@scottalanmiller said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:

@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:

So what advice do you have for moving full time W-2 to part time 1099?

Never do it!

In your case, it's not that you are moving from W-2 to 1099, it's that the 1099 will go to the new company that you work for and THEY pay you as a W-2.

Are you talking about incorporating or creating an LLC?

I already work my freelance stuff, all my "extra" money goes into a business checking account, but there is no separation from personal funds yet. I don't have all that worked out.

@IRJ said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:

Once again, this place sounds like a terrible place to work lol

They may be hiring soon, you should give it a shot

@scottalanmiller said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:

@guyinpv said in Moving from full time to part time, what can I automate?:

One thing is system management. It would be nice to have monitoring tools to warn me of simple things like drive space filling up, or backups that didn't run, or new software that is installed.

I'm guessing that this question is premature. Let's start with what your OTHER business is going to be. Then figure out how to fit the old one into the picture. What are you going to be, an MSP?

Not an MSP, I'm doing freelance web dev work and will probably start some additional businesses like an online store or sell on Amazon and stuff like that. I'll continue offering local IT services like break/fix but will mainly focus on freelance. Essentially I'll be trying to find all the work I can get wherever I can get it.

The MSP thing is just for this company, they still want me "taking care" of things. So I'm guessing the most important tool would be remote assistance, messaging/ticketing/tasks perhaps?

That wasn't the best thread title, but here is the story anyway.

I work full time, but am transitioning to run my own local business. I have another thread related to this here: https://mangolassi.it/topic/10510/home-business-ideas-for-transition-out-of-9-5/637

Anyway, I've talked to my boss and we are agreed that I can pull back my hours. This was a big stress relief for me. If they refused to cut my hours, they would probably just let me go, which I'm not ready for yet.

I currently am W-2 and there are no benefits except for vacation time, sick time, major holidays, and a cell phone stipend. Nothing like investments or insurance, etc.

If I pull back my hours by 15 or 20, I will likely go 1099 and work as a contractor but lose any benefits. I make a little over $20/hr now but I'd be able to raise my rate as a self-employed contractor. So that is my first big decision:

1. How can I calculate a contract rate, taking in to account lost benefits and other things? How much am I worth to make my part time hours a better option than hiring another full time tech? I don't want to charge so much that I cost just as much as a part time contractor as I did as a full time employee, so there is a fine balance here to make it worth it for both myself and the company. It needs to save them money, but also be worth for me to take half my time as self-employed.

My second question, which is the thread title, is how to set things up so I can do as much work from home, and manage and monitor things, and be available and track work etc etc.

I want to move myself into almost more of a service provider for them. I want to automate things so they don't need a full time tech. It's crazy that any small business should need full time IT staff with so much of operations being able to be automated and easy to use! I just don't know where to start.

One thing is system management. It would be nice to have monitoring tools to warn me of simple things like drive space filling up, or backups that didn't run, or new software that is installed.
Remote control for when I need to get in.
Software tools to do things like keep the computers clean and updated and running smooth.
Cloud software that works (Box is a disappointment for us)
Managing appropriate services in the cloud versus in house. In other words, if our databases and how-tos and WIKI and project management and ticketing and everything else is a cloud tool, I can work with those from anywhere.

Anyway, what I'm asking (for you services providers especially), what are the top services and tools you implement with a client first thing to help things run smooth? Cause the main benefit of me being here is just that I'm immediately available for stupid little things. "My icon moved, the file isn't updated in Box, my printer printed really small, I swear I sent this email, how do I make a copy on the copier again?..." etc.
I don't know if there is any way fix that stuff, lol

In a sense, they've grown too accustomed to having a tech in the next office, yelling my name at the first sign of trouble, not even attempting a quick program restart or a full system restart first. They are too lazy and not learning how to use their own equipment, just calling me for every little thing. I don't like that! But at the same time, i want tools that freaking WORK and aren't giving us the fits every day.
One example of this is that they hired a person who isn't that computer literate, but their job requires using a couple software tools. The boss literally suggested I learn their job and software more so when the person has questions, I can help them! Really? I need to learn other people's jobs and software so that when they don't know what they are doing, I can do it for them? That's too much dependence on me!

