Some I.T. Professional Business Pearls

Here are some thoughts on the many aspects of running an I.T. business in today’s world that have been garnered over my 13 years in business so far.

• Never reveal business operations
• Financial
• Client’s names (don’t ever reveal clients supported to others)
• Projects, Purchases, or other such products and services WE provide
• Never volunteer _any_ information
• Always keep scheduling information time related
• I’m running behind, I’ll call in 15
• I’m working on something that went sideways, let’s delay to tomorrow please
• Always call, text, reach out in-person versus e-mail
• If calling follow-up with an e-mail “thanks for allowing us to delay by a day” or some such note
• We keep a priority band that our clients are aware of
• Priority 1: Business Critical Outage
• Priority 2: User down or problematic app
• Priority 3: App updates, changes and such
• Priority 4: All of the other stuff
• Never, ever, give a customer poop for leaving
• I learned this one the hard way
• Business is business no matter how the termination was handled by the now former client
• Never, ever, take things personally
• Respect their decision and acquiesce with grace and integrity
• Be silent
• Resist the urge to be defensive - shut this one right down
• Cooperate with the next I.T. company if need be
• Give over the keys to the kingdom with ease
• Always, and everywhere, do everything in writing
• “Yes, Ms. Customer, I’d be more than happy to help you do X and it’ll be done on Y” via e-mail after a conversation
• Always confirm project add-ons and scope creep with an e-mail indicating back charges and extras as they fall out of scope
• Keep an extensive set of audit notes for each client
• Keep an extensive change log for all clients
• Snip everything, name them accordingly, and keep them forever
• Be disciplined and document everything
• Use a time keeper
• Outlook Tasks or CRM with due dates and reminders
• OneNote notebook with Surface 4/Pro and pen close at hand
• Note keeper pocket notebook and mechanical pencils
• Write all requests down and transfer what needs to be to Outlook or CRM

The above is the culmination of my 13 years running our I.T. company. I hope it helps! :)

Philip Elder
Microsoft Cluster MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Dealing with an Emergency

Some days are a bit tougher than others.

Apparently the big gap the kitten used to get into the back side of the box holding up the garage heating system’s water tank was not the way he ultimately decided to exit.

One of the major lessons learned over the years when it comes to confronting a serious problem is first to _not_ panic.

If the situation was dire, then there may be a need to put the back against the wall and squat down all the while doing controlled breathing exercises to gain a hold on the rush of adrenalin, fears, and angst that is surely to be happening.

Taking that first step to be somewhat calm in the midst of what could be utter chaos is critical.

From there, we need to walk through and discover as many steps as we can that led to the problem we are facing. Finding out as much information about the circumstances prior to the emergency can be very helpful in figuring out a diagnosis and the next steps to get out of the situation.

Yes, folks may be hovering over and repeatedly interrupting us as we try and work our way back into a functioning system. A gentle, “We are working on the situation, we will update you as soon as there are any changes” will go a long way towards reducing those interruptions that can actually pose a grave threat to a successful completion of the task(s) at hand.

Make sure to have paper and pens/pencils in hand. Write everything down.

We should have our own laptop/ultrabook/tablet and a cell modem set up. Also, we need to have the client’s network audit notes open and available for immediate perusal. Using our own equipment would help keep things calm and on the level due to being familiar with our own equipment.

In other words, in as much as we possibly can, be prepared.

Oh, and use caution if a drive will be required to get to the client site!

Needless to say he was stuck in there for quite a while before yours truly rescued him by getting him out the same way he got into that hole that was _just_ enough for his head to fit through!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

The “Right” Client and Our Business

Fellow MVP Cris Hanna pointed to the following article:

•  Inc.com: 8 Customers You Should Avoid

It took us almost 5 years to be able to start being choosy about the work we took on and the client relationships we wanted to build.

In that first five years we had to learn _a lot_ of lessons from the school of hard knocks.

Everything from a long standing and ongoing client not paying for work they signed off on to folks that expected a whole lot of work for no pay.

Then there was the scope creep on big projects where the original job, say a migration, then included a bunch of Line of Business application upgrades and migrations . . . and were not in the original proposal/agreement but, “since you’re already here . . . “

One of the more difficult lessons was in communication. That is communicating with the client about ongoing scheduling, jobs, and other task needs.

A really bad habit to break is to _not_ communicate with a client we have an appointment with that we are running late or even that we may need to reschedule.

In this day and age where we are facing pressures from all sides to cut and run we need to be extra mindful of the one gem in the rough we have in SMB: The face-to-face contact and relationship with our client contacts.

