The Maryland Society of Accountants is an organization whose primary objective is to “protect the rights of all accountants both licensed and unlicensed to practice their profession within the State of Maryland”. In addition to protecting rights and supporting the accounting community, the society provides extensive opportunities for accountants and other financial services professionals to network with their colleagues and continue their education.

Teltek has a great relationship with the MSA, who is also a customer of ours. We are thrilled to support their cause as well as their IP Office phone system!

Here at Teltek, we learn a lot from listening to our customers. Our IT division grew out of a request from many of our customers who wanted to have one company supporting all of their technology. We also learn a great deal from listening to our certified expert technicians. After all, they are in the telecom and technology trenches every day, so when they have something to say, we are all ears!

A common observation by our techs is the cabling confusion that can result from allowing an electrician to run your voice and data cabling. As you may know, cabling is one of our specialties and it’s a service we are proud to offer and implement. Electricians are skilled at high voltage wiring and troubleshooting, but they may not be experienced with the low voltage variety of wiring and that can lead to problems down the road. We tend to shy away from high voltage tasks. For an example of this, check out this blog from my Girl on Wire column.

At first it may seem like a good idea to hire an electrician to run your voice and data network since their bid may come in lower, but if that cabling is run incorrectly, not terminated or improperly labeled to distinguish voice from data, there will be a tangled mess to straighten out when the telecom company arrives on the scene.

If the wiring is not labeled correctly, a telecom technician will need to test every line to determine which ones are voice and which are data and this will cost you more money in the time spent identifying lines. Another cause for concern is a cabling job that is sloppy or unsafe. Bundling and rerouting wire so it looks presentable and stays out of high traffic areas is another one of our specialties, but it will add labor hours to your bill if the cabling needs to be cleaned up.

Teltek frequently works with electricians and has great respect for their skills, but please leave the low-voltage cabling to us. In the end, it will save you time, money and frustration and we will ensure that the work meets industry standards for efficiency and safety. Teltek adheres to American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) standards.

For a free site survey and cabling estimate, call Teltek today!

Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Our dedicated team of experts enables Teltek to provide, install and repair business phone systems & computer networks, run voice and data cabling and coordinate local, long-distance, and internet service providers all under the watchful eye of our dedicated project managers.

Last month, one of Bob’s Army friends from basic training and an assignment in Germany while they were both enlisted, found Bob by conducting a search online. He came across this blog and left the following response, “Bob, I am assuming you are the Bob Nicoli that was stationed in Germany with the 1st of the 509th Airborne? If so, it would be nice to catch up & talk about our families as well as talk about old times” Dick

After 45 years, these two were able to connect via the power of internet communication! Teltek values communication in all forms, so be sure to check us out on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter in addition to following our blogs on this site as well as our IT web site.

Have you found a long lost love or old friend by searching online? Share your story with us!

What lengths would you go to in order to promote your business? Would you dress up like one of the Fruit of the Loom gang or stand on a street corner twirling a giant arrow? Maybe you’d be willing to shoot a TV spot singing a catchy jingle or pretend you’re talking on a toy phone The more outrageous you are willing to get, the more memorable the effect will be. Memorable is not always the best route to take though; if your idea is offensive or too ridiculous, you could attract the wrong kind of attention and be seen as a laughingstock instead of being considered a groundbreaking visionary.

At Teltek, we believe in showing different sides of our company and capabilities. We utilize our telecom and IT websites to highlight our products and services through blogging, testimonials and detailed product information. Our employees are one of our strongest assets. In addition to having our techs in the field and our sales people out at appointments, we also attend, sponsor and occasionally host social events and seminars. This gives us the opportunity to promote ourselves and get to know our business neighbors and what their needs are.

Another way to keep your company front of mind is by featuring your company logo on apparel, giveaways and leave behinds. In our arsenal of marketing pieces we have custom designed folders and letter openers with our logo on it. Out and about, we proudly display the Teltek name by wearing it on t-shirts, fleece jackets and baseball caps.

We want to be known for our knowledge, skills, customer service and of course, our Margarita Party! Our annual salute to the tequila-based beverage is how we show off our fun-loving side and give back to the networking community we get so much from. Check back here in a few weeks for details on Teltek’s 2012 Margarita Party!

If you need help promoting your business, I can personally recommend experts in web design, signage and promotional products, so please drop my a line if I can help. You can return the favor by sharing your favorite tips for self promotion! Does anyone have a margarita costume I can borrow?

