<p><b># 1 : Get gadget fever</b></p><p>With so many devices around these days it is very easy to get "gadget fever". Don't be concerned - this is a common phenomenon across many industries. And as much as you might think this is a "male" thing, gadget fever is <b><i>very</i></b> female. </p><p>A perfect example: I (and many of my female friends) have umpteen sets of shoes and more handbags than we could ever possibly use - and I can hear some of you thinking...yeah - I know someone like that! You think that's a female thing...but I argue it is actually just another form of gadget fever.</p><p>Anyone working as a jeweller or as a creative person will tell you: they can't resist gadgets - they call it "tool fever" - but it's just the same ladies with a fashion fetish. There are so many tools to chose from - 50 different hammers, 30 different types of sandpaper, hundreds of drill bits for your tools. The list is never ending.</p><p>Business technology is absolutely the same. Initially you think - hey you know what - I just need that GPS to make it on time to my customer meetings. Then you think - wait - that fabulous, slick looking website is exactly what I need with little thought to exactly how it will generate business for you. And then - oh my god: look at that gorgeous red laptop - that screams 'power businesswomen'! And it goes on and on. Eventually you have so much technology around you, it takes you half the day to set it up, get it working and - when it inevitably breaks - figuring out how to troubleshoot and fix it.</p><p>When you are running a business there is a process of selection in choosing <b><i>only</i></b> the technology you need at that <b><i>particular point in time</i></b>. The simple rule is the same as fashion: every time you go to buy a new gadget or electronic tool - ask yourself four key questions:
<br><ol><li>Do I really need this now, at this time, for my business? </li>
<li>How will it save me time and/or money? </li>
<li>When will I get my 'return on investment'?</li>
<li>How will I manage it, set it up and get it fixed when it breaks?</li></ol></p><p><b>#2 : Don't backup your website</b></p><p>If there is one way to waste your time and money it's not having your own backup of your website. </p><p>Before you sigh and think - that's dumb - of course I have a website backup - my hosting provider does it. I want to clarify - I am NOT talking about the backup the website host does. I am talking about backing up your own website and saving it to your PC and then copying either to DVD and sending that DVD to your parents house; or saving it up to a secure online backup service (<i>separate</i> to your web hoster).</p><p>Even though I am an "IT expert" and essentially have a "save and backup, save and backup" mantra I repeat every time I sit down at a computer, I have to admit - I used to leave website backups to my hosting provider. In 2007 I launched my green IT website and about a year later my hosting provider had a major server hardware fault (i.e. the PC my website was sitting on "died"). The hardware fault meant that my backups weren't being collected successfully for months beforehand. But the hosting provider - and I - didn't find out until the whole server failed. <b>Disaster. </b>A whole years worth of articles and news that I worked on every weekend and most nights was gone. Or so I thought. I just wanted to cry. I almost gave up. I was finally able to recover some of the material but it wasted so much of my time re-writing, copying, pasting, formatting and blah blah blah. Urgghhh. In that time I wasted I could have written about thirty new articles.</p><p>So I can't recommend enough: backup, backup, backup, backup...and backup. And then go backup some more.</p><p><b># 3 : Give away free articles on your website</b></p><p>Writing free informative articles on your website is touted as "the" way to get great, repeat visitors (traffic) to your website and prove your expertise - right? </p><p>Your website developer probably told you - hey - if you want to get your search ranking up you need to write (or get someone to write) articles for your website so it stays current. Current content gets you found.</p><p>But what they may not have told you is that you are losing leads by giving away free information. When you setup a website you need to make sure potential customers sign-up to get access to your information. If they don't sign up they probably weren't quality prospects anyway. </p><p>You can do this in a number of ways including providing an introduction to the content (to entice them), but then having the website visitor sign in to access the rest. Also at the time of sign-up, have your newsletter automatically ticked as an option so you have permission to contact them via email in the future with tips, your email newsletter, reminders about your products and services, and so on.</p><p><b>#4 : Don't have a technology strategy</b></p><p>What? A technology strategy? Even in large businesses that I have consulted for, one to three year technology strategies are not abundant. Even more rare is one that has actually been successfully implemented. So I can hear you ask - why on earth would I have one if it isn't going to work?</p><p>I never said it wouldn't work - I said it wasn't abundant. In large businesses technology strategies aren't usually abundant or successful because of many factors including internal politics and lack of priority i.e. 'business-as-usual' takes the cake on strategic planning any day of the week in many businesses.</p><p>In an SME, they aren't abundant because of similar issues and additionally because access to strategic technology information is severely lacking. Yeah sure, you get the corner computer store to fix your PC and give you advice but that 'higher level' of advice is hard to get. Usually because it costs a mint that an SME can't afford.</p><p>But anyone starting a business is told: create a business plan - you won't succeed if you don't know where you are going. If you are a consultant or coach or services provider you will undoubtedly be using a variety of technologies to help you manage customers and business operations so the same theory applies for technology investments for your business. </p><p>To get started on integrating a technology strategy into your business strategy, do your business plan first. You need to know your business goals, products and competition before you determine which technologies will help you achieve this.</p><p>Next, understand what is out there. Brainstorm with a friend, consultant or mentor. Think about the ways you could use technology to take your business from where it is today, to where you want it to be in three years time. Visit local computer shops and talk to the salespeople about what new business-related technologies have been released recently. Search the web for your industry's technology innovation and subscribe to technology websites that cater specifically for your industry.</p><p>Finally, add the technology section to your business plan. Break your desired technologies down into a table, listing the technology name, how it would benefit your business, when you need it (short, medium or longer term), which element of your business plan it relates to (e.g. financial management), and what its dependencies are.</p><p><b># 5 : Start a website, a blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace...</b></p><p>...and all the other social networks and online presence tools you can find. Be selective! Otherwise you will waste your time - or worse - potentially let down customers. There are too many lonesome blogs out there, never to be written on again.</p><p>In your technology strategy (#4) define which social networking and online strategies that you...
<br><ol><li>Have time to attend to, or that you could delegate;</li>
<li>Have the expertise for, or that you can employ the expertise for;</li>
<li>Have analysed the potential market for. Any online strategy should be accompanied by goals - what do you want to achieve by using this technology? Never start a website or create a Facebook profile for business without researching how investing your valuable time in it, can return you new sales.</li></ol></p><p>Bianca Wirth is an Business Technology Coach and Consultant with over 12 years experience in IT. Bianca is owner of Wirth Consulting, which provides easy-to-understand technology advice through a weekly email newsletter to small businesses.</p><p>If you liked today's article, you'll love Bianca's free "Short N' Sweet Weekly Tech Tips" that will inform and inspire you on how technology can be used to help you drive more business sales, optimise your business processes and increase your number of customers.</p><p>You can subscribe to Short N Sweet Weekly Tech Tips at <a target="_new" href="http://www.wirthconsulting.com.au" rel="nofollow">http://www.wirthconsulting.com.au</a> and receive your first two free tip sheets immediately.</p>
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