• Be a man, or woman, of our word.
• Need to make a change? Communicate first.
• Use the tools at hand.
• Outlook calendar invites, ticketing system if you use it, and keep lots of notes!
• Phone is best. Texting seems to be a close second.
• Be legit, stay legit, and deal with folks that operate above board.
• This is especially true for software licensing.
• Be personable.
• When on-site reach out, say hello to everyone, and especially ask them how their day and tech are doing!
• Operate on principle.
• Create a project scope and a set of terms & conditions.
• Stand by them.
• Add-on charge _everything_ not included in the original scope.

Having an established set of terms & conditions is one thing.

Abiding by them and following through on them are two _very_ important aspects of the business relationship. By doing so, we place the expectation ball in the prospect’s/client’s court of being honest and forthright in their communications and negotiations with us and ours with them.

By not following through on our commitments, and holding them to theirs, we place ourselves in a very awkward position where precedent gets set that the prospect/”client” may indeed be free to take advantage of us.

This is a very dangerous precedent to set.

The same is true for time spent on _any_ client related need. Any and all time must be billed for and tracked with a full set of notes. But, most importantly, the client _must_ approve that work in writing ahead of time.

Yes, on-the-fly this may be difficult to be had, but again this is where communication abilities come in to play.

An e-mail simply stating that we hit a snag and that extra time will be needed can be fired off from a Smart Phone in a matter of seconds. If the contact approves of it verbally confirm that by e-mailing them back with a “Thanks for your approval” note.

Keep a paper trail. Keep an e-mail trail. Keep all documentation and notes related to any and every project small or large. Get a scanner that can do scan to PDF with OCR so that any font text can be read into that PDF and be searchable later on.

Scan all handwritten content in and set it into a client’s folder called NOTEs or ticketing system.

In the end if a question about what we have done ever comes up then we have something to fall back on including any and all communication with the client/contact.

We also use SNIP in Windows to take snippets of all of the situations we are working with.

In the end keeping the above approach to running our IT business protects both our clients and us.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

Accountants: Share data & printer while on-site easily

There are times where two or more members of our larger accounting firm clients need to be doing their work at the client site.

It used to be, they transferred data via infrared. Then, they would create an ad-hoc wireless connection between two laptops to transfer data. Recently, they have been using Kingston's Data Traveler Secure - Privacy Edition.

While these methods work, they can be cumbersome and time consuming especially for Caseware files.

When it came to sharing a printer, the USB cable was being passed along between users as each one needed to print. This method makes for a struggle when more than one person needed to print. It also endangers both the printer and the user's laptop to static discharge.

So, to facilitate the on-site accountant's efficiency, we came up with the following solution:

• Linksys NAS200 2 Bay Network Attached Storage (NAS)
• Unit is capable of static or DHCP served IPs
• Both drives configured in RAID 1 format
• 250GB Seagate Barracuda ES Hard Drives (2 for RAID 1)
• HP LaserJet P1505N printer
• D-Link DI-604 Wired Router with 4 port 10/100 switch
• D-Link DGS-10008D 8 port Gigabit switch
• Necessary cabling to connect up to 8 workers plus the NAS and printer.
• A decent carrying case. We like Pelican.

We choose to use the D-Link router because, unlike its competitors, one has the ability to set DHCP reservations in the router's onboard DHCP manager.

The process of getting everything working together is relatively simple:

1. Put the Linksys together with the hard drives.
2. Setup the D-Links with a short 1' Purple or other off colour patch cable
• Keeping the cable short and a different colour makes it easier to figure out where it belongs.
3. Power on the D-Links.
4. Plug in the Linksys' network cable into the Gigabit switch and turn the unit on
• Use an off colour 3' patch cable like Orange.
• Note that the first time it is powered up with hard drives in it, the startup process may take a few minutes.
5. Plug in the HP LaserJet printer's network cable into the router and turn the printer on
• Use an off colour 3' patch cable like Green.
• Connect a laptop to the Gigabit switch and pull an IP address.
6. Log into the D-Link using the default admin account (192.168.0.1 in the browser):
• Username: Admin
• Password: Blank
7. In the DHCP manager, there will be a list of devices that have acquired IP addresses. We need to set a static IP to the following:
• Set the Linksys to a static IP of 192.168.0.110
• Set the HP LaserJet to a static IP of 192.168.0.120
• Any connected laptops will pick up the first 9 IPs
8. Reset both the Linksys and the HP LaserJet (power cycle) to pick up the new addresses
9. Connect to the Linksys via Web browser: http://192.168.0.110/
10. Log onto the Linksys and setup drive mirroring and a folder share
• Take note of the user name and password as this is needed for each user to gain access to the folder.
• Linksys NAS200 User Guide
• Linsys NAS200 Quick Install Guide
11. Run a print test page from the HP LaserJet to verify that it has the correct IP.

You now have a fully functioning network that will enable your users to share data and send print jobs to the printer.

