What a week. The stock markets tanked on Monday. The Chinese real estate giant Evergrande may default on some of its $300 billion (with a “b”) dollars of debt. This collapse would ripple across the globe. Here I am in northeastern Indiana, but I don’t for a moment think that this won’t affect me. After a year and a half of dealing with a world pandemic while working in technology—I have learned better. If you think we are not all connected to every other soul on the planet, you are flat-out wrong. I want some relief from the intensity of doing business these days. To get there, business owners need to stop turning a deaf ear to this moment’s signature problems. I am going to say some things out loud and on purpose to make my point.
Keep Your Family Values But Adapt To Today’s Business Realities
“It’s the way we have always done things here” can no longer be a fallback position. We know this from expanded work and service hours. Most of us deal with several time zones whether it is for service or supplies. It wasn’t that long ago that only restaurants were open on a Sunday. Television signed off at midnight. Things have changed. But sometimes when there is an unfamiliar situation, the reflex is to revert to a stance based on what is familiar. We must learn to ask, I think, “what are my options in this situation today?” Things are changing too fast to know absolutely everything. What was true at noon today might not be true at 5:00 p.m.
Haggling Is Not Attractive. Or Effective.
I am twenty years into my business. It still surprises me when a potential customer wants to “haggle” about my price for services or products. I wonder what generation that comes from? Who presumes that an opening bid will be inflated for further negotiation? I have never had the time (and maybe not the sense of humor) to expect a protracted back-and-forth about “yes but what will you really take for this?” Technology has no similarity to a garage sale, in my view. Your business network should be dead serious to your IT crew, or your competitors will pass you by. It is the nature of the beast. Time is money. Harsh but spot-on.
I Am Saying These Things Out Loud And On Purpose
I have reluctantly decided to expect one global financial crisis a week for the foreseeable future. To that end, I am going to address some of the impediments to smooth business practices. I will continue to try to explain some of our also-ever-present concerns like cybersecurity and employee training and education. I mean, computers are here to stay, folks. Technology will continue to get faster and better and more intrinsic to the ability to lead the pack in all industries. If you have ever had flights canceled or hotel reservations lost, or payments not received when paid online—you know our dependency on technology is here to stay.
Aptica is an IT services company dedicated to keeping your business network as efficient as possible. This facilitates the productivity of your company overall. That’s a fact. When we discuss how partnering with Aptica can contribute to your success, every single point will be doable and provable. That is offering a lot in today’s market. Give us a call and let’s begin with an honest conversation. 260.243.5100.
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.