Wanted to give a warning to all of my readers and a lesson on how *not* to do business. I used a web hosting company named Glob@t for some side project domains. The web hosting was just like one would expect and I did not have many downtime issues. That is where my compliments for them end.

Beyond the hosting, specifically billing, they are horrible. What vendor or company do you work with that automatically upgrades your account and charges you for it?

They would send an email stating that your account would be automatically upgraded in X number of days. You had to unsubscribe from this or you could expect to see the credit card charge. As if that wasn’t bad enough, if you did unsubscribe from this automatic upgrade, you can rest assured that you will receive the same email with the same intent a short time later (measured in months).

Then, go try to cancel your service. Good luck. It got bad enough that I called while my bank was on the phone because I was disputing the charge. This happened because I did opt out of their automatic upgrade and they did it anyway. Their customer service refused to talk to me unless my bank hung up. We refused so they hung up on us.

Obviously, my bank continued the dispute and my funds were returned. But, guess what happened 10 days later? They charged my account again. Eventually, after 45 minutes on hold, I did get through to the Glob@t cancellation line (you can’t cancel online, only via phone and only after you put up with their cancellation rep trying to get you to stay) and was able to cancel my line.

I don’t like to call out companies like this, but I feel it would be a disservice to not warn anyone who reads this about what you can expect from this hosting company. There are thousands of hosting companies out there. Find a different one.

Zachary M. Morvik

Something I have noticed is that many computer consultants place a high value on time. Each minute of each day is either billable or it’s not.

That’s true and it’s also very false. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. You don’t get anymore and neither does anyone else. I personally don’t choose to look at each moment as either billable or not. For me, that would be an easy way to drive myself crazy.

It is important to set goals and strive to exceed them, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to figure out ways to keep squeezing more billable time out of the same 86,400 seconds. You will quickly become a slave to your business if you try this.

What has also been observed is how much time computer consultants and business owners will spend trying to save small amounts of money. Payroll and anti-spam companies come to mind.

I have seen very small businesses waste dozens of hours trying to choose a payroll company to run payroll for two employees. Dozens of hours. What are dozens of hours worth in a time is money type business? It’s hundreds of dollars or more. Would you spend hundreds of dollars of billable time so that you could save $10 per month on your payroll? Now that I point it out like this, you would probably say no. But, the next time you get caught up spending large amounts of time trying to save a small amount of money, take a step back and make sure its actually worth it.

Time is money and this is true to a certain extent, but there are plenty of ways to increase your revenue without becoming a slave to your business.

Time is precious and it is the one thing that is irreversible and you will never get back. You have a limited supply of time and it is the most expensive thing you can give up.

Choose wisely.

Zachary M. Morvik

Ever heard of this book? No? Most haven’t. Order it right now.

http://tinyurl.com/22evxw

-Zachary M. Morvik

When it comes to computer services, hiring the right staff is beyond the needle in the haystack. For many business owners, it seems downright impossible. However, have a little faith because high quality employees are just around the corner.

Computer services companies run into two basic issues, a lack of retention of the good staff and ineffective performance from the other half. Many business owners that deal in computer services are a good springboard for those who are still receiving their education or who are looking to break into the field.

When hiring quality computer services staff, most business owners make the mistake of looking at solely what is down on paper. While a resume is an important part of expressing knowledge base, the skills to deal with customers and become an all around asset to the company are also vital. A large number of computer services owners and managers complain that while their staff looks great on paper, they falter big time when it comes to dealing with the actual customer. When looking over a resume, the computer services industry is best served by those with the obvious necessary computer knowledge for the job, combined with alternative job experience, such as previous customer service positions, management, or even of all things, sales. Even if it is not related to the computer industry.

This is where many computer services business owners and managers fail to see the benefit, and tend to hire those with only computer related job histories. Some owners and managers get lucky and find a great employee, while others find themselves dealing with only half the skills required for an all around excellent employee.

The computer services industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Anyone interested in the computer services field is going to need to continue their education and grow with the computer industry. Hiring those who are more than just fresh out of college usually realize the value of a continuing education while those who are just leaving college are feeling as though they have placed their entire life into and education and now deserve a break, at least generally speaking.

High quality employees can not be determined by what they put down on paper. While a resume or an application can determine whether or not they are capable of basic requirements, what it can’t discern is their personality and their ability to be flexible in their approach to computer and customer related issues. Thus, every manager or computer services business owner needs to be willing to invest the time into finding the type of employee that will suit their needs rather than stack the odds by hiring warm bodies that look acceptable on paper.

Every manager and computer services business owner is going to learn from their mistakes. Gut instinct can play a significant and vital role in the hiring process, and only time will tell if the gut instinct that was followed panned out.

