Features

Small businesses have to do it all: finances, paperwork, and even fixing computer equipment and managing the costs to update and maintain the equipment. This list doesn’t even include the business’ core business that brings in the dough.

We’ve all gotten stuck waiting far too long for a technician to come on the phone to help us with a problem. Some can’t even help us and have to redirect the call or contact another technician. This takes time away from the core business.

I prefer to deal with software and leave the hardware to the hubby, an IT manager who also manages the help desk. The book lists tips that are familiar, but I had to learn about them the hard way. Hubby shares budgeting stories and the book covers those. Despite the knowledge I’ve gained between his and my experiences, I have learned a few more tricks.

The book’s organization is first-rate. Non-fiction and self-help books lean on the dry and boring side, but not this one because of its savvy formatting style. It’s divided into three sections: hardware, software, and data protection. The back of the book has the entire list of 101 tips sorted by tip number and chapter for easy search and access.

Each of the 101 tips headlines the page followed by two things: Save on Soft Costs and Save on Out-of-Pocket Expenses. A checkmark by these items indicates the kind of savings to expect from following the tip. The tip has headers and short paragraphs to enable quick scanning.

Microsoft produces various versions of its Office software: Standard, small business, professional, and developer. Just because one is “small business” doesn’t mean it’s the best one and the tip explains how to choose the right one. Or maybe you can save more money by having the software come bundled with a computer, but that means buying a new computer, which may not be necessary.

If the line between soft costs and out-of-pocket expenses is blurry, the introduction explains the difference. It also has a key for $ that appear throughout the tips letting the reader know how much it would cost to implement a solution. The fewer $, the cheaper the solution.

The book includes a glossary and resources to Web sites for more information. Not to worry, the Web URLs don’t take up much space in the book since we all know Web sites do die.

Joshua Feinberg is the founder of Small Biz Tech Talk and its accompanying newsletter, which can give insight into the information and writing you can expect from this book. The writing is natural and not uptight as is often found in technical books and articles. No reason to fear technical jargon as the book is written in plain English for the folks who don’t want to know more than they have to about computers.

The publisher may not be a “name” in the industry, but the book offers high quality like those “name” publishers produce. Any small business and even computer technicians of a small business would benefit from the book. The price of the book is easily surpassed with one of the secrets.

VITAL STATISTICS: TITLE: What Your Computer Consultant Doesn’t Want You to Know: 101 Money-Saving Secrets of Expensive Techies AUTHOR: Joshua Feinberg PUBLISHER: Small Biz Tech Talk Press PUBLICATION DATE: 2002 ISBN: 0971415382 FORMAT: Paperback PAGES: 288 PRICE: US$19.99