Starting a new business is an exciting, creative time. You will be full of hope, ideas, dreams and the potential of what the future could look like!
You will also find yourself becoming a masterful juggler and wearing many hats, as you progress your business from that great idea to reality. You will contend with many things like coming up with a company name, registering with the Companies Office, obtaining an IRD and GST number, appointing a good accountant, lawyer and human resources advisor, choosing premises, interviewing for staff, setting up supply chains, marketing, working with new clients and the list goes on.
At the same time as setting up the fundamentals for your new business, you’ll need to start thinking about technology and how it can best help you. If you are like a lot of people, you may start by Googling, but this can become very overwhelming with technical acronyms, multiple solutions and not knowing what to do first or which options will suit your business needs best.
That is where Brainworx Computer Services can help you! Having been in business ourselves for 22 years, we have gained a wealth of experience both internally and through working with our clients. Our goal is to help our clients work smarter, not harder, enabling their businesses and teams to connect and work online efficiently and cost effectively.
So where do you start? We have compiled a 6 point check list to guide you through:
1. Domain Name
A domain name is crucial in these modern digital times. It underpins so much of what we do online from email addresses, to websites and other services such as SharePoint.
But more importantly it promotes your brand. When I chose Brainworx as a company name, the first thing I did was secure the domain name brainworx.co.nz. Ideally your name domain name will match your company name, however in reality many domain names are already taken so be prepared to use a variation on your name.
If I had decided to use brainworx@xtra.co.nz or brainworx@gmail.com, I would have watered down my company name and promoted the Xtra or Gmail brand. In addition, if I had used the @xtra.co.nz or @gmail.com domain names, I would have then limited my ability to add additional team members to the Brainworx brand. Whereas using my own domain name, as I add staff I can easily use their name with my domain name keeping our addresses uniform, such as john@brainworx.co.nz, mary@brainworx.co.nz and david@brainworx.co.nz.
Once you have chosen your domain name, Brainworx can assist by checking for its availability and registering your domain name for you.
2. Email
Once you have secured your domain name, you will want to choose an email platform to host your email. We strongly recommend Office 365 “hosted exchange”. We would not recommend using the POP email protocol, as it is going the way of the dinosaurs and iMAP is the poor cousin to hosted exchange.
The advantage of hosted exchange is that it synchronises everything in real time across all your devices, from your inbox, calendar and contacts, to sub folders. Never miss an email or appointment again!
Brainworx is proud to be a Microsoft partner, meaning we can supply your Office 365 licences as well as setting up your Office 365 portal and exchange. In fact we can manage the entire process for you, right through to installing the email accounts onto your computers and smartphones.
3. Website
Once you have your domain name, you will want to think about a website. Websites promote your brand, deliver your marketing messages, promote your products and services as well as enabling you to communicate with your existing clients through blogs and if required conduct business online through an e-commerce shop front.
A successful website, requires planning. You will need to choose a Web hosting service, and, like a house, you need a website designer/builder. Additionally, you need to think about theme, content, search engine optimisation, Google rankings, Adwords, and a regular plan to update the content.
Not having a website would cripple your marketing strategy and reduce your ability to make prospective customers aware of your business. When was the last time you reached for the yellow pages? Not in a very long time? – thats because people use the internet in greater numbers these days to search online for services and products – don’t miss out on the action!
Brainworx can help here by providing you WordPress webhosting and a website solution.
4. Digital Newsletters
Digital newsletters should also be part of your marketing strategy. Usually newsletters are scheduled monthly, bimonthly or quarterly – the frequency is up to you. Over time you will build up a list of subscribers from your website or client database that you communicate with, to promote your brand and services. Some websites have an email campaign option to run newsletters directly from the website, or alternatively there are some very good online platforms to compose and send your newsletters from. But again these link back to your domain name, which is why owning your own domain name is so very important.
5. Computer Hardware, Software, Online Solutions
Brainworx Computer Services is a reseller for many hardware and software brands. Our preferred hardware brand is Hewlett Packard with Microsoft software and Office 365 online solutions for Hosted Exchange (email), SharePoint (to access your company data), OneDrive and Teams.
6. Backups
We can’t stress enough the importance of backing up. Brainworx Computer Services provides a monthly subscription service for all budgets, to backup your data into the cloud. We can backup up everything from specific files to entire computers, servers and all your Office 365 data, providing you with real peace of mind.
Where too next?
If you are starting or have recently started a new business, you need to talk to Brainworx Computer Services. We can help you navigate the minefield of technology, taking away the pain – leaving you to focus on building and growing your business.
Working smarter – not harder and letting the technology work for you is our goal!
Please don’t hesitate to contact us, we’d love to help you at this exciting time!
