Small Business Computer Consulting Blog

As you progress your career in the IT industry, you come across many people who have decided to go it alone and start up their own IT businesses. It becomes apparent that this can be a fulfilling route to take. However, an IT startup is not necessarily the right path for everyone.

Where is the PC headed now? 

In the course of a month, I typically see hundreds of different IT services company websites. The sites pretty much run the gamut—all different shapes, sizes, levels of marketing sophistication, and degrees of uniqueness.

The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) is offering its marketing services to its members, and a foretaste of its marketing talent on its “NoneOfTheBS.com” website.

The main role of Microsoft Certified Partners is to provide software, education, technical support, and systems on Microsoft’s behalf. To achieve this, certified partners must pass a series of tests and have the skills Microsoft desires.

InBay is a UK-based managed services provider. I attended their stand and seminar program at Business 2012 in London, an ideal event for InBay to promote and sell their services, as the company provides secure cloud services and IT support to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

A few weeks back, Joe Panettieri, executive VP of Nine Lives Media, blogged on MSPmentor.net a very important reminder to U.S.-based IT channel companies: 

It’s a common question in Information Technology marketing, with no easy answers either way. 

Becoming an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator proves your expertise in supporting computers and servers running Apple’s OS X technology.

Following up on the recent article on how to design your computer repair flyers for maximum impact, we’ve assembled a collection of versatile ideas, easily adaptable to a computer repair flyer template, to help inspire your campaigns.

Using IT to improve business performance is the goal of most organizations, but avoiding negative impacts on employee health is also a priority. With this in mind, Ingram Micro Australia has now broadened its product line to supply resellers with ergonomic IT solutions for both customer profitability and wellness. 

The four days of the AMD Fusion Developer Summit, from June 11th to 14th, provided intense but useful skills training to developers and managers. The summit also promoted AMD's adherence to heterogeneous computing.

The Microsoft Partner Network program has finally legitimized the subset of the IT reseller channel occupied by small business-centric VARs, MSPs, integrators, and consulting firms, among others. 

Many things can stall the process when you start up your new IT business. One of the details that causes plenty of procrastination is having to choose from among various computer business names.

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter
July 25, 2012

Design Your Computer Repair Flyers for Maximum Impact
Yes, another traditional marketing method that still works. The conversion rate for flyers or postcards can be good if you target them and hand them out to your audience. So, it is definitely worth getting some computer repair flyers printed and distributed to your target demographics.
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Take the IT Marketing Client Attraction Quiz (Interactive Quiz)
Do you want to get better IT marketing results? Do you need some help attracting the best small business clients to your firm?
Take the Quiz...


3 Network Consultant Tips for Getting More Clients Onto Contracts (IT.Toolbox)
If you're a network consultant for small- and medium-sized business clients (SMBs), you're likely always on the lookout for new clients...especially clients on long-term contracts. In this short excerpt from the Top 10 IT Marketing Strategies for Consistently Attracting New Business Clients to Your Small IT Business, you'll learn where you can and should search for getting more clients on contracts.
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As part of its goal of “helping dealers make profitable connections,” the Business Technology Association is currently running a series of webinars to inform and assist on different topics.
 
The subject matter includes market data, organizational suggestions, and business-building advice.
 
The web sessions all relate to IT reseller businesses, regardless of whether your company is a hardware or software dealer, MSP, or VAR. The presenters are from independent companies or consultancies specializing in the areas being discussed.

In May 2012, the updated Microsoft Partner Network portal appeared in the U.S. The revamped portal is in response to what Microsoft refers to as partner complaints.

The software sales market is a tough one. That is, unless you have a unique or aspirational product to sell and you’ve cornered the market. That is a dream for most of us. For the average IT company that makes its revenue from reselling software solutions, the best IT sales strategy for building repeat business is going to be via software sales consulting.

If you’re tired of well-intentioned friends and family members making largely unfounded and naive remarks, like, “Hey, sorry to hear the IT consulting industry is in a recession,” you’re in luck! You can now prove them wrong, right from your mailbox, bookstore, newsstand, magazine rack, smartphone, or tablet.

There are a wealth of different HP certification options available, covering a vast range of HP products and technologies. 

Starting or extending a business is often a moment of great temptation in VAR marketing. With all the opportunities available, it’s difficult not to want to chase all of them. However, certain IT marketing principles need to be observed. One of these principles is the need to first establish a strong beachhead for a business start-up or expansion to succeed beyond the short-term.

Yes, another traditional marketing method that still works. The conversion rate for flyers or postcards can be good if you target them and hand them out to your audience. So, it is definitely worth getting some computer repair flyers printed and distributed to your target demographics.

Start a computer business in a rocky economy? Sounds crazy, but a Business Week article suggests that starting a business on the side right now may actually be a good idea.

In a world where digital marketing is increasingly popular, printed advertising can still be a valuable way to attract clients to your computer consulting firm. This is especially true on a local level. 

Reports are rife that the PC, especially the desktop version, does not have long to live. What will happen then to PC distributors and their PC specialist channel partners? Will they simply become “Tablet distributors” or will the changes be more deeply rooted? 

Many potential businesspeople have asked me whether it is possible to start a computer repair business from home with little or no capital.

If you’re thinking about how to start your own computer repair business, make a visit to the SCORE.org website. SCORE is a nonprofit supported by the U.S. Small Business Association that provides free business advice and mentoring. 

Making sure that your IT support contracts run smoothly requires commitment on the part of your clients and users, as well as consistent service from you and your business. 

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter
July 18, 2012

The GFI MAX Customer Conference 2012 comes to Louisiana this September. On September 26th and 27th, New Orleans plays host to MSPs and IT service providers who want to get the most from their commitment to GFI MAX software.

