I remember the Y2K days, when everyone freaked out about what would happen to their data when the year went from “99″ to “00.”

And then almost nothing happened. And people have been relaxing ever since.

But not me.

As the tech support guy in the business, backing up the computers is my responsibility. And as the business grows, so do the stacks of CD-Rs (and now, DVD-Rs) it takes to back up out hard drives. I think I’m up to a half-dozen on each of our three computers now. Good grief, what a pain! But it has to be done.

Or does it?

Lani called me from the road today after hearing a story on NPR about Carbonite. Boston Globe technology reporter Hiawatha Bray thinks Carbonite could be the next big thing in the 2007 tech world.

Carbonite does online backups. Simply install a bit of software on your computer, and Carbonite uses your always-on broadband connection to copy and store all your hard drive files in their data warehouse. No more CD-Rs or DVD-Rs? Sounds like a dream to me!

But I’m also the comparatively privacy-minded person in the business. So the idea of sending everything in my “My Documents” folder across the Internet reminds me of those email viruses you’d hear about - you know, the ones that took all your data and sent it to some random place in the Phillipines.

So I’m going to send the Carbonite folks a question or two, and if all goes well, I’ll be trying out their service early in 2007. I’ll let you know how it goes!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 28th, 2006 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Entrepreneur Diaries, Married - With Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Here in Central New Hampshire, it’s a snow day.

For all you non-snow-enabled folks, that means the whopping two inches of powder we got last night caused our son’s pre-school to stay closed for the day. My wife/biz partner switched into Mommy mode, and whisked our son off to the Children’s Museum.

If only it were that simple. She and I spent most of her 50-mile drive on the phone together, excitedly discussing:

• Ways to explain the “A-Ha Yourself!” concept to our ideal audience
• Content planning and strategy, and how to describe it in terms of benefits and not features
• Being “technicians” who implement strategies, versus being business owners who create the strategies that others can implement easily and profitably

And that’s just a snapshot of topics, nearly an hour and three separate calls later. (Cell service in NH? Not always the best, no matter the carrier.)

Mixing business with life. We just can’t help it. How do you mix business and life?

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 8th, 2006 at 1:41 pm and is filed under Married - With Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

You know the force is with you when you sit down to veg out in front of the TV and you stumble upon the action-packed eye candy that is Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

That’s what happened to me the other day - tuckered out and brain dead after a long work week, followed by a bouncy-house bash celebrating our son’s 4th birthday. I flopped on the couch, flipped through a few channels, and literally squealed with delight when I saw the Brad ‘n Angie show was in progress.

But as I tried to focus on the lips, thighs, and biceps, I found myself instead drawn to the relationship dynamics between these two smoldering costars. (Rats.)

The more I watched, the more it became clear to me: Mr. and Mrs. Smith epitomizes what it’s like to own and run a business with your spouse.

Here’s why…

1. You and your spouse recognize you tango well together. Because you’re interested in building a dream life as much as you are in building a business, choosing your spouse as a biz partner seems like the greatest idea ever. Sure, you hear not-so-subtle warnings from family, friends, and associates, but hey - you know the bond with your spouse is like none other. So you say “risk be darned!” and dive right in.

2. You dress the part and form a united front. Side by side, you show the world you’re serious, you’re together, you’re professional, you’re for real. Your public face is “Game on!” and you’re ready for anything life throws at ya.

3. Internally, though, you’re all about The Mission. Pow-wows, power struggles, reactive practices, on-your-toes strategizing, kamikaze business planning, focused trouble-shooting, and some very, VERY unsexy pillow talk. You’re both on-call to your life, goals, and future 24/7, and it’s an all-or-nothing operation. You want the dream, and now you’ve created the reality to make it happen. Unfortunately, there is no Plan B!

4. And sometimes, all your best efforts can blow up or backfire. Oh yeah, this “Married - With Business” thing can throw you some hand grenades, that’s for sure. To make matters worse, few of us look so fetching with our pants down as Angie and Brad do. When you’re standing in the rubble of your choices, wondering how you’re ever going to get out of the mess you’ve created, it can look downright glum - for your business, AND your marriage.

5. Inevitably, you’ll find the fate of your life and your business hanging by a thread and a prayer. Do you escape? Cash in your chips? Flee for your life? Or do you strut back into the game, armed with nothing but your thigh highs and a smile? It’s crazy. It’s adventure. It’s nothing like you ever expected. But if you made it this far, odds are you’ve got what it takes to make it all work.

6. Success finally comes when you realize you can lean on your business partner when the going gets tough. So brush yourself off, clean yourself up, stand tall, and enjoy the adventure. After all, your partner-in-crime IS your spouse. If you use this fact as an asset rather than a liability, great things can happen for you. You’ll smile more, hold hands during business meetings, support each other through the good days and the catastrophes. Both will come. Take ‘em in stride, and you’ll both be able to laugh about them when you’re rich and retired…way before you’re 65.

7. And when you get back to the thrill of the tango, you’ll never look back. Remember why you went into biz with your spouse in the first place? You love this person! You respect this person’s mind! You think this person is the best, most amazing person on the planet! You both admire each other so much, you not only went into business together…YOU got MARRIED! So, the biz journey isn’t what you expected. What is? You knew what you were doing then, and you know what you’re doing now.

Whatever you do, don’t lose sight of the perks of co-owning a business with your spouse. Remember - few cubicle dwellers can have as much fun on their “lunch breaks” as you can without getting fired!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Married - With Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.