Computer Consultants Secrets ™

Solution providers often find themselves struggling to find the right partnerships that will increase trust among prospects and clients.  Similarly, the best solution providers need to be able to choose and use the technology that will work best to offer complete business solutions to customers and clients.  

Solution providers also must choose the appropriate vendor that has comprehensive partner programs and will allow easy and efficient networking to help grow a business.

On November 7, CMP Channel Assistant News Editor Scott Campbell will conduct a discussion for solution providers at 2 p.m. EST and 11 a.m. PT.  He will talk about innovative, insightful vendors and distributors are helping their solution providers partners to get more of the mid-market computer consulting share.  He will also give tips on what solution providers need to seek out in vendor channel programs.

EMC just received great reviews from the industry leader VAR Business and will also present insight on how to help new partners find relationships that will be most profitable.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Make sure before you do anything with small business insurance, you check with an accountant or lawyer to get specific information.  Still, the following types of small business insurance have worked well for many computer consultants.  

Which Type?

You should get general liability and professional liability small business insurance policies for your services.  The professional liability insurance needs to have an errors and omissions insurance rider.

How Much is It Going to Cost?

Small business insurance will vary in price, but the average is about $3,500.  The cost is usually based on the size of your company in regards to employees, sales volume and your risk potential.  Make sure you look at the categories really carefully with your agent before you get pigeon-holed into a specific type of classification.  Sometimes you might be misclassified as a software developer when you should be in the network installer or reseller category.  

Subcontractors and Small Business Insurance

Each of your subcontractors needs to have small business insurance of both the professional and general liability variety.  It is not your job to cover them.  If you do, you will be potentially offering them benefits like those of a regular employee.

Small Business Insurance:  The Next Step

To get started with small business insurance, talk to your insurance agent.  If you have one that deals with your property and contents insurance needs, ask him/her plenty of questions and also talk to your accountant.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Growing group of VARs, Splinternet Holdings, Inc. recently stated it has a new division – Nutmeg Systems.  This new division will first release a new private branch exchange (PBX) for use with the Mac system.  The IP-based phone system is designed for a Mac Mini for businesses with as many as 10 phone lines.  It will hopefully improve business communications and cut costs for many other professionals looking for high quality products provided by VARs.

President of Splinternet, James Ackery stated that Nutmeg systems helped the Mac business in the mid 1980s, and this partnership with Splinternet and the new products being developed will fit into VARs Nutmeg’s previous product lines.  

The Nutmeg ElevenX System will run on the Intel-based Mac Minis.  With a web browser-based interface, administrators and other VARs can help organize and manage information from PCs or Macs.  The system includes voicemail, auto-attendant, call forwarding and other standard communications features.  

The latest system is still under development, but will support up to 199 phone extensions and will have extended features beyond the ElevenX.  For more information on this story for VARs, view the attached link.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Credit policies need to be set to protect yourself from non-payment.  If you make sure you have clear credit policies from the start you will reduce your risk of nonpayment.  To do this there are a few simple rules you should follow:

Rules For Credit Policies

• With every written credit policy, include two or three sentences that explain credit is granted subject to credit approval.  This way if you grant credit you always leave yourself an out if they refuse to give you a credit application, the credit application is incomplete, or you do a credit check on them and they have horrendous credit.  You MUST be able to refuse credit.
• Insist on getting a deposit check with the credit application. This credit policy allows you to assess ability and willingness to pay by making sure the check does not bounce.
• Your credit policy must ensure you get a complete reference and credit check for each applicant. If you are dealing with brand new businesses that do not have a credit history then your credit policy should maintain that these contracts are done with a credit card.  Don’t take the chance.  
• When establishing your credit policy make sure you do to the reference checks. You’d be amazed at some of the things that come back.   
• Last rule for credit policies; be really conservative with your lines of credit. You can always extend lines of credit, but you can’t cut lines of credit without damaging the relationship.  Start low and end high.    

