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Gaining the trust of your clients is important to any business, but is it an asset?  Some would speculate that trust is only part of a much larger equation that involves customer service, pricing and quality.  But is it only a fraction of the whole or does it actually all begin with trust?

In the computer services industry I’ve witnessed many clients rightfully concerned about their privacy and security.  That concern may feed in to notions that their computer or data may not be safe outside of their hands or that they may have their equipment broken.  Weary of the possibility  that something could go wrong, many may let problems go unchecked.

This is a course of action that may have hazards of its own.  For example, a virus infection left unchecked could result in sensitive information being leaked out to third parties with malicious intentions.  Others may leave hardware problems, like an overheating computer or a perisistent error message, without resolution, potentially causing harm to both their computer and their data.

This paradigm of trust and mistrust delivers one clear message.  Trust is now an asset and it is indeed where the relationship with clients begins, especially for computer service providers.  The more the client has at risk (data, hardware, etc) the more trust they need to feel comfortable.  This trust must be handled carefully and honestly, or else the risk is that we see more problems left unchecked to the detriment of the user and the industry.

computers, small business computer repair, computer services, data recovery, hardware, small business, trust

Recently I took a big step for my company.  I decided to switch my power plan to 100% green energy.  This plan offsets your electric utility usage by purchasing alternative energy credits from nearby suppliers, effectively reducing your carbon footprint and supporting investment in green energy from solar, wind, geothermal and other sources.

For the past several years I have also taken important steps to reduce energy usage and waste, such as preferring fluorescent (and soon LED) lighting, using recycled paper, environmentally friendly office products and recycling whenever possible.

I prefer electronic documents when practical.  Using electronic billing, cutting down on free magazines (reading them online), credit card offers and other unnecessary paper waste.  Also the use of energy efficient computers, printers and other electronics is important as it helps to reduce power utilization and cut bills.

Going green can help your bottom line, but most importantly it helps to preserve valuable resources and prevent waste.

green, small business

economy, small business economy, education, small business, stimulus, tax cuts

The free software movement was started decades ago, but never before has it been more important.  With our economy in peril, consumers and small businesses must be prudent about spending.  While some may mistakenly associate free software with spyware, ads and other annoyances, most free programs do not have these “features”. In fact, a few that I mention are aimed at fighting spyware and reducing ads.

Examples of real world free software

There are many great examples of free software being used by people all over the world.  One of my favorite free programs is Firefox.  It is a fast and secure web browser that is completely community driven in its development and features.  You can even add plug-ins to enhance your functionality to block ads and Javascript, see the current weather or even play your iTunes.

Another great example is Open Office.  It is by far the most powerful free office suite on Earth.  It has more features than most of the commercial office suites, its development is entirely community driven and of course it can read and write files that Microsoft Office, Word Perfect and other word processing programs can read.  It’s interface is similar enough to other office document composition programs that it only takes a short time to learn.

Everyone must stay secure with the dangerous viruses and spyware that are pervasive on the Internet and in workplaces.  I find that the AVG Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware 8.0 Free Edition is more powerful than its commercial competition, like Norton and McAfee.   Many viruses are familiar with how to render these scanners useless by injecting rogue code in to memory and circumvent the security protection.  While AVG is not a community driven effort, the quality of the software is such that it warrants inclusion as a top tier free software product.

There is a growing community of people who have grown dissatisfied with commercial operating systems like Windows or Mac OS X and moved to open source.  Operating systems like FreeBSD and Linux provide incredibly robust, secure and dynamic alternatives to the commercial operating systems that many feel are overpriced and underwhelming in features.  For new users I recommend trying Ubuntu Linux.  It’s an easy to use graphically driven Linux distribution that allows for a more horizontal learning curve when adjusting from Windows or Mac OS X.

Empowering the individual

Most people are genuinely thrilled by the prospect of a free software solution to what was once an expensive and complex licensing nightmare.  A community of dedicated and brilliant developers who generously share their skills and resources to create wonderful and powerful software is a surely great value.

