A panel of OCCA members will discuss and demonstrate various remote support options for consultants. Topics that will be covered include:

Recurring income:

• Does it provide recurring income?
• How do you structure it?
• What additional services does your service provide, like asset management, automated updates, alerts etc.

Types of Support

• Ad Hoc
• Unattended
• Meetings

Other:

• Quality of Tech support
• Cost of the system:
• Mobile support
• How smoothly does it work?

Are you letting your leads and prospects go stale? Do you lose contact with past customers? Email is a powerful marketing tool that can revolutionize the way you connect with prospects and customers. It can dramatically increase business growth and success! In this presentation, you will learn how to:

• Build relationships that are crucial to the success of your business
• Reach more people with your message
• Follow up consistently with new leads and past customers
• Get your emails opened and read
• Become a resource for your customers

Convert readers into buyers

You will leave feeling prepared and motivated to get the most out of your email marketing!

Intel will discuss the trends and technologies in the ever-changing computing landscape. Topics will include Intel’s technology roadmap and it’s applications to various industries. See live demos of current technologies along with a sneak peak at what the future may hold.

Social Security benefit strategies are like finger prints. Everyone’s strategy is different. The Social Security personnel will not provide guidance for your benefit issues. Rick will explain some of the things you should understand and consider when applying for your Social Security benefits.

What is:

• Early Retirement Age
• Full Retirement age
• Deferred retirement age (credits)
• Spousal Benefits

What other factors should be considered when choosing to accept Social Security benefits.

• How does continuing to work affect your benefits?
• What about other income sources?
• Life expectancy versus total benefits received.
• The effects of inflation

Questions and answers

Meeting notes are downloadable at: http://occa.org/files/SSNotes.pdf

Technological advancements combined with a tight economy and an increasingly skeptical and sophisticated buying population in both consumer and business-to-business markets mean that the new decade requires new marketing strategies. In this powerful presentation, you will learn what works now, what doesn't, and what you absolutely must know to succeed in the new economy, including:

• The truth about what the new decade means to your marketing plans and your profitability
• The three marketing strategies no business should overlook
• The one critical marketing mistake to avoid at all costs
• Plus, the dirty little secret of social media marketing that nobody is talking about

Microsoft Azure and the possibilities and potential it has for small business consultants to add to their revenue stream. Join us for an overview of how Microsoft Azure can help drive new business. In this overview, Scott will explain what Azure is and how partners can go to market with Microsoft and expand their reach.

A panel of experts to give an overview of virtualization technology including:

• Oracle's Virtual Box
• Microsoft Hyper-V Hypervisor in Windows Server
• Hosted Virtualization
• VMWare.

With the rapid expansion of computing power, the ability to run fast and efficient virtual machines has multiplied the types and uses of virtual computing applications in business.  From creating one-time OS sessions to forestall virus attack, or separating multiple server functions into multiple server virtual machines on a single server, or leveraging cloud servers, to providing dedicated environments for specialized, windowed applications, there are more opportunities than ever for bending computers to useful purposes. At the same time, virtualization further complicates the meaning of the term server: do we mean the hardware, the operating system, the software or the cloud?

Scott Hendison will speak on

• changes in the "SEO" rules
• some things to do for your local business that are even more important than Google,
• how to best use the various Google services like Google+, Google Maps, and Google Local pages to best promote your businesses

Our computing world and client base has become more diverse. Clients are using tablets, phones, notebooks, transformers, as well as desktop computers. Client needs and expertise vary radically. Four OCCA members will discuss the proper place for various operating systems and lead a discussion with everyone involved.

We will try and discuss the Pros and Cons of these operating systems:

• Mac OS
• IOS
• Chrome (Chromebooks)
• Android
• Windows Phone (briefly presented)
• Linux

We are not trying to pursue the illusory "best" or "right" operating system. We are trying to more fully understand how to help our clients evaluate their options. What do these systems do well, what don't they do well and who should consider using them.

Come with your experiences and your questions.

The presentation will explore three major areas:
1. Protecting your business through an entity

• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Key differences between common entity types
• The importance of maintaining an entity's legal formalities

2. Protecting your business by documenting key relationships

• What relationships should you document with a contract?
• Terms of a typical services/consulting agreement: what is most important and why

3. Protecting your business’ key assets (brief overview)

• Intellectual property
• Employees/Contractors
• Real and personal property