HARD DRIVE CRASH

Sometimes, you just have to learn things the hard way. Two weeks ago, my computer hard drive started making a terrible crunching noise. Immediately, I knew this couldn't be good. Thank goodness I was too busy to panic. I was preparing for the next day's Aloha Event sponsored by the MCCC Women-Owned Business Network. The event was a huge success. I met some great people, had the pleasure of hearing Lynne Doyle speak, and made some jewelry sales. The main purpose for my participation as a vendor was to show my jewelry and help brand my Ciao Bella Jewelry name. The fact that I made some great sales along with some great networking contacts was an added bonus. The whole evening was so much fun.

However, the next day I was back facing my computer problem. For a $50 diagnosis, I got to hear those dreaded words from a computer geek......."your hard drive is corrupt and we're unable to retrieve any files." Just the week before, I thought to myself, "Gee, I really should backup all my files." Did I do it? Of course not. Like I said, "Sometimes, you just have to learn things the hard way."

I now have a new hard drive and a brand new external hard drive for backup. I was very lucky to have a friend's son help me out with the repair. I would have had to spend a lot more money to get a new computer and all new software. Although I now have to recreate all my inventory sheets, vendor files, and marketing materials, it's not the end of the world. I also have to take new pictures of my jewelry inventory. At least I have printed pictures of all my designs.

Take a tip from me.......BACK IT UP.