What is the outlook for the computing business? 

Moving from an IT role within an organization to going it alone as an IT consultant, or the owner of a small IT business, can be daunting. There are aspects of running your own business that you may never have had to do before. One of these is the sales role. If this is the case, you may want to consider some IT sales training to improve upon those specific skills.

I don’t know about you, but I collect a vast number of business cards from all of the networking events, conferences, and business meetings that I attend. Many of these business cards are scruffy, badly designed, and poorly printed. That leaves a bad impression of the person’s business. So what should you do to make your computer repair business cards stand out from the crowd?

For months, the major IT distributors have been moving very aggressively to help VARs and MSPs embrace cloud computing. Even this Small Business Computer Consulting blog from SP Home Run has had a handful of posts on the topic. See the box below on “Related Posts on IT Distributors Offering Cloud Computing Services.” 

In computer repair marketing, like other business activities, opportunities sometimes turn up looking like problems. 

If you’re starting a computer business, don’t overlook the many resources available from U.S. government programs. 

It seems every few months we get asked for advice on what small business VARs and MSPs should do to provide technology sales training to newly hired staff. 

Taking an A+ certification practice test is a great way of finding out whether you are ready to take the exams for real. 

When you start a new IT business, you should aim to lay solid foundations for it. You do this by making sure that you have all the right computer shop software solutions in place from the start.

Tech Data Europe recently announced a professional tool for IT resellers to make their quotations part of the development of the online services offered to its channel partners. 

One of the biggest frustrations that I hear from small IT companies is that they are not generating enough IT sales leads.

Deciding your IT consultant rates is one of the most important tasks when setting up a computer business. After all, your rates determine how much money your business can make! This article provides some related tips and suggestions.

Every startup IT consulting firm needs a business plan. It’s a must if you’re looking for any kind of financing. You also want a business plan to make sure you’ve thought through the fundamentals of your consulting business. 

The SANS Institute (SysAdmin, Audit, Networking and Security) has hit on the idea of offering daily security tips, written by the people who use them. Rather than listing items with possibly unknown practical appeal, the organization offers its website visitors a simple online form to fill in with their personal real-life advice. 

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter
July 11, 2012

Computer Repair Advertising Must Include Google Local
If you are running a local business, you need to get some exposure in the search engines as a LOCAL business. You can easily get this type of advertising off the ground using Google Local.
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Managed Services Marketing and the Fight to Manage Online Identity
As developments like social networks blur the line between the professional and the personal, new opportunities arise for managed services marketing.
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7 IT Sales Secrets for Attracting High-Lifetime-Value Clients (Special Report)
Close more sales faster with less effort.
Download the Special Report...

Are you about to start a computer repair business? 

Your customers are likely to wish to know how well your company is performing against your service level agreements (SLAs). Even if they don’t request this information, providing it frequently proves your professionalism and can be a valuable way of proving you are doing an effective job of managing their IT systems. 

As developments like social networks blur the line between the professional and the personal, new opportunities arise for managed services marketing. 

If you are running a local business, you need to get some exposure in the search engines as a Local business. You can easily get this type of computer repair advertising off the ground using Google Local.

MCTS certification is an excellent way to prove your expertise in a specific Microsoft product or technology. 

Do you think that you’re ready to start your computer consulting firm, but are not sure when you should launch? The American Express OPEN website asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council to offer tips for entrepreneurs as they start out, which include: 

The mere mention of the need for a business plan makes many new business owners’ blood freeze. We become overwhelmed and then paralyzed by fear over what seems to be a monumental task. However, writing your first computer repair business plan need not be a daunting task.

For small business VARs and MSPs, computer distributors like Ingram Micro Inc. are extremely important partners in the IT channel ecosystem. Why? Because it’s relatively rare for most small partners to have meaningful, one-on-one relationships with most of their vendors.

A small professional computer services company in Cameron Park, California, a suburb of Sacramento, recently posted on their Facebook wall something pretty astonishing.

EMC World 2012 brought together 13,000 IT service providers from 105 countries. 

Effective time management is an essential skill in every facet of a computer business, but if you carry out onsite computer service, it is particularly important. 

Starting a technology consulting firm requires so much time and effort—don’t forget to invest time in choosing a powerful name. An article in Entrepreneur.com reminds startups that the right name can make all the difference. Consider these tips to avoid making your firm’s name an afterthought.

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter

July 5, 2012

8 Computer Consulting Services with Great Facebook Pages
By now, most well-established computer consulting services companies have some kind of Facebook business page presence. Some of these Facebook pages are great, many are mediocre, and quite a few need a complete overhaul.
In this post, you'll be introduced to eight great Facebook pages. And we'll highlight a few key points on each to help you apply these lessons to your own company's Facebook page.
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The concept of social media is to provide a space for people to connect and communicate. They can do this one on one, one to many, or many to one. This is an amazing space to build relationships with people that you would not normally have the opportunity to access so readily. Social media is an ideal channel for your IT consulting sales process.

By now, most well-established computer consulting services companies have some kind of Facebook business page presence. Some of these Facebook pages are great, many are mediocre, and quite a few need a complete overhaul. 

Cisco's intention in creating its reseller partner program is to help VAR companies grow and become more prosperous.

When you start a computer business, don’t sit home alone wondering how you’re going to get customers. Hop on the Internet and take advantage of the wealth of information and tools out there. 

Agreeing to the terms of service level agreements is only the beginning of an ongoing process. You also need to continually collect data related to the agreements in order to report back to your clients. 

A few weeks ago, we came across an interesting question on LinkedIn Answers about the most important five or ten areas to focus on looking at how to start an IT company.