There are far too many to mention in one blog, so I’ll highlight some of the fetes I have been to personally so you get the Girl On Wire perspective. ALL of these are free to attend and I included the dates they occur in chronological order so you can mark your calendar now for the 2012 Baltimore festival season

Flowermart: (May 4-5) Held in the immediate area that surrounds the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon, this colorful event is primarily for admiring and purchasing a lovely assortment of blossoms and blooms from 130+ vendors. In addition to flowers, you will also find garden accessories and unique gifts. The entertainment at Flowermart consists of a few bands, magicians, a hypnotist and dancers. There’s also a hat contest, car show and a pet parade. Food vendors offer a variety of concessions, including lemon peppermint sticks - a lemon with a candy cane stuck in it (I don’t understand the appeal, but I guess I should try it some time). Conveniently held just before Mother’s Day, you can find Mom that special something. Last year I bought my Mom a 6 foot high silk sunflower and blew my siblings’ gifts out of the water. Score one for the firstborn!

Sowebo Arts & Music Fest: (May 27) Break out your flowy dresses and dreadlocks for this bohemian music-lovers mecca! Sowebo stands for South West Baltimore and the fun can be found in the Hollins Market area on the 1100 and 1000 blocks of Hollins Street. There are 4 stages with jam packed schedules for local bands. There is also a food court and art and craft vendors. What’s great about Sowebo is the wide variety and abundance of music. If you don’t like the sound of a band, just amble over to another stage and you will eventually find one that rings your bell.  

Honfest: (June 9-10) Welcome to Bawlmer Hon! This hilarious street fair takes over the small, eclectic neighborhood of Hampden, which is already a fun place filled with lovely boutiques and trendy restaraunts. The madness occurs on 4 blocks of 36th Street, otherwise know as The Avenue and assembles a variety of fair food, bands and crafts. The Miss Hon pageant allows you to see the very best Hons Hampden has to offer as they strut across the stage in cat eye glasses, beehive hairdos and leopard print. What’s really unique about Honfest is that anyone can be a Hon. You can show up in shorts and a t-shirt, get your hair “done” right there at the festival, add a hot pink feather boa and you’ll blend right in! If you don’t want to dress the part, you will still be entertained by one of the best people-watching opportunities of the whole year.

Artscape: (July 20-22) This is the largest free-of-charge art show on the East coast and draws in over 150 artists and craftsmen and 350,000 attendees each year. My nickname for this event is “Sweatfest” because it always seems to occur on the hottest days in July, but that’s a good reason to buy one of those giant lemonades and it’s still a great time. The festival takes place over 12 city blocks on Mt. Royal Avenue and Charles Street. The Artscape website claims it will have 122 spot-a-pots, so you can have as much lemonade as you want! I can honestly say that I’ve never left Artscape empty handed, the variety of talented artists is unbelievable and you’ll see everything from jewelry to pottery to handmade clothing. There’s also entertainment in the form of concerts, dancers and theatrical performances.

So there is your Spring/Summer festival rundown. I’ll cover Fall festivities in a few months. Until then, go get your festival on!

The purpose of this lunch and learn is to educate readers on the best and most efficient ways to utilize the information contained in the Baltimore Business Journal. At times it can be challenging to keep up with a weekly publication, but Tim will show you which areas of the paper to focus on and how a 10 minute review can provide you with important business leads and keep you current with what’s new in the local business scene.

What will you gain from attending this event?

*Valuable tips that will save you time and provide great insight

*Assistance with navigating the editorial process

*Ideas for making your company more visible

*An opportunity to win a $25 Best Buy gift card

*Lunch!

These sessions are regularly conducted at the BBJ’s office on Pratt Street downtown, but Teltek and the ETC facilitated an opportunity to bring a Smart Reader seminar in house. All companies, even those outside of the ETC are welcome to attend, but space is limited, so sign up today!

Although the event is free, registration is required and can be completed at this link, http://etcsmartreader.eventbrite.com/. We hope to see you there!

Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Spring is also a time of renewal and a great opportunity to clear out the junk and freshen things up. Many of us will commence Spring Cleaning of some kind; powerwashing the front of the house, dusting off the patio furniture, donating unwanted items or setting up the grill for barbecue season.

Tis also the season for getting your telecommunications and IT in shape! Have you lost or added employees? If so, you may need to update the extensions on your auto attendant or expand your phone system to allow for more users and voice mail boxes. More computer users could mean extra licenses are needed and new email accounts should be set up.

Are there upcoming events or new products you need your customer to hear about? Re-record your Music/Advertising on Hold to keep people in the know about what’s new at your company.

