I just got off the phone with David Carman, and he told me the Breakfast Network Club is now Business Network Chicago, and has relaunched its Web site. The name change is a good one, especially as they don’t hold too many morning meetings anymore, and the new name is better focused on their goals and intent.

BNC has many special interest groups, including venture capital, healthcare and IT, which focus on these particular industries, as well as larger networking events. Their newsletter is a good source for job positions and leads. I have made many great contacts through the BNC, and have been proud to sponsor their meeting nametags.

BNC is kicking off its new branding and the fall with Fall n-Counter, to be held on Wednesday, September 19 at the W Chicago City Center hotel on Adams in the Loop. More information and registration is available on their Web site. This will surely bring out a large attendance at such a great venue.

Good luck to David, the president of the BNC, and all of its SIG chairs on the rebranding and ongoing work to bring the Chicago business community together.

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The next likemind will be next Friday, August 17 in dozens of cities around the world. In Chicago, it will be back at Intelligentsia Coffee,, 53 E. Randolph, at the corner of Wabash.

What is likemind? I call it a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines. For my friends and readers in Boston, they are looking for someone to organize it, which just means paying for coffee and getting reimbursed, and being somewhat awake at that hour.

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I saw this item posted on Spoofee.com, a site that usually just lists discounted items available on various eCommerce Web sites. But never jobs. I guess everyone will make an exception for Google.

The search giant is seeking Business Referral Representatives. These are people who will canvass their neighborhood or local businesses to get their information into presumably their local search directory. More information is available on their FAQ including a link to apply.

Recently when adding some clients into Google Local, they already had listings. Some of them were correct, some were not, and some lacked details like hours of operations, logos and fax numbers. Some already had photos of the businesses! I was then able to submit revisions to the information, which required an automated callback from Google to verify it.

Where these representatives will take these few hours of work from my business, this marks a concerted effort for Google to encroach even more so on local print directories – how hard would it be to print information it already has?

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I would like to pass along an article entitled, Applying Retail Concepts to the Web, which I was interviewed for. Its author is Lisa Rummler and is published on the Web site for Certification Magazine, a periodical on technical certifications that features both the nuts and bolts of technology and the business concepts that drive the use of technology. The article is in their “CRM and e-Commerce” community. Lisa is a great interviewer and it shows in the final product.

As the article states, Dunkirk Systems has brought many companies to the Internet, both traditional brick and mortar and solely online businesses. It’s what I enjoy doing! I hope this article helps demystify the Internet for those who are either exploring eCommerce or re-evaluating what they have. And of course I welcome the opportunity to see how we may be able to help them achieve their goals.

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The title alone enticed me to read it – The 4-Hour Workweek. Who doesn’t want to work just one-tenth of the standard work week? Not knowing anything more about it, other than it being mentioned on numerous blogs and podcasts, I picked up a copy and read a great book that both reaffirmed and inspired.

Tim Ferriss wrote this book based on his life. He was a typical office worker who was frustrated with his situation. He then took a look at his life, what he wanted to do, and built a business of selling supplements where all company functions were outsourced and he only needed a few hours a week – thus the title – to operate his business. With the rest of his time he travels the world, learned martial arts and to dance, and now is an author and speaker.

You don’t have to want to be an entrepreneur to read this book. It gives a unique perspective to how people spend their time, and how they could be spending their time. Even if you like what you do for a living – like myself – there is plenty to enjoy about this book.

My biggest takeaway from 4-Hour is quantifying your goals and dreams. Many people want to do something but think they can’t do it for many reasons, namely they can’t afford to. He talks through scenarios in his own life and even offers planning tools on his Web site to help you objectively determine if you can really do what you want to. In most cases you probably can, and seeing it in black and white will help you move towards your dreams.

Ferriss also professes something I have mastered owning my own business, working remotely. Many companies are moving towards telecommuting, but many do not allow people to work from home, or wherever they are connecting to the Internet. I once worked for a company that would not allow this as the director of my department liked seeing people in their cubicles! He walks the reader through how to approach it and once approved, how to manage it. With voice-over IP technology today, you could be calling a vendor from Denmark without them even knowing you’re outside of the US... not that I have done that myself!

Outsourcing is a key to how Ferriss has been successful. Some may not familiar with outsourcing overseas or the thought of someone in India balancing your US checkbook may be hard to grasp. The old adage that someone who earns $100 an hour should not be doing a task that can be done by someone who earns $10 an hour is a simplification of this concept, and taking a hard look at your life will probably show some of these tasks that can be done by others.

I recommend this book for anyone, whether you are an entrepreneur or are well into your career in a company. It is a high-energy and positive read and give many examples of services you can use to help you reach your goals, even if you just want to stay working under 40 hours a week.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (1) Comments • Permalink