Everyone wants to work from home these days. Who wants to commute to an office and sit in a cubicle when you can be just as productive in your own home wearing what you like without having anyone looking over your shoulder?
Whether it’s in business for yourself or over a high speed connection to the office – work at home is hot – and that’s a lot of work to be had for you as an IT entrepreneur.
But before choosing a logo for your Superfixit5000 van it’s important to get down to some fundamentals and proper planning (the logo bit does come – all in good time). Like any other business a proper plan, some research and the ticking of a few key boxes are what will get your venture off the ground and flying high. Here are just a few:
1. Know your market – home users (duh!), but seriously. Who are they? What do they do? The corporate employees will have their own remote support so you’ll be targeting the entrepreneurial types (like you) and recreational computer users.
2. Know what to expect from them – what problems will they typically encounter? What should you get up to speed on so you can diagnose and fix their issues quickly and efficiently? More often than not it will be spyware related – expect to see a lot of that.
3. Know your competition – Who is doing the same, how are they doing it, how much do they charge, what services do they provide and how do they advertise? Do they have special promotions or bundles?
4. Professionalism is everything – you need professional looking work orders, invoices, website, business cards and flyers that make people take you seriously.
5. Have a strong brand – Now it’s time for the logo! Have a consistent brand that identifies you, sticks in people’s minds and differentiates from the competition.
6. Get connected – who can help you build and grow your computer repair business? Where are the best suppliers, can you outsource and project manage the services you don’t provide yourself? Can you quickly refer people to non competing complimentary businesses to fulfil their needs and charge referral/finders fees?
7. Plan for growth – do this from the beginning. A business plan is a must and you need to be prepared to deal with having to get help when there’s too much work and budgeting to cover quiet periods. Having a growth and investment strategy is what will take your business to the next level and ensure you never have to take orders from anyone else ever again.
Home users and small businesses are in dire need of friendly capable computer professionals to see to their IT needs. To really get the most out of all the potential business you need to put on your entrepreneur cap and think in terms of opportunity – at every opportunity.
When you’re in someone’s home or office looking at their computer problems you’re more than just a fix it person. They’re going to ask you for advice on their IT strategy and will expect you to have answers. Even if they don’t ask, you are guaranteed to see disasters waiting to happen and potential improvements – so think like a consultant and don’t be afraid to make recommendations.
The success of your enterprise will hinge largely on people’s perception of you and how you run your operation. Word of mouth advertising and recommendation is your bread and butter. Go out of your way to overdeliver and meet their needs (including the ones they don’t know about) with a well thought out professional service.
To do that you need a plan and a roadmap – invest the time early to build a solidly founded home computer repair business and you’ll never have to work for anyone else again.
Peter Webber
This video shows you how to assemble and mount the power supply, cover plate, motherboard, standoffs, and wires in the case. Credits: , howstuffworks
Over the past few years, we have witnessed a surprising jump in the video game industry. When a new game system is released there are people in line for days, willing to pay a sizeable amount of money for the newest system. The reason for this craze is that the people making the games are breaking new barriers each and every day. If you have a computer animation degree, then you can also be a part of this amazing journey.
We have come a long way from the one-dimensional video games of the 1980’s. In twenty years, we have gone from ball and paddle games to completely realistic games that encompass the entire body and mind. You are now able to use your controller as a steering wheel, a baseball bat or a hockey stick and have the situation play itself out accurately in front of your eyes.
With all of these remarkable advancements in just the past few decades, one can only imagine what is to come next. If you have a computer animation degree, you will be able to have a say about what the next innovations will be. The popularity of gaming is at its highest point ever. One of the main reasons for this is that it is not only young people who are participating. People of all ages are now realizing that gaming has gotten to the point of allowing you to enter worlds that you never deemed possible.
This industry shows no signs of slowing down. This type of degree will give you all of the necessary skills in order to prosper as a video game designer. With a computer animation degree, you will be able to advance your skills in 3D modeling, character design, animation as well as developing the content of your game. Once you have these skills, all you need is a bit of creativity to capitalize on this growing industry.
If you are debating going to school or going back to school, there are a lot of options ahead of you. However, it is quite difficult to find an industry that is “Designing Toy Story” Featurette “SUBTITLES INCLUDED”
guaranteed to prosper throughout your career. Although the games and systems that are available now are mind-blowing, this is only the beginning. There is such a huge market in all age brackets that there is no chance that this industry will lose any speed over the next 100 years. It is quite likely that it will continue to expand and attract more people as the years go on.
