The FENG’s many power tools

The FENG is here to serve you.

I thought I would use tonight’s editorial slot to encourage you to use Zoom, a basically “free” resource for getting to know others.

I am into harnessing other people’s technology. Zoom is as free as anything gets. However, a totally free account only allows you 40 minutes for meetings with more than one other person. Let’s not be a bunch of penny-pinching accountants. For a mere $160 per year, you can remove the time limit. I would hope this is within everyone’s budget.

Okay, so now you have a Zoom account. What are you going to do with it? My suggestion is to find others in the world who are just like you. The methodology is called “Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.” (Something I learned about when I was in the Army.)

This is honestly a LOT easier than even using our Member Directory Search feature to find people who are just like you. All you have to do is spend a few minutes writing up a short description of something very specific you would like to discuss on an ongoing basis with a small circle of friends, pick a day and time and create a Zoom link. Step 2 is to send it to Leads@TheFENG.org for publication in our newsletter as a Member in Need of Assistance.

For example, there are probably 100’s of members of The FENG who have written books. In fact, I had a member contact me today on this very topic. If you have written a book, you should be talking to other members who have written books to find out how they are promoting their books. If you have written a book, but not yet gotten it published, these would be the folks to talk to. How did they get it published? Are they making any money from it?

Let’s assume instead that you are in Professional Services. The relevant industries might be Advertising Agencies, Public Relations Firms or Law Firms. How do you handle clients who don’t pay promptly? How do you determine billing rates? Are there metrics for staffing levels? I’m sure there are lots of other questions that you “birds of a feather” should discuss on a regular basis. Why not schedule a Zoom?

Harness the power of Zoom, which is effectively free, with the power of The FENG.

(Hopefully the nearly free aspect of this idea will appeal to your “inner accountant.”)

Regards, Matt