Services

Business Development

Business Development is the term we use that encompasses most of our services. Whether it's a website or assistance with performance improvement, your company is moving forward and upward...development!

Click on the link below to jump to the corresponding section:

• Website Development
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Software
• Database Design, Database Development, Data Conversion, Data Analysis
• Marketing
• Social Networking Strategies (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)
• Training, Education, & Seminars (e.g., "How to create a hacker-proof password," "SEO Basics (How to Make Google Love My Website)," etc.
• Strategic Planning
• Policies and Procedures
• Efficiency Improvement (Performance Improvement)
• Quality Improvement
• Business Startup Consulting
• Temporary Leadership

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Software

• Software Selection Consultation

  Are you looking for help in choosing the right software system for your business? We have participated in many software selection committees, vendor selection committees, and software analysis groups. We can help you define your needs and requirements, review various options, make the most appropriate choice for your needs, thus saving dollars and headaches. We can also help you determine ROI (Return On Investment) for the various options and even help you review and negotiate favorable prices and support fees. It is reassuring to have an unbiased consultant on YOUR side of the table.
  
  

• Software Analysis, Design, Development, and Support

  When a company can't find the right "canned" software off the shelf, it becomes a big decision to have custom software developed. Advanced Development Concepts (formerly Advanced Programming Concepts) has been involved in many software projects including everything from developing multi-million dollar software systems for a large corporation to integrating different systems together for a small family business. Our team has lead out and assisted in ALL aspects of the software development life cycle. We've been extremely valuable and our experience has been a blessing to our clients.
  
  Even if we don't do the actual programming for you, we can provide valuable services in helping you define your needs to another development company or act as a liaison between your company and the developers. This is especially important for companies that do not have their own internal information technology departments.
  
  

• System Integration (Interfaces)

  When you need to connect (integrate/interface) two pieces of software together so they can communicate between each other, we might be able to help. Some software does not allow this type of integration and some systems require some interfacing tricks that can be done behind the scenes. Contact Us and let's see if it's possible!
  We've also developed data scraping solutions when all the client has is a huge report and no obvious way to export the data to a database where queries and analysis can run over the data in ways the report does not allow.
  

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Database Design, Database Development, Data Conversion, Data Analysis

We have extensive database experience. Relational databases, stored procedures, indexes, database normalization, data objects, data layer and business layer are terms with which we are quite familiar.

• Database Design. When developing a software system, one of the most important aspects is a well thought out database design. This is important for:
  • Performance. Properly-designed tables and data structures usually result in better performance as the volume of data grows. All to often systems run great until the data size doubles, triples, etc. Likewise, as more and more users work with the system, many poorly-designed systems bog down noticeably.
  • Expansion. Often when companies want to expand a software system, a "simple enhancement" becomes a nightmare because the database was not designed properly.
  • Support. Hap-hazard designs are difficult for staff to support, especially when there is staff turnover. Is your database well documented?
  • Reporting. Nicely designed data structures allows for easier and more robust report development.  If your key developer "gets hit by a truck," do you have enough quality documentation that the next developer you bring in can hit the ground running? This is extremely important.
• Data Conversion, Data Scraping, Data Mining, Data Exporting. We have converted or exported a large variety of tables. Whether it's exporting data for better analysis or reporting, or converting data so it can be uploaded into an external software system, data mining from various systems for analysis into a central data warehouse, or "scraping" data off of a large report and creating a table from the data, we have probably done something like it before. Contact us and let's see if we can help.
  

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Marketing

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. Great companies and great products fail if they can't inform their target customers and convince them to invest in it! There are so many key factors involved in this process, it's very difficult for companies to focus on the right ones.

•  Target Customer. Are you SURE you know and understand your target customer? Do you know their demographics? Do you know their shopping habits? Do you know their real needs?
  
• ROI (Return On Investment). If your marketing dollars are not more than paying for themselves, your marketing plan may not be working. Let us help you determine the right strategy for setting up a way to determine and measure success.
  
• Out of Ideas? Some of our best results occur when we're brought in to give a fresh look at your situation. We will team up with you, not take over. We are here to make you successful.

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Social Networking Strategies (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc. are wonderful tools to further increase your business. However, many businesses do it wrong...so wrong that it can take a lot of time to un-do the damage that was done. If you're new to these powerful tools, please get some professional help so you can do it right!

Facebook, for example, has over 500,000,000 users! That's a LOT of marketing potential opportunity out there! How do you get friends? How do you inform them about your business regularly without turning them off. If you aren't convinced this is a HUGE REVOLUTION in marketing, watch this video!

We currently run several successful Facebook campaigns (for example) for multiple businesses. There is a lot of strategy to the process and, depending on the type of business, the techniques vary.

Did you know?...We've been providing seminars and training sessions for Facebook.

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Strategic Planning

Does your business need to get to the next level? Do you need a non-biased facilitator for your strategic planning? Looking for an outside opinion on your strategic goals or do you need someone (unbiased) to help your team work through it?

