Business Consulting made easier with iChat and Screenshare

Over the last months I have enjoyed meeting my clients in coffee shops, at my home office and at their offices and that involves travel on at least 1 person's part. However, my clients that have a Mac (yes, I am one of those people) don't necessarily have to travel to me, or me to them to get work done, move through a tricky spreadsheet or ask a question.

We have iChat... (dramatic pause) ...and with that comes screen share.

Let me break it down for ya...

From my iMac I can chat either by instant message (IM), voice or video. If my client is struggling with a business plan, spreadsheet or maybe I just want to show them some logo designs we can "screen share". I send them a screen share request, that they accept and I can see their screen (or they can see mine). I can talk to them (over audio) and at the same time take control of their computer showing them tricks, tips or guiding them through the answer to their question. They can see me working! So as I am discussing how a balance sheet works with a cash flow statement and income statement, they can watch me click, scroll and maneuver through the work.

Remember, all of these things are done by request - like a phone call, they have to answer for us to be connected. I can't just open up their computer at any time (its not a remote desktop situation or a VPN).

Needless to say, it is very convenient. I have used this to help train people on new software, edited business plans, built spreadsheet formulas, presented logo designs, changed settings on computers and just had regular old video conferences. Its kind of nice to see who you're talkin too sometimes. Never mind my PJs!

If you are on a PC... sigh... fork over the dough for a Mac cause I just don't know. The screen share function on Skype only allows the other party to see the screen, not take control - you still have to describe where to go and what to do to the user. I haven't much used a WIN machine in years now. Actually, not true, I have XP on my Mac for Quickbooks because I don't trust Intuit - best save that for another blog post...