Know what you can—and can’t—do yourself before tech trips you up.
By Ramon Ray

Recently I began a task I thought would be relatively easy—stripping linoleum from my kitchen floor and replacing it with shiny, new tiles. The linoleum had probably been there since the Civil War and was quite old, ripped, and ugly.

As I grasped the first inches of linoleum, I realized that this was not a simple task. After tearing off a few more inches, it became obvious that this process was going to be absolutely grueling.

Could I stop now? No, the floor was a mess and I really wanted a better-looking floor, so I pressed on. I learned much about technology while stripping the floor, and I think the lessons learned will help you, too.

When in doubt, research.
My computer is never far from me. Taking a break, I wiped my hands off and went to my favorite search engine, Google, to find out if there was any easier way to get this job done. Yes, there was—something called adhesive remover.

What does this mean to you?
If you have no clue about what computer to purchase, take some time to read a few good magazines or websites. For instance, if you are buying a notebook computer, Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal publishes an annual notebook buying guide. My company has a notebook buying guide (www.smallbiztechnology.com/notebook) and many other sites (Cnet, PCWorld, PC Magazine) have great notebook-buying resources as well. Of course, buying a notebook is only one example; doing research applies to all technology.

Verify your research.
I went to Home Depot and picked up two cans of adhesive remover. But before making my purchase, I talked to a few customers and the Home Depot staff about what I was doing and got their input. Everyone was very helpful and gave me good tips and guidance (“Expect a lot of blood, sweat, and tears” is what I heard the most).

What does this mean to you?
Once you do “desk research,” get advice beyond a search engine or magazine, especially if you’re spending a lot of money. If you are buying a $20 piece of software you don’t need as much advice as if you're buying a $2,000 computer or $10,000 phone system.

Start small and then progress.
I’m the type of person who will hop into the pilot seat of an airplane and try to figure things out as I go. Unfortunately this does not always work. I wasted half of the first bottle of adhesive remover because I didn’t know how to apply it properly. Although the instructions explicitly state wait 15 minutes (it was in big red letters on the front of the can), I figured 15 minutes could also mean 5 seconds. Only after seeing minimal results did I let the chemicals sit for 15 minutes and then my scraping speed became faster.

What does this mean to you?
Before rolling out technology to your entire company (assuming the company is more than just you and your dog), do a test or pilot phase first. Maybe you want to move from PC-based sales management software to one hosted exclusively online. Instead of forcing your employees to switch the next day, ask two or three of them to evaluate the new hosted application. This small group can help work out problems, see if the service works for your company, determine how hard it is to learn, help evaluate the cost of training and migration from your current system to the new system, and see if they will even use the new system. After this pilot phase, you can then roll out the service to the entire company, knowing what challenges you’ll experience thanks to the pilot phase.

Hire an expert.
I’m glad that I finished the floor myself—I love hard, manual work (as most of my life is spent in front of a computer screen and in meetings). That said, I probably would not do it again. Next time, I’ll spend the money to hire a professional. I’m sure they could do it in less time and my body wouldn’t feel like a golf ball after Tiger Woods hit it for a few hours.

What does this mean to you?
Sometimes it’s nice to do things yourself. But sometimes it’s not in your best interest or the interest of your company to do so. You’re an expert and guru in your business. Maybe it’s accounting, carpentry, gardening, law or graphic design. You are not an expert in every aspect of technology. Instead of securing your own computer network, it’s best to hire a professional who can ensure that your network is as secure as possible. Instead of trying to install your own server to save a few bucks, get it done right by having an expert do it for you. And, if you’re interested, my kitchen floor came out great!