My company, Envescent, favors open source software.  We use all of the above mentioned free software and more for our every day operations and for our many clients. Since I opened shop in 1999, I’ve always been passionate about using open source for my company.  If you’re still skeptical consider the following:

• Free software allows individuals and businesses to save funds and focus spending on other areas or expand profit margins.
• Many free software programs are open source and community driven, meaning there is also a community to rely on for support.
• Licensing for commercial software is extremely complex and for many people it is unclear what their rights are or how long the software is usable.
• Free software uses much less complex and restrictive licensing.
• Most free software is freely distributable and usable by individuals without significant restrictions.
• Free software brings education, productivity, security and communication to developing nations and disenfranchised individuals.
• Community-driven free software improves security and quality because bugs are addressed quickly and transparently.

Keeping the competition in check

Commercial vendors are forced to improve their products or be pushed aside by free software.  This keeps them in check and if they can’t make their software worthwhile to purchase, then they will lose market share.  Indeed, in recent years market share of Internet Explorer has significantly eroded to the open source Firefox browser.

Microsoft has been pooling resources to determine how it will compete with open source.  This move signals that the management sees free software a true threat to their desktop market dominance.

Improving the world

Free software is making the technology world, and really the world as a whole, a better, more affordable place.  The unrealistically overpriced and burdensomely licensed commercial alternatives are becoing dinosaurs on the digital landscape.  Novice computer users all over the world are embracing free alternatives and with that Microsoft and their ilk should be determining their next move carefully.  Commercial software vendors would do well to embrace the one core philosophy of open source.  Let the community drive the software, it makes the world a better place!

free software, small business avg anti-virus, firefox, free software, open office, open source

I’ve been pondering how to resolve the mess we’ve made and I’ve come up with some ideas.  This is not a complete vision, but a plan that would get us on the right track.

Stop lending tax payer money to banks and use funds to help our economy.

Incentives for small businesses and young people to help the next generation have opportunities and education.

Regulate financial institutions so they cannot ever use leverage to manipulate the economy.

Use any stimulus packages to create jobs here in the US to make sure we have a strong future.

Focus on green energy / energy independence so we can stop exporting our wealth.  Invest in solar/wind/geothermal energy infrastructure and natural gas for transportation.

Reinvigorate our manufacturing of basic items to support the new infrastructure.  Revive the “rust belt” so many can regain their livelihood supporting America’s new economy.

Create other jobs by upgrading both schools and the Internet to increase the capacity and usability here and abroad. At the same time provide protection for the US Internet from attacks originating from foreign nations. Schools would benefit with a computer in every classroom that has direct access to limitless amounts of information (without the games, porn and other nonsense).

Clawback bonuses and other frivolous expenses from banks and/or bank executives that have received any tax payer money that then issued bonuses, stock options, vacations, etc. Cease projects such as Citi stadium and others that are essentially funded by tax payer funds and start bidding process to public interests (that are not being bailed out) to buy out projects.

Slowly withdraw troops from various active and inactive war zones (Iraq, Japan, Germany, UK, eastern Europe, etc). Shut down inactive bases. Reduce scale of missile program in Europe if not completely eliminate.  Stop all unnecessary offensive military spending.  Examine relationships between government agencies and contractors.

Create higher quality restrictions on imports and natively produced products such as food, clothing, electronics, etc. The quality would be defined as how harmless it is to both the consumer and the environment. Higher quality products would be subject to less tariffs or taxes. This would both reduce environmental burden of bad products by making them more expensive and provide incentive to companies to improve their manufacturing / farming / etc standards.

Stop the boom bust cycles by allowing open governance by markets or otherwise of interest rates rather than allowing them to be set by committees behind closed doors.

American ingenuity and common sense can get us out of this mess eventually, but if we keep using lemon socialism that rewards the corporations that succeed and robs the tax payers for the ones that don’t, we’ll be in a very long recession.

economy America, economy, future, plan

Many corporate networks have failed to apply important Microsoft Windows Security patches as over 10 million PCs are now infected with the DownandUp worm and the number is growing rapidly. The resulting botnet is a potential threat to Internet stability and security.