The Bottom Line on Credit Policies
Credit polices are set for your protection.  Granting credit is a client convenience but ultimately you only want clients that pay you.  When you establish your credit policies make sure you cover off these simple rules. They will ensure you get paid and that you remain in business long enough to grant lots of worthy credit.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to fixed price contracts. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about fixed price contracts, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business merchant accounts are critical to have if you want to accept credit cards. Business merchant accounts are not limited to those computer consultants reselling products either.  They are a good idea for any sale, especially when you are selling to new clients.

If you have a business merchant account you will not have to chase down outstanding debt.  The cost is not that high and you don’t have to buy traditional credit card processing equipment. Now they have what is called a lab terminal, which allows you to use your web browser to manage the transactions.  The systems are completely secure and most business merchant account providers team up with larger companies that offer great advantages.

Costco’s Business Merchant Account
One of the biggest secrets we learned about business merchant accounts is that Costco provides a  fantastic deal on credit card processing through Nova Systems. It’s such a great deal it can actually pay for your entire Costco membership. Here are some particulars:
All of the monthly statement and gateway fees are waived - savings of $25 - $50 per month
Very competitive discount rates on Visa and MasterCard.
You can add on processing for American Express and Discover - you will find that even though American Express transaction fees are higher, it is a very popular card with small businesses.  
The charges billed are transferred quickly and directly into your business bank account - this is a lot faster than doing your billing or invoicing once a week or so.

Paypal
Paypal is a popular alternative to traditional business merchant accounts.  Paypal is very easy to set up and the set up is free.  There are restrictions though on what you can do and how you can withdraw your money.  The largest drawback is the negative connotation of being an ebay related service where people sell garage sale stuff as a hobby.

The Bottom Line on Business Merchant Accounts
Business merchant accounts will help you get paid faster. There are fees involved but the customer convenience and no hassle approach to receiving your money make it worthwhile.  There are different business merchant accounts available so do your homework and choose the one that makes the best sense for you.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business merchant accounts. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of business merchant accounts, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Overhead costs are those expenses that do not vary with your production level.  A term that is synonymous with overhead cost is sunk cost.  The cost of the item or service is sunk regardless of whether you generate any income or not.  You need to pay for electricity and basic phone service and these costs do not go up as you bill more hours.  

Because these overhead costs are spent right from day one, it is wise to try to minimize your totals.   

Overhead Cost Minimization

• Work from home.  This is the single largest way to save on overhead costs.  There is no need at the start to spend your money renting commercial office space.  
• Set up a separate personal credit card account.  You don’t need the overhead cost of an annual fee for a business credit card. In most cases, you can just get another personal, non-fee credit card.
• Market through networking.  Not only is networking the most effective means of marketing it is also the cheapest.  Keep your overhead costs low by attending as many networking events as you can.  
• Target your direct mail as much as possible.  You don’t want to pay to fill up someone else’s recycling container.
• Stay away from product sales.  Do not put your cash into products.  This represents an overhead cost whether you sell the item or not. Sure you may miss out on some sales margin revenue but the overhead costs and the aggravation are generally not worth it.
• Avoid high price consumer advertising.  If you want to keep overhead costs low, steer clear of expensive ads for the Yellow Pages, advertising in coupon packs, or advertising in large newspapers.  The audience is not targeted enough for your needs.  
• Join an established health plan.  If you can, get on your spouse’s plan or try to stay on your work plan for as long as possible.  

The Bottom Line on Overhead Cost
Overhead costs aren’t retrievable in terms of billable hours.  They are spent regardless, so it makes good sense to keep them as low as possible. Keep good records and analyze your overhead costs on a regular basis.  Try to find ways to cut these costs and make business decisions that keep overhead costs to a minimum.  You need to keep a positive cash flow and high overhead costs are the quickest way to drain your cash away.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to overhead costs. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of overhead costs, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business expenses need to be budgeted for when you are starting a business.  These expenses are typically categorized according to type.  One of the larger categories of business expense falls under the heading Administrative Expenses.  These business expenses are those related to the day-to-day operations of the company.

