Mastermind Brings Clarity

September 29, 2010

Tonight I had the privilege of meeting a small and powerful group of women who own their own business or want to own their own business.  What I discovered in this group is that many of us deal with similar struggles:

  • work-life balance
  • being interested and capable in multiple areas
  • needing the right connections to grow their business

Throughout the evening the group worked to help each other focus on one thing they wanted to improve and by the end of the evening we had concrete things to do to make the improvement.

Thus the reason for tonight’s post.  I’m often asked “What is it exactly you do?”  In the library and information technology world terms like taxonomy, content management and improving search are not foreign, outside of that world and my business description becomes a foreign language.

Clarity as Bright as a Light Bulb or Two

I often say that I provide information solutions for anyone struggling to maximize their information investment but that’s a short and unclear answer.  I came away tonight, thanks to Denise and the others, with a very succinct and understandable tagline that should open conversations quite nicely.

My business aims to help you understand, organize and use your information.  If you would like to know more you can check out the new website at answermavensolutions.com for the canned language or you can give me a call to tell me what information problem you are having and maybe we can find a solution together.

Constance Ard

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September 22, 2010

Today I had the privilege of speaking with a group of University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science students.  The purpose of the discussion was to share information about my career path and talk about the importance of professional organization involvement.

As a general rule, I don’t like talking about myself. Today worked well because I was able to share my professional path and experiences with the students in the context of helping them find their own way to a fulfilling career.

We talked about the skills and activities that I have found most useful and important in the building of my business.  The discussion ranged from understanding databases and how to use them effectively to remaining active in local and international professional organizations.

What I enjoyed the most was relating to the students the value of the network.  I was asked by one of the professors if I found the geographic diversity within my past job experience to be important in terms of the networking.  And I must say, that having a broad geographic network is just as important as my local ones.  And I do have multiple networks.

It was interesting to hear the students relay their own interest in consulting, special libraries and special skills.  There was even one of those invaluable librarians who was interested in cataloging.  The special skills ranged from information technology to knowledge management.

It is not very often that I take the time to reflect on my opportunities and accomplishments and today’s discussion provided me with that rare happening.  I must say the last two years have been the most challenging and rewarding times of my professional life.  I enjoy the variety of work that I do as an information consultant.

When my clients and potential clients and I talk about what their goals are, I immediately begin seeking the right solution for their needs.  Information needs for companies present a myriad of challenges.  Understanding the company’s culture, resources and finding a way to meet their information goals within that context makes for a satisfied customer.  The ultimate solution requires a full understanding of the possibilities and the challenges.

Constance Ard

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Solutions: The Answer Maven Way

September 15, 2010

So today, the news is hot off the press release that Answer Maven has expanded our services and formalized a partnership that we know will bring you solutions.  With that expansion and partnership comes a new website.  I’m excited to make this announcement because I’m well past  (and I’m looking for wood to knock on right now) the 18 month window in which most new business ventures fail.

Now failure isn’t all bad but I much prefer to succeed.  Miller Montague did the design and content uploads for the new website and as he worked through everything my faith in having Miller as a consulting partner for Answer Maven was newly affirmed.  I have little patience and less talent for that type of project.  I can give you content but don’t ask me to make it look good.

The good news is, that with Miller on board, Answer Maven can delve into the hot topic of e-discovery with someone who has a strong technical knowledge as well as the content management experience.  Miller and I have similar backgrounds:

  • Former law firm librarians
  • Current Independent Information Consultants
  • Content Management & Project Management Experience

We knew that our networks, our interests and our experiences would be good complements to each other and that we would be able to offer our clients excellent service either as a team or individually.

Miller has more passion for some of the law firm services than I do and I think he knows my passion is truly with the Project Management side of the business.  Together or separately our solutions will serve information companies well.  We are currently working on a proposal for some CLE programs for the Fayette County Bar.  Once that proposal is finalized and, we hope, approved, announcements will be made here on the blog and on our new site.  We both enjoy research and we love finding ways for our clients to apply social media into their own business strategy.

We are currently working up a menu of training sessions that might be of interest to law firms.  As always, our services are truly designed to fit our customer’s needs and desires.  If you need assistance with any information related business problem, we are happy to help you find the right solution.

Constance Ard, Owner Answer Maven

Author’s Note:  My blog is a marketing venue and while most of the time I prefer to share usable information that will allow you to apply my thoughts and solutions to your problems I do step out boldly on occasion to sell my consulting services.  Now is one of those bold times.

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It’s 10PM do you know where your data is?

September 10, 2010

Have you ever thought about all the places that your company resides? Have you ever sat down and draw out a diagram (I know I talked about drawing process last time but like visuals aids)? Even if you don’t want to draw a diagram your mind can start to race when you begin thinking about all the places that your data lives.

Of course, you have data on your shared network drives, company computers and email stores. But now think about all the other places that you corporate data could be. Think about flash drives, portable hard drives and company laptops (or personal laptops). Do your employees email files or documents to their personal email accounts or do they remotely access the company network? Now start thinking about how many Blackberries, I-Phones and PDAs are in your environment? All these could house important company data but you may not even realize who has access to what or in what format.

Now think about what you would do if you were asked to produce data from all these different devices and locations. It may be difficult if you are not sure who has what and where at any given time. If your company does not have policies in place to address concerns such as these you may want think about adding some. Then you will know where your data is in the dark of the night and can move on to a different business problem.

Miller Montague

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Solving Into the Future – Answers Beyond the Question

September 7, 2010

One of the things I enjoy most about being the Answer Maven is the diversity of work I am involved in.  After a coffee date with a friend of mine on Labor Day that diversity really hit home.  She and I were discussing the fact that we are both willing to risk the unknown in order to be satisfied with our daily work and intellectual engagement.

As Miller and I work towards the launch of an official website – stay tuned for details – one of the things I want to write about is defined as a “Business Case” but to me the work I do with my clients is more than a textbook type of business problem and solution.  Engaging in the information problems my clients face to reach their objectives means I think beyond the immediate problem.

For instance, my work as the Social Media Manager for Workshop means that as I find information suitable for their growth and development I share it.  My work on a project that was targeted for a custom taxonomy grew into content management protocols that will result in the increased ability to find information.

I am never satisfied with putting my clients needs in a single box.  If something I can do or share with them or suggest that they do will help them develop into a better business or grow or solve an additional problem, I want to give them the opportunity to apply that suggestion.

My success is only as successful as my client.  Being an information professional allows me a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility in serving my clients because while not all business challenges are about information, all business uses information.

Taking a taxonomy project and transforming it into an overall information workflow project will benefit the company as they apply protocols to archive data, use the taxonomy and think about how they create information in their own collaborative environment.  Knowing that I helped the client see beyond the immediate problem and found a way to solve into the future is a very satisfying and diverse part of my work.

I can’t wait for the next challenge to come along.

Constance Ard

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