Is Your Internet Connection Hurting Your Business?
August 31st, 2005Over the last few months creating multimedia content, I was quite surprised (I know I shouldn’t be), how many small business owners out there operate on dial up. What’s more amazing is, many of them have entirely Internet based businesses or a big part of their business is online. This to me is baffling.
Yes, dial up still costs much less and hey, it’s nice to write a smaller check to pay your bills than a bigger one right but if you’re on dial up think about this seriously. Are you really saving that much?
Faster internet connections do not only mean better surfing. It translates in part to getting things done quicker. Whether you’re uploading your website or checking out some resources, accessing a coaching forum. If you can reduce the time you spend moving around these websites, and getting done what you need to do online, why wouldn’t you do it?
The other thing is continuing education. More and more you’ll begin to see videos and audio products. Sometimes you may not be able to download these material. Playing audio even if it’s flash audio can can be a chore on dial up. Even if you could download them they can get pretty big it’ll either take forever or you might keep dropping your connection. You’ll be missing out on a lot of great information that can help your business, many free!
A big part about productivity is being able to get to what you need and having things done in a short time. Trying to run an online business with dial up is like working on a old 386 computer. It becomes your bottle neck. Invest in the extra high speed, get your work done quicker.
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January 17th, 2006 at 7:14 am
Hear, hear! I live in an area of Vermont where broadband is not available to all businesses, but I know from years of working with a high speed connection that my productivity is much, much higher because I have this critical service both at home and at work.
Those of us who concerned about economic development for the state are working hard on this issue, but recently I have come to realize that we have not made the case at the grass roots. Our medium size businesses get it, but the smaller ones–even the ones who have internet based businesses–don’t really get it. It’s an experiential challenge–how do you convince people who have not worked with a particular technology that it is worth not only the price but their effort to learn something new.
Think of all the technology we have now–phones, cell phones, faxes, phone answering machines, microwave ovens, even overnight delivery, DVRs–and about all the naysayers who said we didn’t need them!
And yet, all of those were easier hurdles–less to learn, easier to try. All I know to do is keep saying, “Just try it. See if it isn’t easier to get your work done. Yes, you will spend more time for a few weeks, but then you will have more flexibility than you can imagine.”
And then there is the challenge of getting service into all those unserved areas….
January 19th, 2006 at 1:54 am
I agree Karen, it is unfortunately a double edged sword. I know of some business owners who want high speed but can’t get it. Some who won’t switch but have it and multiple choices too. Like you, I think continously reminding these business owners particularly those who operate online is inevitable.