January 15, 2008

Backup or Back Out

Posted in clients, tools at 5:00 am by rtuss13


Does anyone really jump for joy at the thought of their next scheduled backup of their computer files? Virtual Assistants should. In fact, as a VA, you have a professional responsibility to yourself AND your clients to keep your electronic files intact and easily accessible. Hard drive failures and information loss (not to mention other unforseen computer catastrophies) are inherent risks in the Virtual Assistant profession. In fact, it is not a matter of if you will experience massive computer misfortune- it’s a matter of when.

Really, when it happens (and I hope it never does, although logic and common sense seem to dictate otherwise), it will be a stressful enough time as you try to determine what on earth happened and how long it will take to fix. Don’t add to that the terrifying realization that you haven’t backed up your files in months!

Clients trust Virtual Assistants tremendously with many crucial aspects of their businesses, and losing information and assignments that we have worked on for them would harm them, too. Because it’s entirely preventable, there is just no excuse for losing our clients’ files. Simply backup regularly.

How often should one backup their files? The answer lies in how much work you would be willing to redo in the event of information loss or corruption. Obviously, monthly is better than never. Weekly would be a big improvement to monthly. But since we are truly dedicated to providing exceptional service, how about daily?

Oh the hassle of it all, you think. Not so! One of my favorite backup services is Mozy.com. It is absolutely fantastic and about as hassle free as it gets. It takes less than ten minutes to set up. After you set it up initially, it is on autopilot and you don’t need to give it another thought! It will backup for you automatically. No hassle there!

So backup often, and don’t fear what may happen to that hard drive of yours down the road. You’ll have all your files- and your clients’ confidence- intact.

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