-Zachary M. Morvik

It’s the cream of the crop, the dreamy queen of all self employment, and the golden ring on the merry-go-round of computer services companies. Running a computer consulting business is the ultimate goal of nearly 50% of all IT professionals. Computer consulting businesses, especially those which can be cultivated around your schedule, your time, and your pace, are the white puffs on the puffy clouds of dreams. So how do you get there and what do you need to know?

Rule number one is all about the cash. There will be times when business is very lean. While most new consultants expect this to happen in the beginning, the majority of new businesses go under after they’ve been around for a few years, created a reasonable name for themselves, and then hit a dry period. It’s a painful lesson to learn, but no matter how good you are or how experienced you’ve become, dry seasons are bound to happen. This means that you need to be a professional and handle your money with confidence and extreme frugal caution, even after you got your feet up off of the ground.

Rule number two is learn to be flexible. When the dry seasons are over, there will most likely be multiple clients banging on your door for multiple services. That means that your skills need to be honed as sharply as your ability to switch gears as often as necessary in order to perform the jobs presented to you and to do it well. If you find yourself overwhelmed, and unable to perform, it’s going to hurt your business not only immediately with the loss of income but overall, as word of mouth can be a powerful advertising statement, especially when the word is negative.

Consulting is a business of opinion. You are there to offer your expertise and to complete a job as it has been specified by the client. This means that rule number three, know what you’re talking about before you open your mouth, and rule number four, back up your opinion with proven facts, can each be combined into rule number six, learn to delegate, negotiate, and mediate. These three skills will come in handy more often than your computer network skills. Whether you have employees or are a one man or woman show, your ability to come through for your own business is in part about understanding the clients’ needs as well as know when the client needs a lot more direction in order to accomplish their goals.

Computer knowledge is obviously the strong basis of any consulting business that you are considering, however, business skills are vital regardless of whether you are running a hot dog stand or a computer consulting business. The skills you can develop that enable you to deal more effectively with clients and potential clients are about the relational aspects of business than the technical aspects of business. You can’t have a consulting business without the technical skill. You can’t have a consulting business without the personable skills.

-Zachary M. Morvik

The title says it all on this one.  If you are going to be in this business, product and license sourcing is involved.  Among others, you want and need an Ingram Micro account.

They will charge a credit card $100 during signup and if you purchased $1,500 worth of product in the first 60 days, you will be refunded the $100.

Go signup today.

www.ingrammicro.com

-Zachary M. Morvik

Computer services are the next wave of small business. From technical support to IT security, the computer services industry is loaded with possibilities and exciting new trends. Many people on the fast track are looking to start up their own one or two person computer services business rather than go through the steps that lead to the higher paying computer services jobs.

Is it possible to step out into the world as your own computer technician, security expert, or helpdesk specialist? Yes, it is. It is a bit risky, but for those who weather the risk well, the pay off is definitely worth it.

Stepping out on your own should be a process, unless you have the capital on hand to build up clientele and survive for about a year without much work. It takes time to get a good business going, and without a lot of capital, it can take even longer. Your marketing and sales techniques are going to determine how well you do, as will your skill set, your demographic region, and your ability to perform various functions (or learn them) in a reasonable time frame.

Not enough new business owners pay enough attention to the geographic demographics before trying to launch a new small computer services business. However, there are some areas of the United States that the demand for these services is very low if not non-existent. Then there are places that are so oversaturated that the likelihood of stepping in front of the big guy is relatively slim. The Lancaster-Reading area of Pennsylvania for example, is nearly devoid of computer technology and services openings and demand. Security specialists from this area have been forced to move at least as far as Philadelphia if not farther. Norfolk, Virginia is oversaturated with technology, as well as a high number of computer specialists coming out of the Armed Forces with a pre-existing security clearance. Again, a tough thing to step in front of when building a business.

Alternatively, places like Columbus, Ohio are just now starting to bloom into the advanced technological age, requiring specialists in all sorts of arenas. Just a little side note, security experts find numerous roadblocks unless they are dealing with governmental facilities. A vast majority of the companies that should have heightened security don’t put the money into it until after an incident has occurred.

Placing your plaque out into the business world is a developing process. Anyone with the appropriate education, skill set, and determination can build up a nice computer services company for themselves, they just can’t expect overnight success. These things take a lot of market research and a lot of sheer determination. This is why that great many are more successful when they take a few years to build up their computer services business on the side and then leap in with both feet after they have established a clientele.

-Zachary M. Morvik

One of the top keywords used when visitors arrive at this domain is service contracts. I am going to offer some of these contracts, but I want to ask you a question first. When you are searching for service contracts for computer service or service agreements, which are you looking for? What specifically are you trying to find a contract to cover?

