Whether you’re starting your own tech company or you have a side-gig that’s beginning to take off, you’re probably facing a number of obstacles in order to generate profits for your small business. Most of these challenges are caused by a single factor—time. If you’re responsible for keeping your business running on both the front- and back-end, there’s a good chance you won’t have the time you need to transform your entrepreneurship dreams into a successful establishment.
That’s where technology comes into play. With a resounding 95% of business owners believing that technology is essential for their business’ success, a huge part of keeping that entrepreneurial spirit as your business grows is adapting to the latest technology trends. This will not only make you more efficient with your work, but it will also give you a leg up on established competitors.
Here are a few simple changes you can make to your workplace to ensure that your startup is growing its customer base for today and well into the future.
Switch to the Cloud
Because it’s relatively easy to implement and use, cloud technology is transforming how millennial entrepreneurs get their work done. Part of this is simply because Millennials gravitate toward technology in the spaces they work, influenced by their use of smartphones, applications, and other digital tools in their personal lives.
For small businesses and startups specifically, cloud technology can help your teams stay connected while simultaneously cutting down on overhead IT costs, spending upwards of 36% less on their technology.
Entrepreneurs that have made the switch to a cloud platform for startups are ultimately better equipped to handle the needs of their customers as well as their day-to-day responsibilities. Cloud technology stores business information and services through remote servers. Simply put, this means that you can access all of the tools you need anywhere, so long as you’re connected to the internet. Entrepreneurs synced through the cloud are able to collaborate with multiple team members all at once—writing and revising the same document or presentation to ensure you’re delivering your best work to your customers. And with so many entrepreneurs adopting coworking or shared office spaces, the cloud guarantees that you have all the technology you need at your fingertips, even as you switch work environments.
Revamp Your Communication
Perhaps no singular facet of your business is as valuable as great communication—be it conversations with your employees, long calls with your customers or a quick social media update for your followers. Entrepreneurs, specifically, must use a wide variety of communication strategies in order to develop the foundations of a successful organization. Millennial employees and customers alike share a desire for multiple communication options when corresponding with businesses. On any given day, you could be experiencing:
- Comments on your business’ social media posts
- Phone calls from inquiring customers
- Emails, both internal and external
- Physical mail
- Requests to video chat
- Last-minute text messages from your employees
- Face-to-face conversations with potential customers or your team members
Entrepreneurs who are the most successful at communicating are therefore the ones who have a strategy for juggling all types of communication at once. Integrating your workspace with a unified communications plan for your business is one example of how technology can cut down on any unnecessary noise in your approach to communication. By collecting all of the tools you need under a single package, unified communications platforms help you easily switch between each communication method to deliver faster responses for customers and employees.
Go Paperless
In the year 2020, nothing says outdated like doing business on paper. Paperwork is difficult to access, tiresome to organize, and nearly impossible to keep secure. Plus, for young businesses, where maximizing profit margins is crucial for long-term survival, paper-driven offices generate more loss than gains. Between printing, copying, and faxing paperwork (as well as restoring it when it becomes lost), a single piece of paper can cost an estimated $20 in labor to correctly file.
Take your document storage online by switching to digital alternatives to your paperwork needs. Depending on how much you currently rely on paper to do business, this could require a significant overhaul of your business’ infrastructure. That’s why it’s a good idea to start small—instead of taking paper notes at meetings, try typing up important bullets or recording them on your phone. For authorizing documents and filling out forms, investing in an eSignature platform for small businesses can help you keep your online documents organized and properly managed. Finally, you can begin scanning all of your existing paper documentation to ensure that you have digital copies of everything before you make the final jump to a fully paperless office.
By enacting these tips, you’ll be setting yourself up for a successful career as an entrepreneur, regardless of the industry or type of business you pursue.
