Unfinished Furniture Co. - Info, Updates, and Special Offers

We just received a new shipment from John Greenleaf Whittier and one of the items is their 808W Chaparral Pine 3 piece corner nook storage bench.  It is reversible and can be disassembled into units for easy transport.  The regular price is $419.  It has been discontinued and this last one is priced at $299 -- first come first served.

See the 808W here

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The last major update to our computer system was way back in 2003.  At that time we installed a network server running Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 -- it was a pretty big deal to have a shared calendar and email using our own domain.  For the most part it has been trouble free but Outlook 2003 is fairly dated and an upgrade to Office 2010 would cost into the thousands of dollars.  Microsoft also continues to release fixes and service packs that I have to administer one computer at a time - not recommended if you have anything better to do with your time.

Also at some point along the way I realized we could use Yahoo Messenger instant messaging (IM) to send simple messages within the business much more easily than email.  We've used this for a few years and it's been a big help to communicate short bursts in real time.  But, it is awfully glitzy with lots of graphics and flashing doodads, and most of the default preferences are set to show celebrity gossip etc.  Again, this is something that has to be administered one machine at a time.

Which brings me to this post.  This week we'll be moving our email, shared calendar, instant messaging, and more over to Google Apps.  Everything is hosted on Google's servers--I don't install anything here.  All updates and upgrades will be made by Google and I'll also have an Admin Dashboard to configure all users from my desktop -- no more walking to each and every computer to make changes.  Apps also has integrated instant messaging from within Gmail, and now we can send SMS text messages (when someone is out of the store and the request can't wait) right from the same window.  Lastly, Apps includes Google Docs, a great way to securely share documents and files with anyone on the team.  Best of all, the Standard version is free.  Go here for more info -- http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html

I'd like to hear from other small busines owners out there -- what do you use to share information within your organization?

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Don't miss our one day sale -- today -- Saturday July 24th. 

We are offering 1/2 price store finishing on any special order purchase of Woodcraft Industries furniture or kitchen cabinets. 

Made in Pennsylvania, they offer a ton of styles in oak, pine, maple, and cherry woods.  All drawers are dovetailed and full extension slides are an option for only $5 per drawer. 

You can't find better quality furniture in the Central Texas area at twice the price.

See their full lineup here:  www.woodcraftindustries.com

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