Five Small Business Mistakes Regarding Information Technology
What are the common mistakes small businesses make when it comes to their technology needs?
It is deceptively easy to see what the five top small business mistakes in IT are. They are pervasive, recurring and everywhere!
Typical small businesses mistakes include:
1. Not getting value for invested and spent IT dollars. Small businesses are constantly paying for lack of knowledge, hasty decisions, oversights, mistakes, choosing the wrong IT vendors, solutions, technology or even not taking a pro-active approach to technology, security etc. in their business dealings and day-to-day activities. That is, until it is either critical, a crisis erupts, or heaven forbid, it is almost unsalvageable or too late to do anything, data is lost or your business at risk!
2. Another common error, includes spending money and precious IT dollars on the wrong things.
3. Not spending on technology or not investing in upgrades or new equipment at all or when necessary. This might also entail, maybe even not knowing - investing in the wrong technology, or keeping the wrong technology, not investing or holding back to cut costs, in the short term. This leaves most business owners keeping their fingers crossed and leaving it up to random chance pretty much that the business and their IT 'strategy', or plan will work.
4. Waiting for the simple solution that almost never happens - hoping against all hopes that things will work out and the solutions will come - entrusting others, following a somewhat passive-responsive approach.
5. Getting the wrong technology for their needs, budget and/or anticipated growth - lack of planning and pro-active IT approach, lack of knowledge and clear strategy overall and in general.
In addition, constantly fixing problems with no planning for growth, future needs, no roadmap, no direction, just being in the moment, dealing with today's problem or the issue(s) at hand is also commonplace. Not knowing how to look and plan ahead successfully. How many small businesses you know of have a knowledgeable 5 yr IT plan, or even a longer-term view. There is great benefit in getting, staying and keeping you current on IT trends, advancements and market, partnering with an IT provider who shares and makes it a priority can make quite the difference. If there is a lack of or even no planning for now or future needs, it could potentially be because business owners really do not know and needs an IT company to help, that is up to date, stays current, providing the competitive resources, access and competence to afford them peace of mind and ease of process.Wasting precious dollars trying to repair old technology, band-aid, stopgap, break-fix type of haphazard IT approach is very common in small businesses and start-ups. A young entrepreneurial company sets out and starts as a small business company. They initially use their home PC, or buy older PC's, to save money, in a slap-dash peer-to-peer network of sorts, spending most of their time, fixing it all the time, always claiming they do not know why it keeps breaking. The IT strategy in this camp is always dealing with problems and cost. They will keep on fixing and paying for it. Calls and billings are typically charged at 2-4 hrs, per individual issue, an expensive non-solution, reactionary, responsive IT strategy, that does not really make sense in the long term.
Another strategy includes using friends, family or close relatives, any type of I know so and so… referrals, to handle their IT needs, issues, troubleshooting, repair and/or purchases.
Hiring any IT person or company, without checking references or background, exposes your business to risk. In most cases these individuals have no insurance, are not qualified necessarily, or have no real right or permission (from you the owner), to touch the PC, but they do it anyway, maybe even with the knowledge of a fellow co-owner or employee's blessing. We could also end up giving permission to someone we do not even know is capable of doing the job and could very well be doing, more damage in the process, even if they feel and think that they are helping. At times, some might even know the IT-lingo enough, to talk you into or rope you into doing something that is not the right thing to do or the best for you business, but because he/she said so, I might just as well… is very bad logic and strategy to follow for your IT solutions and business. Do not just accept that all people or companies are who they say they are, check references and ask for referrals.
IT companies also just have their one or certain way of doing things, and oblivious in some cases as to all the other problems they are actually causing. Business owners then find themselves, struggling with both vendor and technology - feeling as if both are working against them, inefficiently fighting with it everyday.
Maintained managed technology services give clients peace of mind, even though most feel that they cannot afford it or that it is not budgeted for. They have to see how it will save them money and impact their business. Business owners need to realize and get a handle on what they are currently spending on their present strategy - it comes as quite a surprise if you sit down and figure it out for yourself.
Rather than resolving the problem, they stay in this reactive state or mode, fixing the problem, one problem at a time. Other resistors might include being somewhat careful about what it would mean setting it up differently. Most of us do not like change and want nothing to do with it. Some of us do not even know what exactly it is that we need, some succumb to the wrong advice from a friend of a friend - not getting to the right people, IT resources that could actually help you. We find ourselves compromising and settling for sub-par, band-aided, solutions, or not planning for the short, med and longer term IT needs of our businesses. We are left getting the wrong advice and services from the wrong sources with all of these factors contributing to the chaotic spend and reactionary trends, that are so pervasive in small business IT management strategies today.
