Starting a business is, in many ways, expensive. Not just do you have the startup costs to fork over, but you also need to protect your work from technology failures. It can be difficult, though, to determine what fancy tech features you need right away and what can wait until you grow. This list of safeguards are the bare essentials for any smart business startup.
Backup Your Documents
One rule of thumb is to save everything you write, submit, or sign. Once you develop a system for saving everything electronically, make sure that database is backed up constantly. Consider a membership to a cloud-based storage system, like Dropbox. The program will automatically sync to your computer and back up every single document you create. Once it’s installed, all you’ll need is a computer with Internet to access your entire business.
Secure your Phone and Internet
Nothing is worse than closing one of your first big clients only to lose cell phone reception or get cut out of a video conference. Don’t skimp with a non-secure wireless router or cheap cell phone. Also, consider setting up a free business phone number through Google Voice so that all your business calls and texts are delivered to their own inbox, even if you decide to use your personal cell phone for business. Also, go with a corporate giant like Charter Spectrum or AT&T for your phone and Internet service. Big companies frequently have the best rates in the long-run, and their customer service for business accounts if far superior to their general consumer accounts.
Embrace Shadow IT
When users begin seeking their own technology and solutions to problems they feel the IT department and management hasn’t adequately addressed, Shadow IT results. This can put an organization at risk, as the IT professionals protecting the company’s network and systems may not even know what’s on that network. That said, Shadow IT can boost user productivity and ultimately provide some benefit to an organization, if addressed correctly. A specialist from LANDESK says Shadow IT is here to stay, so organizations should be proactive about implementing solutions that will allow users to solve their own problems, rather than trying to control those solutions.
Have a Backup Printer
Printing is particularly important if you are in a field that generates a lot of paperwork. Locate resources like the closest 24 hour Kinko’s and establish a business account with them. If your printer ever malfunctions before an important deadline, it will be a huge relief to know that you have somewhere to go for immediate printing and copying.
Invest in Technology that Saves Time
Look at the places in your business where you are wasting time. Do you email back and forth incessently to schedule and reschedule meetings? A service like Timetrade or Calendly would eliminate that. Do you spend hours each month waiting in line at the post office? A postage meter in your office would turn those hours into seconds. Focus on where you are spending time, then find a tech solution that frees up the time for you to make more money than the services cost.
Remember, you went into business to do what you love, not to spend your time caught up in admin work. When considering tech issues in your business follow two rules of thumb: invest in what saves time and backup everything.