It is important to understand these administrative expenses.  When you are preparing your budget and pro forma statements you need to be aware of the options that impact each of these business expenses.  

• The first business expense to look at is payroll.  Your business needs to be able to pay you. This business expense may be regular or infrequent but it needs to be budgeted for. 
• Next is business expenses related to telecommunications.  These are items like cell phones, business phone lines, and Internet access. 
• Insurance is an important business expense in the administrative category.  Here you need to consider business insurance, general liability insurance, casualty insurance and health insurance. 
• Health insurance is a huge business expense. Our recommendation when budgeting for this is:  If you have a spouse that has health insurance try to stay on their policy. If COBRA is an option for you, try to arrange that.  This is a very costly business expense so do your homework carefully.
• Bank fees are a business expense that many people don’t even think about.  You should realize though that banks charge a fee to open a business account and the monthly fees are typically higher than for personal accounts. 
• A related expense is the fees charged by the credit card companies.  These add up to huge business expenses as they typically charge at least two or three percent on each transaction.  And many small-business owners absolutely love American Express, which usually charges even higher percentage fees.
• Another large business expense item is professional fees. These are the fees you pay to your accountant and/or attorney to advise you on different stages of your business as well as other benefits.
• Other common business expenses in the administrative category include:

• Travel and Entertainment
• Office Supplies
• Vehicle Expense 

The Bottom Line on Business Expenses
You need to understand and research every business expense when you begin the process of budgeting.  The business expenses related to administration often get overlooked as they are not the obvious sales related expenses.  This business expense category accounts for a large portion of your overall expenses so it is worth examining closely.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business expenses. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of business expenses, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

In IT consulting, you need a step-by-step plan to launch your practice. There are 21 steps that will take you through the first 90 days of beginning your IT consulting business.

Preparing for your gradual launch will lower the risk associated with starting a business because you will have already prepared.

Step One.  Overcome Three of Your Weaknesses

Pick 3 of your shortcomings to overcome them within the next 90 days.  They can be personality, business or technical skills….you choose.

For example, you can decide to work on technical skills and pick three products to learn a little more about or get some evaluations units or preview copies. If you want to pick 3 business skills that are weak for you and learn more about them.  It could be credit card merchant accounts, negotiating skills, learning to delegate, etc.

Don’t try to learn everything. Clients will hire you because you know how to get it done.  If you don’t know the answer, they expect you to find someone who does. Know which vendor or contractor to call who can solve the problem.  

Step Two: What Size Clients Are Your Best Match?

Identify any niches or industry that you may have some experience based on where you did some IT consulting or worked in the field. To narrow down and focus on just one niche, you need to have a substantial amount of experience. 

You need at least 500 - 1000 people that you can market your IT consulting business to.  Only a small percentage of them are going to be receptive to the marketing and an even smaller percentage are going to be the sweet spot clients of yours. 

First, decide what size clients you are best suited for and then look at how many natural industries you will target for your initial IT consulting marketing. Focus on the sweet spot now and worry about specializing later.

Step Three: Pick a Company Name

Pick a company name that says exactly what you do and makes you unique. If you want to convey a certain geographic area or you want to convey a certain specialty, put it in the name.  Bounce the name off some people who can be more objective.

Ask them if they can guess what it is that you do from the name. You will save yourself a ton of time and marketing aggravation over the years of your name says that already.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting
 
In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

If you set your IT support rates too cheap, you’re going to have to work like crazy. The last thing you want to discover at the end of the quarter, after you’ve entered everything in QuickBooks or Excel, is that you’ve provided IT support for free.

Be Sure To Make a Profit!

Don’t find yourself saying, "Gee my revenue was really awfully close to my expenses!" You don’t want to work for free.

Make sure there is a big difference between the revenue you take in and the expenses you pay out.  At the end of it all, you need to be able to draw a profit and be able to cover all of your overhead.

There are going to be a number of micro small business that balk at paying acceptable IT support rates. There will also be some that are pretty comfortable with paying 75, 85, 95, $100 an hour or more. 