The courses will give you the training you need to perform a variety of tasks. You certainly won’t have to limit yourself to making video games. You will be able to work in film, advertising or any other market that may require animation. Your options are endless with this degree and you will always remain at the forefront of the technology industry.
It is mind-boggling to even think of the possible advancements in modern animation. But if you have a natural talent with computer animation, then you should capitalize on that talent by getting a computer animation degree. This degree program will take your previous skills and turn them into talents that employers are seeking. It will also help you build your portfolio to make you more appealing to potential employers. Video game design can be a tough market. Securing a computer animation degree will help you gain a career that will be exciting and rewarding.
It’s for sure! Online money is out there. Here I explain what separates the big money winners from the losers. I need to first show you some of the key ideas that pre-date the Internet.
Before the Internet
The need to make money has always been with us. One of the earliest strategies to accomplish this was the “chain letter”. Don’t worry – I’m not promoting a chain letter – rather explaining a lesson we can all learn from that ill-fated methodology.
The power of the chain letter lay in the fact that it allowed people to leverage their investment. It worked like this.
You get a letter that asks you to:
* Send a small amount of money to the person whose name is at the top of a list of future recipients.
* Delete the first recipient on the list, and put your own name on the bottom of the list.
* Copy and mail the letter to as many people as you can.
If you sent the letter to 100 people, and each of them sent it to 100, and so on, by the time your name got to the top of the list it would be in the hands of many thousands of recipients – each of whom would send you a small amount of money.
How Chain Letters Didn’t Work
The principle problem with the chain letter was that your small donation to the person at the top of the list was a gift. You got nothing in return. For this reason, our country’s lawmakers got into the act.
The “End” of the Chain Letter
Lawmakers don’t like to see large amounts of money changing hands without getting their own hands on some of it – to tax it in other words.
So the “authorities” outlawed the chain letter as you might expect. The public rationale was that the process would sooner or later “saturate”, because 100 x 100 x 100 x etc. would eventually encompass everyone on the planet, and those joining toward the end would never get the “reward” they had been “promised”.
This action ignored the fact that no chain letter in history ever actually “saturated”. But the concept looked good mathematically and seemed popular with the voters; so the public remains “protected” from chain letters to this day.
In the early sixties, a little vitamin company called Nutrilite invented the marketing strategy we know today as multilevel marketing.
This was a very clever idea. It built on sequential recruitment, the basis of the chain letter; but it sold real products: vitamins. Now there was value received in every transaction.
Two young men partnered up and got really successful at this business and wound up buying Nutrilite. Out of this grew the giant multilevel company known as Amway. Its annual sales hit a billion dollars around 1986, and is approaching seven billion dollars a year today (2008).
MLMs and the Law
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took Amway to court, claiming that the sequential recruitment of distributors violated the anti-chain-letter laws.
Amazing! The courts finally did something right. They recognized that there is nothing basically wrong with sequential recruitment, and completely exonerated Amway.
When the dust had settled, the FTC and the Department of “Justice” agreed to re-define the chain letter and the MLM so the chain letter remained illegal while the MLM was officially legalized.
Many people learned from this that sequential recruitment is legal when the customers actually receive something they want in return for their money.
Mail-Order MLM
Still talking pre-Internet lore: it wasn’t long before enterprising individuals began building mail order businesses in which the products sold were documents (small booklets) that provided the reader with useful information.
Such documents were easy to create, cheap to produce, and inexpensive to mail. Employing sequential recruitment similar to that used by chain letters, such businesses provided (for a price) the document products and the methodology of distribution.
It was up to each participant to reproduce the documents, to advertise them via the mail, and to deliver them via mail as promised.
This system of doing business meets all the legal standards of current MLM laws and provides for a very high return on investment. A document that cost 50¢ to produce and another 50¢ to mail might sell for $10 or $20. This business model is still much in use today, and huge profits are being made.
The use of the Internet to facilitate this money making process further amplifies the method’s profitability and makes it accessible to almost anyone. Its development was the next step towards creation of the first online money making machine.
Enter the Internet
On the Internet today, free or inexpensive email to opt-in lists, cheap classified advertising, and highly targeted (though not-so-cheap) search engine advertising make it possible to advertise much more cheaply than can be done by conventional mail.
