AboutDonald Byrne Expertise I am comfortable with questions on the topics of: Business Continuity, Risk Management, Business Resiliency, Emergency Management, Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity Auditing (esp: NFPA 1600 and BS 25999), and related subjects.
I would also be comfortable answering questions on Sales Management, Sales Compensation, Marketing, Marketing Management, Business and Market Planning, Channel Sales, Direct Sales, and any area of Executive Management.
I am also comfortable working with entrepreneurs and answering questions about fund raising and company start-up.
I can also offer career advice in the above areas and especially in how to rise to the job of CEO.
Experience I have started 3 successful companies, managed the turn-around of 4 others and currently run a consulting firm (www.NorthRiverSolutions.com) in the area of business continuity and resiliency planning.
I am a contributing editor to www.continuitycompliance.com, as well as other "authority sites" and participate in various Linked'In discussions.
Prior to North River Solutions, I worked as a turn-around CEO, venture capitalist, and investment banker. I also spend 25 years in the computer business working with both large companies and start-ups.
I am a member of the Committee of Experts advising the ANSI National Accreditation Board and the Department of Homeland Security on matters relating to Public Law 110-53: "Implementing the 9/11 Commission Report Act."
I am a member of the Technical Committee of the ASIS team developing the ISO standard for business continuity and resiliency; and the "Chair" of the "Legal, Compliance and Audit" discipline at the International Consortium for Organizational Resiliency (www.theICOR.org).
Organizations theICOR.org (Board Member and Chair of the Legal, Compliance and Audit discipline
St Joseph's Hospital, Board of Directors
Association of Contingency Planners, Chair of the Committee on Voluntary Certification
Former Chair, NH Chapter of NEDRIX
Publications Many
Education/Credentials I hold undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy, and have an MBA with a specialty in International Marketing.
I am a Certified Business Continuity Professional(DRII #8269) and a Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP).
I am a certified Lead Auditor and the Program Manager for Business Continuity Auditing at Perry Johnson Registrars, the 3rd largest company of its kind in the US.
Question Donald, are you aware of any shareware to manage an investor base? We have just over 300 investors, and it's getting a little too unwieldy for Excel.
We'd like to track contact info, investment history, documentation history, plus other customizable fields.
Thanks!
Sarah
Answer Hi Sarah,
Ahh, the world of "cloud computing." Yes, I think I can point you in a direction or two.
I'm not comfortable recommending a specific product but 2 options some to mind.
First, Google "Free CRM." You will find a number of no cost/low cost Customer Relationship Management packages and I expect that at least one of them will meet your needs. Just last week signed up for a $15/month product and so far - I'm very happy. Do take the time to look through the various screens to get a feel for what they offer - each package is different. Of course, your ability to customize will be a bit limited but even the free products will likely do what you want.
The second choice is to buy and install Microsoft Access. At 300 client records, you are well within the capabilities of the product.
Of the two choices, I really prefer the first. No programming and the software resides offsite so you are virtualized.
Do make sure that you keep a local backup of your information. No telling how successful these companies will be and I would hate to have all you data disappear.
On that point, if you again Google "Free Storage" you will see a number of sites that give you anywhere from 5GB to 50GB of free storage. These are a good place to keep your backed up data. So to summarize, use the online systems, back it up locally, and put a copy of your backup online in one of the storage systems. Doing this will make your business more robust than most banks!
Good luck and please let me know if this isn't what you were looking for in a solution.
