Backing up your computer files is not important!

It’s only important when something goes wrong. And something always can go wrong.

I know because it did at my shop years ago. No, I means years ago. It was so long ago IBM was the powerhouse in computers and laptops were still a twinkle in Bill Gates’ eye.

The good news is we did have two big backup drives that were more like tapes the size of small pizzas. The bad news we never quite got around to actually making those backups as often as we should because we were always too busy working and using the computer. So when the day came and the server crashed, we took out our last backup. It was done only ONE MONTH BEFORE!

That meant we had to recreate all the invoices and bills for the last month.

We had thousands of active customers and this reclamation project could have been avoided if we practiced a sound computer backup routine.

Be smart and take a little bit of this medicine and spare yourself the sickness of having to rebuild your files, database and more.

This is a quick overview of steps to take beginning with mild and heading toward wild. Do what you feel is prudent and what you can do consistently:

1. Do a simple save frequently as you’re working in a document so you don’t spend two hours on it and the power goes out and you risk losing it.

2. Burn a disk if it’s something you want to keep for a long-time.

3. Copy a bunch of stuff to a jump drive.

4. Copy a whole bunch of your data to an external hard drive [today they can hold so much and they’re so cheap you can copy your whole computer to it!]

5. Set it up so when you’re sleeping the computer automatically backs it up to your external hard drive.

6. Have two external hard drives and do a manual backup once a week [put a recurring note in Outlook so you remember to do it] and take one copy off site so if heaven forbid disaster strikes, you still have a copy that’s no more than a week old.

  7. Make sure if you’re networked or not that the backup is backing up the server with the shared files.

This is so important that I spend a portion of my first onsite visit with new clients covering items just like this.

My advice is: “A parachute is good. A backup parachute is smart. It’s even better if they’re periodically inspected.”

Special Announcement:

Biz Experts Al Levi and Ellen Rohr are kicking off a new Teleseminar Series:  Get More Calls Now (starting March 16, 2010)

Together, they’re showing their clients they work with one-to-one how to get their phones ringing right now. And now they plan to share these secrets with others in the Get More Calls Now program which has 3 simple, low-cost marketing “drivers” that will get your phones ringing (more leads, more SALES)…now. They could even double or triple the business you have. Though times are tough, some savvy business owners are going to dramatically GROW their sales. 

  The Get More Calls Now program is designed to help business owners who…

• Need to get the phone ringing now? So that you can at lease keep the doors open!
  
• Want to really grow their company and skip the inch-by-inch slow growth process?
  
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Learn more at www.GetMoreCallsNow.com.

Announcement:

The Step by Step Success program solves the “Contractor Overwhelm” issue by offering one simple, powerful business building Step at a time. Through interactive Teleseminars and one-to-one coaching in Office Hours, Al Levi and Ellen Rohr will help contractors implement ONE action each month that will help them make more money and start living a better life. 

One simple Step…one problem SOLVED every month. Topics include…

• Firefighting 101 teaches you how to handle ANY problem…Once and for All. 
  
• Establishing yourself as someone worth playing with, following…and fighting for. 
  
• Launching Laser-focused Direct Marketing to get Massive Results on a Shoestring Budget.

Learn more at www.StepByStepBusinessBuilding.com.