Young or old, newbie or seasoned professional….technology doesn’t come easily into every business or every business owner. I know you probably really want to improve your business and you know that technology can help you with that. But sometimes the idea of even getting started can seem overwhelming.
So we wanted to break it down a little for you right now. First, let’s start by identifying your needs and wants.
The first step is to identify what problem you need to solve in your business RIGHT now. Ask yourself a few questions:
How am I managing my work?
Am I dropping the ball when it comes to clients?
What is the biggest time suck in my business?
If I could take 1 thing off my plate, what would that be?
Use technology as your problem solver.
Once you identify what that core problem is you need to solve, then you can move onto the next question: what will give you the most bang for your buck. Maybe you aren’t ready for a big investment in your dream technology, but what is something you can do that’s within your budget that will give you a big return on your investment?
I’m going to share with you below some of the absolute BEST technologies we’ve implemented in our business, and literally not one of them is going to break the bank for you. But they will create space for you by saving you TIME and EFFORT, and they might just give you the biggest bang for your buck right now.
The 3rd step is the KISS step (Keep It Simple Stupid). Simplicity is almost always one of our core recommendations because we’ve seen it time after time. Business owner sees a shiny object (aka a new technology). Business owner buys it. Business owner realizes it’s way more complicated than expected. Technology sits on the shelf for months or years. Simplicity is the key and is one of the most likely ways that you will be able to implement the technology into your business.
If you’ve been thinking that it’s time to level up your technology and get some more sophistication into your business, but you’re a little intimidated, don’t have the time or maybe don’t even know where to start, then we’re here to help you.
One of our clients recently came to us knowing she needed to level up. She was sending old PDF contracts to her clients with no e-signature option. She was also struggling to keep up with her clients and manage the logistics of onboarding them. She came wanting a more sophisticated write-up about her company to attach and is leaving with a brand new CRM tool. We ended up getting her setup in Dubsado, our fave CRM tool, where she is able to now:
Utilize various contract templates
Automate and replicate her onboarding process
Utilize templates, emails & automated workflows to streamline the process
Not only are her contracts more sophisticated, they are also more professional AND will save her time, allowing her to onboard her clients more quickly.
While we took the load off of her to build, integrate and train her on the system, it’s not out of the reach of any business owner to take this on. Dubsado is a relatively straightforward system and the benefits of implementing it are endless.
The second system we highly recommend using is QuickBooks. Now I know most of you are already doing your bookkeeping, but are you doing it the most efficient way? QuickBooks has so many tools and connections that allow you to track from anywhere, including their app. You can also automate so many things within QuickBooks, all while staying organized and up to date with your cash flow, expenses, payroll & more. It’s a must-have for any business, and saves us a whole ton of time (& a whole lot of hassle) down the line.
The 3rd technology I want to recommend to you is Canva. If you are putting together graphics, postcard mailers, flyers/brochures, email marketing, or any other type of print/digital media, using a system like Canva is 100% going to save the day for you. Canva is a design tool with a free or paid options that has thousands of predesigned templates that you can customize for your brand.
Whether you need to create a social media graphic or youtube cover, Canva will let you fully customize their templates which will save you a HUGE of time, plus make your business look super polished and sophisticated. We are all about working smarter, and while being a pro at graphic design would be a HUGE benefit, it’s not always realistic for you to wear all the hats all the time.
Canva is almost a bit underrated when it comes to thinking of the technology you need, but it is such a game changer for our own business in that we use it daily to create the graphics we need. You can save your brand colors and fonts, favorite templates, etc. to make your life easier when it comes time to create your assets. For example, I’ve created a handful of blog cover templates in Canva using Canva’s templates, but customized to our branding and with some slight tweaks. Every time I need a new blog cover, I just go into Canva, make a few tweaks and I’m ready to go. Saves time and effort and looks awesome too!
And last but certainly not least…ClickUp. ClickUp is like our baby of the business. She was the last to come into our world, but we still get giddy with joy every time we look at her. Why? Because ClickUp has transformed the way we operate our business. It is the hub to our world and is where we keep track of every little thing we do.
You can use ClickUp to manage your projects, create workflows, save procedures, view timelines, manage 1 on 1 meetings with your team, and so much more. I know we talk about it a lot, but it’s for good reason, I promise! I’ve had so many clients struggle with how to keep a pulse on their business without getting overwhelmed and ClickUp is truly that tool for every small business owner.
Technology doesn’t have to be intimidating. Its purpose is to make your life easier, and if it’s not doing that, then you have the wrong technology for your business. Don’t give up easily, but DO make sure you have the right fit. So remember when making that decision in the first place, ensure you have a system that will solve some of your core problems, that it’s within your budget AND that it is SIMPLE to integrate.
Want a brief tutorial on some of these systems? Email us or shoot us a DM on Instagram @cabotandmain. We’d love to hear from you!
Comments