Does your phone closet or server room look like this?

If so, you could use a cable clean up! Our certified technicians are here to help with your spring cleaning, whatever that means to you. They may not have mops and brooms, but they know how to rock a tool belt and get your IT and telephone systems sparkling and back to that new phone smell!

So how do you go about tackling a long Spring Cleaning To Do List like this? It’s an easy, two step process:

1. Call Teltek

2. RELAX, Sit back and have a glass of lemonade (or a margarita)   

Leave the heavy lifting to Teltek, because that’s why we’re here!

Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Our dedicated team of experts enables Teltek to provide, install and repair business phone systems & computer networks, run voice and data cabling and coordinate local, long-distance, and internet service providers all under the watchful eye of our dedicated project managers.

Teltek keeps their customers for a lifetime by delivering trusted innovation with a memorable experiance each and every time, guaranteed! We look forward to serving you.

Ann Lansinger

Although I have known Ann only a short while,  I have great respect and admiration for her communication, strategic planning and leadership skills. She was the interview subject for my column a few months ago and you can read that here. The time I spent with her during our lunch interview was very pleasant and I greatly enjoyed our chat. I was touched by her wish to see more women enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Education, Math) programs. Ann is a fantastic role model for young women to aspire to.

As a woman employed in the technology realm, I am in awe of professionals like Ann who have a passion for innovation and the drive to help others achieve the success they now know.  A successful director of a facility like the ETC needs to have a burning desire to mentor start up companies who have amazing ideas and need someone to believe in them and provide some guidance. Ann was that type of leader.

Ann led the team that created the ETC in 1999 and at that point she already had over 10 years experience in the incubation industry. She helped launch UMBC’s first business incubator in the late 80s and ran it for several years. She was the Founding President of the Maryland Business Incubation Association from 2000-2003 and worked with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and several universities in and around Baltimore, designing and incorporating industry best practices. Her reach extended well past the Baltimore area as she also served on the Board of the National Business Incubation Association. 

The ETC and the businesses it fostered benefitted greatly while Ann was at the helm. In 1999, the center housed 4 companies. Today it has 85 in two incubator facilities. More than 1800 jobs can be attributed to the ETC and its companies and the ETC was named “Innovator of the Year” in 2011. The Executive Director torch has been passed to Deborah Tillett, who shows much promise already and exhibits many of the attibutes of her predecessor.

Good luck Ann!  I will miss you.

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland is located down the street from our Baltimore, MD office. The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. Territories.

Since 1968, WVPT has been the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia’s public television station. WVPT is on the air 24/7 with non-commercial, quality programming. The PBS icon series such as NOVA, MASTERPIECE, THE NEWSHOUR and FRONTLINE  are just a few examples of the shows they broadcast.

Teltek believes in supporting local charities as well as communication mediums in all forms and is happy to assist Meals on Wheels and WVPT in their fund raising efforts!

For more information on headsets and other types of accessories for your phone system, call Teltek today!

Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Our dedicated team of experts enables Teltek to provide, install and repair business phone systems & computer networks, run voice and data cabling and coordinate local, long-distance, and internet service providers.

American Medical Writers Association’s (AMWA) Shari R. praised Teltek’s Technician, Dave on a job well done during the installation of AMWA’s new NEC SL1100 Business Phone System. AMWA is a Rockville Maryland-Based client of Teltek’s.

More than 20% of Teltek’s client base is comprised of nonprofits and associations in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia. Pleased with the prior support she received on an Avaya Partner Phone System at her previous employer, Shari recommended that AMWA consider Teltek for their phone system upgrade.

While she admits that transitioning from an Avaya Partner system to ESI telephones and now to an NEC SL1100 has not been an easy process, she is delighted with the new system and features available. One of AMWA’s biggest frustrations prior to the upgrade was the limitation of not being able to direct callers to their intended destination efficiently without disturbing everyone in their office. NEC’s sophisticated automated attendant and PRI with DID functionality, along with a little custom programming on Teltek’s part has left those prior obstructions a distant memory.

Shari states, “We were in great hands – Dave is a fantastic partner.  He is a major reason I felt confident about Teltek handling this [phone system] transition.  He is a quick thinker, providing suggestions and solutions as issues arose.  He always listens to the needs of the client, and doesn’t just set up a standard system.  He is also easy to work with, making the experience a pleasant one, even when there are hiccups.”

Click here to see more testimonials on Teltek’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer service with a memorable experience.

Shari, we thank you for sharing your experience and sincerely appreciate your continued patronage of Teltek!

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