The ability to start a company with little more than a laptop and a dedicated corner of your house is one of the great joys of life in 2022, and it’s a path that more of us than ever are choosing to take as global sales and eCommerce become business norms. If yours is among the 15 million home businesses in the US alone as of last year, then congratulations are certainly in order. The trouble is that, as you might be discovering the hard way, expansion may come along with some teething issues, especially if you haven’t taken crucial steps such as tech upgrades before getting started.
One of the most common setbacks of this nature for keen home business entrepreneurs has to be that of outdated, or plain unsuitable home computers being used for business purposes. That family desktop might well have served you in the early days when business was a trickle, but as the stream of interest begins to flow, these are just a few of the pressing warning signs that may well start telling you a computer upgrade is probably in order.
# 1 – Family problems
Using the family computer for work is all well and good until the kids need it to complete their homework, or your partner needs to order another food shop. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself scrambling for time and losing crucial trade hours which, let’s be honest, no longer stick nicely to the neat 9-5 template. Further, even, to the issue of timings is the fact that family use can compromise sometimes sensitive files, either because unsuspecting family members stumble into the wrong folder, or because unmonitored family activities leave your computer at risk of viruses.
Of course, with this latter issue, parental controls and blockages on certain websites as offered by https://www.netnanny.com/ can help to offer some protection, but the best possible thing you can do to avoid all of these family setbacks is to invest in a business-only computer that’s 100% safe from invasion. That way, not only will you be able to work the hours that you need, but you’ll be able to more safely store even sensitive consumer or company information without worrying about it accidentally ending up in your kids’ school homework uploader!
# 2 – Performance issues
Waiting five or more minutes for your computer to start probably wasn’t much of an issue when you weren’t using it for anything more than checking the news or going over your socials, but delays of this nature become a lot more of a problem when you’re trying to ensure business success. As we all learned the hard way when Zoom-based buffering became the most prevalent business complaint of 2020, slow and underperforming tech is one of the worst ways to reveal unprofessionalism. This is especially the case now that we’ve all had time to adjust to home working, and means that you not only need a top-notch internet connection but that you also require tech that’s able to keep up to speed with every single business task.
Whether you’re installing live website chats or just want to keep meetings flowing more smoothly, this most often requires an upgrade to tech that’s built with speed in mind. While they’re a pretty hefty investment, MacBooks are especially great for this because they’re designed to last, and are guaranteed to update often to keep speed, and efficiency, at the heart of your business efforts.
# 3 – Hard drive limitations
While we’re all familiar with the basic concept of a hard drive and what it does, you probably hadn’t given yours too much thought when it stored only your daughter’s favorite puppy pictures. However, businesses that require not only the storage of sometimes significant and sensitive files but also their smooth transfer from one device to another, mean that hard drives need a little attention after all. Storage limitations and files that you can’t easily transfer are especially a limitation that you need to overcome with an upgrade.
Of course, to some extent, you don’t necessarily need to overhaul your computer to make this happen. As can be seen from articles like this one on https://setapp.com/how-to/apfs-mac-os-extended-exfat-whats-the-difference, MacBooks as mentioned particularly provide a vast array of hard drive options to suit your different needs. Generally speaking, however, older tech doesn’t have access to these same solutions, meaning that you’d be far better off ditching your ancient and frankly unfit hard drive solution in place of a shiny new laptop or MacBook that makes it easier for you to get storage right even as your company grows.
# 4 – Lacking connectivity
Even at the starting stages, a lack of tech-based connectivity can hold a business back by preventing efficient file sharing with outsourced or long-distance parties, satisfactory consumer experiences, and a lot more besides. Even if it suited your personal needs, an old computer system that speaks an entirely different language to all of the rest of the tech you’re using is therefore guaranteed to make your life a whole lot harder. In fact, it could unravel your efforts altogether when you finally try to take your efforts from local to global.
To avoid this eventuality, it’s always best to buy a new computer with compatibility in mind. Again, opting for MacBooks is often a good choice here as they connect well with other Apple products if you have any of those in your arsenal. If not, bear in mind that the majority of new tech is built with compatibility in mind, so almost any new computer that you invest in should make it easier to expand your team, seamlessly share files between even in-house devices like label printers, etc., and importantly ensure security as a result of all of this.
Home business is a fantastic way to pave your own path in an uncertain moment of business, but is your computer up to the task, and were you aware of these warning signs that an upgrade could be best?
