While most small businesses really do need to find a good local computer consulting business to take care of their computer problems, there are some computer problems that are simple enough for even a technophobe to handle. At Computer Consulting 101, weve found theres one very simple piece of advice that often doesnt get communicated to non-technical small business end users: When in doubt, reboot first.

Seriously, while it may sound tremendously simple, end users often overlook it during typical computer panic attacks.

Anytime youre about to consider an issue a real IT support problem and call your computer consulting vendor, always reboot first.

First, exit out of whatever files and programs that you're working on. Then, run through a Shutdown and Restart sequence to reboot your computer.

If you suspect your computer problem involves something hardware-related, such as with your network card, modem, mouse, keyboard or sound card, you should even go one step further, before calling your computer consulting experts.

Go to your Start menu. Next, shutdown your PC. Then turn the power off for a minute or so if youre computer didnt power itself off on its own. Then finally power your PC back up again and see if the problem resolved itself on its own. Many times a simple reboot is all it takes.

The Bottom Line

While this advice probably sounds very basic, at Computer Consulting 101 weve found that a substantial percentage (as many as 10-20% of problems) of trouble calls for IT support become unnecessary after a reboot. And of course, because you probably pay every single time you pick up the phone, why not conserve your IT budget for those projects that can help your company drive more revenue, improve productivity, reduce overhead, and boost your bottom line. Remember, before you call a computer consulting professional, reboot first. so you can conserve your computer consulting budget for those problems that really require expert assistance.

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Joshua Feinberg, co-founder of Computer Consulting 101, is a 15-year veteran of small business computer consulting and an internationally recognized expert on small business computer consulting. He has appeared in dozens of business and IT trade publications including CRN, VARBusiness, Microsoft Direct Access, TechRepublic, American Express OPEN Platinum Ventures, Entrepreneur, Inc, SCORE, Small Business Computing, and USA Today. To get immediate online access to Joshuas proven sales and marketing strategies for growing your computer consulting companys profits, sign up now for the free one-hour Computer Consulting 101 training recording at http://www.computer-consulting-101.com