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Andy Tabisz

Mar 31 2013

Raving Fans

High quality customer service has been the main ingredient in our ability to turn new customers into raving fans. Focusing on what the customer needs, not just today but in preparing for the future, is critical. We take pride in our ability to do three things.

1) Brainstorm creative solutions to existing problems

2) Deliver quality databases which enhance user productivity, and

3) Offer training for users to effectively manage and update databases on their own

We often receive high praises about our solutions. Just look at the recommendations on our Testimonials page. In the last month we received two great reviews that I wanted to share. If you’re not a customer already, we welcome the opportunity to turn you into a Raving Fan in the coming weeks.

The Little Wedding Chapel proudly endorses Andy T… and WorkSmart Database Masters, LLC

The Little Wedding Chapel has been a specialty niche business in the Detroit Metro area for over 25 years. We had an Access database custom written for us in the 90’s for win 98. It worked well for the better part of a decade… but with updates to hardware over the years as well as bugs slowly creeping in… and with lack of “updating our software like we should have”, our “mothership database” was in shambles and crashing almost on a daily basis.

The original programmers were nowhere to be found to help. After some web searching we found “Michigan-based Worksmart Database”, and Andy Tabisz. He was the only one of several we called whom returned our call in a timely fashion. Without knowing anything about our business, he listened to our needs, desires, and future goals for “our vision” of our new software. The new system works like a charm and with Andy’s deep knowledge of what it could “still do”, we are continuing to add features to our system that we never felt possible. Andy is truly a “master of his craft”. Thank heavens we found him!

If you’re considering a database upgrade or a custom installation for a specialty business, we certainly would urge you to get a consultation with Andy. It will be well worth your company’s time!

– Theresa, owner, The Little Wedding Chapel, Taylor, MI

TM, CIO of a Consumer Packaged Goods company

When I came on board as the CIO of a large CPG company, I came to the realization that we had hundreds of Access databases on our servers. Our resident “Access expert” had retired, so if was difficult to determine exactly who was using what databases and which were obsolete. We interviewed a few Access developers, but one company, WorkSmart Database Masters, was miles ahead of the others. Immediately understanding our situation, Andy Tabisz offered ideas and solutions that the others didn’t, which was very refreshing. As soon as we signed the agreement Andy took charge of the process, first documenting what databases were used by who and for what purpose, then archiving old databases to a central location. He then proposed putting an ongoing support system in place to support our 71 databases – including immediate chat support assistance via their website.

We’ve now spent several months working with the WorkSmart team and they have always conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity. And, having a database company with strong project management experience as well as the ability to communicate well to all employees… from users to upper management… has been instrumental to their success. We recently signed an agreement to convert all of our databases to a common platform and we have the peace of mind knowing that this will be accomplished on time and within budget.

If you are seeking an outstanding database consulting firm for your projects, especially if you are managing a large number of Access databases as we have, I would encourage you to seek the assistance of Andy and his team.

We’re very happy to be able to share these with you. I welcome your comments and questions and hope that we can serve you and your organization as we have with the ones listed above.
– Andy Tabisz, President

Written by Andy Tabisz · Categorized: Blog Posts

Jan 01 2012

Time for setting Goals

Do You Hate Setting Goals?

What will your life book like in a year from now? It’s the start of a new year and many of us are back in trenches, dealing with the day-to-day tasks or moving towards the next sale. Unfortunately, the Big Picture can get lost when you are only focused on daily issues. People hate goals… or at least they appear to. According to StatisticBrain.com, only 8% of people that set New Year’s resolutions actually achieve them. So what can we do to make sure we’re part of achievers? After years of trying different goal-setting methods, here’s what works for me.

1) Write down a list of at least 100 bucket list items you’d like to achieve. Some should be achievable sooner than others. Think of all areas in your life… professional ($199k in sales), spiritual (read the New Testament), educational (read EntreLeadership, The Love Dare and Safari Chronicles, or take a class), family (take an Alaskan cruise), physical (drop to 180 pounds), emotional/mental (spend 30 min/week doing relaxation breathing).

2) Put the number 1, 3, 5, or 10 next to each, to mark f it is a 1 year, 3 year, 5 year or 10 year goal. You must have at least 5 goals in each year groups.

3) For all the 1’s, choose ONLY your top 5 goals, do the same for 3’s, 5’s and 10’s.