The cheap and, often automated, creation of personal websites puts large amounts of information in the hands of would-be “infopreneurs” at a fraction of the cost of snail-mail distribution.
Instead of printing and mailing booklets to their customers, businesses of this sort simply receive payment via secure credit card transaction, and then permit the buyer to download the product at the click of a mouse at essentially no cost to the seller.
Thus the properly equipped “infopreneur” creates a virtual money-making machine that handles all the formerly laborious tasks associated with mail-order document sales.
By combining the best features of sequential recruitment, MLM sales, and mail-order document sales with the computer automation provided by the Internet, today’s infopreneur can make large amounts of money in record time. This is the basis of virtually all the big online money-makers.
The worse the economy, the higher the unemployment level, the fewer the jobs available, the more attractive this kind of business is to the public.
The Best Online Money Machine – So Far
Examples of this newly developed business technology come in many styles. Some are well explained and easy to implement; some are more complex and not so well documented. Unless you want to build your own online money machine from scratch – a major undertaking that I don’t recommend – I suggest that you plug into an existing one that works.
To see the best example of this technology that I have found so far – one that is simple, legal, honest, and ethical – you don’t have to look far.
Robert Podolsky
Oasis – I Wanna Live In A Dream In My Record Machine (Demo) Help me, define the light that’s shining on me to get back what they’ve taken from me and build a little fire where it’s cold Show me, the path that leads to all the glory the words that tell a sacred story and build a little fire where its cold I wanna live in a dream in my record machine I want a piece of the world and every one inside my mouth cuz all the money I waste, is in a manner of taste I want a piece of the world and you can’t make me spit it out Take me, back from the darkness where they sent me, and give hope to places to where it can’t be and build a little fire where its cold I wanna live in a dream in my record machine I want a piece of the world and every one inside my mouth and all the money I waste, is in a manner of taste I want a piece of the world and you can’t make me spit it out You can’t give me a reason, I don’t need one to shine you can’t give me the feelings cuz they’re already mine you get one in a million and if the sun won’t rise on my soul, then I’ll glow
Would you like to build your own web page for free? Are you trying to attract new customers or drive more visitors to your product or service? Are you techno-phobic or tangled in a web of computer confusion? Do you already have a web page needing an update, but don’t want to waste more time/money on it?
If you’re ready to build your own web page for free here are a few of the things you’ll need to look at.
Assessing and developing an internet strategy for marketing your product or service.
Whether to build your own web page for free, or hire the right person to do it.
Secrets to developing an effective web page, including tricks the pros use.
How to list with search engines and what it takes to get first page placement visibility.
Setting up low-cost effective domain names and web hosting.
While making up your mind on whether or not to build your own web page for free some things you might want to consider. First is how good does your site need to work? If you are trying to market to professionals then a cheap and easy page that you just throw together for free will not do.
On the other hand if you are building a web page that will be for you and your family’s entertainment then you should be able to build your own web page for free. There are many ways to go about building you own web page. Some involve purchasing high dollar others using the build your own web page for free software that is provided by your ISP.
If you’re looking to build your own web page for free and yet build it fast and easy, and still be able to customize it and make it professional looking without learning HTML code, then you may want to look at one of the step by step web page building software packages available.
These programs rage in price from free to a few hundred dollars, typically the more expensive the more bells and whistles, but don’t go out and buy the most expensive one you find. More often than not the high dollar programs will have features you will probably never use. On the other had you can get a step by step program that will help you build your own web page for free, all you have to after that is pick a domain name and hosting service to host you’re web page.
If you are interested, there are his hands on web programming class provides a thorough introduction to implementing a full-featured Web site on the Internet or corporate Intranet, including implementation of dynamic content using JavaScript and related tools. Starting with thorough coverage of HTML, these courses progress to the implementation of dynamic client-side content using JavaScript.
Victoria
quesomanrulz.com / twitter.com – I as well as many others often enjoy being part of an online community. After a while though we get to the point that we are interested in creating our own. I have already created my own community with this website and the forum that goes with it. In this tutorial you will learn how to create your own forum as part of starting your own community…For more go to www.quesomanrulz.com Links: webhost – byethost.com Forum Software – phpbb.com FTP Client – filezilla-project.org
I remember as a kid going to Radio Shack and buying circuit board etching kits, with copper clad boards and acid for etching etc. In those days the circuits were simple and the boards a real pain. Then along came a wide variety of prototyping systems for building circuits, wire wrapping, vector boards, and plug-in Proto-Boards. I’ve used them all and more.