I've rambled on long enough.

So what advice do you have for moving full time W-2 to part time 1099? How should I think about that and calculate my fee? And further, what are the most important sorts of tools or things to think about if I put myself into more of a service provider role?

As of right now I have lots of stuff undone. We just migrated ecommerce stores, there are a lot of procedures and how-to docs now out of date. Lots of reports done in Excel that use scripts will no longer work with the CSV exports of the new system, they need updated.
Web tools I programmed to work with old data, all useless now and need to be rewritten.
I have an in-house server and Drobo not fully configured and automated with what I wanted to do with them.
Backup software is not up to date on all workstations.
Lots of passwords not copied over from my LastPass into KeyPass which is easier to hand over to management or the new guy.
A local MySQL DB full of data that needs moved to our new in house server but haven't got around to it, as well as local WAMP internal projects.
Lots of research docs trying to find good tools for ticketing, WIKI or KB management, file sharing tools, web services for our online properties, time tracking, calendaring, two dozen other research projects. My todo app probably has 80 entries, some long term projects, some quick things, some on the backburner.

The point is, at not time are we 100% just "done" and everything is smooth. If I were to leave now and a new person step in my place, they would experience what you wrote. Everything would seem undone, slapshod, incomplete, or whatever. But I have four points to think about:

1. Everything has a reason.
   Every single Word or Excel file stored in every folder, every installed program, every web services signed up for, every bit of research that was started and not finished, had an original purpose and reason.
   We shouldn't make the mistake of thinking the last guy just did random things for no reason. I don't create files or sign up for things or begin configuring tools if there wasn't an original purpose or request. But like many things, management perhaps decided to go another direction, or it became a non-priority, etc.
   I personally don't like to delete things I've started, "just in case" I ever need to return to it again. Thus lots of things that seem half-done.

2. Not everything can have perfect documentation.
   Frankly, I personally know why any given thing is the way it is. But I cannot spend my day thinking "how should I document this somewhere so if I'm replaced tomorrow, the next person won't be confused?" It never happens.
   I don't have the time to spend making sure at all times I can be easily replaced and the next person won't have to figure anything out on their own. Documentation takes so much friggin time, and you have to balance how terse you can write about things. Am I explaining it to non-tech people? Or can I do quick summaries that only another nerd will understand?
   There are 4 laptops sitting on my shelf, none have perfect documentation. But I personally know who owned them and what we might use them for and what is not working well on them etc. But I don't have the time to write a dissertation about every piece of gear scattered around the office. Or every software installed, and every service I have an account for.
   I document important things, procedures and information on our most important critical services and accounts, but I don't document why I installed every piece of software I do, and what every single file was created for.

3. Some "useless" stuff is done by habit, or at some upper commander's request
   I know for a fact I waste time doing some stuff that doesn't matter. Collecting data that nobody will look at or act upon, but management just KNOWS they need it. I have a file drawer full of paper reports and data because they don't trust computer files.
   We do a lot of stuff because someone thought it was important, or because we do it by habit. I record how many black and white copies and color copies we make on the copier, because the boss keeps telling me it's important information. But they never look at the file or want to see the data or do anything with it. They just think it's really important.
   There is a honeymoon period when a new tech is hired. The new tech gets to make all kinds of suggestions and buy new stuff and declare what is useful and what isn't, and the boss will listen for a while.
   The old tech, however, loses their influence over time and the boss can easily reject any suggestions, leaving us to continue in our old habits where they feel comfortable, not wanting to make big changes.

