The small business owner has only two commodities to invest in their enterprise: money and time. Often, the first is so closely guarded that it causes a noticeable drain on the second. IT is a prime target when looking for areas in which to curtail costs. However, a moderate investment in the right IT expert will yield a significant savings in time and frustration.
Here are the top five reasons to NOT do IT yourself.
1. It isn’t just about the hours.
IT technicians have as much training and experience in their field as you do in your area of expertise. They have more knowledge, wider experience, and more tools at their disposal. If there’s a problem you can’t figure out, chances are they’ve already seen it multiple times.
2. IT is not just an afterthought.
Tools and equipment that your business relies on can’t be viewed as incidental or maintained only when there is “spare time”. A comprehensive maintenance program is just as important for your e-mail, web site, social media, and devices as it is for any other piece of machinery in your company.
3. Experts take the guesswork out of planning.
Remember that “simple” software upgrade that ate up an entire afternoon? That printer installation that didn’t finish in time to print reports for the meeting? IT experts who have been there-done that can accurately estimate the scope of a project, have an established process for getting the job done, and know where to focus. If unexpected problems do arise, they have more IT resources and experts at their disposal than you do.
4. DIY IT burns the candle at both ends.
When a small business owner takes on IT themselves, resources are consumed at double the rate they should be. Time which should be spent on revenue generation is lost to non-core activities. Moreover, if the owner is not familiar with the IT task at hand, even more time will be exhausted in navigating the steep learning curve.
5. DIY IT will cost you more in the end.
You’ll probably have to spend more money for an IT expert to fix your faulty work than it would have cost for them to do the job up front. DIY IT may save you money – if you know what you’re doing and don’t mess up.
You prefer to spend your time doing what you’re good at. Let the IT experts do what we do best. We’ll do a better job, faster!
Have a DIY horror story related to technology? Leave us a comment below.