Are you an high-tech Evel Knievel?
Some small business owners are technology daredevils.
So many of them have no real tech background but they’re not adverse to try the latest and greatest gadgets and software. Some even try to write their own code or try to customize systems that help their businesses run better.
Steve Mattie is a perfect example. I met him this week at the National Federation of Independent Business Summit, and he admitted to not being the most tech savvy guy in the room. “My son is my IT guy,” he quips.
That’s surprising, because Mattie’s company Transport Designs Inc., manufacturers of customized trailers and motor homes, actually won a technology innovator award.
During the NFIB event this week, Mattie was handed the Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence Award.
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The judges found that Mattie’s company “stays up-to-speed on the latest in design software and hardware tools” and has been able to “share customized digital floor plans and real time construction progress with customers.”
Technology, Mattie maintains, has helped boost his business. “Without embracing IT,” he says, “our business would still be struggling to grow outside our region of the country much less internationally.”
It’s clear that small business owners need to embrace technology, and while Mattie was able to learn on the fly and rely on his son for IT backup, there are probably many of you out there that can’t or just don’t want to become technology gurus.
I don’t blame you. You want to focus on your business, not stay on top of the latest IT trends.
Most small firms don’t have the money to hire dedicated IT staffers, but there are other options.
I recently wrote
a story for BusinessWeek’s SmallBiz magazine on third-party tech support firms, and it turns out there’s a growing number catering to smaller businesses and offering 24/7 IT services for a flat fee.
Hey, many small business owners already outsource things like payroll functions, why not your IT department?
There are no figures on how big the industry is but Mindy Blodgett, analyst for the Yankee Group, told me anecdotal evidence suggests the segment is growing. What’s driving the trend, she surmises, it that small business owners are looking for better quality IT today and they want more advanced technology.
But don’t rush out and hire these guys without doing some homework first.
Make sure it makes sense for your operation. And of course, check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure the firms are reputable, and talk to as many references as you can.
If you don’t want a third party handling your IT functions, or you’re looking more for direction when it comes to maximizing the Web for your business, Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, who spoke at the NFIB summit, had a great suggestion.
Head over to your local college and hire a couple of young, techno nerds and let them loose in your company. (Well, she did say you should supervise them.) Give them an understanding of what you do and have them figure out how you can get the most out of the Web.
“They have a feel for the Web. They think about the Web like we thought about the telephone,” she said. “Ask the twenty somethings to disrupt your business. Take a leap.”
Do an Evel Knievel. You never know where you’ll end up.
