Last week we asked you to tell us what kind of business advice you would want from Michael Dell, and we got several great responses. We've narrowed the questions down to 10, which now you have a chance to vote on via IdeaStorm. The top five questions - as voted by the IdeaStorm community - will be answered by Michael Dell in a vlog here on the Small Business Blog.

Below are all the questions up for the vote and a link to where you can vote on each question on IdeaStorm. If you are not a member of IdeaStorm, you just need to register with a username and password (which can be found in the top right column of the linked page).

SB Questions for Michael: Suggestion Boxes - At what point in a small business would you advise the owner to allow your employees to have a suggestion box?

SB Questions for Michael: IT without a Department - If your business isn`t large enough for an IT department, what would you suggest for the best way to maintain your business?

SB Questions for Michael: What Hardware Do You Really Need - When setting up a business network with around 200 computers, what types of hardware do you suggest to use?

SB Questions for Michael: Best Way to Buy - When buying systems from Dell for a business, do you suggest they do it online or over the phone?

SB Questions for Michael: IT for Healthcare - When building a new medical office (13,000 sq ft medical office with 13 exam rooms and 30 computer stations using electronic medical records) what would be the most streamline desktop system to use?

SB Questions for Michael: Mobile Business - As a Realtor, I am curious about your advice on laptops vs. PDAs for use when I am in the car all the time.

SB Questions for Michael: Integrated System Sets - As Microsoft and system retailers/builders like Dell develop more integrated system sets (i.e. Exchange 2008 Integrated Messaging, VOIP, SharePoint Servers) when do you think it's appropriate to add these components to a small business environment?

SB Questions for Michael: IT Training - We have found that this level of integration offers a lot of advantages to us but the training resources for methods of deployment are few.  Who offers the best quality training for small business IT employees? 

SB Questions for Michael: Organizing IT - What core resources or methods do you feel should be employed to keep an IT staff organized?  Web based help-desk, in-house IT wiki, etc.  

SB Questions for Michael: Web site Creation - What is the best way and the best software to create my own site? Buy big bucks, or save a little?

You have until the end of this week to vote on the questions. Also, if you have any suggestions for how Dell can better serve the small business community through product, service and operation enhancements -- please share your ideas with us in the Small Business category on IdeaStorm.

There are a lot of innovations out there that help you manage your inbox, but sending a large file is often still difficult. Open-source file archive manager PeaZip creates and extracts files from a number of the most popular archiving formats, including ZIP, RAR, 7Z, and more. It has an attractive, user-friendly interface, customizable right-click options, and a standalone portable version you can add to your thumb drive, PeaZip has a charm worth checking out. PeaZip is free and works on both Windows and Linux.

The most coveted component of the Dell Small Business Excellence Award is the chance to sit down with Michael Dell and Dell leaders for a day of best-practice sharing.

Transport Designs, a Pennsylvania-based custom enclosed trailer and motor home manufacturer, was named the U.S. winner in June, and owner Steve Mattie and three of his staff are already starting to plan for their Day at Dell in Oct. Winners and finalists are being named as we speak in the remaining 11 countries – including winners in Mexico and Canada, and finalists in Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK. All national winners will be announced between now and early Sept. We will keep you updated on their stories.

In her post in June about Transport Designs’ innovative technology use, Washington Post small-business blogger Sharon McLoone closed with a good question - What do you plan to ask Michael Dell? Steve answered, “How did you do it?”

UPDATE 8-15-08: We're extending the deadline to submit questions to Monday, Aug. 18th. Voting on IdeaStorm will begin on Tuesday Aug. 19th. Keep the questions coming!

If you had face-time with Michael Dell to get advice regarding your business, what would you ask him? Submit your question via the comment box below. You have until this Friday, Aug. 15^th Monday, Aug. 18th to get your question in.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 18^th Tuesday, Aug. 19th, you will be able to vote and comment on the top questions on IdeaStorm. I will post here with all the details on voting next Monday. We’ll take the top 5 - as voted on IdeaStorm - and have Michael answer them in a Vlog here on the Small Business Blog on Aug. 28^th.

In July, McAfee released the results of a survey which showed that many of small businesses owners feel that they are unassailable when it comes to hackers. Often they think, "hey, we only have one server" or "we only have 12 computers, we're not big enough for hackers to be interested in". Big Mistake!  Basically, a hacker who installs malicious software on computers through the Internet without the owners’ knowledge is looking for any computer that can be abused for click frauds, sending spam, etc. They don’t care whom the computer belongs to.

According to the report, there’s a gap between what small businesses perceive as security issues and the realities of cyber attacks.  The survey (which polled 500 companies with 1,000 employees or less) found that for every eight firms, only 10 employees were dedicated to managing the businesses' information-technology systems.  While most small- and medium-sized companies believe that they operate under cybercriminals' radar, the study found that one-in-five firms have been attacked. 

Beliefs of SMB's:

• Too small to matter: 44 percent think cybercrime is only an issue for larger organizations and believe it does not affect them
  
  
• Not all in a name: 52 percent of businesses believe that because they are not well-known so cybercriminals will not specifically target them
  
  
• Undervaluing can be costly: Almost half (45 percent) do not think they are a 'valuable target' for cybercriminals
  
  
• Monetary misconceptions: 46 percent do not think they can be a source of profit for cybercriminals

In comparison to larger organizations, attacks can be even more catastrophic as SMBs often don’t have the resources or funds to build contingency plans. If a resource goes down, a business often goes down with it. North America’s SMBs are leaving themselves open to attack due to time constraints. In order to be more proactive about security, it’s a good idea to look into products like McAfee Total Protection for Small Business. This product can benefit SMBs -- as I previously blogged about -- and protect their company from Spam, phishing, viruses, and hackers.  

Almost eight years ago, first-time parents Heather Campbell-Dewar and husband Gary discovered that it wasn’t easy to find a diaper bag that could hold all the extra baby gear they needed to carry.

Finding a solution to their bag dilemma turned into a full-time job, literally. To meet the needs of active parents like them, the couple designed and manufactured a technical, multifunctional and ergonomical diaper bag backpack called Baby Sherpa.

Based in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, this small business has a handful of employees sprinkled across North America. In order to achieve dramatic online growth, the company realized it had to boost its technology capabilities and truly become a global presence in a niche market.

This strategy received the green light when Baby Sherpa won the Dell and RBC Small Business Excellence Award. The award gave them $20,000 in technology and $5,000 in professional services from Dell Canada.

“The award did help us gain exposure and sales,” said Heather Campbell-Dewar, CEO of Baby Sherpa. “The new equipment has helped us with efficiency and productivity.

“In fact, we are introducing two new products into the line-up this year -- Alpha and Urban -- designed for transporting laptops. We hope to use Dell equipment to help launch these new lines in fall 2008,” said Campbell-Dewar.

The Baby Sherpa team spent time with Dell consultants who advised them on what suited a small business ready for the next stage of growth-- a.k.a. the kindergarten years! Some of that advice included a dual-screen desktop solution, a mobile solution (three laptops and a portable printer), digital cameras, an external hard drive and networking capabilities.

Campbell-Dewar now doesn’t miss a moment of her family summer vacations since she can now process customer orders and arrange deliveries from her campsite. “It’s a great testament to how virtual our business has become since implementing the Dell solution,” she says.

Up to 95 per cent of all retail and customer inquiries are online and a sound IT system now allows Baby Sherpa to respond to inquiries, track customer feedback and acquire information within minutes. This makes it possible for the company to efficiently communicate with hundreds of customers on a daily basis. With a stronger online presence, the company is starting to attract celebrity clients, including Tiger Woods and Dan Spitz.

“We value input from parents and our retailers, and the Dell-designed solution enables us to stay connected with our valued customers, all the time,” adds Campbell-Dewar.

Baby Sherpa is also enjoying more prominent media coverage, which can only help sales in the long run. For more details on the small business story, check out the case study on SB360.

Peer networks can be a great way to find trusted business advisors, but it often can be difficult to balance online outreach with running a small business. Often times you can find a similar small business owner, in a different non-competing market, to share best practices on marketing, technology, vendors and suppliers.

A few social networking sites for small businesses include: IncBizNet, JumpUp and Sta.Rtup.Biz.

SOCIAL NETWORK TIPS

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew; pick a couple of sites you can regularly commit to interacting on and building your network. Some of the sites I keep up with via Google Reader are:  Duct Tape Marketing, SmallBizTechnology.com, Small Business Trends, and ChrisBrogan

2. Make your profile as comprehensive as possible. Use descriptive keywords as these sites are picked up by search engines.

3. Include links to your company Web site or blog.

4. Join a forum or group (like our Small Business Forum) and answer questions when possible. People want to interact – if you scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours.

