Grin if you have heard this one before. A friend’s husband declared that he could fix the faucet drip in their older home. He watched a video on YouTube and went to the hardware store. Several hours later, another couple of trips to the hardware store plus some curse words, and the do-it-yourselfer declared victory. An hour after that, the drip was back. For situations that need a “fix”, there is a YouTube how-to video online for crafts to calamities. But there may not be a YouTube how-to video for everything. Oh, and btw–the plumber can’t get there until the day after tomorrow. More from my Common Sense Notebook—see what you think.
Um, Things Have Changed . . .
An admirable part of the Great American Spirit is our belief that we should be able to “do it yourself” for anything. For generations, the advice of our elders has been to recycle and/or reuse everything; they had known scarcity in their lives. The globalization of commerce has created an overabundance of products and parts, and now so much of what we own can be affordably tossed and replaced. Also, so many of the tools we use today are electronic. And they are complicated. Who can fix his own car anymore?
Some Perceptions Seem Harder To Change Than Others
The above story sounds all too familiar when it comes to IT support. Owners and C-Level executives will insist that they have their IT technology covered. “We’ve got awesome internal resources,” or, “I do all the IT work to save money,” or, “I have a guy I call when I have IT problems.” Things seem to be working. I am saving money. I don’t need any help. I am a “do it yourselfer” when it comes to technology. As with some home plumbing projects, I am sure some companies have their internal IT all set. However, I’ll wager this is the exception rather than the rule.
Little To No DIY Left In Today’s Information Technology
The DIY business owner who spends time, talent, treasury, and resources trying to fix his own IT could better allocate all that effort elsewhere. What may appear to be a solution often is only a “meh” result, causing a consistent drip of money going down the drain. Often the leak of time and efficiency cannot be seen immediately. The worst is when something big breaks and the whole place is flooded. It happens more than you know.
I do salute the weekend warrior and the do it yourself spirit. But there comes a time when you need to focus on what you are good at and let others focus on what they are good at. You can see why this is part of my Common Sense Notebook.
Aptica focuses only on the best IT possible for our clients. If you are ready to give up your attempts at DIY technology, give us a call. We offer a free assessment.
Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2101, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium-sized businesses for 19 years in the region that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.