Eventually, the amount of time and knowledge required to maintain your IT on your own, or by an administrator fumbling through manuals and Google searches, will begin to cancel out any cost-saving benefits of doing it yourself. When your business reaches that point, it’s time to hire an IT professional.

It’s time to hire an IT professional when:

• managing IT solutions takes time away from core customers or services
• your IT needs and solutions are now greater than your existing IT skills or knowledge base
• you are not sure which equipment to get for your purposes or what type of equipment is compatible with each other
• bought equipment that you don’t use or that turned out to be incompatible with your needs
• bought a computer that wasn’t powerful enough for your needs and was forced to pay upgrade costs
• you think you bought the right equipment but you’re not sure how to set it up correctly
• you need help getting you and/or your employees comfortable with your IT
• you need to make the IT process faster and easier for your business

The right IT consultant for you:

• Listen to them: No matter how much they know about IT, they first have to learn about you, your business, and your needs before they can help you.
• Be an expert with the technology that’s right for you: If you don’t use a Mac, you don’t need a Mac pro. If you want to install a small business server, a computer repairman with no server experience is not the right choice. Ask about their experience.
• Appreciate a smaller company like yours – you’re not a multinational corporation and your IT needs and budget are vastly different than a company of that scale. Does the IT professional you’re considering have experience with IT solutions for businesses like yours? Remember, IT covers a wide spectrum of knowledge and skills, so ask questions to find an IT consultant who fits your needs.
• Help you understand the technology: They will speak in easy-to-understand terms, avoid technology jargon, and use analogies that clearly communicate what the proposed solutions will do for you. Your IT advisor should never try to confuse or obfuscate you in order to gain an advantage over you and your lack of deep IT knowledge. You want an IT advisor who is willing to serve in a fiduciary role, always putting your best interest first.
• Balance costs and benefits: When choosing to serve your best interests, your IT advisor can help you weigh the benefits against the benefits. cost ratios of each of the solutions suitable for your purposes. They’ll help you understand what extra benefits each cost tier offers and help you make an informed decision about what you really need for your business.

Be sure to also consider the following:

• Can this IT professional provide a testimonial or reference from a recent or current satisfied customer who runs a similar business to yours, with similar IT needs?
• Does this IT professional have the specific expertise required to service the IT solution you currently have or want to implement?
• Can this IT professional give you an accurate time frame to implement your solution?
• Can this IT professional provide you with an initial budget, on paper, for the solution you want to implement? is it broken down?
• What kind of tracking services are available? Does the IT professional provide repair and follow-up, or will you need someone else to maintain the services that this person will install and configure?
• If you have questions or concerns that normally come up when running a business, will this IT professional be available to answer your questions? Will there be a charge for questions and advice?
• If you experience an IT emergency, how quickly can this IT professional get you service?

Carefully weigh the answers to these questions and create a list of “Must Haves” and “Nice to Haves” for your business. Then consider your budget, and finally choose an IT professional for your business based on all of the above factors.