10 Tips for Starting a Computer Business

Many people dream of running their own successful business. However, those dreams never include the sweat, blood and tears that are part of getting there. Here are 10 reality based tips for starting a computer business.

1. Love what you do – This is by far the most important thing in almost every business. Dont ever do it just for the money.

2. Have sufficient start up funds – which should cover your business registration, initial visit to your accountant to get setup legally and some business cards. However, the most important start up funds are the ones you need to support yourself while you build up your client base, which leads me into my next tip.

3. Start your own business while you are still employed – It may be many months before your business starts becoming profitable so its a good idea to have another job to cover your living expenses during that time.

4. Be good with money – Managing money isnt just one of those things that you do in business. It is what business is all about. If you cant manage your own funds now, you probably shouldnt be starting a business.

5. Start on a shoestring – Dont go renting a big officespace if you can start your business from home. Dont buy lots of expensive office furniture and electronics. A computer, fax machine, basic printer, internet connection, a phone and a basic toolkit should be enough for most businesses.

6. Understand how you will make a profit – Work out how much you will need to charge for your products and services in order to make a substantial profit. Take into account costs such as your advertising, utilities and rent. From there you can determine how much money you need to make each month to survive.

7. Get and keep the competitive edge – Perhaps you can strike up a special deal with your supplier to get items cheaper than your competitors. Be a professional on the products you are selling or have the friendliest staff.

8. Dont go it alone – Unless you are a accountant, a lawyer or a designer then you should hire professionals to do those tasks. In the long run, if you try and do it yourself you will waste more time and money than if you originally paid a professional to do it. Rememer your time isnt free anymore.

It is also a good idea to have someone you can bounce ideas off. Its especially important to have someone who will play devils advocate for you.

9. Be Professional – Everything you do should be professional. Your business cards, the way you act and even the way you dress. This shows your clients that you are a professional running a serious business.

10. Prepare for the worst – What would you do if your house/office burnt down right now? Would your customer database be backed up elsewhere or would it perish? Do you have adequate insurance if a clients computer perished in a fire, along with all its data?

Source: http://www.technibble.com/10-tips-for-a-starting-a-computer-business/

Five tips to help you become a great leader

No. 1: Become a small picture kind of boss
It’s critical that you help everyone understand the overall goals and objectives of the organization. But don’t forget that the best leaders also help translate those goals down to the smallest details of individual jobs and help their employees make the connection. Learn to help everyone — at every level — understand how his or her specific contribution can make the whole organization more successful.

No. 2: Develop your memory
Think back to the first time a highly respected leader remembered your name. It felt pretty good, right? Like you counted. The best leaders remember names, job roles, hobbies, partner’s names, and more. It’s amazing to watch them go through a series of meetings and see just how good their memories are. And it pays off — people work harder for leaders who care enough to remember personal things about them.

No. 3: Track how you spend your time
The best leaders and managers spend their time where the biggest payoff is likely to come. But despite their best intentions, many leaders spend too much time on fighting fires or dealing with problem people. To see how you’re doing, regularly take out your calendar and review how much of your time you spent with who and on what. If you see a pattern in your behavior — like investing too much time dealing with the whiny guy who always has troubles in his department instead of with the positive guy who always delivers on his commitments, you may want to make some changes to your time management.

No. 4: Don’t demi-task
Do you listen 100 percent of the time or are you usually mentally engaged in several things at once? Effective leaders know that NOBODY can multi-task effectively over the long haul. They’ve figured out how to focus with laser-like precision. Their team members learn that their boss is really on top of things and can’t be bluffed. This makes the team better at being clear and precise in their communications to you. And that saves time and energy for everyone.

No. 5: Nuke the Blackberry when you’re at home
Many executives feel the organization would fall apart without them. They think it s imperative to always be available to take a message and “fix” things. But, lots of very successful leaders relegate voicemails and emails after hours to a bare minimum. They can do that because they have a great team in place and they trust the people who work for them. And, the bottom line is that your time AWAY from work is critical for remaining mentally sharp, creative, and motivated.

These are just few of the ways IT leaders can build a more successful organization, and I’ll leave you with one more: Celebrate success. Even in downtimes, you can find something that’s going well and mention it during your meetings or in emails. When you celebrate the little wins, you encourage more of the same behavior from others. And soon, you’ll have bigger things to celebrate.

10 career resolutions for the new year

Another year has arrived, and with it, the traditional resolutions. Below are 10 resolutions for IT professionals. None of them deals with diet or exercise, because we know most of those fail within two weeks. Instead, these resolutions are aimed at helping you expand your knowledge, sharpen your skills, develop better professional relationships, and advance your career.

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10 keyboard shortcuts for tabbing around in Internet Explorer 7

Date: August 30th, 2007
Blogger: Jody Gilbert
Source: Techrepublic

Internet Explorer users officially entered the era of tabbed browsing with IE 7. No more wading through multiple browser sessions or time-traveling to previously visited sites via the Back and Forward buttons. For those of you who rely heavily on tabbed browsing, here are a few shortcuts that may save you even more time.
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10 things you can do to keep your IT job from taking over your life

Date: September 17th, 2007
Blogger: Jody Gilbert
Source : TechRepublic�

IT professionals don�t hold a monopoly on working excessively long hours or having job responsibilities cast a shadow over their personal lives. But for many reasons, it�s a field that invites long hours, persistent worries, and a reluctance � or inability � to mentally clock out when the workday should be over.

Some IT pros are all-but-indentured to a company that expects 24/7 availability. Some face a staggering gap between resources and work to be done. Others discover that effective time management is out of reach because of project volatility and constantly changing priorities.

#1: Learn to dismiss or delegate
Managing your workload is one key to preventing chores from spilling over into your personal time. If your to-do list is busting at the seams and adding countless hours to your workweek, you have a couple of choices. One possibility is to toss a few things overboard. Maybe they�ll drift back. But if you carefully choose what to jettison, those things may not resurface for a long time � if ever. Candidates for dismissal include things in the �It would be nice to�� category � tasks that aren�t critical to daily operations or maintaining a secure and stable environment. (�It would be nice to update the company intranet to include end user resources� but it can wait.�)

Another possibility is to delegate tasks when you can. This can be tough � especially if it�s work you would have enjoyed doing if you had time or if you assume no one can handle the job as well as you could. But if you�re swamped, you need help. And there are benefits beyond lightening your workload. For one thing, you�ll break the habit of hanging onto everything until you can see to it personally (which may never happen). For another, you�ll be helping co-workers or subordinates expand their knowledge and skills, making them more valuable to the company (and happily, to you as well).

We�re not talking here about dumping a bunch of work on some poor hapless associate. There�s some upfront effort involved in selecting the best tasks to delegate, finding the best person to handle the tasks, and making sure that person has what�s needed to get the job done. But it should become an automatic part of your thinking when you�re thinking, �How can I get all this done?�

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10 ways to prepare yourself for an IT leadership role

Date: September 3rd, 2007
Blogger: Ramon Padilla
Source: http Techrepublic

1) It’s not all about the ladder
The first thing to realize is that taking advantage of a leadership opportunity does not necessarily mean moving up on the career ladder. It can be simply a matter of taking on more responsibility or taking ownership of something. Often, this type of opportunity has no monetary or status reward other than the personal growth that allows you to be better prepared for your next opportunity

2) Leadership happens
Sometimes, leadership is not a choice�it may be thrust upon you. This can happen in a million ways, but the important thing is to recognize the opportunity and to step up and do the best you can with the situation you have just been handed. Be careful in these situations. People often look upon them as “why me?” instead of taking advantage of an opportunity. You may be in for more work, but it comes with the territory
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