And while definitions vary, this relatively new phenomenon is the inevitable fallout of an increasingly digital world that is both wonderful and dismaying. When the fax machine fizzles, the copier eats your original, and the computer seems to have lost the report you've been working on all week, small businesses typically have the fewest resources to fall back on. Unlike a big corporation, where they have lots of technicians and extra replacement parts, the small business person becomes dependent on technology, Rosen says. When it doesn't work, they often become the technical repairperson. That causes stress.
Experts suggest a combination of preparation, training and patience.
This is a list of all the information they need to handle everything from a computer glitch to a major meltdown, and which they should print out and store in a handy spot. This way, you're taking the stress out of it. Help line phone numbers and the hours they are answered. Locations and phone numbers of nearby office-supply stores, computer outlets and repair shops. The phone number of a place that rents computers.