The last time I needed a circuit built for possible commercial production it was quite expensive. I needed to have a designer design the board, creating gerber files to send to the circuit board house that then made the boards. I don’t remember all the details, but to get just a few boards for debugging cost several thousand dollars. Prohibitive cost wise for a lot of us part time electronic engineers. (Read inventors).
Imagine my excitement when I found that you can now design your circuit boards with online tools, push a button, enter your credit card number (of course) and have circuit boards in 3 days for under $100.00. The cost depends upon a number of factors, including the number of square inches of board and how many layers etc. Your boards can have up to 4 layers; have ground planes, and all sorts of other fancy details.
I’ve been using a service called ExpressPCB. The service is excellent and the PCB design software is very easy to learn and use.
To get started you register at one of the online board houses such as ExpressPCB and download the software they provide for you at no cost. The software includes a program for creating the schematic diagrams and another program for designing the board itself. The software is very easy to learn and use. Most of the components you will probably need to use are already in the programs. Things like pots, resistors, capacitors, transistors, IC chips including the latest microcontroller chips are included. You just copy and paste the components to the schematic and or board programs. If there is a component that they do not already have in their program, you can easily build custom components.
Once you’ve finished your schematic diagram you link it to the board design program, and when you click on a pin of a component the pins that are to be connected to that pin are all lit up in blue so you can easily draw the traces in. The traces on the top and bottom of the board are different colors making it easy to differentiate between the traces. The manufacturer includes all those useful little details about what size traces to use with different current requirements and what spacing you need between traces etc. Some board houses will even stuff the boards for you…but it costs.
After completing your board you can get an instant quote with either a 3 day turnaround or a 10 day turnaround. The 10 day turnaround is less expensive of course.
I’ve found this service to be a godsend. If I need a quick circuit prototyped, I just get on the computer and whip up the design, send my file off via the internet, and three days later I have my finished professional looking printed circuit board. What a world we live in!
William Lund
Learn how to install a computer power supply needed tobuild a custom PC in this free instructional video. Expert: Allen Gottfried Contact: www.greendevil.com Bio: Allen Gottfried has been bartending and working in the food service industry for more than three years. He also brews his own beer. Filmmaker: Allen Gottfried
Wedding loans are also a type of personal loans. Wedding day is the most important day in everyone’s life. A wedding loan can make it very special. If you are calling all your friends and relatives, then you have to throw a big party. You can choose appropriate loan from the range of loans offered. Read the article to find out about the loans available in the UK loan market…
Credit relationships in a social system form an intricate web which extends throughout the financing environment of the community.
In the first case, the loan is approved quickly because of a special requirement of borrower. Borrowers, in a few cases require loan urgently.
Consolidation loans allow you to consolidate your monthly payments to several creditors into one, larger monthly payment.
Build Your Business (on a shoestring): Hire a College Intern
Starting up a new venture or business can be one of the most exciting times of your life. It can also be one of the most stressful. In the early months, or even early years of your business, cash flow is often not what you would like it to be. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, you’re wearing many hats – in fact, you’re probably wearing all of them.
Not only are you selling your product or service, you’re marketing it, doing the accounting, paying the bills, answering the phones, designing and updating your website and preparing and sending out mail. And, certainly for your own business, you can easily think of ten or fifteen additional tasks to be done in addition to these. In the early days of your start-up, many if not most of these tasks seem doable. But, once you’ve started making sales or the public interest in your business begins to grow, wearing all the hats becomes impossible, frustrating, and highly stressful. One quick and easy solution is to hire an intern – a college intern. During my corporate career in finance, I made use of many college interns over the years. Not only were they diligent, responsible, and some of the best employees, they were eager to learn and to contribute ideas. My interns were reliable and many of them hired on as regular employees after graduating from college.
With more and more college students choosing to start their own businesses rather than working for others, having a first-hand opportunity to work in a business start-up, like yours, might be just what they’re looking for. So how can you find an intern that will be just right for you and your business?
