Small Business Computer Consulting

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know that many IT consultants just like you all over the world have benefitted from the tips, tools and resources offered by the Computer Consulting Kit.  These MANY resources have been field-tested and proven to bring small business computer consultants more steady high-paying clients than just trying to go it on your own and feel your way through the process.  These strategies help you truly plan out your business so you can be more profitable as quickly as possible and continue to grow your business and ENJOY what you do for a living!

Here’s what a few Computer Consulting Kit customers had to say about their experiences with our resources.

"9 months ago, I launched my consulting business with $2,000 in savings and a list of contacts. The business has grown steadily and is able to pay my salary, rent, inventory, insurance and provide work for three other subcontractors. This is all done in a small town of 8,500 people nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. Thanks to the Computer Consulting Kit, I have two new customers on contract. The forms included were worth the money."

Mike Gallogly, Mi-Tec Computer Solutions, Elkins, West Virginia

"As I moved from corporate IT to consulting, the Computer Consulting Kit helped me develop my service agreement strategy. Now I know how to present services and rates in a way that customers can easily understand and approve."

Carlos Miranda, PRITECH, Manatí, Puerto Rico

"The Computer Consulting Kit showed me how to focus on clients and better-quality leads. As a result, I was able to decrease the number of non-billable hours and enjoyed $5,000 in additional revenue."

Gary Gell, 8 Days, Los Angeles, California

To learn more about how the Computer Consulting Kit resources can help you, no matter WHAT stage your business is in, visit the attached link!

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Microsoft Small Business Server product “Office Live Small Business” was recently reported to be suffering from intermittent email problems according to interviews of users and postings in discussion forums used by more than a million people.

Microsoft confirmed on August 26th that last Friday there was a short email outage that cause some Microsoft Small Business users to permanently lose emails and other important information.

Many business owners use Office Live Small Business to host Web sites and provide email and some were dismayed by the loss of data.  This product used by many that use Microsoft Small Business Server was launched in 2006 and helps users set up their own Web sites, run email and also even run e-commerce stores and Web advertising campaigns.  Some services are free and others require a fee.

The outage is reported to have lasted approximately two hours.  Microsoft has offered to help at least one customer retrieve lost data, but this user reported that the data has not yet been recovered.

This is at least the second outage for Microsoft with its “Live” services, the last one being a much larger outage in February that affected multiple services.

For more information about this Microsoft Small Business Server story, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many small business computer consultants are realizing the power of adding support contracts to their standard business plan, thanks to the field-tested, PROVEN strategies provided by the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course.  Each year, more IT professionals discover how much value commitment to going beyond the break/fix model and moving towards support contracts can add to their companies.  

Here’s what three REAL computer consultants JUST LIKE YOU working in the field had to say about the value of support contracts and how the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course helped them grow and get steady, high-paying clients:

"I got at least another $2,000 per month ($24,000 annualized). We used the Computer Consulting Kit’s service agreement for all our customers. This saved us untold hours in trying to put one together ourselves."  

- Peter Till, Huff Technologies, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

"I signed up a multi-location business as a customer using the annual service agreement straight from the Computer Consulting Kit.  This account’s value is over $20,000 annually."

- Blake Heinemann, Small Business Technology Consultants, Wichita, Kansas, USA

And finally, here’s how Sandy Smith of Bangor, Maine got past the cash flow problems, stopped responding to non-committal break/fix customers and finally saw results:

"Before investing in the Computer Consulting Kit, we were totally a break/fix company and were struggling with cash flow constantly. The Computer Consulting Kit created awareness that there is a better way and gave us the tools to implement service agreements with our customers. We earned $75,000 in additional revenue with the ideas in the Computer Consulting Kit."

- Sandy Smith, Fiber-M Technologies, Bangor, Maine

For more information on support contracts and how YOU can get access to the tools of the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

First reported in January, 2008, a bug in the Microsoft Small Business Server home-based product Windows Home Server continues to need patching.  Initially, this particular version had not been mentioned in the reports by Microsoft, who thought that only Microsoft Small Business Server was affected, but soon it became apparent that this product was also at risk.  

While the problems have been patched, Microsoft continues to look at design issues that created this problem in the first place as it prepares to create new products.  According to the notice, supported editions of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and Windows Home Server contained the same code as Windows Server 2003, which was the origin of the initial issue with the product.  This code combined with some default settings for Internet Group Management Protocol that are enabled unless settings are changed manually meant the product experienced some problems.  

Those that were taking advantage of the vulnerability could send malicious data packets to Microsoft Small Business Server users who would then be infected with malware or have their systems controlled by an outside user.  

Windows Home Server owners received the patch via update mechanism in January, but Microsoft continues to advise new and old users – even 7 months later – to make sure they are checking their Microsoft Small Business Server regularly for updates.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many IT consultants have found the field-tested, PROVEN strategies offered by the Computer Consulting Kit to be integral to their business plans.  While the Computer Consulting Kit offers a variety of templates to help you in all stages of relationship-building with clients – from networking in order to make new contacts, to getting prospects and customers to sign on-going support contracts – many have found the lead generation tips, templates and techniques to really make an impact on their businesses, regardless of specialty or niche.

Here’s what two specific Computer Consulting Kit customers had to say about their experiences:

"I only got the Computer Consulting Kit a few weeks ago, but already we’re seeing more leads generated. Before getting the Computer Consulting Kit, I was generating leads using all the wrong methods. But thanks to your Computer Consulting Kit, I’ve begun working on improving my networking skills with immediate results.”

