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As a self-employed business owner, I know first-hand that when something happens to my computer or internet connection, my work stops. This creates quite a stressful situation, as I am unable to complete tasks for my clients (Affiliate Link) and myself. So, having reliable digital backup strategies is a necessity.
Table of contents
- You should have several ways to reach your website and other relevant sites.
- Always have your computer set up to backup to an external server automatically.
- Emails should be in two places.
- Make sure your frequently used apps are on all different devices.
- Get a mobile data plan for your tablet.
- Online Software applications should be in one place.
- Have an extra computer.
- Find a superb tech person or company.
You may think I exaggerate, but no computer is 100% unbreakable. Updates, viruses, malware, and Internet outages can wreak havoc on our daily schedules and consume our precious time. To help you keep your tasks on schedule, here are digital backup strategies to protect your small business.
You should have several ways to reach your website and other relevant sites.
Your first backup for your business’ digital backup strategies is to have a backup for your website. You should add your login page to your tablet browser if you have a tablet. If you use QuickBooks Online, you should also have the app installed on your tablet
. There should always be at least another few ways to reach your sites just in case the primary way breaks or is inaccessible.
Always have your computer set up to backup to an external server automatically.
You can regularly back up your computer to Dropbox or a physical in-house network-attached storage (NAS
) device. This way, you won’t have to worry about data loss.
Emails should be in two places.
If you have an email downloaded into an email client like Outlook
, ensure your emails are not erased from your email provider. This way, if you need to find a recent email, you will have another area to look at. With all these cross-platform email services, you should be able to have your email in way more than two places.
Make sure your frequently used apps are on all different devices.
If you use one app daily and have a tablet and a phone, ensure it is on both.
Get a mobile data plan for your tablet.
Another option for your digital backup strategies is to have a mobile data plan on your tablet. Occasionally, your home Wi-Fi or internet provider will suffer an outage or failure. If your tablet or smartphone has a mobile data plan, it can be helpful when your home internet goes down. Using a data plan on your tablet is only $10.00 and can save you a lot of heartache and stress if your main computer is down.
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Many smartphones can be tethered to your computer, so you can use them as internet access for your computer. Check out your mobile plan to see if you have this option, which is called a “Personal Hotspot.”
Online Software applications should be in one place.
All your purchased software CDs should be in a safe and dry place if you need to reinstall them. If you download them, keep the downloaded copy somewhere secure, like an external drive, just in case you need it. Bookmark the support page from the software’s website in the browser will help you find the answers to your issues quicker. Sometimes, you can download them from the website account as well. Just log into the account and go under downloads or purchases. There will be a link there.
Have an extra computer.
When buying your new computer (be sure to get one that can handle all the apps you need to use), keep your old one and load it with all the apps and browsers you use. If something goes wrong with your newer computer, you have a spare. The only downside is that you must update your antivirus and malware software.
Find a superb tech person or company.
When you can’t do it yourself, having a person you trust can make a scary situation much easier. Check out 24/7 Tech Support for help. I am not affiliated with this site.
I hope these digital backup strategies help you establish a system for your small business. Visit our emergency preparedness post for more tips.
Now it is your turn. Have you thought of your backup plan? Do you have any backup plans in place? Please share any tips below.
How can I help you? Feel free to check out our Small Business Process Improvement service to help you set up your digital backup strategies!
Please note that these are affiliate links through Amazon. If you click through and decide to make a purchase, I will earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.
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Sabrina – Okay, I’m guilty, guilty, guilty. Haven’t done near enough of these. Not that I have a traditional small business, but I do promote my book & blog via my computer, and I’ve backed up my info … well … never. I actually went through a couple of computers while writing my novel, and I’ve always been aware that I should “save” info somewhere – so I have a little IT graveyard in my basement with 2 computer towers and a tablet that will serve as proof that I indeed was the original author (in case anyone is ever crazy enough to sell my work as their own – HIGHLY UNLIKELY). Sadly, I know this is much like saving my receipts. Not until I lose lots of good info (or am audited by the IRS) will I begin acting responsibly. Does the fact that I floss & eat my broccoli negate these bad habits?!
Very informative post Sabrina.
You’d never believe that I was an IT Consultant for years because I have been out of compliance with just about all of your points, even though I know better and have the know how. I have done #2 after losing valuable data twice.
All very good points, Sabrina. The one about keeping your old computer is something I’m going to put into effect. Just makes common sense. But, I hadn’t thought about security and malware. Thanks for the heads up.
Until recently I was keeping all my emails on my server and people kept telling me to switch from pop broadband to Imap. I didn’t, but when I logged into my server I found I had 22,000 emails in a six week period and now have it set up to erase emails from my server after one month. Based on what you are saying, maybe I should leave them there longer. I do use an external backup and have a good tech/web person, however, I probably could use a few more security steps in place based on your excellent tips, Sabrina! Thanks for the concise tips as always!
Hi Sabrina 🙂
Excellent tips on how to use digital backup strategies! A few I did not know about, so thank you for sharing!!
Great advice, Sabrina. I had never considered an email backup. I also like your point about making sure all your apps are installed on all your devices.
I was doing really, really well…until I reached the “have 2 computers” part. I usually wait until my existing computer is completely and utterly trashed before I get a new one. One of these days…
Bingo! Learned some of this the hard way….ugh. I also learned a couple of key points from your post too. Thanks for the valuable reminder and awareness reminder!
That’s a bunch of excellent suggestions for avoiding disaster! Having a good backup system relieves you of worry or worse, actual loss of your precious stuff!
It’s amazing how much we take for granted. Great tips! I’ve crashed one too many times and have automated double back up. But, this list makes me want to go back and double check a few things. Thank you!
Although my techy son lives far away he set me up with an external hard drive, I have everything also synced to Ipad & Iphone, so I should be ok. What I dont have with me when away from home is my list of passwords. Gonna take care of that. Thanks- Important info.
I admit that I am so bad about backing up my computer. It went on my list to do on Friday…find a better back up system. Thanks.
Good for you, Karen. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Great tips, Sabrina. I do a lot of these, but putting emails in two places really got me. In my biz, keeping emails is vital, and I hadn’t thought of this!
And, you validated my rather odd practice of keeping my old computer, when I get a new one. Something just always made me keep the old, in case, if all else failed, I’d at least have my work up to there! I don’t feel so goofy about it now 🙂