclined readers with a good memory may have noticed that the decrease did not make up for the 4%-11% increase on 7 January, but it is nevertheless something.
Do you have an AutoCAD renewal coming up in the next 3 months? The Rand is volatile, even more so in a Trump era. Get current pricing and beat the next change, which will probably be an increase!
Our friend and mentor, Peter Carruthers, has revamped his course on personal sureties (also called personal guarantees).
This is for you if you have ever signed a personal guarantee - or ever had a
commitment to :
• a bank
• a landlord
• a hire-purchase contract
• a rental contract for a photocopier, etc
• any supplier who gave you a sheaf of documents to sign
The course will work anywhere suppliers and bankers ask for personal guarantees. (That is in almost every country on Earth.)
This training, knowledge, ideas, tools, and strategies cost Peter more than $1 million when his first business closed. He says, "Since 1994, I have never signed a personal guarantee. It's easier than you think."
Peter has rebuilt the online course. You will discover...
• How not to sign personal guarantees/sureties...
• How to cancel and recover any previously signed personal
guarantees/sureties...
Every country has some form of personal guarantee contract to protect the lender while bankrupting a borrower, no matter the reason for the shortfall. (COVID, the 2008 USA banking crisis,... About one global crisis each decade.)
Click here to Check out the Course
If you know any small business owners, please share this email with them. If they know that there is guidance on the horizon, they won't waste 8 years as Peter did as he tried to recover his financial life.
The Excel for Engineers course is on our online platform, systeme.io. It has video in most lessons, This is the most complete one we have produced. There are extra sample files and material we don't have time for on the regular two-day live course.
Why should you take the Excel for Engineers course?
The course is chock-full of benefits for any Excel user in a technical field. Using 19 pre-built spreadsheets (yours to keep), we comprehensively cover using Excel as an Engineering and Scientific Tool.
Do it at your own pace at times that suit you. Take half an hour a day and complete it in a month. Spend an hour a day and finish it in two weeks. Or dedicate two days –a weekend, perhaps?– and crack the whole course. Then revise until your memory is solid.
Sign Up Now and get three Free Bonuses.
In a previous tip, the customer had a spreadsheet where various issues were rated by severity as H (High), M (Medium), or L (Low) The relevant part of the spreadsheet looked like this:
In the January edition, we introduced you to Data Validation to get that drop-down list on the right. Read it now if you missed it then.
We left you on the Data Validation dialog box (Ribbon, Data tab. In the Data Tools group, Data Validation), Settings tab.
Let's now look at the second tab, Input Message:
This produces the following effect when a cell with validation is selected:
This can work without a dropdown list, but is more powerful with one.
Next time: More sophistication: the Error Alert!
Do you use Microsoft Excel a lot? Do you repeat the same actions every week or month? You can record them and simply play those actions back –lightning-fast– at the press of a button. Take the Excel Macros online course now and learn how! Do the repetitive work in a flash, instead of repeating the same boring stuff by hand. Save hours not working late, and spend more time with your family... The Software Africa Quick 'n Easy Turbo-Start Excel Macros course is online. Take it now, and lead a better life.
Excuse me for butting in, but I'm interrupt-driven.
All the Best from
Communication in Action cc trading as Software Africa
"Empowering African Business with standard and custom PC programs, databases, and templates using Microsoft technologies"
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Disclosure: Some links we share might be affiliate links we promote in return for a commission. We only promote things we've actually tried and think could be great for you too.
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