A reader requested that I provide some thoughts directed at sole proprietors who are just getting started in business. This got me wondering: what sort of advice would I give to someone who was in the process of setting up their first business? Here are some tips.

According to an oft-repeated cliché, “May you live in interesting times” constitutes a particularly malevolent curse in the Chinese language. Like it or not, these days are indisputably interesting times in the field of defense acquisitions.

"We will get a huge circus tent , with open sides on both ends to usher in and out the hundreds of guests that will attend. We will put our highest performance vehicles on display so visitors can touch and feel the quality. We will have mounted engines, chassis, cut-a-way models, accessories, performance charts and graphics, racing vehicles, performance tests, resource libraries, driving video games, give-a-ways, and live entertainment as well as high powered presentations and music."

Application of best practices for user interface development helps to ensure that programs are intuitive with a logical flow and strong visual cues, and that these positive attributes are further supported by Help/Instructions accessed through an easily recognizable mechanism.

Proposal Director Mike Schutz writes about SF330 development: how A/E firms can separate themselves from the pack by handing this standard form properly.

In the rush to the Web over the last dozen years, much attention has been given to the website "user experience". To a certain degree, this extensive dialogue has been reapplied to print marketing pieces as graphic designers strive to combine traditional print design with visual elements familiar to web users.

The Building Society Through Business™ brand was developed by Trinity to emphasize its commitment to build society through business action.

Trinity provides consulting services that strengthen society by promoting ethical, profitable business strategies and by encouraging effective, respectful communication.  We hire and train men and women who are “true consultants” that act in the best interests of the client with intelligence, skill, sound judgment, character and determination.

Moreover, Trinity takes an interest in charitable enterprise and contributes both time and money to worthy causes that seek to build society. We support both national and local organizations that focus on strengthening the underpinnings of our society: God, family, and work.

The Building Society Through Business™ (BSTB) brand depicts a flowchart as the root system of a fruit tree. The brand illustrates that well-performed business organically both produces corporate growth and also bears fruit for the good of all members of society.

Trinity Consulting, Inc. (Trinity) released the Building Society Through Business™ brand last Friday. The purpose of the brand is to provide a clear visual representation of Trinity’s commitment to build society through business action.

Three years ago, Trinity collected research from diverse sources about increasing business efficiency through Information Technology. Specifically, we were looking for low-cost solutions that did not require implementation of sophisticated process automation.

Once you have your http proxy in place, another layer of protection is to enable content filtering. Most companies fail to do this because they are afraid their employees will revolt, but content filtering can be used effectively to prevent malicious sites and programs from infecting your network.

Trinity's graphic design process focuses intently on the client's need to communicate its message, mission, and unique benefits to its target audience.

The poor economy has prompted many companies to reevaluate their customer focus. In some cases, companies have had to reassess what customer service means to both themselves and to their customers.

Since Trinity Consulting does a good amount of work in both the for-profit non-profit sectors, we occasionally serve as a sounding board for individuals who are contemplating the career leap from for-profit to non-profit. This is particularly true as Trinity assists our clients with staff recruitment.

During 2010 the greatest potential threat to business network (i.e., computer) infrastructure is a "bot", a type of malware that allows an unauthorized individual to gain complete control over a particular computer or network of systems.

Education is the primary practical step to keep the network secure and business data safe. Employees need to understand that if an unauthorized individual has successfully infiltrated a computer, he or she can cause immense and often irreparable damage to the employee, as well as to the company.

Trinity employs certified systems administrators and application developers with expertise in network security, web technologies, and Information Management (including MS SharePoint deployment, configuration and management).

Trinity supports its B2G communication work with in-house Information Management expertise, ensuring that the client proposal development process is efficient and that client data is protected.

Large general contractors require an IT solution to handle the creation, access, and storage to what I call “jobsite documents”. Jobsite documents are those created by field users, such as daily reports, RFI, drawings, etc. Many companies develop the bad habit of storing these documents on jobsite computers and/or in the Project Manager’s email software data file.

My web developer colleagues could tell you...I sound like a broken record when it comes to complaining about Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer (IE). And in most cases, I’d say such diatribes are well-warranted. But instead of going on a rant in this article, I figured I would take a more rational approach. Let's take a brief look at some of the known downsides of IE and shed light on some alternative browsers.

Understanding how the government solicits business and evaluates proposals is critical for those who want to win contracts. This was discussed in Trinity's recent Proposals Done Right workshop.

Trinity reviews Notable, a web application enabling better collaboration/review on design drafts, including web and other graphic design.

Trinity’s primary role as a consulting firm is to help our clients build context for business decisions. Regardless of the applied Solution Area, Trinity solicits information from the client and then adds its own expertise and insight to create the context in which good business decisions can be made.

Small businesses often wonder at what point, if any, they should seek an outside consultant to provide objective marketing advice or run their marketing functions. There is no clear-cut answer to this question. However, I do offer a few words of advice to small business owners (or managers).

Have you completely saturated your market?

No? Good. Because that means even if your market is shrinking, you still have room for growth.

From the article “See, Transform, Act”: Trinity’s model of business development derives its uniqueness from the way that Trinity expresses and applies the model’s principles. Trinity’s unique expression and application of SEE, TRANSFORM, ACT comes from deeply seated personal and corporate beliefs about humility, communication and business ethics.

Trinity defines the strategic business development process as a repeatable cycle that uncovers ever more accurate information about both the market and your organization with each revolution.

To solidify its standing within the fields of capture strategy and proposal development, Trinity's key related staff members have recently received Shipley certifications.

The goal of my recent Strategic and Business Planning workshop was to draw out the difference in roles between strategic and business plans. A good deal of interest is always placed on the difference in mindset in the two processes.

Within your company, some internal business communication is very important—so important that it is documented to create a permanent record, define positions, build consensus, and bolster support.

In business as in life, the space between the current situation and an improved situation can seem very far. I think it is important for business development consultants and their clients to keep this in mind: not everything needs to happen at once.

The SEE part of “See, Transform, Act” presents a roadmap for growing business through an effective market approach. In the TRANSFORM part of the model, the company readies itself for this approach by applying necessary internal change.

Trinity Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Pablo Gomez, led a roundtable discussion titled "Doing business with the Federal Government". This first in a two-part series focused specifically on best practices in Business Development and Capture Management.

Trinity Proposal Director Ryan Callaghan led a roundtable discussion titled "Doing business with the Federal Government, Part II". This second part of the presentation series begun in December 2008, focused specifically on proposal development and management best practices.

Dr Andrew Abela, Associate Professor at the Department of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America, has commended Trinity on its web development efforts for his new “Extreme Presentation” website.

In less than one year, Trinity has more than doubled its customer base across multiple lines of business including proposal development, web development, and marketing strategy consulting.

A Fortune 1000 federal systems integrator has engaged Trinity's proposal development services to provide support in the acquisition of key task orders on multiple large contract vehicles.

In recent weeks, Trinity has been working on a valuable application for a leading construction contractor ("the contractor") whose primary work comes through federal contracts.

From Part 1: Trinity will be integrating three tools from the suite's toolset to improve the bid solicitation process: the Communications System, the Bidders List, and the Project File Management/Download System.

Trinity Consulting, Inc. (Trinity) recently received an outstanding review from an Executive Director at a Fortune 1000 proposal development client.

In this workshop we focused on presenting some of the online applications/tools that Trinity has used to improve its own business operations, and how they may do the same for our clients.

WSS (Windows SharePoint Services) is a tool that most small businesses don’t realize is out there.