Simples Steps to Hiring an Intern
1. What do I need to do? What can the intern do? One of the first things to do is to take a clean sheet of paper and begin writing down all the tasks that you perform in your business – and I mean everything. Next, decide what tasks you absolutely need to do yourself and which ones might be assigned to an intern. Typical tasks that you do might include:
* inputt Credibility, How To Spot It
ing business card data into your database
* contacting local chambers of commerce and ordering mailing lists
* appearing at tradeshows (perfect for an intern to work as your assistant)
* buying office supplies
* going to the post office to mail packages, letters, etc.
* miscellaneous errands
* meetings with clients
* reviewing local newspapers, business periodicals and trade journals for possible business prospects or other opportunities
* article clipping
* attending chamber functions and other networking events
* filing
* answering phones
* bookkeeping
Certainly there are a lot of things to do in your business! And, obviously, not all of these can be done by anyone other than you. Once you’ve drafted a comprehensive list of tasks, using different colored high-lighters, or something as simple as a check-mark, determine which of these tasks can be assigned to someone else. This will become the basis for writing up a job description for your intern.
2. Drafting a job description. Write up a simple job description that includes a list of tasks you need completed on a weekly basis. Also, estimate how much time these tasks will take and, if possible, what days of the week might be best for someone to work for you.
3. What type of intern? My suggestion is to hire a college intern who has background in the areas that you most need help with. For example, if your start-up is heavily focused on using computer technology to either produce your product or service, or if it is a significant part of the interface with your clients, hire an intern who is studying computer science. On the other hand, if you have a business focusing on delivering corporate sales training programs, hire a marketing major. If you have general office work that needs to be done, consider a business administration student.
4. To pay or not to pay? That is the question. Nowadays, interns are readily available for pay or no pay. The hiring market for new college graduates is rather strained so they know that any and all work experience they gain prior to graduation will serve them well in the future.
For the purpose of ease in recognition, we will refer to the first case of instant loans as fast loans and the second class of instant loans as instant loans itself.
An individual who is caught in the midst of debt trap can take a debt consolidation loan, to reduce the debt burden and become debt free in the future by paying the existing debts.
The loan amount is usually restricted to £25,000 because of the absence of any security for the lender. Consolidation Unsecured Loan loans are usually applied for by tenants and non homeowners who do not have a home to offer as security, however, this does not stop homeowners from applying for them.
Personal loans are loans taken by people for personal reasons. This might sound as a vague definition of personal loans.
Talk to your financial lenders about how you can go about qualifying for these types of loans and you will be well on your way to paying down debt and living a debt free, hassle free lifestyle.
5. Offer benefits other than money. Money is not the “be all, end all” of a relationship with your intern. Many interns are looking to learn new skills which can best be learned in a real-life scenario. They also know the importance of networking and the possibilities that might accrue by meeting the right person at the right time. In addition, if they really enjoy the experience (and you do, too), they’ll want you to write them a letter of recommendation or serve as a reference in the future.
There are other ways you can “compensate” your intern. Consider developing a coaching program for them which entails teaching them your business in an organized manner. Teach them the steps of creating a business from scratch. By having them assist with all aspects of the business, you may be opening up the door for them to start their own. Consider offering them commissioned-based compensation based upon product or service sales they close on their own. Or, you might design an internship where they can earn college credit. Contact the appropriate faculty member in charge of credit-based internship programs to see if you might be able to create a development program which will fulfill some of their elective credit hour requirements.
6. Minimum requirements. Before you’re ready to contact your local college or university to place the advertisement for an intern, make sure you have the following information ready:
* Company Name
* Company Address
* Your Name
* Telephone Number (you may not wish to give out your telephone number so that applicants are forced to submit resumes through fax or via email)
* Fax Number
* Email Address
* Job Description (including complete list of expected tasks, expected number of hours to be worked, days to be worked (if necessary), hourly rate of pay (if applicable), negotiable rate (if you wish to evaluate their qualifications before setting a rate)
* Type of college major desired (business administration, accountancy, finance, computer science, etc.)
* How best to contact you (phone or email) and what to send (resume, letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc.)
7. Contact career services. Once you’ve gathered all the necessary information, contact the career services center of several local colleges and universities. They will either give you online access to a system where you can input your job description information, or you can simply provide them with the information and they will do it for you. Once your posting is approved, it will be made available for students to access.
8. Gather resumes and start interviewing. Allow your advertisement to be posted for at least two weeks. Start sorting through resumes right away to see who might be the best fit. Begin setting up interviews immediately to find the best candidate for the position.
