Most small business owners don't have an IT person. They Google stuff, call their "tech-savvy" nephew, or just live with the problem.

Here are 5 things I see constantly that are quietly bleeding money:

1. No real backup strategy. If your laptop dies tomorrow, can you recover everything? Google Drive syncing is not a backup plan. You need automated, versioned backups — ideally to a separate cloud provider.

2. Reusing passwords everywhere. One breach and your email, bank, and socials are all compromised. Get a password manager. Bitwarden is free and works great.

3. Paying for software you don't use. The average small business wastes $4,000/year on unused SaaS subscriptions. Do an audit quarterly.

4. Running ancient hardware. That 8-year-old router isn't just slow — it's a security risk. Firmware updates stopped years ago. Budget $200-300 for a modern Wi-Fi 6 router.

5. No endpoint protection. Windows Defender is fine for personal use, but if you have employees, you need managed endpoint security. One ransomware hit can shut you down.

I run The IT Desk — a membership community where small business owners get direct access to an IT professional for troubleshooting, security advice, and tutorials. Think of it as your IT department for $29/month instead of $60K/year.