How can "small" small businesses most effectively map their business processes when they are in rapid growth mode?

Business Process Mapping refers to activities involved in defining exactly what a business entity does, who is responsible, to what standard a process should be completed and how the success of a business process can be determined. Once this is done, there can be no uncertainty as to the requirements of every internal business process.

I'm interested in ideas and suggestions on effective techniques for mapping business processes in small service businesses in growth mode where the BPM can become both something to improve upon as well as a training tool for replicating the business.

What amazing web services are available, free of charge, for volunteers to use in their volunteer organizations?

Someone told me about an amazing mapping application from ESRI, free for use by volunteer-based applications. Otherwise, this ESRI application is a very expensive product. This lead me to wonder what else was available, under similar terms, that could be used to benifit volunteer organizaitons.

Through my volunteering, I participate and am active in these activities that could all potentially benefit:
--- Scout leader in Cub Scouts
--- Active on Disaster Action Team, Red Cross
--- Alumni Board for VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University)
--- lots of other ad hoc activities during the year

What advice do you have for families to be prepared for recovering from a disaster like a fire, ice storm or hurricane?

Everywhere in the world, people fall victim to disasters of various sorts. When a disaster strikes at home, it can be very unnerving for the victims in its wake. In Virginia, we see house fires affecting single families and hurricanes affecting whole communities. Getting back on your feet after a disaster is difficult, but the road to recovery is easier for families who have prepared for the disaster in advance.

My involvement with a relief organization has educated me on many of the hardships encountered by victims such as all of their identification being destroyed in a fire. For these people, it is then difficult to prove to the bank their identity so they can make a withdrawal. People need quick cash to pay for necessities and shelter. Help me with my research on this topic for the next article I'm going to write by sharing your ideas with me.

Of course, any advice provided is probably equally as applicable for businesses that also want to recover as painlessly as possible from a disaster too.

LinkedIn Q&A - Awesome Business Tool

Have you ever used LinkedIn? If not, check it out. I've been on it since 2004. They keep adding capabilities to make it worthwhile to stay on. When I first joined, there were just over 1,000,000 members. Now they've grown to well over 9,000,000 members. I don't believe there are too many web communities for social networking that rival the types services or membership that LinkedIn has managed.

The latest feature they have added is a Q&A section. This is very powerful. I was able to choose between posing the question to only my connections, select connections or the entire membership. I chose the entire membership for a couple of reasons. I didn't want to pester my connections with another needless email from LinkedIn. Secondly, most power users probably filter LinkedIn to a folder or trash and choose to use the web site for staying current. And third, the full membership represents a mammoth potential. Imagine, 1 question to an audience of 9,000,000. 90% of these people are working adults worldwide. I'm bound to get a few answers. So what to ask...

Well it just so happens that I had a legitimate question and otherwise, didn't really have the time to chase down an answer, nor did I want to bother to many people with this question. So why not pose it to the LinkedIn community. Well I must say, than in the last 24 hours, the answers have been rolling in and some of them are quite good.

Ok, enough already! Here's the question with a little supporting detail:

How can "small" small businesses most effectively map their business processes when they are in rapid growth mode?

Business Process Mapping refers to activities involved in defining exactly what a business entity does, who is responsible, to what standard a process should be completed and how the success of a business process can be determined. Once this is done, there can be no uncertainty as to the requirements of every internal business process.

I'm interested in ideas and suggestions on effective techniques for mapping business processes in small service businesses in growth mode where the BPM can become both something to improve upon as well as a training tool for replicating the business.

This is a legitimate question, not easily answered concisely and in a thought provoking way, yet most that I've read so far are quite thought provoking. So, I don't know if you can get to the responses unless you are a member. And if you are a member, here is my profile if you do want to dig in to see some of these responses.

Renters Insurance and the Red Cross

I began as a volunteer in Disaster Services with the Red Cross last year. Aside from the fact that when someone goes through some sort of disaster in their life, they are all but miserable and in many cases, left with nothing, they often add insult to injury by not being properly insured. In most of the cases I've seen, those most affected were those who were most at risk. These were people who for whatever reason, didn't have insurance.

So why blog about this topic? Well I volunteered to write an article on the topic for our Public Affairs office. so this is as good a place as any to record my thoughts.

To start with, I have a personal experience with this. While working in Nashville TN, and travelling on business, my home was robbed. The plus for renters insurance is that when you have it, then you fall into a safety net. When you don't, well I think you get the picture.

I solicited some feedback on this topic from a very wise friend in the insurance business. He had some good (insurance-speak) advice. He said there are 3 key areas of protection under a renters policy is as follows:

1. Contents protection - In apartment fires most tenants do not have this coverage. It protects your furniture, electronics, clothing etc. as it will replace these items at today's cost less a small deductible ($250 or $500). Not having this coverage can cost you thousands of dollars to replace these items.
   
   
2. Additional Living Expense - This will pay for the tenant to live at a hotel and for extra cost of meals, dry cleaning, etc. if the tenant is forced out of the apartment
   
   
3. Personal Liability - This covers the tenant if someone slips and falls at the apartment and the tenant is sued for negligence. The owner/landlord can also be sued. The liability also covers if you hit someone with a golf ball while playing golf, or accidentally running into someone with your shopping cart at the grocery store, etc.

My agent's daughter is covered at her rented home away at college in Georgia. The same concept applies to small business coverage for offices and retail stores.

Perhaps the moral here is that the ones who are affected will buy a policy for the future. The tenants in the complex who are not affected usually purchase policies at that time as well. Unfortunately disasters like fires, floods and wind create a marketing opportunity for renters insurance in rental areas.

So back to my experience with the Red Cross, well, somewhere in here is a story just waiting to be told.