| Nickname: | Oxford, MI United States |
| Blog: | remote-backup.blogspot.com |
I`m doing my own informal poll asking people, specifically business owners, if they backup their data.
Thanks!

| Headline: | Remote Backup Provider |
| Description: | What does your business do? Acme Data provides remote backup services to small, medium and home-office businesses, as well as professionals on the go with laptops. We also serve the healthcare professional community as our service assists in HIPAA compliance. Most computer users (85%) do not backup their computers regularly, if at all. With our service, there`s no excuse! When and why did you start the biz? With my background in computers (15 years in the business), I`ve experienced enough ripped magnetic tape, broken tape drives, lost tapes, warped and scratched CDs . . . all rendering a backup plan useless. I came across the idea of remote backups years ago, and I was hooked. I thought it was a great service and that it would catch fire. Well, it hasn`t, but that doesn`t stop me from being passionate about helping others prevent data loss. I started Acme Data in July 2003. How Many People are in your Company? 2 Where`s your office? Currently, my business occupies a table in the 2nd floor loft in my house. At least I have a nice view of the golf course behind my house. My server is located at a data center. safe & sound. Update - My wife and I bought a desk, cleared out the dining room and now we have a "real" home office! What`s the toughest part of running your biz? Promoting the idea of remote backups isn`t as easy as I thought. People I talk to think it is a great idea, but that`s where it ends. The toughest part of my business is getting my prosects to "buy into" my service. All of the elements are there - automated, fool-proof, cost-savings, security, reliability - so why don`t people think it is something they need? What`s the most fun part? On those occasions when a prospect "gets it," it is a great feeling. Not only does it feel good to teach a prospect about this important service, but when they understand this, it is wonderful! Anything you would have done differently? I think if I could go back to when I first saw this business model, I would have done everything I could to better understand every technical aspect of it, as well as taken a job within the computer service industry to get to know the types of clients I`d later want to serve. Understanding their business processes and where they`re vulnerable is key to what I do. What`s next on the horizon for your biz? I really enjoy web page design and I`ve been doing a lot of SEO research. I am considering expanding into that area. Also, as my business grows, I would like to start a data center in my town so that I can help small businesses build a disaster recovery plan that would get them up and running in as little time as possible. What advice do you have for others? Really understand your market. This is what I struggle with the most, and I need to work on who my prospects really are. School (where, still in school, degree)? Baker College - BBA Currently pursuing a Master`s in Operations Management at Kettering University Prior jobs or business? UNIX & Windows system administrator, SAP Basis Administrator. Favorite Food? Mexican, Thai and Indian. What are your pets` names? Abby - the wonder-pug. Do any of these pets help with your biz? Stress relief! My dog is energetic and funny. She helps when I need a little break. Is there any one person or event in your life that led you to go into business for yourself? I lost (acutally, I deleted it!) over $1 million in data while a newbie UNIX administrator. Luckily, I had a clean backup from the previous night and I was able to restore the data. If the tape had been bad, I would have been in some serious trouble. Anyone you publicly want to thank? Rob Cosgrove - thank you for RBS and your encouragement. |