4. Sloppy work may not be incompetence, just circumstances.
   Not enough time to do something "right". Not enough money to buy the "right" thing. Not enough time given by the boss to do something big so we have to compromise to get it done. "Quick and dirty and cheap" often wins out over "industry best practices". Often the ROI of doing something right versus just getting it done now, is not good enough.
   We don't need a better product image, we don't need it to look that nice, we don't need it to be that fast, we don't need it for very long so security isn't a huge deal. Whatever the case may be. I don't want that better software, because I once used this old decrepit version in college 22 years ago. Don't buy a new thing, this old junker is working "just fine".
   The list goes on.
   It's been said, IT doesn't own the business, the boss does, so we can only make suggestions, but they ultimately sink the ship. If they want to take risks, if they want to keep running on bald tires, they want to keep using the software they bought in 1998 cause they paid "good money for it" and it "still works", then that is their choice.
   Just because there is always a better way to do something, doesn't mean the tech was incompetent. Sometimes we have to use duct tape and super glue just like anybody else. We work with the resources we have.

Be nice to your predecessors, they paved the way for you to make the next set of improvements at the company.

Forgot all about Zimbra.

I tried to set it up a couple years ago, failed miserably.

@scottalanmiller If that's so, check out AMPPS http://www.ampps.com/LAMP
It will install the common LAMP stack with a few extra goodies, but includes Softaculous app installer for free.
If you want a server to act as more a "deploy apps on the fly" server, this might be a good option.
Sometimes if I want to test something on Wordpress or try any app they have, I can just go in and install with a few clicks, do my thing, and then destroy the app after.

But if all you want is an app launcher, you might even do this on the cheap, or free, on Google Cloud with their Launcher tool. https://cloud.google.com/launcher/

@FATeknollogee
If I were you, I'd just spin up another cheap server and install email software. The equivalent of how cPanel handles email would be something like CentOS Web Panel or Vesta or even Webmin. Or go hard core and set it all up manually, install Postfix and a webmail client and spamassasin and antivirus and all the other tools needed to do email.

@aaronstuder You can see the name in my previous screenshot. Called "Authentic Theme".

@scottalanmiller

A file management tool is, naturally, a paid upgrade of Vesta.

You might be happiest with Webmin then. it's not a LAMP panel, it's just a general server management GUI. Almost everything you do in it just translates to a standard console command and most output you see when running things is the same command line output.

Here is editing the php.ini file:

And here is if I click the little edit manually button, just raw config.

Here is adding a virtual host in Apache:

It has a file manager:

Most everything is either a simple GUI to edit, and/or gives raw text editor for configs. You can even create "custom commands" which can then be ran as needed with a button.

I only used Vesta when I wanted a point-n-click simple web server with one or more sites on it. With Webmin, I've set up Samba shared to Windows, copied SSH keys, set up cron jobs and view stats. It's better as a server manager.

@FATeknollogee

Cause it's what others were talking about first? A2 was the slow one, didn't mention VULTR.

@scottalanmiller
Vesta always ran very smooth for me, all defaults. Probably ran it a half dozen times on different servers from DO, VULTR, and local VMs.

The only problem I had with my last one is after running for 2 years solid with no issues, it started doing this weird thing with auto backups where it "started" the backup and never ended, just kept creating temp files until my whole drive was full and caused the server to halt.
I would delete all the temp files to get the server back up, but then the backup would begin running again and fill it up again. I tried a lot of stuff to fix but nothing worked, I just had to disable backups entirely.

One thing I did like, which is NOT like cPanel, is that I could create a MySQL DB, User, and Pass, in one go, one screen. That was slick.

CentOS panel is good, but of course, it wants you to use CentOS. I have one of those running and it's definitely a kitchen-sink type panel. It's less like cPanel and more like WHM. You can use it if you want to create separate accounts for different projects that have their own individual logins with their own account panels etc. You could be more like a shared web host on this one. Here is my panel:

For a simpler panel I've enjoyed using Vesta. You can also set up multiple accounts here, but the core feature set is more tame and easier to get around. My panel is down cause I've been migrating sites to another host. This screenshot is from their website:

My favorite panel for single user, not for 'shared hosting/multiple accounts', is Webmin. This is as much for hosting as it is for server management. It's a general panel for managing the server itself, but throwing in php, mysql, apache and stuff is also something it can do. Here is my panel:

The default style is a big horrid so I highly suggest changing to the style I've got here.

