When you have a small team working in one office, getting information out (and in) is easy. Just poke your head out of your cubicle and yell. Hopefully, no one has their earphones on or went to the bathroom. But as your team grows – and especially if your workforce includes employees out in the field, working from home or at a remote branch – it gets tricky.
Change. It’s all around us. From the way we buy groceries to to the way we wake up in the morning or even the way we communicate with family members – things are different.
In business too. If you’re a technophobe, all this talk of change has beads of sweat starting to appear on your forehead just one paragraph in. But for small businesses, technology has become reality. And this reality can be turned into a priceless growth engine for little to no monetary investment.
“My business is fine – I don’t need technology – I’ve operated the same way for 20 years and have done it successfully”. Fair enough. We understand that it might be hard for you to see how free online tools can help you grow a primarily offline business. But wipe the sweat off your forehead and read on.
I have no timeYou’re not the only one who thinks that way. Over 80% of small business managers still use pen, paper, and spreadsheets to run their workforce. And like most SMBs, it’s very likely that your outlook is strongly influenced by your current focus on day-to-day operations. When you’re buried up to the ears in work, it’s hard to find the time and energy to find solutions that help you shift your focus from day-to-day operations, to strategic growth.
You don’t need to wait for your team and operation to grow to introduce technological solutions and tools. Often, it’s their implementation that affects business growth.
That’s just part of the equation. The second part is cost. Until recently, business operations software, such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), were considered to be too costly to implement for small businesses. But that’s all changing now. Business software has become easier to implement and much more affordable. For a fraction of the cost, SMBs can get their hands on the latest software. Sometimes, even for free.
So now that fear and cost are no longer obstacles let’s have a look at some of the easiest to use, and more importantly free business operations management tools out there.
Communication and CollaborationAs your business grows, so does your team of employees, contractors and service providers. Managing communication, collaboration and cooperation between everyone can become a time-consuming task for you, as a manager. These tools can help you streamline these processes and save you the time you might be spending as an information conduit for your subordinates and partners.
1. Google Docs (& Friends)Automation
You might not even notice, but some of your precious time is spent in two of the most unpleasant activities: waiting and catching-up. You wait for replies to messages or responses from clients. And try to respond as quickly as possible when you miss a communication or customer action.
By automating as many of your business processes and tasks as possible, you can save precious time you might currently be spending doing something a simple algorithm can.
Email Rules
Many online experts like to claim than email is dead or dying. It really isn’t. Email is still the most common tool for communication in business, and that’s not about to change. Just evolve.
Today’s challenge is cluttered inboxes and difficulty keeping track and measuring effectiveness of email correspondence. Some tools are out there to replace your current messy inbox. And others just try and make email communications a lot more effective for your business.
Task Management
The bigger your team and, the harder it gets to keep track of all the various tasks of all the employees, contractors and partners. Without a management solution, there tasks that can get lost and not completed, falling between the proverbial chairs of every day work. Alternatively, you’ll find yourself wasting too much time micromanaging your workers’ tasks. And no one wants that.
On-the-Spot - Point of Sale Tools
Once upon a time, you needed a cash register to keep sales organized in your store. Those things were expensive, bulky and aside from the famous “kachink” sound, they had little to offer in terms of features. Those days are gone, and now all you need is a mobile device or basic desktop computer to manage your POS activity.
You don’t need to become a mobile phones expert or software developer to use technology to grow your business, be it a local grocery shop, a plumbing service or a toy manufacturer.
Think we’ve missed an awesome tool? Shame on us! Do let us know in the comments how we’ve erred.
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