Consider this. You wake up one morning with a fantastic idea. An idea of how to make people’s lives better. Simpler. Awesomer. It also happens to be an idea that seems guaranteed to bring you business success. After careful thought and planning, you eventually put the idea into action. Whether by yourself or with a trusted partner (or two), you open up your business. Your dream has finally become a reality. In the beginning, you’re pumped. You’re ready to take on every single challenge. Then, slowly, you start to realize something. There are A LOT of things to think about. As your business grows (including your customer base and your number of employees), you find that so many precious moments of your days are stolen away by someone else’s problem or question. You find yourself continually frustrated with the lack of time you have to actually focus on the things that YOU do well. Sound familiar? In fact, most small business owners reach this point. With the stresses and demands on a new business, owners are used to doing everything themselves. From marketing to fundraising, inventorying and selling, a business owner makes sure that everything is taken care off. One of the things that they often try to take on is the business technology. From deciding what devices to use and which software to buy, to trying to fix basic problems, technology can quickly take over a large portion of your workday. Eventually, the question arises. Is it time to hire a CTO?

What is a CTO?

CTO refers to Chief Technology Officer. The CTO is responsible for many different things including:

• Making sure that all current technology is running smoothly
• Making recommendations for new software, programs or devices
• Strategizing how technology can create new business opportunities

When Should My Small Business Hire a CTO?

The moment that technology is taking you away from the things that YOU excel at is the moment that you should consider passing the responsibility to someone else. The cost of putting your technology in the hands of someone else is nothing compared to the time you will get back in your workday - not to mention the decrease in your stress level.

Should I Hire a Person or a Company?

There are two common ways to hire a CTO. The first is to hire an actual person to take on the role. Hiring a CTO means that you will get a single person dedicated to your business technology, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If you have a lot of tech questions, concerns and problems, and can handle the additional salary, then a full time CTO may be just what your business if looking for. The other option is to outsource your CTO position to a tech company. This means that you pay a monthly fee to have an entire team of tech agents standing by whenever a problem arises. Here at Digity, we also take on the additional advisory roles of a CTO, helping you make the best technology choices for your business. Tech companies are usually significantly cheaper than a full time CTO while still providing you with the level of support and help that your small business needs.

In Conclusion

Technology is becoming increasingly important in the life of every small business. By making the decision to turn your tech concerns over to the hands of a capable CTO, you can ensure that not only your tech is up and running on a daily basis but that it is contributing to the overall success of your company.