Technology

Most Small Business owners are, by nature and necessity, hands-on individuals that are usually involved with every aspect of their business. Of course, they need to make the product and services decisions, but they also get involved with everything from the type of coffee maker, what vendors to use, and the tax returns. Studies show that most Small Business Owners have difficulty delegating tasks to employees, contractors or consultants.

If too much of your day is spent on activities that are not core to your business, it's a good time to ask yourself whether Consulting Services are a good fit.

If you're in the start-up phase which requires you to be a jack-of-all-trades, it's a good time to consider Consulting Services to start out on the right foot with systems and processes that will make you and your business more efficient.

Most Small Business Owners consider themselves somewhere between technically challenged to technically illiterate and don't fully understand the above bullets. We are ALL technically challenged at some level, but none of us need to be technically illiterate. With the right explanations, all technology can be translated into the simple pros/cons, benefits/risks, that must be considered by you the business owner in order to make the business decision only they can make, not an employee or consultant. If a device or software application or anything else technology related can’t be explained coherently in terms of its benefit or necessity to your business, then you don’t need it.

At every corporation, there is either a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) or CIO (Chief Information officer) who is the trusted advisor to the CEO. Their job is not just to make the right technology decisions. Their job is to explain technology to the CEO in a way he or she can understand to enable the CEO to participate in the decision making that is key to the business.  You the business owner must also have a basic understanding of the proposed technology decisions, recommendations, and new ideas for how it can positively impact your bottom line.

Often a $50/mo solution will meet your small business needs as well as a $500/mo Enterprise solution that solves problems you don't have.  It's easy to understand why you don't need to buy a $900 printer that prints 50 pages/min in full color, if you only print a few black and white  pages at a time, every so often.  If explained well, all your technology decisions are equally straightfoward and enable you to find the right balance between needs and budget.

It is hard to imagine a field that changes more rapidly than Information Technology (IT). Today, it is hard to think of a small business that does not use multiple hardware devices or software applications such as:

• Desktop Computers or Laptops
• Mobile Devices (Tablets & Smartphones)
• WiFi and Networks Websites
• Social Media
• Cloud Services
• POS Systems Point-of-Sale (POS)
• Microsoft Office or Google Docs
• Quickbooks or other Accounting Software
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• Advising on how to best use technology to achieve your business goals, increase productivity, and lower frustrations.
• Assist with Vender Selection and Criterion where appropriate
• Make sure your business data is protected and secure.
• Explain your options for Cloud Services in terms of business benefits and help set up those that you decide are valuable to your business.
• Hardware and Software Application Training

There is nothing worse than technology in search of a problem. In addition to to its ability to enable huge productivity gains, technology has also revolutionized the marketing and sales. It is only fitting that Marketing Consulting be listed on the technology page.

Customer acquisition and retention is the number one challenge for most business, especially those just starting. It is essential for creating a viable and growing business. Even if location and foot traffic are a major contributor of new customers.

Business owners are knowledgeable and passionate about their product or service. However, once again, lack of time and/or expertise usually means that isn't developed into an effective marketing strategy.

An effective Marketing Strategy is based on factors such as your:

• Business Goals
• Products or Services
• Target Customers
• Competition

Effective execution of your marketing strategy benefits from help with the design and implementation of campaigns and advice on how to integrate various activities into your strategy such as:

• Social Media
• Email
• Website & Blog Posts
• Digital Advertising
• Radio or Print Ads
• Seminars

The typical small business has relatively simple requirements but when something goes wrong the impact can be significant. Technology needs to be your friend, not a source of frustration.

Let us design an IT environment that meets your needs, set it up, secure your systems and data, and ensure everything is properly maintained so there are no surprises.

• Consulting and Planning
• Remote and OnSite Service
• Computer Maintenance and Management
• BackUp and Disaster Recovery
• Security Solutions
• Cloud Services
• Email
• Networks
• Printer Support
• Training