4) Clarify your goals as SMART, which I define somewhat differently:

a. Specific =Concrete.
Instead of saying Lose Weight, say Drop my weight to 180.

b. Motivational = Passionate; get fired up!
What will you gain if you achieve this goal (live longer, healthier marriage) what could you lose if you don’t accomplish this (unable to go on hikes with my kids).

c. Achievable = Realistic & attainable.
If I’m overweight and rarely workout, it would be inconceivable for me to run the Boston Marathon next month.

d. Relevant = Desirable & applicable to YOU.
If my wife wants be to lose 30 lbs but I don’t, I’m much less likely to achieve it. Yes, I want to make her happy, but if I’m just doing it for her, I won’t put in the effort.

e. Time-bound = Have a specific date to achieve it.
Don’t just say you’ll lose 30 lbs this year. It’s better to say you’ll be at 200 lbs by Mar 1, 2013… 190 by May 1, 2013 and 180 by Jul 1, 2013. If you say you’ll achieve it all by Dec 31, then we have a tendency to procrastinate until November to make it happen.

5) Make yourself accountable. Find a family member or close friend to share your goals with and discuss your goals every 3-4 weeks. Ask them to help keep you motivated and accountable. Read your goals every morning (I put mine in plastic and post it in the shower).

Stay focused & you WILL achieve your goals.
Comments, ideas and questions are welcomed!

Written by Andy Tabisz · Categorized: Blog Posts · Tagged: Setting Goals

Oct 02 2010

More Access Shortcuts

Removing the Fear of Access Shortcuts – Part 2

This is the second part of a two part series on Access shortcuts. This post is focused on those that create and support databases.

Here are my Top Access Shortcuts for Power Access Users & Access Database Developers:

Open the Navigation Pane: This opens the list of objects (tables, forms, queries) from the left (or, the database window if you are in an Access version up to 2003).
F11

Find an Object: With an object selected in the navigation pane, Ctrl-F add a Search bar at the top of a list. This saves a TON of time when you have hundreds of tables + forms + reports, etc.
Ctrl-F

Open in Design View: With an object selected in the navigation pane, Ctrl-Enter opens it in design view instead of right-mouse clicking and then choosing Design View.
Ctrl-Enter

Switch to Form View: If in design or datasheet view, this switches you to Form View.
F5

View Property Sheet: When in design view of a form, this shows the property sheet on the right.
Alt-Enter

Save As: Allows you to save the current object as a different name.
F12

Zoom Box: When you’re working with a lot of text or a big formula, the Zoom box is great for giving you a bigger text box to view it in.
Shift-F2

Refresh Combo Box: If you’ve added data in a table and need to refresh a combobox to see the new data.
F9

Requery the Data in a Subform: This is similar to F9, but it refreshes the data inside of a subform
Shift-F9

Andy Tabisz, MCAS, MOS is owner and lead innovator of WorkSmart Database Masters, LLC, serving clients nationally and internationally.

Written by Andy Tabisz · Categorized: Blog Posts

Mar 01 2010

Removing the Fear of Access Shortcuts

Access Shortcuts for Users

I’m crazy about workflow improvement…. creating databases which helps users get more done in less time. But there are several ways where a user can speed up their own work process.

To some users, using Access 2010 shortcut keys can be as scary as sitting on a live crocodile. If you’re not familiar with shortcut keys, they’re just a quick way to accomplish simple tasks using a combination of keyboard keystrokes.

In Microsoft Word, many people know you can make a word Bold by selecting the word, then holding down the Ctrl key and hit the letter B. Other common shortcuts are Ctrl-I (italics), Ctrl-U (underline) and shortcuts like Ctrl-X (cut), Ctrl-C (copy) and Ctrl-V (paste) as well as Ctrl-F for Find. Shortcuts works in Word, Excel… and Access. But, there are shortcuts specific to Access that users can take advantage of.

Here are my top Access Shortcuts for everyday Access users:

Insert the Current Date
Ctrl-;

Insert the Current Time
Ctrl-:

Insert Previous Value (This is by far my favorite user shortcut. You can insert the value of the same field from the previous record. For instance, let’s say you are entering in a list of people that are all from Grand Rapids, MI. You’ve entered ‘Grand Rapids’ as the city in an entry and are now on a new record. Go to the City field and click Ctrl-‘ (single quote). Grand Rapids is automatically inserted.
Ctrl-‘

Add a New Record (This takes you off of the current record and creates a new record.)
Ctrl-+

Open a Different Database
Ctrl-O

Expand a combobox. This is helpful if you are entering a lot of data into textboxes and hit Tab to get to a combobox (aka dropdown menu). If you just hit F4, it will expand the list so you can select a value.)
F4

Save current record
Shift-Enter

Spelling/Grammar check
F7

Replace (Similar to Ctrl-F (Find), the Ctrl-H (Find and Replace) allows you to update many records at once. For instance, you can search all the records that have the word “Avenue” in the street field and replace it with the word “Ave”.)
Ctrl-H

Andy Tabisz is a Microsoft MVP and owner and lead innovator of WorkSmart Database Masters, LLC, serving clients nationally and internationally.

Written by Andy Tabisz · Categorized: Blog Posts · Tagged: Access shortcuts

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