Without a doubt, IT plays an important part in the success or failure of many small businesses. Many companies use the Internet daily to sell, communicate and even deliver their goods, but the decisions about which service provider to use often aren’t taken by people with technical knowledge or based exclusively on price. Choosing the wrong IT provider for your business broadband or an inadequate web hosting can easily cost your small business money.
Small Business Broadband
While everybody likes cheap broadband, as a business your main concern should be reliability and quality of service. After all, you don’t want to be in the middle of a Skype meeting with an important client when your broadband gives up, do you? Look for online business plan that have uptime guarantees so you can interrupt your contract or get a refund if your line stops working properly. It is often more cost-effective to have a broadband contract with your business, as you’ll be then able to claim the costs back as self-employed expenses.
Before assuming that your home broadband is enough for your business requirements take a broadband speed test and imagine working 8h a day with less than exceptional speed, trying to setup videoconferencing or losing data because your connection is unstable. This is even more important if you plan on hiring more people to work with you, as the more computers connected to the Internet the less bandwidth you’ll have for your business.
IT Equipment
While it may be tempting to reuse your PC and phone instead of buying new IT equipment, consider whether your current setup is ergonomic enough to allow you to work long hours without suffering injury. This is especially important if you don’t use the computer or the phone a lot, as your equipment may not be suitable for business use over long periods of time. For example, having a screen that it’s too old or making long phone calls without a hands-free handset will hurt the muscles on your neck. And don’t disregard the stress and bad feelings caused by a computer that it’s too slow to run the software your business require.
As a self-employed, your health is your main business asset and it’s important to take an active role in preventing health issues caused by inadequate equipment. If you are going to be working at the computer more than an hour or two a day consider getting a chair that has been approved for office use, an ergonomic keyboard and a mouse that fits comfortably on your hand, and avoid using your laptop as your main computer unless you have an extra screen, keyboard and mouse for it.
Mobile Phones
Many small businesses have inadequate mobile phone plans because they just went with the business plans offered by the same provider of their consumer plan. However, telecoms providers are often willing to offer great discounts to businesses if you are just willing to spend time researching what the competition is providing and negotiating prices.
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need a business phone if you already have your personal one, as you may be able to save money by using a PAYG SIM card on your existing phone, and making most of your phone calls from home using your landline.
If you want to manage your IT assets in a cost effective way you’ll need to regularly review your existing contracts and infrastructure. This way you can identify small problems before they become big issues, and act accordingly.
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