-Zachary M. Morvik

The computer services industry is a highly competitive field with fluid and changing technological advancements. It is more than fair to expect employees to continue their education as they progress through the fields, but is it fair to ask them to pay the expense out of pocket?

Larger firms are financially able to cover the cost of employee education, thus many of the serious go getters are always on the look out for an opening with a large firm. Alternatively, small firms and smaller computer services companies often offer a more pleasant work environment with fewer office politics and low end cut throat behavior. While the benefits of working for a smaller firm are a significant draw for many computer services specialists, tuition reimbursement is an area of hot debate, and the small computer services company that doesn’t offer it is bound to lose their better employees to larger firms that do.

If you are going to require your employees to continue their education, which you should if you’re going to stay competitive, you do have to take a serious look at whether or not you can afford to offer even partial reimbursement. This makes you a more attractive employer for higher quality employees who are more likely to stay under your employment for a longer period of time. Some smaller employers offer reimbursement for certification fees provided the certification is passed if they can’t offer tuition reimbursement.

While governmental regulations are also fluid and prone to abrupt changes in laws, regulations, and restrictions, many small businesses are able to apply for governmental assistance in order to offer reimbursement.  For some small companies, this notion has become a life saver and has significantly improved employee performance as well as employee retention.

In the world of the computer services industry, every small company needs to acquire a seriously competitive edge. Whether that means scaling down the staff in order to provide the best possible benefits and perks for the staff or asking for financial assistance via government programs, finding methods of offering employees as much as possible toward their continuing education creates an even playing field for retaining high quality, well educated, capable employees.

It is vital that you require your employees to continue their education, even if it simply one class per semester or two certifications per year. This is considered the bare minimum in the computer services industry. If you’re not going to offer any type of reimbursement, then you can’t expect too much from your employees.  In the fast paced computer service industry, how on top of their game are your employees if you don’t help them continue their education?  Requiring too much for too little is going to create a high turnover rate, which becomes expensive and time expensive for a small computer services company.

It’s not a bad idea to get caught up on what the competition is offering to their employees. Usually a simple phone call inquiring about education benefits is enough to answer the question. Offering at least as much if not more than your competition is likely to draw to your doorstep more qualified candidates as well as more capable employees.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Part of our service offerings is management of hosted accounts.  Yesterday a potential customer contacted us and said that they recently switched from one hosting provider to another.  Apparently all of the files had been copied using FTP, but they neglected to export the MySQL databases before making the switch.

Very fortunately, they had not yet canceled their service with the original hosting provider, but very unfortunately the reason they were switching was because their original hosting provider was basically going out of business and it is not possible to contact them.  When they changed the name servers, they did not write down what they were originally.

So, what do you do?  You cannot connect to the old server because the client doesn’t know what the IP address was.  You can’t do an NSLOOKUP because the customer doesn’t know what the DNS servers were.  We even called their domain registrar to see if they kept a history of changes made so maybe they could tell us what the name servers were before the change.  They did not.  While this is a minor case, it is still a good example of the necessity of good documentation.  Had we made the change, I know that we would have the information we needed to connect to the old server again.

This particular case worked out because we were eventually able to find some other domains that used the same hosting provider and then lookup their nameservers and eventually guess the correct nameserver (there were many), do our NSLOOKUP queries, get the IP address, and export the databases to the new hosting account.

The customer is very happy to be back in business and now understands the importance of documentation.  We have a new customer who has said they never again want to have such problems so they will be calling us for any changes they need to make in the future.  They are also interested in quite a few of our other services so everyone wins!

-Zachary M. Morvik

Many computer consultants don’t charge a travel fee or surcharge.  Others will charge a flat rate or even an amount based on time or mileage or both!  Let’s break it down a little:

On average it takes 30 minutes to arrive at a client.  On average, it takes 19 miles to arrive at a client.  In my city, this wouldn’t surprise anyone.  Some clients are very close, others are very far.  Either way, in this city, driving is a pain.  Not nearly as bad as, say, Atlanta, but it can be bad at times.

Lets say at a minimum, there are two clients in every day.  This is one hour of time spent on travel, or 38 miles depending how you look at it.  Do you feel like you should not charge for this time?  I know many freelancers who say they do not charge a travel charge just to make their bid look more appealing.

At these rates, that is over $100 per day of lost revenue.  By IRS guidelines, it is a cost to the vehicle alone of $18.43.  If you or your employees spend this hour commuting and you do not bill for this time, you are basically giving up an hour of each day for free.

Pick whatever method you like best (flat rate, per mile, time), but bill for your time.  Or don’t, and miss out on the revenue.  It’s your choice.

-Zachary M. Morvik