In a recent interview with WTIA, Jonathan Sposato offers advice to MBA students and small business owners in the Seattle area. I found his response to the last question posed really interesting. It makes me wonder… Is it really best for small business owners to be “generalists” as he calls them, or is it better to focus on one specialty and be the best?
The recent economic downturn has taken a huge toll on small businesses, but things are starting to look up. According to recent news reports, the unemployment rate for July dropped to 9.4 percent, with only half the number of job losses compared to June. So what role do small businesses play in all this?
The success of small businesses drives our economy. Seventy percent of jobs are created by small businesses and over half of workers in the U.S. either own or work for a small business. Nearly half of small business owners believe the economic downturn caused their company to be more efficient, innovative and cultivate stronger teams.
One way that small businesses are increasing efficiency is through outsourcing. A survey conducted by oDesk reported that 41.9 percent of small businesses outsource more during a recession. Revenue for IT outsourcing grew the most in this past year, up by 12 percent in the 4th quarter of 2008.
Hopefully, the worst of this economic crisis is behind us. And on a brighter note, the lessons that small businesses have learned from this recession led to more efficient and effective business practices. How has your business weathered the economic storm? Have you learned any lessons from this?
One of the greatest challenges small businesses face is finding reliable, affordable IT support. Most small businesses don’t have the budget for a full-time IT department, so they’ve had to settle for a resident “IT guy” to solve their IT problems. But is the part-time receptionist or boss’ son really the best person for the job?
An alarming new study shows that one in four small businesses have failing IT. Another 37 percent barely passed inspection with a score of C. This is really disconcerting when you consider that a majority of small businesses rely on IT for their success.
Tech support is evolving. Emerging trends like cloud computing and SaaS provide small business solutions that are inexpensive- sometimes free. The old “break-fix” model of tech support is evolving. Is your small business evolving with it, or is it still stuck in the dark ages?
Scene: Joe S. from Accounting takes his work laptop to a nearby café. His computer automatically picks up a public wireless signal, so he sits in the corner with his cup of coffee and browses the web. He searches for an e-book on the mating habits of Parakeets, and what luck- finds one and downloads it to his PC. Then he decides to check his personal e-mail. There’s one new message. The subject line says “Mothers Day Confirmation Order”. Funny. He doesn’t remember buying his mom a present. He opens the link anyway.
The next day, Joe brings his laptop back to work and tries to power it up. No such luck. That seemingly innocent e-mail was actually a virus- the “Love” bug. The pain didn’t end there, though- oh no. When Joe S. opened the attachment in that e-mail, the virus went straight to work, sending a similar e-mail to everyone in his contact list. Many of those people were co-workers, a few of which used their work computer to open the e-mail. Within hours, the virus spread not only to Joe, but through his work.
It’s time to recognize that techies really are using their own language. Heck, sometimes it seems like they aren’t even human anymore. The following table includes a number of terms often employed by support centers and IT Professionals alike. Familiarize yourself with these terms in order to avoid any embarrassment or to catch your tech support in the act:
Most jobs today require working with a computer, and most computers fail at some point. If you’re tired of calling tech support for every little issue, here are some tips to become your own IT guy. Click below to find common problems and solutions for your IT woes. Continue reading
In today’s tight economy, many consumers and businesses are cutting back. But it’s important to recognize that a strong partnership is worth more than saving a few bucks. This story at The Channel Wire perfectly illustrates how important it is to backup data and find a reliable IT service:
My Laptop Hinge Broke, So Geek Squad Replaced My Hard Drive
Think back to the last time you had to buy a new computer. How much work did you go through, installing new applications and setting up email? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply take your old system, copy it onto a new piece of hardware, and start running your new computer instantly?
Virtualization helps you do just that. Virtual Machine (VM) technologies such as VMWare and Microsoft Hyper-V Server allow you to run several operating systems simultaneously on a single workstation or server. Here are a few of the many benefits to virtualization: Continue reading
Earlier this month, an IT disaster hit some of Seattle’s most successful companies. Fisher Plaza was one of the most advanced communication hubs in the world, but even it wasn’t invincible. The fire and power outage at this data center knocked out several top web sites, including Allrecipes.com and Bing Travel. IT disasters happen all the time. Question is: are you prepared?
Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate site, was one of the first to notice a problem. At 1 a.m., they announced on Twitter that their site was offline. But by 4 a.m., the site was back. How did Redfin, a small business, manage to recover faster than corporate web sites? Redfin CTO Michael Young shares the secret to their success: Continue reading
Most of the time, Microsoft Word behaves relatively well, especially when you are creating simple documents. There are times, however, when it will change your formatting, insert text that isn’t relative, and add weird code.
Here are our top five annoyances while using Microsoft Word and the easy ways to fix them: Continue reading
Small Business Ideas Forum
- a friendly place to share small business ideas & knowledge, ask questions & find help and encourage others that are involved in the small business industry.
Small Business Trends
- an award-winning comprehensive online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them.
