IT support can often be a bit of a hit and miss in a business and in order to keep your business going, it’s good to improve it where possible. Your staff may also have an opinion when it comes to the quality of IT support you provide, so here are some tips to improve it in the workplace.

Hire An In-House Team

Resources might be a little limited for you, but it’s worth having one or two IT experts who can help when things go wrong in the business. Having some help on-site can really assist with those problems that might be quick fixes in comparison to other issues that you might be having. And having a physical body in the organization who knows their stuff when it comes to technology issues is important too because often enough, some issues can tend to be problematic in the moment. That might need someone there straight away, and when you’ve got support just outside of the workplace, it could end up leaving you in quite the pickle as a result. So think about hiring some in-house staff members that can handle IT problems on a daily basis. They don’t need to know everything, but they need to have had experience beforehand.

Have Professionals To Manage Complex Problems

Unless you hire IT trained staff who really know their stuff, you may find the benefit to outsourcing and getting managed IT services. Hiring someone in-house with the required knowledge you’d need would likely cost you a lot of money. As a more affordable approach, outsourcing this can definitely help your business thrive and save money at the same time. It can also help to have your servers backed up and kept on another site that’s not just your own. So if a fire or theft were to happen, you have your data elsewhere too.
Listen To Staff Concerns

The staff are there on the daily, and they’re using the technology you provide as a business. Therefore, they’ll have the first-hand experience of using the equipment and how responsive IT support is. If they have concerns towards this area of the business, then they’ll certainly make it known to you. It’s important to listen to those concerns so that you can help make the changes where necessary and to ensure that they’re not being disrupted too much when it comes to their own workload.
Create Deadlines

Deadlines are a good way to encourage a sense of urgency in people, and that’s what you might need for your IT department. Make sure that a system is in place where staff members can report problems, they can be assigned to certain members of staff or the outsourced support and then handled quickly. A deadline can be attached to ensure this is done as swiftly as possible. Improving your IT support in the workplace is crucial to ensure everything still runs like clockwork. Do what you can to make that happen and don’t forget to outsource when it’s needed.

You aren’t ashamed to admit that you were once a slave to the corporate world. You’d clock in at nine o’clock and then watch the time tick away slowly until you could leave at five o’clock. You knew that this would never be the life for you for the long haul. When you’re running your own business, you have so much more freedom. You aren’t chained to a desk all day and you actually have time to be creative! If you didn’t already know, here are five fabulous advantages of being a solopreneur.

1.You Can Work Anywhere

When you work by yourself and for yourself you can work absolutely anywhere you want. You could be replying to business emails in your pyjamas or you could be sunning yourself on a beach! Due to savvy solutions such as PaperSave you can manage your workload wherever you may be. Having the freedom to work anywhere you like can really make a huge difference to your motivation levels as you are never tied to the same place.

2. You Can Work Anytime

If you have a job that can be operated outside of regular office hours, you can literally get to work anytime you like. Perhaps you work in events and much of your work is carried out in the evening. You have no obligation to get up super early the next day and drag yourself to the office. As the business owner you know what works for you and you can roll with that!

3. You Can Make Your Own Decisions

You don’t have to consult anybody when you are a solopreneur. You can literally handle all of the business decisions without having to run it by a manager or your colleagues. You always have the option to ask for advice if you need it, but ultimately all of the decision making lies with you.

4. You Can Change Direction Anytime

If you suddenly had a brainwave overnight you could change the direction of your business right away. That is the beauty of being a company owner; you are the boss and you know what’s best. Your livelihood is at stake too so you aren’t going to make any decisions that would have a negative impact on your brand reputation.

5. You Are in Complete Control

There are a number of reasons why you should run your own business. The best one certainly having complete control over your company. Whether you want to rebrand, relocate, close for the winter or only start your working day at 1pm you can do it all! You have complete control over every single element of your business, which is great because only you know what’s best. If you ever become overwhelmed by certain aspects of your company, you always have the option to outsource or hire a freelancer. The final decision always lies with you, which is a huge advantage.

If these reasons don’t persuade you to start hustling now, then who knows what will?!

It’s real talk time. If you’re one of the millions of people annually who have decided to launch your own business, you are likely to already have a few key qualities. You’ll have vision. You aren’t afraid of a little hard work. You’re determined. And you’re optimistic – of bettering the world with a product or service that you’re passionate about, of being able to finally get your work-life balance in order and of being able to make money for yourself. The reality of entrepreneurship can be rewarding – but it’s also tough. You reap what you sow in terms of your work, but you also need a crucial dose of luck and timing for things to really take off. So, can you take the truth of knowing what it really means to run your own business? Knowledge is power – so understanding what lies ahead and you’ll be much better equipped to meet those challenges head on. 

It’s Hard Work Mentally 

What running your own business really means is constantly problem solving on a big scale. You may be used to solving your own working problems during the course of the day, but suddenly you now have to take on the problems of your customers, your staff, your suppliers and your investors – and this equals a whole new level of pressure. Often when you start out you won’t have much in the way of backup – you’re likely to start off as the only person on the payroll – so it’s a lot of responsibility resting on your shoulders. This is where it can be enormously beneficial to find local networking events where you can connect with other small business owners who are likely to be experiencing similar issues to you. Or you could take it one step further and find a business mentor who can help to give you perspective, challenge your thinking where needed and offer a little sage advice. Just remember that you aren’t alone and teach out to others for help. This can mean tapping into specialist support where possible – and whether it’s human resource management or working with a web design agency or even getting help with your marketing strategy, sometimes a little external backup via outsourcing can be a very worthwhile investment – so tap in the people and systems you need to get the job done efficiently. 

Progress Tends To Be Incremental 

Naturally we look for a big win to give us a sense of validation and reassure us that we’re on the right track. Generally in launching a small business these moments are rare – and over time you’ll see it’s more about incremental improvements. Each achievement that you make gives more opportunity – but also more challenges.

Staying Focused Is Difficult

From the outside, being able to call the shots seems great  – but when you’re actually in that situation, it feels more like being pulled in a million different directions. There are a lot of factors vying for your attention – that marketing plan needs writing, you have invoices to chase up, you should really be out there pitching to potential clients, you’re days behind on the social media schedule, you need to look at the books and your office has completely run out of coffee because you didn’t remember to order in office supplies. In the midst of all these competing demands on your time, you have to try desperately to stay focused on your vision and values and your business plan. This can be extremely hard. Begin by sorting everything into a prioritisation matrix to get clarity on what to tackle first. Write up a handful of goals related to your business plan and put them where you can see them every day. Each morning read through them and remind yourself of what you really need to be doing in order to move closer to them. No one ever said entrepreneurship was easy, but with persistence and a lot of work, you can make it and in time, reap the rewards.