Solve a big un-met customer need, well, and you’ll be successful. That was the big takeaway at Monday’s “Insight Exchange: A Business Owner’s Breakfast Series,” hosted by The Wall Street Journal’s small business editor, Wendy Bounds. The event turned into a dynamic idea session where well established entrepreneurs offered start-ups tips, discussed trends and shared advice on what it takes to turn a good idea into a major business proposition.

Panelists included…

• ·Steve Demos, CEO NextFoods, a multi-million dollar organic food powerhouse (who is often called the Steve Jobs of small business) who helped to build well known brands such as Silk soy milk.
  His Advice: “Differentiate by design and the presentation of your product.”
  
  
• Colin Roche, CEO of Pacific Writing Instruments, turned into a global retail sensation overnight when he beat out brands like Papermate and Bic in getting his ergonomic pen into Wal-Mart. His product can now be found everywhere from Amazon.com to OfficeMax.
  His Advice: “Knock on every door, chase every opportunity…don’t give up.”

• Dan Brown, President, LoggerHead Tools, took the phrase 'a gripping experience' to new levels when he re-invented the basic wrench. His Bionic Wrench has received a number of awards in form and function.
  His advice: “VC funding should be your last resort.”
  

• Anne Zehren, President, Common Sense Media, an award-winning marketer as a media executive at Current TV, Teen People, Glamour and Newsweek, is currently the President of Common Sense Media, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.
  Her advice: “SEO is one place where you’ll get instant business results.”
  
  
• Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and founder of Alltop.com, Truemors.com; blogger; author and speaker. Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way.     
  His advice: “Don’t confuse fundability with viability.”

Monday’s panel is the first of four in the series and will head to Palm Beach, Denver and Austin this fall. For more information visit: https://insightexchange.wsj.com/

Lately there's been a lot of chatter by small business owners and bloggers about how mobility, connectivity, reliability and security can help advance your business. Today, we launched our newest line of business laptops - seven new Latitudes - that are designed to meet a variety of business needs. For all the details (and several vlogs) on the systems, check out Lionel's post on Direct2Dell.

Do you typically get notices saying your e-mail inbox is full? How about failed delivery attempts when you’re on deadline to send a customer a large presentation? If these sound familiar, here are a few tips to help speed things up and avoid frustration.

1. Turn off PowerPoint’s fast saves to remove excess data from your presentation files each time you save. Go to Tools, click Options, click the Save tab, and then clear the Allow fast saves check box. Then save your presentation again under a new name.

2. Word files increase in size with every tracked change. To reduce file size and see changes clearly, between rounds of revisions click on the Accept Change toolbar button and select Accept all Changes in Document. Then save the document as a new version.

3. End the need for sending large attachments. Link to file or folder stored centrally on your server instead. If you need to send and receive large attachments, consider using YouSendIt, which enables users to send, receive and track files, regardless of size, without clogging inboxes.

Yesterday we announced that Dell has reached its goal to be carbon neutral ahead of schedule and blogged about several ways to make your business greener.

But, for businesses with only a few PCs, a printer and maybe a server, is it possible to save that much money? If so, does it really matter? According to a study by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly seeing the value of going green. Vittesh Kalambi, AMI's New York-based Research Analyst, suggests that SMBs are paying more attention to Green IT since it can reduce overall running costs, total cost of ownership and increase savings. Sustainability is now a part of the SMB bottom-line.

In many cases, businesses that use Green PCs will see a modest savings per system - which can add up depending on the number of PCs you own. Switching to a system like the Vostro 410 desktop saves customers up to 47 percent in annual energy costs when EnergySmart setting are enabled.

But, the real motivation to go green is when you think about the collective impact of every small business in the world buying IT with the environment in mind. There were 24 million PCs (desktops, laptops, ultra-portables, x86 servers) shipped to SMBs worldwide in the first quarter of this year alone (IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, June, 2008). If all of these systems were designed and set up to consume less energy, that's millions of tons of C02 avoided and billions of dollars in collective savings. We announced in May that we are designing our laptops and desktops to consume up to 25 percent less energy by 2010, relative to systems offered today. Dell products are already among the industry's most energy efficient.

So whether you have a data center or just a few PCs, Green IT does offer savings for your business and helps us all do our part to save our planet. Environmental responsibility - from product design to a company's operations to reuse and recycling - is also an increasingly important factor for businesses evaluating IT providers. Let us know what you think and how you are implementing sustainable practices in your business.