9. Interviewing. Ask both closed and open-ended questions. Closed-ended questions require a yes or no answer, whereas open-ended questions request explanation and elaboration. Find out about their prior work experience; ask for examples of how they’ve handled particular situations, all while carefully evaluating their communication skills. You might even ask for a copy of one their class papers to assess their writing skills. Make sure that you are comfortable with them in every aspect. After all, you will be entrusting them with your top priority – your business.
10. Status reports. You might consider asking your intern to fill out a weekly status report which tracks the assignments completed, including how much time each task required. It will give the intern a sense of accomplishment with respect to their contributions, while providing you with useful information about what has been completed.
11. Enjoy the benefits. There’s so much to gain from building relationships with others. While the intern is learning from you, you’ll be surprised at how much you will learn from him or her. Encourage them to take ownership and pride in what they are doing, praise and acknowledge them frequently for jobs well done, and welcome their comments, criticisms, and contributions.
Using college interns to help you with your business is not only a cost-effective way to get things done, but it’s a wonderful way to contribute to the knowledge and experience of someone who might very well follow in your footsteps. In any case, it can be a win-win situation for everyone. Home Improvement Loan A Home Improvement Loan is a low interest loan secured on your property. With a Home Improvement Loan you can borrow from £5,000 to £75,000 with low monthly repayments.
Cash advance loan and no fax payday loans are some of the classes of instant loans that are prevalent nowadays. A payday loan is lent out till the borrower receives his next paycheque.
Loans are supposed to help you with certain financial interruptions. They must not be a way of life.
The loan service is not confined to a group of people. Lenders in the UK aim to cater to the needs of each and every individual.
Learn more ways to reduce debts today. The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan is a direct loan the government charges you interest while you are in school.
TV Cabinets, or Armoires, are fast becoming the norm in American homes. Coming in all shapes and sizes, these pieces of furniture are popular ways to store television sets and related video and sound equipment.
Getting exactly what you want may be difficult though, since manufacturers only make a set amount of models; you need to shop around extensively for just the right one. What if even then you can’t find a setup you like?
Custom TV cabinets are another option. These tend to be on the pricey side, and can cost several thousand dollars. It is possible though, with creative use of kitchen cabinetry, to create a customized tv cabinet at a price you can live with.
There are no rules anywhere stating that a wall cabinet must go on the kitchen wall, or that kitchen cabinets need to go in the kitchen at all. What prevents you from putting them in a living room and using them as a tv stand? Nothing! Have at it, we say.
We’ve come up with a pretty simple example as a test, one that allows for a fairly good sized television and provides ample space for sound equipment and CD/DVD storage. Everything in the design depends on what you have for equipment; it’s easy enough to change though since it’s not one gigantic piece of furniture. Using kitchen cabinets means that it’s modular and customizable.
On either side of the television are stacked wall cabinets, 30″H x 24″W x 18″D, each with two adjustable shelves. On the floor in between them is a subwoofer with a block to either side. These blocks can be more cabinets, or some sort of framed in piece strong enough to hold up the television.
Above these is the television itself, and above that is another wall cabinet. We used a 12″H x 42″W x 12″D, which you’d have to bump out a bit to be flush with the rest of the cabinets, but you could get a cabinet with the same depth of 18″ and figure out which height will look best. Certain cabinet companies might have the exact size you need here.
The idea is that you can get a totally customized television cabinet with kitchen cabinets for a fraction of what you would pay someone to build a comparable piece of furniture. We priced this one in Birch in a higher-end semi-custom cabinet company. With solid doors, it weighs in around $1900. With the glass pictured the price is in the $2500 range. Again though, this could change easily, depending on what you need.
Remember too that tv cabinets are not the only application for kitchen cabinets. Using similar ideas, it’s possible to make office desks, board room multimedia presentation centers, computer armoires, and many more.
For more information about using kitchen cabinets as tv cabinets, visit www.thecabinetfolks.com. To see the 3D rendering of the design mentioned here, just follow the articles link from our home page.
Craig Parker
Click the “watch in high quality” link below the video to watch this video in high def! Bonus Video – www.youtube.com visit my website at thenewBoston.com
Do you own a computer business that caters to the needs of local small businesses?
A rookie mistake many computer business owners make when starting out in the IT industry is believing that all small businesses are created equal. They think they can just create some well-designed marketing materials that will appeal to all small business owners in their area and get a nice response that will bring them instant clients. If only it were that easy!