It is always less expensive and time consuming to prepare for security threats than to address them after a breach.  There are several practices I recommend for small businesses to remain vigilant against any virus or spyware security threat:

#1 Remember that anti-virus software is not going to prevent, but only perhaps mitigate infection and act accordingly. Assess your business’ risk of data exposure (or loss) from a virus or worm. Make sure you have a security plan in place or being developed.

More info: http://www.uschamber.com/sb/security/default

#2 Be careful which websites you visit (especially in IE). Even with the latest security patches, hackers may have intelligence about non-publicly disclosed or unpatched vulnerabilities. Using this information allows crafting of custom web pages that can hijack computers, read specific (sensitive) information or plant destructive software that can erase or crash a machine.

More info: http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/

#3 Exercise caution with e-mails, especially if they have attachments or weblinks. These e-mails, even if from a seemingly trusted source, must be verified. Examine the header information and make sure it looks legitimate.

More info: http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/newsletter/adn29/headers.html

#4 Don’t use flash drives if you can’t verify they are virus-free. Many virus writers are aware of the ubiquitous nature of portable media and have developed viruses that exploit Windows’ autorun function to execute their malicious code.

More info: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/03/16/virus-infections-via-usb-drive/

#5 Keep your anti-virus software up to date. Use the latest version with the latest engine and definitions to ensure that the best algorithms and signatures are being used to mitigate threats against your machine. If your anti-virus software fails repeatedly, don’t be afraid to replace it.

More info: http://www.zdnet.com.au/blogs/securifythis/print.htm?TYPE=story&AT=139264249-139033343t-110000152c

#6 Consider using secondary and tertiary security software such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/) and SpyBot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html) to scan your system for threats weekly.

#7 If Windows can be avoided, then use other operating systems such as FreeBSD, Linux or Mac OS X on workstations and servers to mitigate security risks.

More info: http://www.kernelthread.com/publications/security/uw.html

#8 Use a firewall to secure your network and your PC.  Without a firewall you may expose your network and PCs to Internet security threats that could be otherwise mitigated or prevented.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(networking)

#9 Keep your system patched and up to date.  Actively maintained operating systems are treated as living software to the extent that when there is a critical bug or vulnerability, programmers will address the problem and release a patch.

More info: http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/#2

If you’re in doubt or just need an expert, then consider hiring my company, Envescent, to help secure your small business.

small business anti-spyware, anti-virus, corporate network, firewall, malware, security, small business

I have seen many small business owners panic as their primary storage devices fail them and they don’t have a backup or any crisis continuity plan in place.  It is very important for every small business to make regular backups of important data to keep on site and to store remotely either online or at another location on CDs, DVDs or external drives.

Advice for failures

When hard drives fail (and they will) don’t panic.  If you don’t have a back up of your data make sure you shut down the system and call a qualified data recovery professional.  Remember that there is little you can do if your drive is failing because most of the time you will cause more damage to your valuable data.

Don’t take your hard drive somewhere that doesn’t specialize in data recovery.  When in doubt ask your prospective repair shop or data recovery firm about the symptoms you experienced, make sure to note any error messages you saw and relay them.  Try to get an estimate if you can.

Backing up

I recommend starting off with an external hard drive and an online backup service for your backups.  Don’t use the external drive or the online backup as your only copy.  Have three copies at all time.  One on your computer, one on the external drive and one online.  How often you back up is up to you.  Just remember that if you lose your data you won’t have but the most recent copy you last backed up so frequency is important.

Next level

You may also consider RAID configurations, network attached storage and multiple online backup locations if redundancy and continuity of business operations are mission critical.

small business backup, data recovery, small business

Small businesses account for 50% of private non-farm GDP.  The contribution is enormous by any measure.  Small businesses can make a tremendous impact on the environment, improve their image and become more profitable all by going green.

