Running a business requires top-flight skills in many areas. The problem for a small business is that there are less people to share knowledge. In fact, people may mean "you"! Not everyone can be an expert in everything.
In a large business you can afford to hire individuals to specialize, a littler business cannot. What do you do when you need to be everything from the graphic artist to the network administrator to the janitor?
For starters, you need to identify the activities that only you can do. Then get help for the ones you can delegate. And delegate them!
Unless you run an IT company, your computer support is one area you can delegate.
Say you spend four hours per week working on or fixing computer problems. Over the course of a year, that is more than 200 hours! Problems like printer issues, computer virus cleaning, spyware removal, email issues, training your new employee on your package and a whole host of other annoyances.
How much time is lost when spyware makes your computer take five minutes to open a program that should go for a small degree one?
Computers can greatly enhance the productiveness of your business; however, they can cause a loss of productiveness when not properly maintained.
While the 200 hours can be a huge investment in your time, it is only a divide of the time worked by one fulltime IT support soul. In fact, you would be paying a fulltime support soul for or s 1880 hours each year for doing near nothing. At $20.00 per hour, that is brim ove $37000.00. With all the associated employment costs, it could be over $50000.00 each year!
Here is where a Virtual IT Support Agreement can save you time and money, and increase your productiveness. What is virtual IT?
Virtual IT is where you contract with a third party to provide just the services you really need. Why pay $37000.00 when you could pay $4000.00 instead?
A sample contact could offer services like this:
- Service Level Agreement Four hour latency Eight hour latency Twelve hour latency
- On-site desktop support
- Help Desk services
- Project management
- Computer Training
- Network security
Service Level Agreement
A service level agreement is a written agreement latency. For example, a four-hour latency would mean that a technician would be onsite inside four hours of you initiating a call for assistance.
On-site Desktop Support
Here the technician actually goes intent on your business establishment and performs his duties.
Help Desk Services
Not every call requires a technician to go intent on the client's location. Often the issue can be resolved over the phone. This allows your employees to get back to work faster and saves you money. Typically, phone support costs to a small degree on-site support.
For example, a typical desktop support call in a large corporate environment could cost about $150.00 per incident. While a call to the same corporation's help desk power only cost $50.00 per incident. That is 300% less!
Project Management
While the services of a project manager are required infrequently, they can quickly prove their worth. A good project manager will save you time and money. His job is to coordinate and put all the pieces together.
Computer Training
You can have all the latest and superior hardware and package and still not have a very productive staff. In order to get the maximum value of your investment your employees need to know how to use your equipment.
What good is Excel if you do not know how to setup simple formulas? Would you rather your admin soul type addresses on 500 letters, for you new merchandising campaign, or do a merge and cut the time down to near nothing?
Simply put, training increases productiveness. Increased productiveness translates to inflated profits!
Network Security
Security is a big issue in today's business environment. Inadequate security can jeopardize your business in several ways:
- Allow intruders to steal client data
- Allow employees to steal client information
- Allow intruders to use your computers to commit other crimes
- Cause a loss of productiveness
None of this is good for the survival of your business.
Every business owner should take security seriously, even if it is only to reduce potential legal liability.
Small business owners often spend their early years forced to handle every task themselves. They just do not have the money to delegate most of their work. As the business grows, this becomes increasingly of a burden. Delegation of activities is a crucial task that some ne'er learn to do.
Pick your experts carefully and it will free up your time so you can grow your business.