One very important feature of Webmin is that they don't change or alter how software installs by default. In other words they don't move config files or default folder locations around or lock you out of editing things from the command line. I believe you can even install it on top of a server that's already configured with stuff, while the other panels insist on being installed on a fresh server and they control all software installing and configuring.
With Webmin, all configs are in default locations and you can edit them with or without using the Webmin panel. In this case, it merely acts as a visual GUI with everything else running in its default state under the hood.

If I just want a general server GUI and hosting one web location, it's Webmin. If I need a bunch of separate web projects, I'd go with Vesta. Go with CentOS if your idea of a relaxing weekend is configuring WHM/cPanel.

@dafyre Just because an end user has that kind of bandwidth, doesn't mean any webhost or server provider is going to let one user consume that much just because they can. At any rate, that transfer speed was still really really slow, like measured in Kilobytes per second slow. It doesn't seem right.

@scottalanmiller

I've been freelancing web dev on Upwork.

It's really difficult working full time and balance family, two kids, and run a side job. But at my best I've only pulled in an extra $1000 in a month working evenings.

Given that my full time job is around $3200 month-ish, I don't exactly feel like I can quit and go freelance full time. Maybe I'm just scared of it. We don't have savings enough to live on while building up freelance clients. My time is maxed out earning much more than that on the side.

I enjoy freelancing and web dev. If I could drum up enough online freelance clients, and then some local businesses, I could probably turn this thing into a living. I just don't know how to work out the transition without losing a regular paycheck.

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

why do you still work there?

I like the work. Not always the people.

I'm in the market though.

@scottalanmiller said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@guyinpv said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@scottalanmiller said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@guyinpv said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

There needs to be no "public" interface of any kind, just the login for employees.

If you are having that issue, it means that you have exposed the wrong directory in your web server, I think. Instead of pointing the web browser to the root of the install, point it to the scp directory. I think that is what you want.

Well that didn't work after all. By assigning a different folder as the web root, it threw off all the internal paths of the app. Just got PHP errors and stuff.

I ended up doing a simple htaccess redirect of the root URL to the /scp subfolder. It works just fine. Based on my poking around, the root URL isn't used for anything, and all our work happens in the /scp folder.

If someone knows a specific path, can they get around your htaccess redirect?

Get around it by going directly? Yes, they can get around it. But only to where it was already sending you.

Even if they do go to any other URL that isn't /scp/, I've still got the requirement to be logged in to do anything.

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@guyinpv said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

As already mentioned, it sounds like this is a solution for your boss, not your company. She wants a way to track tickets that she sends you. could instead of using this new thing, just make sure she puts the word ticket in the subject line of every ticket to you, then search email for those...

Definitely. I'd rather she just send an email and put "TICKET: ........" in the subject line.

She has a weird way of thinking. The reason she wants this just for her to send just to me is because she literally does not want anybody else in the office to send me work/tickets/requests/etc, for some flippin reason. She wants to vet or approve all requests for me to do stuff. Like if Bob downstairs can't print, she doesn't want Bob to just send me an email or call me and tell me the printer won't work. No, she wants Bob to call HER and then SHE will assign me a ticket to fix Bob's printer.

Why? I haven't the foggiest. Because she must want Bob to be without a printer for the longest possible time. Since she isn't even in the office half the day, Bob has to track her down, get in the request, then she has to go to my "tickets" and add one to fix Bob's printer. All the while he can't print while we play musical chairs.

Frankly I'd rather Bob just tell me something doesn't work, and then I fix it, and then I create a record of the job somewhere, if she really wants these issues tracked.
I guess in her mind, these "tickets" will give her a historical "view" into my general day to day tasks. But on the other hand, she told me to my face she really only wants to be able to assign me very general high-level projects that might be months out.

So....

Sounds like either a) she doesn't trust you or b) she's looking for ways to give herself value to the company. Who is she in the organization? CEO? If yes, damn, she's wasting her time micromanaging you like that. But if she's in charge of the helpdesk, well that's her job.