Qualify Your Customers

Find your ideal IT support customers and qualify them so you don’t waste your time with the time vampires.  These are the people that will suck you dry of all your energy and all your resourcefulness. They’ll prevent you from moving on to the more profitable accounts.

The Bottom Line about IT Support

Don’t waste your time with the people who are just out to rip you off. In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT support. To learn more about IT support, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

In running an IT consulting business, do not be too quick to give new clients credit. Even when you give them credit, keep their lines of credit relatively low until they’ve built up some history with you.

Provide Low Lines of Credit

If you have new IT consulting clients, it may make sense to start them out, even if you get a credit application and send out some credit reference letters, with a $500 or $1,000 line of credit.  Don’t go allowing them to hang you up on a $5,000 or $10,000 leash before they’ve proven they’re able to pay small invoices.

If they need a lot of work before that, it makes sense to get larger deposits and be able to accept credit cards, but do not be too quick to give new IT consulting clients credit. It’s a way to get yourself in big financial trouble really fast.

Require Written Agreements

It’s even worse if you’re selling products like hardware, software and peripherals. Always insist on written agreements for your IT consulting business. Verbal promises are for amateurs and belong in an era of time that disappeared decades ago.

State what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, when you’re going to do it, what it’s going to cost and the payment schedule, in four to six sentences. Of course, on larger IT consulting projects you will need multi page proposals.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

Always insist on written agreements, even if it’s a very small job. Just type up a couple sentences, a letter of understanding, to ensure you and the client are on the same page.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting. To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Your hourly IT consulting rate potentials will vary according to where you live. The rates in this article will be based in U.S. dollars, so if you’re reading this in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or another country, you’ll need to do some conversions.

These IT consulting rates work well for densely populated suburban areas and major metro areas. For very sparsely populated areas and rural areas you are going to find that you can’t charge as much, but then again your costs of doing business are also going to be generally a lot lower.

What IT Consulting Rates are Appropriate for Sweet Spot Clients?

In terms of micro small businesses IT consulting rates are all over the map because volunteers and gurus are involved. It can be from zero to $50, sometimes more. If you want to work with micro small businesses as a stepping stone clients, you will only want the cream of the crop and skim only the most profitable opportunities in micro small businesses.

Charge at the Top of the Range

You are going to need to charge either at the absolute top of that range or even above that range, because you simply are not going to be able to make your switch over from part time moonlighting over to full time on $50 an hour.

It just doesn’t work. When you start putting that rate into a spreadsheet, you’ll see that the only people who can charge low rates like that are moonlighters who will never be full time IT consultants. No one is content to work 80 hours a week for $20,000 dollars a year.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting Rate

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting rates.  To learn more about IT consulting rates, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

In IT consulting it is important to know the relationship between hourly billing rates and salary affordability so you can properly plan for both your own salary draw, as well as salaries of future technical and sales-related staff.

This is directly related to one of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting your IT consulting business.

Don’t Give Away Your Services

Many new IT consultants give away their services for ridiculously unsustainable rates, like $25 or $30 an hour, because they’re emulating the wrong people in the market.

They’re copying the computer repair technicians or other moonlighters, and it’s not possible to ever be able to have a sustainable business.

Value your IT Consulting Business

There is a very definite relationship between what your clients pay your consulting firm, your hourly billing rate, and the kind of salary package you can ultimately offer your sales and technology staff.

Even if you don’t plan on hiring additional staff, you have to consider that you are doing the work and you need to be compensated appropriately.

Don’t Underestimate

Your IT consulting company is going to hit a brick wall and you’re going to hit a brick wall if you underestimate the expenses and what you need to be charging.

If your billing rates are at a certain level, you’re eventually going to find that you’re going to have an extremely difficult time attracting the kind of staff that’s required to recruit and service sweet spot IT consulting clients.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

In addition to knowing the difference between a lan and a laptop, to be a successful IT consultant, you need to have the personality traits that will permit you to work well with your clients, employees and vendors. Read on to evaluate if you have what it takes to be a successful IT consultant.

IT Consultant Traits: Can You Exhibit Candor?

