IT for Small Businesses

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.