Choosing a phone number for your business may seem like another one of the many tedious steps standing in the way of you and your dreams.  Your phone number, much like your business name and website URL, are calling cards that will most likely stay with your business indefinitely.  Although not a deal breaker, an easy to remember phone number is one that will help make it that much more convenient for your customers to reach you.

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If you’re online and looking to have your finger on the pulse of the latest in technology and web trends, Twitter is where you need to be.   Why?  Simply put, it’s the best way to get up-to-the-minute information on topics relevant to you.

I’ve been using Twitter as YFNCG for a few months now, following people in the tech industry, along with small business advocates, a handful of bloggers, and some friends.  I’m picky about who I follow.  I want to make sure that they are providing useful information that I can benefit from.  I also try to pass on the best of the informaiton I find to my twitter followers.  It’s tough to keep up with it all sometimes, but the beauty of twitter is that you don’t HAVE to keep up.  You just jump in the stream when you’re ready, soak up the info of the moment, contribute a bit of your own, and jump out when you’re done.

If you’re a computer tech and you doubt the usefulness of Twitter, allow me to present 5 ways in which you can gain significant value from this FREE tool. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the final article in the Can You Hear Me Now? Series of blog posts in which I embark on a journey to find the most cost effective home office VoIP plan for my computer repair business.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been looking for a low cost VoIP solution for my home office based computer consulting business. You can catch up on the series by reading the last two articles here and here.

After much consideration, I finally settled on a provider that I think will fit my needs as my business grows.

And the winner is…

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This is the second article in the Can You Hear Me Now? Series of blog posts in which I embark on a journey to find the most cost effective home office VoIP plan for my computer repair business.

In the first article of this series, I made a case for why I feel VoIP is the right choice for home office small businesses.  Now that I’ve narrowed down my choices to a few commercial providers, it’s time to really dig in to each one, cut throught the noise, and find the right plan for me and my business.

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This is the first article in the Can You Hear Me Now? Series of blog posts in which I embark on a journey to find the most cost effective home office VoIP plan for my computer repair business.

The next milestone in getting my computer support business up and running is setting up a separate phone number and line.  This is one of the original milestones I set for my business last year, and is the last thing standing in the way of me unleashing my business on the world in the form of business cards and advertisements.  I currently have no land-line phone, and I have no desire to use my personal cell phone exclusively for business purposes. I decided to spend some time evaluating different VoIP plans to see which one was right for my work-from-home business.

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Lets face it, there are a lot of “computer guys” out there.  It’s no secret that the IT industry is growing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  The demand is there and the money is good.

However, not every computer guy is created equal.  Just because you have a degree related to computers, you solve all your friend’s computer problems in less than 15 minutes, and you can hack into the pentagon, doesn’t mean you’re cut out to start your own computer repair business.

Since starting my business, many customers I service seem to be relieved when they realize that I’m not out to make a quick buck, and that I can speak to them about their computer in terms that they can understand and relate to.  Some have even related to me the pains they’ve experienced at the hands of some other computer guys that they’ve worked with in the past.  Couple these experiences with the fact that, through interviews on this website and other encounters with successful computer techs, I’ve noticed that there are some characteristics that make certain independent computer consultants really stand out among the competition.

There are many obvious traits that one must posses in order to be a successful independent computer consultant.  You must have people skills, business savvy, and broad technical knowledge.  But that’s just the beginning.

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It wasn’t until after I started this blog that I came across the website Technibble.com. I wish I would have found it sooner, because it’s proven to be the single best resource I’ve found for people like me who are just starting to forge their own path in the computer support/repair business field.

The man who started Technibble, Bryce Whitty, created the site because he saw a need for an online resource for independent computer consultants. Not a general “techie” website or a “how to fix windows errors” message board, but a community dedicated specifically to the nerd entrepreneur trying to start his own business.

Technibble offers great resources like an extremely helpful and friendly forum, a blog, and the Computer Business Kit, which is a collection of documents and forms that you’ll need when starting a computer business.  I plan on purchasing the CBK for review here on this site in the future.

Bryce himself runs his own one-man computer consulting business which gives him the inspiration for his website.  I decided to pick his brain a little and see what approach he took to starting his business.  Check out his responses below.

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Last week I had to make a choice: to extend my contract of service with the US National Guard, or to let my contract expire and leave the military for good.  This was a big decision for me and my business, one that I didn’t take lightly.  Although the National Guard is a part-time job in the military, it still requires  a big time commitment and many sacrifices on my part.

I’ve been in the military in one form or another for almost ten years now.  I joined the Army in 2000, traveled the world, learned a lot, and had a wonderful time.  My contract ended in 2003 and I decided to stay in the military part time, serving in the National Guard.  I’ve been serving in the National Guard ever since.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the military.  Although I don’t always agree with how our country uses it’s military, I believe it is an honorable organization full of amazing people.  That’s why I’ve stuck with it up to now.

This time around, when I was asked to reenlist, it was a harder decision than it has ever been before.  My computer business is one of the main catalysts in my struggle to make a decision this time around. As always, I had to factor in the positive and negative outcomes of my decision.  I was left making some uncomfortable choices, but choices that I feel will be beneficial in the long run not only for me, but for my business.

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Welcome to the 5th edition of Computer Guy’s Corner.  This is where I collect a small handful of links to useful news, reviews, and blog postings that relate to Tech and Small Business from a computer consultant’s viewpoint.  Feel free to comment about any of the links and let me know your take!

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The “My Inspirations” series is my opportunity to highlight specific people, books, or resources that have helped lead me to where I am today and inspired me to take on the challenge of starting a computer business.  No journey is ever taken alone.

If you stay abreast of the latest trends in personal development, or read a fair number of blogs, you’ve probably heard of The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.  This book skyrocketed to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List out of nowhere about two years ago, thanks to the viral nature of Tim’s marketing campaign, which concentrated heavily on word of mouth and the Internet.

Normally I don’t pay too much attention to books with titles like this, promising something for nothing or a quick and easy “plan” to make millions of dollars.  However I was intrigued not by the book itself, but the man behind the phenomenon.

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