Stephen J. Hall, Your IT Department, Sliema, Malta

"Last year, I successfully met and exceeded my $1,000,000 sales target. From the Computer Consulting Kit, I learned how to keep the lead generation funnel topped up and successfully cultivated the reputation as an expert in my field, which brought a lot of business. I was able to earn $300,000 in revenue from the ideas I learned by using the Computer Consulting Kit."

Yves Ephraim, Pegasus Technologies, Inc., St. John’s, Antigua

To learn more about lead generation and how the Computer Consulting Kit can help you and your IT business, visit the attached link!

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

IBM recently announced the release of new data protection solutions designed to help users of Microsoft Small Business Server and other major products for small businesses.  This protection will help customers handle data recovery better while still meeting legal requirements and regulations.  

IBM has created the new Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack software that will offer customers better efficiency with their businesses and more comprehensive data recovery.  They will be able to use this product with Microsoft Small Business Server and other popular solutions and products.  Of course, this product can also be used by enterprise companies and others with more sophisticated or extensive data protection needs.  

Solution providers have noted increased amounts of data as well as more compliance requirements by authorities and thus have created this new suite of products to respond to this need.  The new suite offers steady data protection and almost instant recovery of applications, databases and important file servers in case of emergency.

For more information on this Microsoft Small Business Server story from IBM and a list of the features of the new Tivoli IBM data protection products, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many computer consultants across the globe are selling more IT service agreements by following helpful tips provided by the Computer Consulting Kit.  But don’t take our word for it – see what consultants are saying about the IT service agreements relationships they’ve started by incorporating the field-tested and PROVEN Computer Consulting Kit business strategies:

"The Computer Consulting Kit’s service agreement training helped me quickly provide an option to my customers that I didn’t previously have. We can now sell IT service agreements to our existing customers."

- Matthew Faubel, Advanced Computer Solutions, Las Vegas, Nevada

"With the project management and service contracts in place from the Computer Consulting Kit, I acquired additional projects which yielded me $30,000 in additional consulting revenue!"

- Craig Ramsey, 404 Consulting, Raleigh, North Carolina

And the following story is PROOF that it doesn’t matter WHERE you are located – you can find great opportunities for IT service agreements just about anywhere … from major cities to the suburbs to rural areas … 

"9 months ago, I launched my consulting business with $2,000 in savings and a list of contacts. The business has grown steadily and is able to pay my salary, rent, inventory, insurance and provide work for three other subcontractors. This is all done in a small town of 8,500 people nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. Thanks to the Computer Consulting Kit, I have two new customers on contract. The forms included were worth the money."

- Mike Gallogly, Mi-Tec Computer Solutions, Elkins, West Virginia

To learn more about how you can succeed with IT service agreements, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

On July 17th, Microsoft announced, in the year of launches of new Microsoft Small Business Server packages and others that it had reached a revenue of $60.42 billion, an 18% growth over the previous year.  

Kevin Turner, COO of Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington in the U.S. stated that the accomplishment of such an impressive revenue increase is the result of new technology solutions as well as great work done by partners and global sales and marketing teams.

2008 saw new releases of Microsoft’s major server products, including Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008.  Improvements were made on Microsoft Small Business Server and partner programs instilled that welcomed many new small business partners into the fold.

For more information on this Microsoft Small Business Server and Microsoft products and revenue story, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Are you ready to be more than just an IT freelancer and get serious about starting your own computer consulting business?  Being successful at getting enough high-paying, steady clients to get started means getting to know a lot of people and getting them to trust you.  Networking is one of the very best ways to achieve your goal of being a successful IT consultant and be more than just another IT freelancer trying to make ends meet.

While you can’t join every organization under the sun, you can join a few that will work best with your schedule and give you access to the best leads and prospects for your specific business.  Take some time to go to a meeting or two and get to know organizations in your area.

Organizations that Can Help You Be More than an IT Freelancer

1.    General Business Organizations:  These can be your chamber of commerce or Rotary Club or Kiwanis or even a group like Le Tip or BNI or some other lead club.  These clubs are targeted by industry or occupation and will give you access to a lot of other small business owners/managers.

2.    User Groups:  This type of group can be useful if you decide you want to specialize in a specific type of software or other platform.  You can find people with similar interests that are either consultants or IT professionals.

3.    Targeted Business Organizations or Trade Groups:  This is a group that will give you the most direct access to the clients you want for your business.  Choose a group that gives you access to small business owners within your specialty or niche and start to look for upcoming events like expos, etc. as well as a newsletter you can read.

No matter what, you need to get ACTIVE to engage in great networking that will get you beyond being just another IT freelancer and closer to your goal of being an IT consulting business owner, thriving in your field.  To learn more about this topic, visit the attached link!

Submitted By:  Joshua Feinberg

Whether you’ve been in business for 2 months … or 20 years … the Computer Consulting Kit helps computer consultants continue to grow their businesses and find more steady, high-paying clients with limitless revenue-building resources, exercises and important templates and tips.  

Here’s how two computer consultants just starting out in the field jump-started their businesses, in their own words:

“The Computer Consulting Kit was instrumental in helping me successfully launch my computer consulting business. I appreciated the depth and the detail, and the additional resources provided. It’s a great investment… easily paid for my Computer Consulting Kit in the first month. And I have numerous clients under contract to show for that!”

Neal Castles, Castles Technology Consulting, State College, Pennsylvania

"I achieved a net profit of over $11,000 in my first quarter (in business). The Computer Consulting Kit immediately made me look like a seasoned business owner in the I.T. consulting market."

Mike Sims, Simtech Data Services, Hesperia, California

To learn more about how you can learn from the tips and tools offered by the Computer Consulting Kit and increase your revenue and improve your relationships with clients, just like these two computer consultants did, visit the attached link!

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit