Complete Computer Systems - What is it all about?
For years I have been thinking of starting my own IT company. Although I have had my company incorporated for the last 20 years and have consulted for other people during that whole time, I never took matters into my own hands to build up my own clientele...until now!
I have been in the IT industry since 1995, when I started at a local IT consulting firm as their first female IT consultant. Before that, my background was in computer sales, and bad sales at that. I cannot sell ice to Eskimos let alone a computer to an individual, and I am not exaggerating. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to be moving on to a more corporate role such as an IT professional. However, when I started with said IT consulting firm, I knew nothing about computer networking from a technical perspective. I also took a major drop in pay with the hopes that my learning experience would catapult my career in a short period of time after I got some knowledge under my belt. I had many sleepless nights, many long hours trying to catch up to the knowledge that everyone else around me seemed to come by so easily. What's that saying? The best way to learn is to get thrown in the fire? Sink or swim? Well, that was me. I learned by doing.
Fast forward 5 years later, my husband and I decided to start our family. We, as many other families, decided that it would be great to have mom around the house while the kids were young. So I incorporated my company and decided to consult. At that point, I had built up a wealth of knowledge already and was able to afford to leave a full time position for a consulting gig. For the next 14 years, I worked from home, which allowed me the flexibility to drive my kids to and from school along with taking them to all the extracurricular activities they were involved in.
IT for Small Business can be Stress Free
However all good things come to an end. After enjoying my life at home, I decided it was time to get back into the business world. Going back taught me that things can change drastically when it comes to technology but they don't change too much at least when it comes to the IT mindset. I saw 14 years later the same issues in the IT industry that I had seen 14 years prior. IT companies are focused on fixing issues on an issue by issue basis. Consultants do what they feel is best for the client from their perspective at that moment in time versus what IS best for the client and thinking long term. There is a short term thought process to the way things are handled and most companies try to upsell on hardware and software whenever possible. Now don't get me wrong, I get that we all need to make money. No one is in business to lose money. We also need to keep up with technology because there are many benefits of doing so. However, there is a time and a place for upgrades.
IT companies need to remember that recommending a change in IT infrastructure to the regular IT person is fairly painless to implement, however it can cause havoc in a laymen person's life, especially if the individual relies heavily on their technology. There are huge learning curves when going to any new hardware or software, and this can cause major stress and frustrations to the end user from a usage perspective.
My support model has always been a holistic approach, meaning I take a look at the business from a birds' eye view and use technology where needed to increase productivity, make life easier and maybe save some money along the way! While mainstream IT companies focus on managed IT Services, hardware and software sales and maintenance programs, my goal is to highlight those technologies that can make a huge difference in the day to day activities of a small business whether it is improved productivity or cost savings. I work with each individual to ensure I understand their needs, make their priorities my priorities and ensure that change is as seamless as possible.
From one small business to another!
There is no time like the present to start this venture that I have been thinking about for the last 20 years! More and more people are working from home which means more and more people require a more personal touch to IT support.
Do what you want to do! Life is too short not to!
So here I am, writing a blog on my new website that I built myself and hoping that I can find like minded individuals who are looking for an IT professional to take care of their needs in an all encompassing individual way.
If you want to find out how I can help your small business thrive, Book a consult with me! I would love to hear your story, built a long lasting relationship and help you get more out of your technology on a daily basis.
Until then, I wish you all the success and happiness in wherever life takes you!
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