You can’t be afraid to tell people the truth - even if it hurts.  Be very confident, because if you aren’t, people are going to see right through it.

You are going to need to come across as very confident when going out to networking, sales calls and even service calls.  If you don’t, people will sense fear and take advantage of it.  It is very important that you work on displaying confidence.

IT Consultant Traits: Can You Work With Uncertainty?

You should be able to work with uncertainty; as a business owner, there really is no sure thing, ever.  You can do some things to lessen the risk, but is impossible to eliminate all of the risk so you need to be able to cope with that and cope with a certain degree of uncertainty. 

IT Consultant Traits: Are You Decisive?

You need to be able to know which battles are worth fighting.  There is a lot of things that are going to come up with clients, especially long time clients, that will get on your nerves. You are going to have to take a couple steps back in your mind and figure out is this something worth fighting for or if you should just let it roll off your back.

At the other extreme, you are going to have to figure which prospects, are completely wasting your time and which clients have gone bad. Which are becoming time vampires and sucking all your blood, your energy? You need to be decisive enough to recognize that and take action.  You also need to be able to decide which employees and contractors to hire.

The Bottom Line about IT Consultant Traits

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consultant traits.  To learn more about the IT consultant, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

IT consulting is more than just knowing all about laptops and servers. To be successful, you need to have business skills, too. This article will give you some examples of skills you need for your IT consulting business.

Good Data Management Will Keep You Organized

You should have strong spreadsheet skills and hopefully know Excel pretty well.  There will be all kinds of data you will need to put together for internal use and for client’s use.  For time management, you need to know how to draw the line. You will need to keep on schedule and keep priorities in check.

The Phone Will Be Your Friend

For IT consulting, you will need good verbal skills, and feel comfortable on the phone. Because you are going to need that  for following up on leads and setting up appointments. You’ll also need good phone skills for providing tech support and for keeping clients and vendors in check.

Speaking Effectively in Public Might Close the Deal

In IT consulting, you’ll be doing small group presentations. You’ll be doing these with an internal training or on a sales call. You are going to be talking to 3, 4, 5 as much as 10 people at once sometimes.  You may get a company where they will bring in literally all of their middle management to grill you on the solution to make sure you have it. 

Proper Grammar and Spelling Will Let Your Professionalism Shine Through

You should have decent word processing and email communications skills to get with your clients, prospects and partners.  Those are some of the important business skills. 

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

Much of what determines someone’s success in IT consulting is his business skills rather than technical proficiency. If you have deficiencies in these skills, now is the time to work on them so you can stay in the IT consulting field for the long haul.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

If you are working a full-time day job and moonlighting as an IT consultant, you need to know a few things before transitioning to becoming a full-time IT consultant.

Take the following into consideration and avoid the common mistakes many IT consultants make when transitioning from part-time to full-time, self-employed consulting. 

Rule #1 – Don’t Make Assumptions

A lot of moonlighting IT consultants are initially so enamored and so taken in by the idea of getting some self-employed income that they never stop to plan ahead and think through where it’s all leading.

It just isn’t serving them correctly. You will want to nip this in the bud and start off on the right track.

Rule #2 – Plan Ahead

A lot of the moonlighting IT consultant’s dream of being full time consultants.  Sadly, a lot of them are never going to make it because of one simple shortcoming: they’re not planning ahead for how and when the transition is going to take place.

They’re hoping it’s going to take place, but they’re not planning for it.

The Bottom Line about the IT Consultant

If you are a moonlighting IT consultant and want to transition into full-time consulting, make sure you plan ahead.  Don’t get caught burying your head in the sand or taking huge risks that don’t make sense.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to the IT consultant.  To learn more about the IT consultant click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

In the sweet spot of small business IT consulting, you will be taking over anything and everything related to IT.

You are expected to know a little about a lot of different things, but most of all, you are expected to be very resourceful and to know where to get the answers to make things happen on a multi-vendor platform project.

