If you recently became a Small Business Specialist, congratulations and way to go!

For many Small Business Specialists I talk to, this was the first and only Microsoft certification they will ever pursue. Then there are many others that give reason for not taking the 70-282 exam starting with "I know my stuff and I don't need a certification", or " I don't have the time to prepare" and " it is only a Microsoft money-making scheme". To me that sounds like a lot of excuses, mainly I believe folks that never sat in a Microsoft exam are scared to measure their ability or are intimidated by the thought of being tested.

There are plenty of reasons to make this your first exam, especially if you have been a long-time SBSer (Small Business Server tech/consultant). I am not recommending for you to take the step and take the 70-282 exam so you can reap the benefits from the program, but I am recommending it so you can do something good for yourself. If you truly make your living by installing and supporting Small Business Server and don’t have the Small Business Specialist logo behind your name, isn’t that bothering you some? Most of you have an entrepreneurial gene or you wouldn’t be doing what you are doing now, and I bet that not taking the challenge of sitting for the exam, is really nagging you in the back of your mind.

Therefore I recommend that you take the exam, just to make yourself feel better. Get rid of the background nagging, making lame excuses and being a procrastinator – it will be good for your mental health and then some.

By preparing for just this one exam, you will learn so much more in the process that you wouldn’t otherwise encounter, and it will not be “useless” for an SBSer. Many times I am asked technical questions about SBS by peers where I think that if they would have taken a course in Active Directory or Network Infrastructure they wouldn’t need to be asking for what I consider basic knowledge.  

Think about other professions we come in contact with daily, accountants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. Think they had to study “useless” information in order to pass their exams and receive their credentials? You bet, and all this “useless” information accounts for a lot of background information that may not be needed to get through the daily workday, but it sure fills in the blanks and adds to the overall knowledge and skill set of that professional.

Do yourself a favor and challenge yourself to sit the exam. Deep down you know it is the right thing to do.

Food for thought: Your customer may not know about the Small Business Specialist logo or what it stands for. But does it really matter? Let me put it this way. When you go to the dentist, doesn’t it make you feel better when you know the guy poking around in your mouth has the M.D. initial behind his name?

So what is your excuse again?