If your business priorities (projects, focus, structure, budget) do not help you reach your strategic plan's goals then something needs to be adjusted. Strategic planning is more than just planning.

It involves actually doing it, measuring it, and determining if you are on track. Too many of us have sat through long, boring, strategic planning meetings only to realize later that no one is actually going to implement the plan.

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Policies and Procedures

Our team has written and assisted with the writing of a wide variety of policies and procedures. This is just a sample of the types we've handled:

• Security Policies
• Employee Handbooks
• Electronic Signature
• Data Backup & Storage Procedures
• Computer Equipment Standardization
• Hiring and Interviewing Procedures
• Computer Usage
• Ergonomic Standards
• Software Development Standards
• Quality Assurance and Testing Procedures
• Office Security and Emergency Response Procedures
  

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Efficiency Improvement (Performance Improvement)

One of the most rewarding services with some of the highest ROI (Return On Investment) is our Efficiency Improvement services. We are brought in as an "unbiased outsider" to analyze a process in detail, understand the management constraints and results requirements, and then to recommend efficiency improvements that allow a team/business to save money, cut or redirect staff, increase quality, etc.

This may sound strange but it is extremely true: It is often easier for an outside consultant to come in and recommend something much easier than it is for management to recommend the exact same thing. For some psychological reason, staff often accept this easier better and often the implementation is more successful. Read between the lines.

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Quality Improvement

It has several names: Continuous Quality Improvement, Continuing Quality Improvement, CQI, Quality Assurance, etc. But the purpose is the same: To not only improve some business/team process but to setup a system of procedures and measurements to help ensure that the improvement is continuous. All too often companies spend a lot of money to improve something or to "talk about" improvement only to never follow up and make sure that that investment produces actual results that last. It's very difficult for some companies to do this themselves and often they need an outside consultant to come in and help facilitate this process.

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Business Startup Consulting

Several members of our team have started their own companies. Many have been directly involved in helping companies start from the ground up, from franchises, and from purchases. There is a LOT to think about and plan for and it is very difficult to do it yourself AND be successful. Since most startup companies fail to succeed, why not avoid as many mistakes as possible and have the best chance for success? Here is an incomplete list of just some of the important items that must be handled with most startup companies:

• Business Concept (implementing a great idea is what it's all about!)
• Business Plan and Marketing Plan
• Business name, taglines, domain name, logo, graphics
• Business type (sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, corporation, non-profit corporation)
• Business license, sales tax number, certifications, registrations, licensing, memberships, etc.
• Financing (self, investors, SBC, bank loans, grants)
• Target Customer identification
• Copyrights, trademarks, patents
• Location planning, traffic analysis, building lease or purchase, vehicles
• Fixtures, signage, furniture, decor
• Insurances (liability, property, worker's compensation, health, etc.)
• Hiring strategies, job descriptions, management roles, pay scales, incentives, employment-at-will, labor Laws
• Timecards, payroll process, QuickBooks, outsourcing, Employment Law
• Website, social networking, email system, blogs, SEO
• Advertising (large variety of options), ad tracking to justify expense, ROI
• Grand opening, ribbon cutting, press releases, bulletins
• Business networking, social networking, B2B, community involvement, mixers, business associations
  

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Temporary Administration

This service can be a blessing to a company that is in one of the following situations:

• In between managers, administrators, executives and the company needs someone with experience to step in and lead for a finite period of time until the position can be filled permanently.
• Virtual Team Leadership (Matrix Teams). Often, these are temporary teams put together for a specific project. Because of existing workloads, it is often difficult to pull existing managers and it's often better to bring in experienced project managers who can lead virtual teams.
• There is a political situation that makes the selection of a temporary leader difficult and the company needs a temporary leader to fill the void until the politics can be worked out. For example, there are two bright and very competitive individuals wanting to fill a vacancy but the company can't decide or doesn't want to frustrate/insult the person who is not selected for the temporary assignment. Often it's easier to bring in a temporary leader to fill the position until someone can be selected to fill it permanently.
• A company, division, or team is being dissolved, disbanded, or broken up.
  • Sometimes a "bad guy" is needed to come in and do the dirty work, take the heat, or help cool down the troops during this process. Often it is a good idea to bring in an outsider to help limit the damage of the reputation of a permanent employee or to keep the "about to be displaced" staff calmer during the process because there is no emotional tie or past friendship with the temporary leader.
  • Sometimes the leader of the team exits (or gets promoted) before the breakup takes place and the company needs temporary leadership until the process completes.
• While this situation is never fun for anyone, it can often be very advantageous to temporarily bring in an outsider to do some "dirty work" that could harm the reputation of existing management. For example, a large layoff or termination. Sometimes a political situation might require a process of re-assignment of staff to a "new" manager in order to help facilitate the "rehabilitation" of a problem employee or to help evaluate and highlight the need for them to be "given the opportunity to be successful elsewhere."