You can't do without communication and computers, they are absolutely key to the success of your business.

My name is Gwyn Myers, and my topic is computers and communication. It's an exciting topic because the big difference is it's now affordable. We can all have the help of a computer that was sometimes not possible in the earlier days.

I think that good communication, when you're starting a business, is critical, so I'm going to talk about just staying in touch. It's very important that when your phone rings, there's some appropriate way that you have of communicating with people. We have all sorts of devices now. There are all types of telephones, there are pagers, fax machines, and there's e-mail. So there is no reason that you cannot be accessible to the people that you are selling to.

Now, regarding computers, my basic advice is get as much as you can afford. But also get something that you know is going to be reliable, that you can get repaired, that the company is not going to be out of business tomorrow. And again, get as much as you can afford, and don't be bothered by the fact that it's going to be obsolete the minute you walk out of the store. We all know that, but you need something to help you in your business.

Get standard software and buy it, don't borrow from a friend because then you're not going to have accessibility to the help desk and those types of things. Learn as much as you can. There are all types of night schools and community colleges that can teach you about computers, and while you're there, you may make contacts that will come in handy at a later date.

So, again, you can't do without communication and computers. They are absolutely key to the success of your business.