The trouble is, most small business owners don’t identify themselves as small business owners. When introducing themselves in networking situations or in advertisements, the typical small business owner won’t say, “Hi, I’m John Doe, and I run a small business.” Instead, they identify themselves by their occupation or industry. They introduce themselves as public accountants, attorneys, florists, locksmiths, health club owners, doctors, dentists, and electricians for example.
There are literally hundreds of different types of small businesses. And if you want to get great clients for your computer business, you need to target those that will be most likely to need your comprehensive IT solutions. Consider the following 4 ways to create a focused marketing campaign that can get you the very best clients.
1. Know the Differences Between Different Types of Small Businesses and the Profit They Can Bring to Your Computer Business. Because different types of small business clients can bring you different results in terms of service revenue, think about focusing your marketing efforts on only the most profitable potential clients. On a basic level, the ideal client for your business will be first of all, big enough to have a need and budget for outsourced IT services on a regular basis… but at the same time, not so big that the company already has a large in-house IT department.
2. Know What Sweet Spot Clients(tm) Mean to Your Business. The “not too small” but “not too big” concept is what defines Sweet Spot Clients(tm). It’s where you will find companies with anywhere from 10-100 employees, with 10-50 PC’s and annual revenues between $1 million – $20 million (USD). This is where many computer business owners find their best opportunities for significant growth.
3. Very Small Businesses Are Not Ideal Clients. When you work with small businesses that have just a handful of PC’s, they are often too small to afford many of your recommendations. While this type of business is still technically defined as a small business, you will find that marketing to or servicing a very small company will usually not be profitable. These types of businesses will not be able to afford on-going Support and will ultimately not be able to grow past being an occasional customer. The turning point for a small business is when it needs services on a monthly, semi-monthly, or even weekly basis… and it must invest in at least one real, dedicated server.
4. Very Large Small Businesses Do Not Make the Best Computer Business Clients Either. When you have large small businesses with 50+ systems as your clients and they start seeing you on a weekly or even daily basis, they often will have a light-bulb moment: “We could really save money and get faster service if we hired a full-time IT manager.” While there still might be a place for your computer business in this type of environment as a specialist, this size of small business will end up delegating most work to a full-time IT manager on their payroll.
When it comes to the profitability of specific small business clients, remember that not all small businesses are created equal. You need to target the right type of clients to make sure you can build long-term relationships and enjoy on-going service revenue.
Copyright (C), ComputerBusinessHQ.com, All Rights Reserved.
Joshua Feinberg
David Hayes, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Interior, moderates a session on Transforming Customer Service at the White House Forum on Modernizing Government. January 14, 2010.
Computer Science degrees are offered at hundreds, if not thousands of colleges across the country for a good reason; the demand for computer experts has never been higher. In fact, the need for computer scientists will continue to rise through at least 2015 according to the United State Department of Labor’s 2006 report on career growth.
What many people don’t realize is that part of the hiring increase of the future in the computer sciences area includes a trend toward more specialization. According to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, “The explosive use of computers has created a high demand for specialists to provide advice to users, as well as for day-to-day administration, maintenance, and support of computer systems and networks.”
When considering a career in the computer sciences, you should consider colleges and universities that offer a variety of programs under the umbrella of either computer science degrees or information technology degrees, as the terms are interchangeable. Look to see if the school offers just one degree or if they offer several different specializations. Ideally, a school should offer at least three bachelor’s degrees that are more tightly focused, such as Computer Programming, Network Engineering or Database Administration, all of which would fall under Management Information Systems (MIS).
The Department of Labor’s report also recommends that anyone pursuing a computer science degree be sure to pursue ongoing education after a degree is achieved and a job is landed. Because of the rapidly changing face of computing, it’s essential that anyone working in this industry continue to build on his education by getting additional certifications and adding new skills every few years.
Find a college that also offers ongoing certifications that are licensed by leaders in the industry, such as Microsoft’s various programs, Cisco’s CCNA and Net+. Knowing that you can return to your alma mater for continuing education is a great way to ensure that your certification courses will be of the same high caliber as your undergraduate classes.
