What do you do when multiple people need access to the same document? You could e-mail the file back and forth with CCs going to everyone involved, but that can get very messy very quickly. A suitable alternative could be Google Documents.

It doesn’t offer much when it comes to version control, but it could be a great way to share a “living” document among collaborators. For instance, multiple authors working on the same e-book can work on the same document so that they can check on one another’s progress.

Another possible application is for time-tabling. Creating a spreadsheet in Google Documents, the file can be shared with all employees to see the different schedules. This way, if shifts need to be swapped, it is easy to see who is and is not available. It’s up to the administrator whether employees have only “view” access or if they can edit as well.

The great thing about Google Documents is that it is absolutely free and anyone with a Gmail account already has access. Further still, contributors don’t even need a Google account; they just have to keep the special access link that would be contained within the invitation e-mail message.

There is certainly something to be said about capitalizing on your business opportunities. When there is a chance to make a lot of money, it makes perfect sense that you would think about how you would go about approaching that chance. At the same time, you also have to think about the long-term viability of your company.

That’s why you’d ideally want want a company that is profitable in all seasons. Let’s take the example of a landscaping company that mostly makes its money in the spring and summer. This company would go about mowing lawns, sowing seed, planting flowerbeds, and so forth. That’s fine and it can be quite profitable if done well, but what is this company supposed to do during the winter months?

Not too many people will need their lawns to be mowed in the dead of winter. Not too many people need new flowerbeds to be planted when the ground is covered in a couple feet of snow. However, the skills and expertise that this company brings to the table can still apply to a winter-focused set of services. They can offer to shovel walkways and driveways. They can offer to maintain greenhouses and indoor plants. In the fall, they can rake leaves and offer autumn-themed landscaping options.

Just because the main part of your business is largely focused on a certain time of the year does not mean that you should necessarily forget about the rest of the year. If your company caters to the Christmas crowd, it can also serve the Easter crowd, the Fourth of July crowd, and the Thanksgiving crowd. It’s about being versatile and adaptable.

During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, one of the most popular souvenir items were the red mittens. These mittens weren’t expensive, at just $10 a pair, and they featured a maple leaf on the palm. It helped to provide a sense of national unity for Canadians and it proved to be very lucrative for HBC, the official store for Olympic merchandise.

It seems that they are now prepared to re-release the mittens, but in a new form. The design is different, with the maple leaf wrapping around the side of the mitten rather than in the palm, but the concept is similar. It’s clear that Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is trying to capitalize on the existing popularity of the original mittens, which have since been discontinued. The Olympics may have only been earlier this year, but the nostalgia factor is certainly there.

Looking at your own business, did you have a very popular item that you think is worth re-inventing and re-releasing? Some customers may see this as a clear cash grab and, indeed, it really is. However, you still have to consider when you have opportunities to profit and you have to jump on these kinds of chances when you can. There is certainly something to be said about nostalgia.

From vintage sports jerseys to vintage-inspired cars, they can have huge sellers. What products in your lineup are worth re-launching in some renewed form? Would they be just as profitable as when they were first sold?

You may have heard about the controversy surrounding the Netflix launch event in Toronto. As part of the event to announce the availability of the video streaming service in Canada, Netflix apparently hired a number of actors to mingle among the crowd of those gathered. These hired actors were told to act as if they were regular people, but they were to show an extra level of excitement over the announcement.

This would give the crowd a artificially-inflated level of energy and it would make the launch event seem more exciting than it really was. These actors then spoke with reporters, still under false pretenses, saying how excited they were about the launch of Netflix Canada. This was very disconcerting for several individuals on moral grounds.

While I imagine that such practices aren’t exactly uncommon, they can still reflect very poorly on the companies that do partake in such strategies. There is nothing wrong with hosting a major event to launch a new product, but to hire actors to speak positively of the product may be seen as unethical. If Netflix wanted an increased level of buzz, they could have gone about it a different way.

Say, for instance, if they hosted a contest on Twitter or some other social media platform. This can increase word of mouth interest in the product, because people would be talking about Netflix with the hopes of winning some sort of prize. They could have had similar giveaways at the live event. This would help to make people feel excited and engaged in a more natural way. What are your thoughts? Is the hiring of actors unacceptable for such events?

As I review a number of different products as part of my freelance writing career, I interact with a good number of public relations representatives and other people responsible for getting review units into the hands of media outlets. Some of these PR reps have the right attitude of getting the products out there and being thankful for whatever feedback they can get. Others don’t.

These other reps sometimes start refusing review units to media outlets that have given their products less than stellar reviews. Their rationale is that the reviews are meant to generate publicity for the products and they don’t want the negative press. That might make sense to some, but it’s still not the right mentality. Instead, it is much more valuable to use this feedback and develop a better product.

The reviews are there for a reason. Based on the feedback received from these media outlets, as well as customer reviews on various stores and online opinion communities, you have the ability to make for a better product in the future. You can factor in these criticisms and address them accordingly. When the revised product is released, you can send it back out to the same media outlets and ask them if the improvements address their initial concerns.

Yes, you want as much positive exposure as you can, but that shouldn’t stop you from soliciting real, objective feedback from the experts in the industry. No product is perfect and you have to accept that not everyone is going to automatically give every product of yours a ten out of ten.

You’ve probably heard the saying before. If you can’t beat them, join them. If the rumors were to be believed, it seemed that was the approach that Verizon was trying to take after losing market share to AT&T since the latter has iPhone exclusivity in the United States. However, the strategy has taken an interesting twist in the last year or so.

Instead of adhering to the old saying above, it seems that Verizon may have taken a different one: if you can’t beat them, beat them. Verizon has yet to officially offer an Apple iPhone, but it has definitely carved out a nice little market for itself with the DROID line of smartphones.

Rather than staying down in the dumps and trying to iron out a deal to “join them” by selling an iPhone too, Verizon went ahead and tried to “beat them” by marketing a different line of devices. Yes, AT&T has Android phones too, but Verizon has really pushed the marketing effort in this area and it has paid off in spades. From the Motorola Droid X to the HTC Droid Incredible, these are some impressive devices.

When you find yourself in competition with another business, it might not be the best idea to simply “join them” and sell the same products or offer the same services. In the long run, especially from the perspective of brand differentiation, it is probably better to just “beat them” instead. The challenge is finding the right way to do that.