A batch file can be placed on the user's desktop for them to use when they have their laptop connected to it:

• net use r: \\192.168.0.110\foldershare

Note that they will need to authenticate against the unit. A very simple username and password would suffice when setting up the Linksys folder share. Saving the password when prompted for a username and password will eliminate this question after the first one if offered.

A little preparation will be required to get everyone hooked up to the printer.

We will install a dedicated HP LJP1505N driver just for the on-site setup. We name the printer:

• ON-SITE HP P1505
• The connected port will be IP_192.168.0.120

This leaves little room for error or support calls.

To keep things simple, depending on the size of the firm, they will purchase one, two, or even three identical sets of the above products. All sets will be setup exactly the same as far as IP addresses, DHCP reservations, folder share names, and user name/passwords for the shares.

It is important to do the setup of all needed sets at the same time so as to have identical products. Having more than one printer type, router, and NAS will cause pain points for connecting things up, for the users, and for us.

Some further suggestions:

• A little hot glue or Duct Tape in/across the WAN port on the router will eliminate any calls by someone who accidentally plugs something into it.
• 5' and 7' cables of various colours for users to plug their laptops into the Gigabit switch
• Labels on everything to keep them together such as: SET 1 or the like
• A decent carrying case with foam inserts, like a Pelican, that everything can be placed into in a tidy way
• A user manual (we have created one for our clients)

Besides accounting firms, other professional firms, construction management companies, trades, and others that require two or more of their employees to go on-site can take advantage of this solution.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Have a few minutes to spare? A Client Focus suggestion...

Have a few minutes to spare?

Call a client. Call one you haven't spoken with for a while.

Say hello, chat, ask them how things are. See if they need anything.

This kind of proactive contact with clients goes a long way towards building up a strong business relationship with them.

Have a little more than a few minutes to spare?

Then it is time for a "Client Focus" session.

We all can get very busy. Even with our PDAs, Outlook, CRM, and more we can let things fall through the cracks.

A Client Focus session is an opportunity to take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes and discover what we have missed or new opportunities with our existing clients.

1. Let the appropriate people know where you will be and to Do Not Disturb (DND) if at all possible.
2. A decision must be made by us within to use the following time to focus on client needs.
• That decision must be a committed one. No distractions!
• That decision is an internal one and provides the foundation for a successful Client Focus session.
3. An office or space where the DND time is possible.
4. Sit down with a pad of paper and a couple of pens or a pencil with plenty of lead.
• Nothing more annoying than a pen running out of ink during a critical moment.
• Be comfortable as being relaxed is important.
5. Relax for a couple of minutes and let the stresses of the day go.
6. Take a couple of deep breaths to get the blood flowing in the brain and to deepen the relaxation.
7. On the pad of paper:
1. Draw one line down the middle of the page.
2. Write "Client" at the top of the Left Column.
3. Write "Needs" above the Right Column.
4. Start listing your clients leaving a large space between each name.
5. If a particular client need comes up while writing their name down, put it in the Right Column.
6. Keep writing client names, but as soon as a Need presents itself, write it in the Needs Column beside their name immediately.
7. Once the client names are filled out, continue thinking about each client's respective infrastructure. More Needs should present themselves.
• Use different sheets of paper to diagram aspects of the client's infrastructure.
• Look at the big picture: servers, workstations, switches, software, etc and their purposes.

This method of "stirring" the creative juices so to speak works really well, especially in this digital age.

It gets us to focus specifically on our client's current needs. It provides us with an opportunity to discover things that we may have missed, but also allow client specific ideas that have been sitting at the back of our minds to come forward.

Once one becomes comfortable with this methodology, or some derivative of it, another column can be added for Future Needs or any other aspect of client management.

One factor that is very important for the success of the Client Focus, is knowing our client's environments. That is, having first hand contact with our clients and not being just "someone on the other end of the phone" or e-mail to them.

Whether working remotely or locally, we need to spend time within our client's network infrastructure, but also within our client's business environment.

Clients love it when we ask them questions about what they are doing and how they are trying to do it. They appreciate us taking the time to get to know their given business environment. In most cases, they won't mind spending some time answering questions about their business and the environment they do business in.

In pretty much all cases, a client will be more likely to deal with us as a result of our getting to know their business and its needs first hand over the "other guy". This is especially true when the suggestions we make are based on our actually understanding their business.

We have all probably had the experience of the sales guy saying, "Oh yes Mr. Customer, this product won the Editor's Choice in the Reseller Reviews and it is a perfect fit!" And then turning to us and saying, "Okay guys, make it fit!"

I can hear the Tech department shuddering over that one! ;)

There is no excuse for the lack of knowledge and understanding of a client's infrastructure or the technology needed to make that infrastructure work. None. Period.

In the case of I.T. companies with separate Sales & Tech departments, that means that your Sales people and Tech people are getting together regularly to hash things out right?

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists