Innovate or Perish is a very powerful mandate. Our society is evolving at an ever increasing rate and businesses must to adapt to these changes. Just a few years ago, we used FedEx to send confidential documents that had to get there the next day. The next evolution was the fax, which allowed documents to be received in a few minutes. Then, a few years past as Email became the most efficient medium to deliver documents - immediately. In just a short capsule of time we migrated from overnight mail to fax to email. This is just an example of how fast innovation is taking place.
We are now approaching a time where more and more business applications are transitioning to "the cloud". Business information is available from anywhere - anytime using computers, laptops, tablets, and cell phones. A few years ago the world wide web was only understood by techies - today, it has become the mainstay of business. Today, a business must have an Email address and a Web site to be considered legitimate.
The next evolution in technology will be moving applications to "the cloud". These applications include: Email, Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Contact management, CRM Systems, Accounting systems, etc. Effectively, most applications that currently operate on local (in house) computers will be accessible from anywhere.
Some of the benefits for placing your business data in "the cloud" include: accessibility from anywhere, reduction of hardware, reduction of support staff, integration with different computing devices, data backup and security, updating to new versions, and reliability - to name a few. As an example, today, every time there is an update of software, it is sent over the Internet and every computing device has to individually update their device. With cloud computing, the only device that needs to be updated is the server that it resides on (in the cloud) - there are no updates that have to be transferred to each individual unit. This also keeps everyone on the same platform with the most current version. For most applications it becomes a transparent conversion and is available to everyone immediately. This method allows applications to be improved very quickly and eliminates the tedious task of dealing with the inconsistencies that come about with every different computing device. Applications will evolve at an even faster pace with a much higher level of reliability.
Planning for the Future is what sets a business apart from their competition. Taking steps now, to improve productivity and efficiencies in your business will pay dividends for many years. It give you the edge, keeps you ahead of the competition, and improves the return on your investment today. It sure beats the alternative of trying to sell buggy whips, fax machines, or typewriters.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Creating the Paperless Office
I have always had the desire to eliminate paper in my business. I was tired of printing and filing, then the arduous task of trying to find those documents when I needed them. I was always afraid of what would happen if we had a fire, hurricane, or some type of devastation that could completely wipe out our records. So, one day a few years ago I decided to go for it and have never looked back. Today, all of the paper has been converted to images that not only reside on a computer (laptop) but is also backed up every day. So, I can easily take my business wherever I go and have the comfort to know that all of these important documents are backed up everyday... go ahead and try that with all of your file cabinets.
Instead of investing in expensive document management / imaging software, we decided to use Adobe PDF's. It pays to purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional to help make any adjustments you may need. The other program we also use is Adobe Reader. This is another Free program that allows us to edit any pdf - for filling out forms or making comments on documents.
Most of the documents that fill up those file cabinets include: our invoices and vendors bills, so these were the first ones we focused on. For our invoices, instead of printing them (we use Quickbooks), we simply printed them as a PDF and stored them in each customers folder. We saved them using the invoice number. Then, when we wanted to send them out, we simply used Email - eliminating printing, stuffing, and stamps. When it came to our vendor invoices, we asked our vendors to email them to us. All we then had to do was save them in a vendor file with the associated invoice number. Anything else that came in hard copy including contracts are scanned and saved.
At first, this might seem like a very laborious task. However, we have found it to be much easier than printing and filing. Anyone can instantly access the files with shared access over our network, without having to leave their desk. With the proper configuration, this could be done remotely as well.
After having experienced a major hurricane which completely destroyed our office, I now have the comfort of knowing that all of our company documents are backed up to a site on the Internet.
Instead of investing in expensive document management / imaging software, we decided to use Adobe PDF's. It pays to purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional to help make any adjustments you may need. The other program we also use is Adobe Reader. This is another Free program that allows us to edit any pdf - for filling out forms or making comments on documents.
Most of the documents that fill up those file cabinets include: our invoices and vendors bills, so these were the first ones we focused on. For our invoices, instead of printing them (we use Quickbooks), we simply printed them as a PDF and stored them in each customers folder. We saved them using the invoice number. Then, when we wanted to send them out, we simply used Email - eliminating printing, stuffing, and stamps. When it came to our vendor invoices, we asked our vendors to email them to us. All we then had to do was save them in a vendor file with the associated invoice number. Anything else that came in hard copy including contracts are scanned and saved.
At first, this might seem like a very laborious task. However, we have found it to be much easier than printing and filing. Anyone can instantly access the files with shared access over our network, without having to leave their desk. With the proper configuration, this could be done remotely as well.
After having experienced a major hurricane which completely destroyed our office, I now have the comfort of knowing that all of our company documents are backed up to a site on the Internet.
Challenged by the economy?
How can a business thrive during these lean times?
We live with such abundance that we need to take a step back and analyze where we're spending our money. These can be small expenditures but taken as a whole, they can certainly add up. Maybe you don't need all of those phone lines or the on-going advertising is just not working. Sure, you may only save a few hundred dollars but if those costs are recurring, it can add up - and it all falls to the bottom line. The cost of just one phone line is about $150 a month ... in a year - $1,800 ... 10 years - $18,000. So, one of the first and easiest ways to put money back in your pocket is to analyze the money that is being wasted.
The next area to consider is to take a good look at your marketing expenditures. I've always felt that if you cannot analyze the return on your marketing costs, then you have no idea if it is generating a return. Since companies spend a significant amount of money each month on advertising, this results in a long term recurring expenditure. It's very important to continue your marketing efforts during lean times, but it's essential to determine where your marketing dollars are working. A simple question to new prospects, "how did you hear about us", is a great start - however, to make it effective, you need to document and track that prospect. Documenting the source of your business along with the return, provides an analysis that is invaluable. In addition, once you know what is most effective, it is possible that you can re-allocate your funds to the advertising that is providing the best return. Just remember, before you launch a marketing campaign, it is essential that you put in place a method to analyze the results - otherwise, you're just throwing money away.
Productivity is one of the keys to increasing your return from your business. If personnel are more efficient, they have more time and time equals money. Business improvements such as creating a paperless business or making information more available for remote employees, could save a significant amount of time. It's all those menial tasks of writing the same thing down several times in different systems, not only costs time but it is prone to errors - which absorbs more time. We live in an information age with access to a wealth of information at our fingertips. The Internet provides access to many free offerings that can significantly increase productivity. Some of these free offerings that you can access from anywhere with an Internet connection include: Email, Word processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Contact management, CRM systems, Accounting systems, etc. - to name just a few. The trend is to place more and more applications on the Internet "cloud" - effectively, making all your business information available from anywhere - anytime.
So, take a good look at your costs, marketing effectiveness, and how you can innovate your business, and you just might find that silver lining to help you prosper during these challenging times.
We live with such abundance that we need to take a step back and analyze where we're spending our money. These can be small expenditures but taken as a whole, they can certainly add up. Maybe you don't need all of those phone lines or the on-going advertising is just not working. Sure, you may only save a few hundred dollars but if those costs are recurring, it can add up - and it all falls to the bottom line. The cost of just one phone line is about $150 a month ... in a year - $1,800 ... 10 years - $18,000. So, one of the first and easiest ways to put money back in your pocket is to analyze the money that is being wasted.
The next area to consider is to take a good look at your marketing expenditures. I've always felt that if you cannot analyze the return on your marketing costs, then you have no idea if it is generating a return. Since companies spend a significant amount of money each month on advertising, this results in a long term recurring expenditure. It's very important to continue your marketing efforts during lean times, but it's essential to determine where your marketing dollars are working. A simple question to new prospects, "how did you hear about us", is a great start - however, to make it effective, you need to document and track that prospect. Documenting the source of your business along with the return, provides an analysis that is invaluable. In addition, once you know what is most effective, it is possible that you can re-allocate your funds to the advertising that is providing the best return. Just remember, before you launch a marketing campaign, it is essential that you put in place a method to analyze the results - otherwise, you're just throwing money away.
Productivity is one of the keys to increasing your return from your business. If personnel are more efficient, they have more time and time equals money. Business improvements such as creating a paperless business or making information more available for remote employees, could save a significant amount of time. It's all those menial tasks of writing the same thing down several times in different systems, not only costs time but it is prone to errors - which absorbs more time. We live in an information age with access to a wealth of information at our fingertips. The Internet provides access to many free offerings that can significantly increase productivity. Some of these free offerings that you can access from anywhere with an Internet connection include: Email, Word processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Contact management, CRM systems, Accounting systems, etc. - to name just a few. The trend is to place more and more applications on the Internet "cloud" - effectively, making all your business information available from anywhere - anytime.
So, take a good look at your costs, marketing effectiveness, and how you can innovate your business, and you just might find that silver lining to help you prosper during these challenging times.
Google Docs - Email - Contact Sharing
For many years our business has used Microsoft Office - Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. One of the big issues we were trying to resolve was, how to share our Contacts. As with most businesses having one Contact database that can be shared is essential. In addition, our Outlook files had become large, cumbersome, and difficult to maintain. I had a Gmail account but only used it whenever I traveled.
In order to solve these issues, I decided to move all of my Email to the cloud, Gmail. In addition, we also decided to move all of our contacts to Gmail as well. We set up a corporate Gmail account where we could also share our contacts. This resolved several issues: Contact sharing, the ability to access our Email from anywhere, and the comfort to know that our Email was being backed up. These are very large issues many companies face today.
Since the moving of our shared contacts and Email to the cloud was so successful, we decided to move our shared documents to Google Docs. I was amazed at how easily we were able to make this transition. The biggest benefit was how we could collaborate and share documents. Several people can now access the same documents and if allowed, they can modify them as well. There is ample security to limit changes when appropriate.
Our objective is to move more and more information off of our desktop computers to sites like Gmail and Google Docs. This now allows us to access all of our business Email, Documents, and Spreadsheets - from anywhere we have an Internet connection. We also have peace of mind knowing that it is being properly backed up on a daily basis. You certainly can't beat the cost of these services, since they are Free! After all, what do you have to lose?
In order to solve these issues, I decided to move all of my Email to the cloud, Gmail. In addition, we also decided to move all of our contacts to Gmail as well. We set up a corporate Gmail account where we could also share our contacts. This resolved several issues: Contact sharing, the ability to access our Email from anywhere, and the comfort to know that our Email was being backed up. These are very large issues many companies face today.
Since the moving of our shared contacts and Email to the cloud was so successful, we decided to move our shared documents to Google Docs. I was amazed at how easily we were able to make this transition. The biggest benefit was how we could collaborate and share documents. Several people can now access the same documents and if allowed, they can modify them as well. There is ample security to limit changes when appropriate.
Our objective is to move more and more information off of our desktop computers to sites like Gmail and Google Docs. This now allows us to access all of our business Email, Documents, and Spreadsheets - from anywhere we have an Internet connection. We also have peace of mind knowing that it is being properly backed up on a daily basis. You certainly can't beat the cost of these services, since they are Free! After all, what do you have to lose?
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