Saving money

Favoring green strategies may allow your company to save money.  Many companies that used to use inefficient lighting, computers, appliances can plan to replace these items with more eco-friendly energy saving improved products.  For example, replacing incandescent lighting with CFL or better yet, LED bulbs can create significant energy cost savings.  Using Energy Star compliant PCs and laptops helps and so does replacing old appliances with more energy efficient models.

Green initiatives

A green initiative that can help to improve image and create good will from customers is to recycle.  There are many ways to get involved.  Most people think of recycled paper in its various forms, but the world of recycling for businesses is growing and now offers recycled office supplies.  There are also green office products such as cleaners, toners and furniture.

Small businesses should also recycle their TVs, computers, cell phones and other equipment to make sure toxic waste is properly reclaimed.  Advertising that your business is green and recycles may help attract more customers.

Encouraging telecommuting, moving to a more digital office and other strategies are a good way to reduce costs and waste while promoting a more modern work environment.

Summary

Going green can be accomplished in small or big steps.  Every business should consider taking some steps to improve or create eco-friendly initiatives.  Small businesses are best poised to make the biggest impact on their profit margins, efficiency and how much waste they generate.

small business eco-friendly, green, image, small business

In these days of global economic crisis, small businesses and the self-employed may be poised to benefit if they can properly position themselves.  The advantage of being a small business in this environment is flexibility, low overhead and less reliance on credit for capital.  Large businesses tend to be rigid, have massive amounts of overhead compressing their margins and rely heavily on commercial paper and equity to raise capital.

Big opportunities for small businesses

Small businesses that utilize the above advantages while focusing on their customer relationships and working to quickly pick up the slack of other failing businesses may weather the storm and even may find the crisis has brought opportunities that otherwise would not have existed.  Sometimes this may require repositioning your strategy or adapting your business plan to suit the economic environment.

My opportunity

For example, I moved my company, Envescent more in to computer repair, data recovery and other consumer and small business services while moving away from web hosting and e-commerce during the start of this recession.

My reason for moving in to computer repair and data recovery is the strong local need for expertise from a small business that can offer good customer service.  Moving away from web hosting and e-commerce was logical as these sectors have been compressed to razor thin margins in very heavily saturated markets with a lot of room for demand reduction.

Surviving cycles

Knowing when to get in and out of sectors is very important to the survival of a business.  My opportunity was found knowing that this crisis would probably hurt the areas that rely off consumer spending on new items (web hosting because it’s mostly marketing and e-commerce because it is direct consumption) and instead I focused on what are necessary services for every consumer and small business.

I started Arlington Virginia Computer Repair in May of 2006 to put a brand name on Envescent’s computer computer repair and data recovery services.  This has been a very rewarding opportunity because I’ve been able to raise awareness with a new name that is easy to brand and built on the solid reputation of nearly 10 years of service.

Find your opportunity

You can use this crisis to find an opportunity as well.  Use what you understand about your area of expertise to see which sectors may be better or worse for your business to get in or out of.  Don’t panic just because others are.  Keep yourself composed and remember that there’s always a better day ahead.

small business crisis, economy, opportunity, small business

To be the best in one field is always a competitive advantage. If the field is specialized with growing numbers of potential customers who require your expertise, that makes the competitive advantage durable and creates tremendous opportunity for growth. The area of your specialty that coincides with a growing need in a strong selective market is called a “niche”.

You can use this niche to leverage your business from just an idea in to a reality. It can mean the difference between mediocrity and standing out from the crowd. Specialization may limit the scope of your business’ market diversity, but you can strengthen its fundamentals by creating more prospects for revenue in the field that you lead. It also enables precise marketing, efficient customer relationship management and it makes the search for additional talent potentially easier to manage.

Is the secret to success using a laser-like focus to drive your talents to a strong selective market? I’ve been told by many and learned through my own personal experience that sometimes the greatest risk is not taking any risk at all. I started Arlington Virginia Computer Repair to address a niche here with much success. What have you got to lose? Find your niche and sell it!

small business entrepreneur, niche, small business