Quick thoughts on a muse... I wonder if there would be interest?

[shakin]

I've been in computers for 10 years now as a systems/network administrator. My muse will probably be something surrounding IT and networking.

I was thinking about doing an ebook, or getting some type of manual/guide put together to help small businesses secure their network and computers. Not anything extremely complicated. We're talking products that can help secure their PCs... firewalls they can download and configure... various considerations to think about, etc.

I guess there are sites that do some of this, but if it was all put together in a manual it might be useful. I know I can use my knowledge somehow, but HOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!! MUST.... GET.... OUT..... OF.........RAT...........RACE.

[nondual]

I've been in computers for 10 years now as a systems/network administrator. My muse will probably be something surrounding IT and networking.

I was thinking about doing an ebook, or getting some type of manual/guide put together to help small businesses secure their network and computers. Not anything extremely complicated. We're talking products that can help secure their PCs... firewalls they can download and configure... various considerations to think about, etc.

I guess there are sites that do some of this, but if it was all put together in a manual it might be useful. I know I can use my knowledge somehow, but HOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!! MUST.... GET.... OUT..... OF.........RAT...........RACE.

How about putting together a resource website with blogs and forums and selling advertising and click-throughs for network security software? You could also do reviews, etc. Instead of charging the 'customer', charge for click-throughs and advertising once you develop an audience/consumer force. Basically, become a maven (tipping point lingo) and then outsource your content (the reviews, site maintenance, forum moderating, etc..).

[FrozenCanuck]

Shakin,

I think an ebook is a great place to start. Your investment would be minimal because it is only your time, so you could probably put that up in a couple months. Sell via PPC and market specifically to the small business niche, "IT for dummies managing a small business", that sort of thing.

I would then setup a blog also focussed on a very specific niche market, IT for small business people, and you could advertise your book through posts. You could also collect great posts from other blogs and paraphrase (and link to) them to support your original content. You can use adsense to get revenue, you can link to other affiliate products (such as BlueHost, for example, to recommend how a small biz gets a website), Amazon, etc.

You need to do a bunch of research to see if this idea has legs, or is in over-supply already. Google can help. I highly recommend you register for the 30 day challenge because it will teach you how to do the research using Google, Facebook, Bloglines, etc.

Search this site or just google "thirty day challenge". It's over but sign up anyway, and do the stuff that is now archived. Totally free. Awesome.

[webgal]

Setting up a household or home office LAN? I know that there are many who tear their hair out to get printer sharing and ISP devices to work at home. I think it's a good idea. Some plan about how to approach this would be helpful.

[AshokanKid]

~

Hey there Shakin;

As a fellow small biz computer / networking support consultant I've been looking for ways to move my service based biz, which like you is possibly provided more or less one on one with clients (or for a firm that does this), to a more automated product based entity.

Most of the info that we provide to end users is available in many places on the internet IF one knows where and how to search for it (and then wade through to specifics to implement), but a one stop shop directed specifically to small businesses may just be a marketable boon.

One of my ideas lately has been a combination of what previous posters in this topic (FrozenCanuck & nondual) are suggesting (a support site for small businesses), though I think that an e-book may be a bit too static for the constantly changing topic of networking and security without some other ongoing support.

That being said., perhaps an e-book coupled with a subscription service through which you provide updates (and maybe even some personal support, though this conflicts with the low info diet) to subscribers so that ongoing needs can be addressed as changes to technology happens. Small how-tos for setting up the most commonly used networking hardware sold and used is also another area of possibility.

The "free" support site idea is how Toms Hardware got started years ago and has been duplicated by so many very successful IT people from Windows support sites to almost every other topic imaginable on the internet. By searching for a unique niche to support directly (small business perhaps) you can more easily tailor to their needs and carve out your own identity.

I tend to support local businesses in several distinct ways over and over again and you can probably look at what you are doing and create products based directly on these tasks. For instance, networking and security, Outlook integration issues, anti-virus / spyware, Word / Publisher usage, marketing & web promotion, inter-office communications, Quickbooks tutoring, media (multi-media) management and other similar issues that might lend themselves well to separate how-to info products targeted at end users.

Guides or e-books focused on each specific need with a complete end to end solution for those issues could be marketed for these things that get asked for time and time again by your own clients & customers. I have even already created small "tutorials" for most of my own local businesses that address the simple items for them to check before calling me in for serious triage and troubleshooting implementation.

What areas do you find that you are called on most often for in your own fields of expertise? Perhaps a look back through your service records or invoices will give you even more tips for info product ideas to develop and then create for a marketable product to deliver to users. The web site with a blog and forum will also provide you with more feedback on users needs.

Hope some of this might spark further creative thought for you., it always gets my own juices flowing to brainstorm with like minded entrepreneurial people who are in my field or in other areas of expertise as well. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more directly about any of this.

SC

~

[shakin]

Wow guys, some great ideas here!!!!!!!! That's really what I needed was a few ideas to get the juices flowing. I'm going on vacation for a few days and much of it is going to spent brainstorming how to get that first muse or two rolling. I know all these years of IT experience can't just be useful for 40 hr a week jobs... NO NO NO, I WON'T HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mickyhanh]

i need your help please e-mail me

curt

[HWilley]

My thought would be to create and sell an eBook ONLY. Free support is great but you'll get ALL KINDS of questions that you can't cover in scripts through your outsourced support service.

I would look into the viability of something like:

The 25 Computer Networking and Security Tips Every Small Business Owner Should Know

Each tip should be a dummy-proof, step-by-step process of how to do some of the more common problems a small business owner runs into. Off the top of my head I can think of:

*The aforementioned linking of all computers to a single printer
*Linking all computers to a single server
*Setting up a secure network
*Setting up a secure wireless network
*Remote access: A How-to-Guide

Write it all up (or outsource it) and add screen shots for every step of the way. Turn it into a PDF document.

Then contract out a web designer for a 1-page sales website and stuff it full of relevant keywords and phrases.

Have people pay by Paypal because:

You can have Paypal set up to automatically direct people to a specific page on your website where they can then download the ebook.

This way you are hands-off and you don't have to touch the thing.

Other thoughts:

*Finding the right price might be hard. I could see it going for $99 as easily as $9.99.
*Offer the first (or 2 or 3) chapters for free so people can see what they're buying. Keep the most requested tips in the "paid" section.
*If you want to offer a "value added" service then write 52 other tips that can be covered in 2 paragraphs and 200 words or less. When someone signs up they get a 1 year subscription to "Small Business Owner's Tips and Tricks" that is sent out weekly. You can set up auto-email programs to send one out each Monday. This way, no one ever gets a repeated "tip" (as long as they are taken off the list after 1 year).

Good luck!

[HWilley]

Additionally, and to add more revenue, set up affiliate accounts with places like Amazon.com.

At the end of each section if you've recommended certain software or hardware, have a link that points to that specific product on your server. Then set up a redirect to the merchant in a way that ensures you get a commission.

If that doesn't make sense, send me a private message and I can show you an example from my own website.