By Rieva Lesonsky
We just celebrated our third anniversary of business ownership. There’s not much I miss about being an employee. However several times a week I do yearn for the “good old days” of getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night—and what I now call IT on demand.
When you have regular access to them, IT people can be pretty annoying, constantly telling you what you can and cannot do. But when you’re running your own shop, and something goes awry, you realize how lucky you once were. I’ve had plenty of tech issues as a business owner, including losing files (one of my laptops put itself into early retirement), contracting viruses, and experiencing email problems that can best be described as bizarre. After trying numerous solutions (some worked temporarily, but none have been long reliable in the long term) I truly didn’t know what to do.
A few days after breaking out in tears of frustration at the Geek Squad counter because I couldn’t access my email, I was truly at a loss for a solution. And that’s when I got the offer to participate in this program with Rackspace. My life got immediately better when they sent me Microsoft Office 2010, which contains the new Outlook 2010.
As technology has advanced it has gotten so much less expensive to access and implement. A basic Rackspace plan starts for as little as $10 a month per user. If you’re a non-techy SMB owner like me (and I suspect most of you are), it’s almost like having IT personnel down the hall. I’ll let you know about my future experiences with the program, so you can gain insight into a hosted service solution.
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Did you miss any of my blog posts around the Internet this week? Catch up here.
Want to know what Snoop Dogg can teach you about business? Get the 411 in my post on AOL Small Business.
Spring is here–and it’s time to spring clean your business. Get ready for growth by reading my tips on American Express OPEN Forum.
Discover the secret source of great new employees that’s right under your nose (literally) in my post on Network Solutions’ GrowSmartBusiness blog.
Find out how your company’s use of social media measures up to other small businesses in my post on AT&T’s SmallBusinessInSite.
Want to build a better business? Use even one of the 9 tips I share in my AllBusiness.com column, and you’ll improve your company–fast.
Read about a new program that should help more women become angel investors (and more women entrepreneurs get angel capital) on Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends.
Speaking of women entrepreneurs, American Express OPEN has some fascinating new data about how women business owners are faring. Read all about it in my post on AOL Small Business.
Whether you’re a startup or a longtime business owner, keeping up with your competition’s latest moves is key to success. Find out how in my post on the SCORE Success Blog.