Outlook is Good for Properly Trained Specialists
The Occupational Outlook Handbook of 2006 is adamant in its belief that there is no end in sight to the increasing need for computer specialists. It lists numerous specific titles that require intense training in particular areas, including:
Computer Systems Analysts
Computer Programmers
Software Engineers/Developers (consistently growing as businesses continue to require new, highly specialized software to suit their needs)
Database Administrators
Computer Support Specialists
Data Communication Analysts/Webmasters (increasingly popular in retail as more businesses open online, virtual storefronts)
Computer Systems Administrators (expected to be one of the fastest growing careers in the next five years)
Cyber Security (a relatively new field that has taken off like a rocket as online terrorism and corporate espionage has increasingly threatened corporate computer systems)
The best computer science degree programs will not only include a wide range of specializations, but will also offer different types of degrees as well. Ideally, a college should offer Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees along with various types of certification. This will help guarantee that the teaching staff is current on all the latest advancements and also giving you the most educational options. With computer training being in such high demand, you may even find that you can get a great job with one degree and get reimbursement through your employer to pursue a higher-level degree.
With so many reasons to go into the computer sciences and so many highly specialized career options available, pursuing one of the many specialized computer science degrees now offered is a great investment in your future. How to Build a Computer – 13 – Power Supplies
Computers have evolved over the last decade so much that many of us could not imagine life without one. With the advent of the World Wide Web, computers have gone from a tool used primarily for work, to fulfilling a daily function where many of us use them for fun, socializing, and work.
With computer usage so high in this age, we are seeing a need for appropriately designed furniture that best suits the needs and style of your home or office. But which computer desk is right you? With so many options to choose from, it could be a difficult question to answer. This article details the different types of computer desks, and factors to consider when purchasing one. After reading this article, making your decision as to which desk to purchase should be a simple and fun experience.
Before you Begin:
Before stepping out of your house or hopping on the internet to find a computer desk, consider the following factors:
- The dimensions of the room the desk will go in.
- Aside from the computer and monitor, what other peripherals are there, such as printers, speakers.
- Where are the power sources located in your room?
- Who will be using the computer most often? Are they left or right handed?
- Will you need hutches, bookcases, filing cabinets, or other furniture to go with your computer desk?
Answer these questions and any others unique to your situation, and then you’ll be ready to shop.
Types of Computer Desks:
Now that you have a good understanding of your needs and wants regarding your computer desk, it is time to get familiar with the different types you may find.
Standard Desks:
- Standard desks are usually 29 to 31 inches high, built for someone of average height. Most will have a sliding keyboard shelf, and some may or may not have storage drawers. When selecting a standard desk, keep in mind any additional features you may want to include in the future.
Executive Desks:
- Executive Desks are more elaborate in detail and feature wider desk tops when compared to Standard desks. However, similar to standard desks, Executive desks are 29 to 31 inches high. Executive desk tends to be available in richer finishes, and regularly includes front drawers, and panel doors.
L-Shaped Desks:
- L-shaped desks are composed of two units that form the shape of an L. L-shaped computer desks are perfect for placing in corners, thus taking up less floor space than standard or executive desks. L-shaped desks are very popular because everything you need tends to be within arm’s reach.
U-Shaped Desks:
- U-shaped desks are made of three basic components: a Credenza and two desks flanked on each side. These desks are very ideal for people who need the extra workspace. However, U-shaped desks tend to take up the most floor space.
The above are the basic types of computer desks you may see during your search. However, it doesn’t end there, as there are other factors you may want to consider. For example, you will need a hutch for your computer desk? Adding a hutch allows you to build up rather than out. This will save a lot of floor space, especially if you’re planning on purchasing a U-shaped desk. Many computer desks will also have a complimenting hutch with the desk; usually sold separately. You should purchase the hutch at the same time as the desk, since it could be difficult to find a matching hutch in the future. You may also save money by buying an entire set or kit at the same, proving to be more economical in the long run.
Another option you may want to consider is a Computer Cart. Computer Carts are smaller desks with casters for added mobility. Carts are ideal for those who are looking to save space in their home or office, and may need to move the workstation from time to time.
Finally, consider an ergonomic Office Chair for your workstation or Computer Desk. Ergonomic Office Chairs can reduce strain on your back, which goes a long way when you spend endless hours a day by your computer.
These are the main types of computer desks you may see and the factors to consider when purchasing your computer desk. Hopefully this article has helped you understand what type of desk you are looking for, and will help you make your decision a simple and easy one.
Q.M. Le
This video talks about the potential emergency situations in the workplace. It emphasizes that workers should be trained to handle emergencies and should periodically be tested.
