1. Not having a plan.Unless you know what you want in a server, how can you ever get it? That's the first mistake I made. I paid almost no attention to my business needs. What sort of hardware and software should I select, and what do I want the server to do.Shelly Lemelle, a product manager for HP Industry Standard Servers, recommends setting a small amount of time aside — 15 to 30 minutes — to make a wish list for your server needs."Do you want to make certain tasks easier for you and your employees?" she says. "Is there something specific you want to accomplish that will impress your customers?" With this list in hand, she says you'll be better equipped to talk to a local tech solution provider about what best fits your needs. (Read more how a server can help your small business.)

2. Not hiring a pro.You will need a professional tech partner to set up your server. There's no getting around this fact. If you buy, for example, Windows Small Business Server 2003, you can find a Microsoft Certified Professional in your area. Screen your tech partner carefully."When choosing someone, be sure he or she has a small business focus, the experience and certifications in small business systems and the ability to meet your reliability criteria," says Jeff Cohn, president of Sage Computer Associates in Albany, NY. A competent IT consultant will set you up with a server and document how the server works and how it will meet your needs. A server guru will also advise about likely future needs — and prepare you for them. (Also, remember not to install any add-on software until you consult with your IT pro. Read more.)

3. Not considering all of your optionsYou can buy a server outright and have a tech professional set it up. Or you can lease a server to meet your needs. For example, should you host your server onsite or offsite? David Bryce, the vice president of customer care at Rackspace Managed Hosting in San Antonio, Texas, says oftentimes, having an on-site server isn't cost-effective. Small business owners, he says, believe they can manage a server on their own, but ultimately have a hard time handling it. "Leasing servers from a managed hosting provider gives companies the needed security, monitoring and scalability to run their servers without the upfront equipment, infrastructure and ongoing maintenance costs of taking it in-house," he says. What's more, an outsourced solution is scalable — meaning that you can expand quickly, if needed.

4. Not playing it safe.You are going to spend a fair amount of time deciding what kind of server to buy. But how about security to prevent hackers and viruses from infiltrating your system? Remember, your server is going to be connected to the Internet, and will be vulnerable to hackers. In my case, we made sure we had the latest Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 for my Small Business Server. Robert Packer, a senior manager at Custom Computer Specialists, a value-added reseller in Hauppauge, N.Y., says safety extends to backup, too. "Small Business decision makers should implement a tape backup solution that automatically backs up the critical data each working day," he says. That means assigning someone within your company the task of taking each day's backup tape home, in the event of a site disaster.

5. Not bothering with the power.One of the first things my IT pro asked me was, "Do you have a UPS for your server?" UPS, uninterruptible power supply, will ensure that your server keeps running even when the electricity isn't. In a place like Central Florida, which I've heard is the lightning-strike capital of the world, you can't live without a UPS. A 2004 survey of small business owners commissioned by Emerson, an Austin, technology company, found that more than 60% of America's nearly 23 million small businesses have no backup power supply. "I think small businesses recognize the problem, but they aren't taking action," said Kevin McCalla, the director of marketing for UPS systems at Liebert Corp., in Columbus, Ohio, an Emerson subsidiary. McCalla says the electrical power grid provides about 99.9% availability, which means on average it's down about 8.8 hours annually. "Not a big deal if the downtime only occurred when your business wasn't open," he says. "Unfortunately, you can't predict when that downtime will come."