Recently I discovered a great program called Dropbox which I want to share with you.  I was looking for something that would let me: Backup my laptop online so that if the worst happened and I lost my house, I didn't loose all my files too because I'd backed up to an external hard drive that was sitting beside my computer. Let me share files with my Academy co-director more efficiently.  We both work from home offices and emailing files back and forth just wasn't efficient and productive for us. That's when I found Dropbox.  It lets me do these two things and more.  Better yet, for 2GB of memory it's free!  You can upgrade to 50GB of storage for $USD99 per year.  That’s currently about $AUD135 per year.  I happily pay that in order to have all my files backed up online instantly and accessible from anywhere.  Being able to share files with different groups of people is a bonus!   What exactly is Dropbox? Dropbox is the easiest way to share and store your files online.   Works like you do No complicated interface to learn. Dropbox runs in the background on your desktop.   Worry-free syncing Sync your files automatically to your computers and the web.   It's everywhere you are Sign in and access your files from any browser or mobile device.   Basically, you install the Dropbox program on any computer from which you want to share files.  Say you have a computer at home, and another one at the office, and you want to be able to access the same files from both, and be sure you’re accessing the most up to date version.  Dropbox will let you do that.  Or, if you work with colleagues but you all sit in different offices and need to access the same files, Dropbox can let you do that too.   If you are running your wedding and event planning business part time while also working in a full or part time job, then Dropbox is going to be invaluable to you!  You can access all your files anywere, any time, without having to carry around a memory stick or disk.  You'll never have to remember which files you've updated so that you can copy them back to your hard drive ever again!  You'll always have access to your files, they'll always be up to date, and you'll save time and be less st   To take a look at exactly how I use Dropbox, check out our latest Toolbox article in the Resources section of our website.

"Before you try to convince anyone else, be sure you are convinced, and if you cannot convince yourself, drop the subject."

John Henry Patterson

We read A LOT of books.  Business books, motivation books, inspirational books, fun books.  So, we thought we'd put together a list of the ones that we recommend you read.  It doesn't matter if you are an independent planner with your own business or in house at a venue or event management company, there's something in each of these books for everyone.

Of all the books we read, these are the ones that we think you'll get lots of valuable, realistic, and useful information from.  We've even made it easy for you to get your hands on them, and put our list directly into an Amazon Store.  You can buy from Amazon and support us as we get a small amount of income from each book sold ... or you can order from you local book store.

You'll find our Book Store on our Network Page under Resources.  It's free to everyone and we'll add to it each time we come across a book that we think delivers valuable information for you.

Let us know what your favourite books are and we'll check them out too!

You've heard of the "Nigerian" scam right?  It's where someone using very bad english emails you and begs to put millions of dollars in your bank account because they need to get it out of the country, or someone died without an heir.  And for the privilege of handing over you bank account details you get to keep a large part of those millions of dollars.

Well, now there's a scam that's hitting Wedding & Event Planners.  Thanks to our member Jeannie from Stradbroke Weddings for suggesting that we remind everyone about it and how not to get caught.

These scams have been around for a while now, but we have noticed an increase in them over the last six months.  Generally, you get an email that goes something like this ....

Hi Dear,

Hope my email reaches you in good faith. I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange dinner for the guest who will be attending the wedding ceremony. Seven will arrive few days before the wedding day.

The wedding is expected to hold on the 27th of June, 2009 and 50-65 guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, I will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card.

All checks and balances will be made with you on or before the 26th of June, 2009 which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a Videography,Music Entertainment, Photography,Officiant/Priest & Church,cake,flowers and the venue.If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.

Best Regards,
Dr Tom Pritchard.

They generally have a few things in common:

• They are usually coming from overseas to get married in Australia
• The wedding date is close
• The English is bad
• The punctuation is bad
• They want to pay a deposit to you by credit card
• They want you to arrange several suppliers for the wedding 

The above email is an actual email received by Jeannie.  She knew immediately that it was scam, but decided to take the enquiry further to find out exactly what the scam is.  She says, "Turns out, they are from overseas and ask you to take a deposit of say, $15,000 from a credit card to begin the plans for their wedding.  Then they ask you to pay some of the money to one of their agents whom they tell you they can't pay directly.  Obviously, the card number they give you is stolen and once the bank catches up with you, you've already deposited the money into their ?agent's account so you've lost it and you have to pay the bank back."

That doesn't mean an overseas enquiry isn't a genuine one.  I had an enquiry from Macau recently that was a much shorter message than this, but didn't quite read right.  So, I sent back some basic information and so far, it seem to be a genuine enquiry with the couple currently scheduled in for a Skype call with me next week to discuss their preferred package.

We know of at least two event planning companies that have been caught by this scam.  Don't be one of them! 

You can usually spot a scam enquiry like this a mile away, but if you aren't sure, protect yourself.  Send back some basic information and ask to schedule a phone or Skype call to discuss their requirements further.  If you get to the point where they say they want to proceed, let them know that you will collect only your payment and while you will source, negotiate contracts with and manage all other suppliers, payments must be made directly by them.  Get them to sign a contract with you, and if they want to pay by credit card, check if it's stolen before you process the payment.

Do you have any experiences with these types of scams?  Let us know by leaving a comment.

Have you discovered Blog's yet?  Have you got a list of favourite business, lifestyle, wedding, personal blogs and more?  Do you wish there was an easy way to keep up to date with all your favourite blogs without having to go directly to each one?  Well, guess what ... there is!

There are a number of programs out there called RSS [insert full name] which allow you to group your blogs together and read them all in one place, you can even do it in Outlook.  But our favourite way to do this is Google Reader.  It's free, it's easy to use, and it's accessible from any computer.

Click here to go to the Google Reader home page and get started.  Or click here to read our Toolbox how to article.

Today we're launching a new Blog series called Wednesday Wisdom.  For some of you, Wednesday is the middle of the week and the weekend seems a long way away, for other's it's the beginning of the week after a hectic weekend of weddings and events and a couple of days of recovery, and for still others, it's just another day in their life where work merges, melds and blends in with family, friends and all the other commitments they have.

We're launching our new Wednesday Wisdom to give you a little lift, make your spirit soar or give you something to think about.  We'll be featuring a quote each week that will be inspirational or motivational on a diverse range of topics from business to weddings to life in general.  Let us know if something touches you by leaving a comment.

Our very first Wednesday Wisom reminds us that though we may look polished, professional, pretty, stylish or sometimes a little frazzled on the outside, on the inside we all have the determination and ability to make our mark on the world and in our industry.

"Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness,heart, talent, guts. That's what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice."

Bethany Hamilton - Surfer