“Hey, should I do this?”
Ask your IT person this question. Depending how long you’ve worked together, they might give you a one-word answer. But that one word can save you hours and hours of wasted time, energy and money.
Many people engage their technology partner after they have tried to be self-reliant. Many men know this because by the time they ask for directions they’re already lost, or by the time they see a doctor the item in question is already deeply infected. That’s an ego / self-reliance thing.
And small business people try to save money the same way. Oh, I can Google it and make the decision, I’ll check in with my tech guy if I need to. The dirty secret of many professional services is that they make a better living because people engage these services only after there are problems. Employment attorneys make a fortune bailing employers out of sticky situations. Dentists make more filling cavities and repairing root damage than they do on cleaning. And IT pros make a ton of money when your hard drive dies without a solid backup scheme in place.
So try this: when you’re considering a purchase or investment in technology, write out a quick 1-2 sentence description and ask for a quick answer from your partner. Don’t expect or ask for a book report. And make sure you know if it’s something you’ll be charged for (yes, even short answers are sometimes worth paying for).
A little preventative advice and pre-planning goes a long way to a successful outcome. People in our profession make the most money when other people try to save the most money.