The Sweet Spot is a Great Starting Point

For a lot of people who are starting out, sweet spot small business makes the most sense.  For those whose technical skills are not quite as strong you might want to start out your IT consulting on some of the micro accounts.

There you will have nice sized peer-to-peer accounts and you’ll grow into things with them - like small business servers, and small business suites with them in-house.  As your skills improve, you’ll be able to gradually work your way up into the sweet spot with other business.

Sweet Spot IT Consulting Clients Should Balance You Out

If you are really, really ambitious in your IT consulting business, you’ll want to balance out your portfolio between some big small businesses and a few of the sweet spot businesses.

Pick a Few Technical Skills

Go through your skill list and make some notes about your strengths and deficiencies. Decide which skills are the most important and pick a few to work on gradually. You can’t afford to spend the next 6 months to a year working on your technical skills.

It’s more important that your IT consulting business gets up and running by finding paying clients. You’ll find plenty that want your technical skills. They may end up being in the micro small business IT consulting arena, but that’s okay - you’ll have time to gradually upgrade your skill set and move on to more sophisticated accounts.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Starting a computer business involves many daunting legalities.  Filing forms, paying fees, and dealing with government regulations are all part of starting a computer business.  A new business owner is better prepared by knowing what is expected in the first phase of starting a computer business. 

The First Phase of Starting a Computer Business

The first steps of starting a computer business might be overwhelming and frustrating.  However, the most tedious work is done once this phase is complete.  Remain focused on the exciting aspects of the new business to get through the paper work.

Register a Name

Choosing a name is an important part of starting a computer business.  The new name needs to be registered with the state to ensure that the name is not already being used. 

A fee is required to obtain a business certificate.  This also alerts state government to expect revenue taxes from the new business. 

Check Zoning

Determine local zoning laws when starting a computer business.  The new location must be zoned for business.  If the new business will be run out of the home, this is especially important. 

Conform to Code

Starting a computer business may require conforming to specific state and federal codes.  One of the most important is the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Businesses with 15 or more employees must provide access to all people, regardless of physical handicaps.  Become educated on all local and federal codes that will apply to the new business.

Obtain an EIN

If planning to hire employees, apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number.  This EIN is like a Social Security Number for the business.  Anyone starting a computer business will be required to make social security tax payments for employees. 

In addition to the IRS, file with the state Department of Labor.  The business is responsible for state unemployment tax, disability, and state income taxes (if applicable).

Apply for a Resale Tax Number

Any business involved in sales will need to apply for a resale tax number.  Contact the state tax commissioner to file these forms. 

Obtain Required Licenses

Specific occupational licenses are often needed when starting a computer business.  Contact the state computer association to determine which licenses or permits are required.

The Bottom Line about Starting a Computer Business

Starting a computer business will entail a lot of tedious paper work.  However, once this phase is completed, the owner can move on to the more exciting job of opening and operating their business.

In this article, you’ve learned about starting a computer business. To learn more about starting a computer business click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Time is money. If you’re not careful in your computer consulting business, you’ll waste both. With a little discipline and structure, you can maximize the return on your time.

Journal Your Time

One way to determine your computer consulting time is by journaling. Write down everything you do for a couple of weeks to determine what you do with your time, where the time wasters are, and what you could do to improve your time management. Journaling is a good way to evaluate.

Keep an Excel spreadsheet or a calendar and figure out where all the time goes in a given week. Determine if you have enough time to do the business development items for the larger accounts.

Evaluate Your Time

For most professionals in the computer consulting business, time’s really at a premium. Sometimes you’re going to really need to make difficult decisions on where you can afford to spend a marginal five or ten hours a week.

Structure Time to Allow More Training

Training is expensive, but what most computer consulting firms tend to do is more time intensive than cash intensive. Most of these computer consulting firms aren’t the ones that are sending people out for five-day, $2,500 Exchange Server course. 

Instead, get the action pack subscription and buy enough resale copies. Load it up on spare machines in the office, and make sure that every time your computer consulting techs have down time, they’re going through the tutorials. During down time they should be going through the read-me files, reading through the resource kits, and doing CBT training.

Give Your Computer Consulting Staff A Plan

If you’re billing out your computer consulting techs at 65 or 70 percent capacity and they have six to eight hours a week where they’re either sitting on the bench or doing some work or tending to the store, structure it so they have a plan of attack.

This is where you say, “This month I want you to concentrate all of your down time on learning how to do Microsoft Small Business Server 2003” or “This month I want you to get stronger on troubleshooting Exchange Server.”

The Bottom Line about Computer Consulting

Track where your time is being sent and make sure your technical staff is spending a certain amount of time every week keeping their skills sharp. Additionally, you need to be identifying skills gaps you need to grow to the next level.

In this article, you’ve learned about computer consulting. To learn more about computer consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Computer reseller business policies include many aspects of a business.  A computer reseller business should develop a strong recourse policy to handle any customer complaints that may arise.  Preparation and implementation of this policy will lead to satisfied customers and a continued good reputation for the computer reseller business.

Elements of an Effective Recourse Policy

The best recourse policies allow a customer to feel he is in control.  Listen to concerns, apologize for the inconvenience, and fix the problem.  These steps will help a customer feel he is in control of the situation and has a positive relationship with the computer reseller business.

Adopt an Advisor

By consulting an advisor, a computer reseller business is associating with someone of stature in the community.  This advisor’s name should be on brochures, the website, or even on letterheads.  Customers are more likely to trust a business that is connected with a well-respected leader in the community. 

Join the Better Business Bureau

A computer reseller business should join the Better Business Bureau or a similar organization in the community.  However, joining is not the only step.  Many activities or meetings will focus on customer recourse.  Participate in these meetings to gain valuable insight on operating a business.

Involve Employees

Employees who deal with customers on a day-to-day basis should be involved in the customer recourse policy.  The computer reseller business could obtain valuable information from the employees.  The team members may be overworked or are in need of new tools or supplies.  Permit open communication so the employees feel comfortable sharing concerns.  More than likely, they will work hard to find solutions to complaints before they are made.

Developing a customer recourse policy is vital in every computer reseller business.  Responding promptly to customer complaints and taking responsibility will let the consumer know he is in control.  The goal is a satisfied customer.

The Bottom Line about Computer Reseller Business
     
In this article, you’ve been introduced to computer reseller business. To learn more about computer reseller business, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.    

Computer networking business owners will take on many new management skills.  Applying the 80-20 rule will assist them in better managing a computer networking business.

Computer networking business owners are not always natural managers.  These skills must be honed while operating the computer networking business.  The 80-20 rule is a useful tool for managing a computer networking business.  Every owner should be familiar with what the rule means to each aspect of his business.

The 80-20 Rule

What is the 80-20 rule?  Generally, it means that 80 percent of the work is done by only 20 percent of the people.  This rule can be applied to all aspects of the computer networking business, not just employee output.  Consider some of the possibilities listed below.

Customers

Eighty percent of a computer networking business profits come from twenty percent of the customers.  This is an important factor to consider.  Most of your time and energy should be given to those twenty percent.  Those customers offer the most potential to earn a profit for your company.

Expenses

A computer networking business should focus on twenty percent of expense categories.  This twenty percent often produces eighty percent of the waste.  Possibilities for increased profitability are waiting to be discovered.

Employees

In addition to employee output, the 80-20 rule applies to employee problems.  Eighty percent of problems stem from twenty percent of the employees.  Address the problems with these twenty percent.  Train and motivate them or replace them.  As for the employees who are producing eighty percent of the work, be sure to reward their efforts.

Success

A computer networking business manager should determine his talents and strengths.  Delegate jobs to employees who are strong in other aspects of the business.  Eighty percent of the business successes will be a product of only twenty percent of your efforts. 

The Bottom Line about Computer Networking Business

In conclusion, apply the 80-20 rule to every aspect of your computer networking business.  It will ease the transition of starting a new business.  The computer networking business will operate smoothly and hopefully reach its growth potential.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to computer networking business. To learn more about computer networking business, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.