I really don't know, but having stayed here and watched 15 other employees come and go, I've heard many many remarks about her personality and way of handling management. For example, one time on a Sunday our webhost was hacked by a bot that hit the entire hosting company. It was like 2am. People out of the country were texting my boss so they began calling/texting me at like 3 in the morning. Of course, I didn't get those messages cause I like sleep. I didn't really fix the problem until the host fixed their end, then I fixed our end, some time around noon.
Well wouldn't you know it, on Monday I got scolded for not obeying an "IT rule" of having a 4 hour turnaround time on the weekend. A "rule" they literally invented just before calling me in to the office for black marks. I'll never forget that, being scolded for a rule they invented after the event in order to punish me.

This kind of management circus happens all the time. I guess I've learned to ride the waves.

This dance of trust/micromanagement is ongoing with ALL employees. One day she'll complain about having to do too much and tells us to take responsibility and just do things. But another day she freaks out cause we do things and she wasn't informed to "approve" it for us. It's a continuous dance that always puts employees in the wrong, while giving her leverage and control.
She can verbally tell someone to do something a certain way, but a week later if she doesn't like how it works, she'll claim she would never have told us to do things in that bad way, it's our fault for not having her approve it. It's damn near bipolar. Employees stand up to her and say YOU TOLD ME to do it this way, and she says "I NEVER DID". Well guess who wins the he-says-she-says game?

But this thread isn't about that

@scottalanmiller said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@guyinpv said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

There needs to be no "public" interface of any kind, just the login for employees.

If you are having that issue, it means that you have exposed the wrong directory in your web server, I think. Instead of pointing the web browser to the root of the install, point it to the scp directory. I think that is what you want.

Well that didn't work after all. By assigning a different folder as the web root, it threw off all the internal paths of the app. Just got PHP errors and stuff.

I ended up doing a simple htaccess redirect of the root URL to the /scp subfolder. It works just fine. Based on my poking around, the root URL isn't used for anything, and all our work happens in the /scp folder.

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

As already mentioned, it sounds like this is a solution for your boss, not your company. She wants a way to track tickets that she sends you. could instead of using this new thing, just make sure she puts the word ticket in the subject line of every ticket to you, then search email for those...

Definitely. I'd rather she just send an email and put "TICKET: ........" in the subject line.

She has a weird way of thinking. The reason she wants this just for her to send just to me is because she literally does not want anybody else in the office to send me work/tickets/requests/etc, for some flippin reason. She wants to vet or approve all requests for me to do stuff. Like if Bob downstairs can't print, she doesn't want Bob to just send me an email or call me and tell me the printer won't work. No, she wants Bob to call HER and then SHE will assign me a ticket to fix Bob's printer.

Why? I haven't the foggiest. Because she must want Bob to be without a printer for the longest possible time. Since she isn't even in the office half the day, Bob has to track her down, get in the request, then she has to go to my "tickets" and add one to fix Bob's printer. All the while he can't print while we play musical chairs.

Frankly I'd rather Bob just tell me something doesn't work, and then I fix it, and then I create a record of the job somewhere, if she really wants these issues tracked.
I guess in her mind, these "tickets" will give her a historical "view" into my general day to day tasks. But on the other hand, she told me to my face she really only wants to be able to assign me very general high-level projects that might be months out.

So....

@Dashrender said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@guyinpv said in Suggestion for decent, free, ticketing with simple needs?:

@Dashrender
Because my boss is likely psychotic and nitpicks everything. I've been trained to forget trying to do anything the "right" way, and instead spend much time and resources just trying to get exactly what they ask for instead.

In this case, a "ticketing" system that is apparently JUST for her to JUST assign tickets to me, ignoring everybody else in the company. But apparently just sending me an email with a requests/tasks is not jargon-y enough. It must be "tickets".

LOL, then host it locally and be done with it... I suppose that doesn't give the first page logon only setup though that she wants for some reason.

I would, but they aren't in the office 60% of the time, so having access on the road, from home, laptop, is important.
Obviously I could open up our internal server but have tried to avoid that, especially for port 80, 22 traffic, and because we don't have a static IP at the office, and our ISP is sketchy, etc etc. I prefer a $5 VULTR box to be honest.