IT for Small Businesses

Buying Servers and the software, CALs, etc plus the cost of maintaing and supporting them isn't always the most cost effective way of doing business.  Many of the tools you need to run your business can be had for a low monthly subscription which covers the cost of the infrastructure to run the software, the appropriate licensing for the software, and the peace of mind knowing that your software is being run and maintained by a team of subject matter experts.  For example, instead of going out and buying your first server for $5,000 or so, check out Microsoft's BPOS - a suite of hosted Microsoft applications designed to take care of your business' collaboration needs - for just $10 per user per month!  Need to track your customers and your relationship with them?  Check out SugarCRM and Salesforce.com.

Got it?  SaaSify your busines to save money, time and frustration.

Are you on Twitter?  Facebook?  Anything?  If not, why not?  If you can possibly swing it, start engaging with people on Twitter!  If there's one thing I've learned about marketing, it's just a bunch of guessing and trying things.  Get an account established for your brand (preferably your domain name, minus the .com, .net or whatever), and start engaging!
Remember, be yourself.  These people on Twitter don't want to interface with your "brand" - they want to get to know you.  It's back to the olden days of one-to-one marketing, but in a method that's vastly more efficient and public.

Using a your cell number, or worse - your home phone number for business calls?  Do yourself a favor, at least get a Google Voice number and start handing that out.  Want a really professional sounding and flexible phone system, or better yet a FREE toll-free number?  Do like I've done and sign up for Ring Central.  Then, when you add more staff you can just create extensions for them, or upgrade to their Office VoIP Phone system.  I use my RingCentral line for all of my faxing, and incoming phone calls.

Just to give you an example of just how much control you can have over the incoming phone call process, here's a diagram showing mine.  Obviously you can go much more complex as needed, and customize every prompt and sound they hear along the way.

We're at a day in age where pretty much all antivirus works about the same as far as effectiveness goes.  Sure, some have additional features like enhanced firewalls, web protection, etc, but is there really that much difference?  Well, the answer is "Sort of."  Now, below you'll find a chart detailing the price of 10 seat's worth of each antivirus product (McAfee is $0 because that happens to be what my ISP of choice offers for free, substitute whatever's appropriate in your region...)

One of the things I like to do is keep a list of technology recommendations for basic needs to quickly recommend based on the best value "out there."  Please note that these are recommendations for home users, and small to medium business users with no IT Staff.  Not everything works in every situation, but these are some seriously good deals.

I'm currently a bit of an HP Fanboy.  They've got a huge product line, and the vast majority of their products are nothing short of exceptional.  My laptop recommendation for the month is the HP Pavilion DV-4.  It's a fairly powerful machine that should handle all but the most demanding tasks for years to come.  I've been carrying a 14" laptop for just over 3 years now, and I can vouch that it's a great size.

Normally, I wouldn't even recommend a WHS, but this one is priced so low that it's a no-brainer.  640 GB for $250 is dirt cheap for what you're getting, a NAS that runs Windows! (And with a little help, you can run all kinds of server software off this guy)

Looking for a slick desktop computer to handle your everyday business tasks?  Don't want something expensive, but still want it to look sharp?  The Lenovo IdeaCentre C100 is a great net-top with a stunning 18.5" display and energy efficient Atom processor.  Great for email, web browsing, and office work, but this guy's probably going to be underwhelming if you're expecting to edit video or do other resource intensive tasks.

Have you heard the GoDaddy commercials?  The web is your domain?  It's more true than you think.  Do your business cards have an email address that looks something like hotmomma1723@hotmail.com?  Even if it's joetheplumber@gmail.com, you should really consider how much more professional a business email address looks.  Heck, if you're already on "the Google stack" you can keep gMail and be ready to rock and roll with Google Apps for your domain.  Keep the same user interface you're used to with a few extra niceties including @yourdomain.com email addresses and it's all free!  Just buy a domain at your favorite registrar (may I recommend NameCheap?) and sign up for Google Apps Standard Edition.  You can even create a basic website for yourself with the included Google Sites!

This is a great way for small business and individual entrepreneurs to get started online, since it's FREE (aside from the cost of a domain, ~$10 per year), and gets you on the path to looking like a "real" business.  Also, as your company grows you will be able to move up to a more capable mail system like Exchange or Google Apps Premiere much more seamlessly.

I've created this blog as an extension of Geekery for Rent, my company.  This blog will hold exclusively technology tips, tricks, howtos and product recommendations for small businesses.  The content is free to use, share and enjoy, and of course, I hope that for any IT needs you have that require an IT Consultant, I am on your list!

So, why a separate blog?  Easy.  My company blog is for information about my company, and I wanted these tips to be easy to find for anyone, whether or not they are interested in Geekery for Rent.