When it comes to business, using flexible tools in the wrong place can make your profitability flexible too. Every business does it for at least a short time but the successful will proactively innovate to avoid the high cost it brings with growth. Here’s a short test to see where you are on the scale.
The Test
- Do you have at least 2 versions of the same form and have difficulty getting your team to use the right one?
- Do you let your sales reps come up with their own method to manage leads?
- Do you only hear of a deal once it’s been signed?
- Does your staff complain of too much “admin” or “overhead” time?
- Do you have an employee that manages docs and spreadsheets regularly?
- Do clients complain that their expressed needs were not met or items were forgotten?
- When a sales rep departs, is their little hope of finding, not to mention working his in progress deals?
- Does your sales manager have little visibility into your sales pipeline (i.e. accounts, deal size, win rate, discounting)
- Is there little historical data available without significant manual labor?
- Do you often have to search through numerous docs and emails for account related info?
Each ‘yes’ answer on this list is shaving hundreds of dollars from your profitability for each employee!
The flexibility of these tools is very helpful at times, especially when doing one-off tasks or exploring a process. However, when you are looking to grow and add on additional resources as needed, this flexibility puts too much creativity into the hands of each person and leads to an organization headache with lots of confusion. Especially if the situation isn’t changed before the next growth spurt.
The worst time to change is when potential customers are knocking down your doors.
The Solution
Most businesses make the decision to move away from this flexibility toward a manageable system when they are small and want to grow. Profitable growth is very challenging in general and without a simple, consistent system to manage the increase of very important information, it can be stunted.
My recommendation to any business that answered ‘yes’ to at least one question above is to consider starting with Salesforce.com Group Edition. With a free 7 day trial and just $8 or so per user per month for up to five users, you can see quickly the benefits of having a common system for all your team.
I have had my current computer for over 3 years. I had my previous computer for four years before selling it to a college student who still uses it two years later.
Using a computer for six years should be a somewhat rare occurrence but it is not. Data loss is all too frequent and is estimated to cost $2,900 per incident. Ouch! This is foolish when the problem could have been solved for under $300. Even more, hard drives have been failing at an increasing rate as we depend more and more on our computers – sometimes as high as 15% in a single year!
Especially in this economy, fully depreciating (and then some!) our assets is a high priority but so should avoiding a catastrophe.
I encourage this attempt at cost savings as long as you are managing your risk well.
Doing so includes:
- Automated data backups with multiple versions
Examples: Mozy for Mac, Carbonite for Windows, Bacula for Linux
- Routine and scheduled Hard Disk replacements & reuse the old drive
Example: Within the estimated life of the Hard Drive, often called MTTF, or every three years
- Contingency planning for downtime
Example: Have a secondary computer or shared computer just in case. (more…)
I am on a free hotspot as I write this.
I had client meetings with others in Pasadena, Philly, Seattle, West LA, and Florida this week. All without driving anywhere past my nearest EZ Lube, Starbucks, or Coffee Shop.
You are feeling the pain of this economy and so am I. Even $50 a month saved can make a significant difference if used effectively.
I am in the business of helping make others successful so here is what I do to remain competitive as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I coach, train, and support others as they walk down this journey toward competitive advantage with technology.
Vons, EZ Lube, Hospitals, & Apple Stores: Unexpected Resources
Once you commit to mobilize your office, remaining connected on the go becomes a much higher priority. It used to be that this lifestyle required a cellular card for your computer that could run up to $100 or more per month.
Not so today where you can actually reduce costs by getting out of the office.
(more…)
I am in Starbucks as I write this.
I had client meetings with others in Pasadena, Philly, Seattle, West LA, and Florida this week. All without driving anywhere past my nearest Starbucks or Public Library.
You are feeling the pain of this economy and so am I. Even $50 a month saved can make a significant difference if used effectively.
I am in the business of helping make others successful so here is what I do to remain competitive as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I coach, train, and support others as they walk down this journey toward competitive advantage with technology.
An Email Revolution
Email and text based communications are becoming the most critical forms of communication today. This can cause an overwhelming deluge if not managed well. I will offer a few suggestions based on what I have found to be successful. (more…)
I am in Starbucks as I write this.
I had client meetings with others in Pasadena, Philly, Seattle, West LA, and Florida this week. All without driving anywhere past my nearest Starbucks or Public Library.
You are feeling the pain of this economy and so am I. Even $50 a month saved can make a significant difference if used effectively.
I am in the business of helping make others successful so here is what I do to remain competitive as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I coach, train, and support others as they walk down this journey toward competitive advantage with technology.
Working In The Cloud
The Internet is quickly becoming the new railway of business. Many business activities rely heavily on it and this is just reality. Resisting it is like resisting the use of credit cards. You can do it but it will cost you much more than its worth. For example, I won’t even shop in a store that doesn’t accept Visa or Mastercard. (more…)
I am in the San Marino Public Library as I write this.
I had client meetings with others in Pasadena, Philly, Seattle, West LA, and Florida this week. All without driving anywhere past my nearest Starbucks or Public Library.
You are feeling the pain of this economy and so am I. Even $50 a month saved can make a significant difference if used effectively.
I am in the business of helping make others successful so here is what I do to remain competitive as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I coach, train, and support others as they walk down this journey toward competitive advantage with technology.
Local Public Libraries
Long the domain of the academics, Public Libraries offer a tremendous opportunity for small businesses looking to improve their tech savvy and efficacy. My local library provides quite a few business savvy amenities thanks to taxpayers like myself:
- Private meeting rooms complete with data/power equipped table, 4 chairs, whiteboards and Internet access. In fact, 98.9% of Public Libraries have Internet Access which is becoming the new railway of commerce. This opens up the use of web phone, collaboration, and communication services within the private and quite rooms. I have even recorded Podcasts in these rooms with great success. (more…)
I am in Starbucks as I write this.
I had client meetings with others in Pasadena, Philly, Seattle, West LA, and Florida this week. All without driving anywhere past my nearest Starbucks or Public Library.
You are feeling the pain of this economy and so am I. Even $50 a month saved can make a significant difference if used effectively.
I am in the business of helping make others successful so here is what I do to remain competitive as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I coach, train, and support others as they walk down this journey toward competitive advantage with technology.
AT&T Wifi @ Starbucks
Most Starbucks offer wifi. This service used to cost $40 and more per month via T-Mobile which made it a luxury for only the most mobile professionals. Since switching to AT&T, the tables have turned so you can use this service FOR FREE! Just buy something once every 30 days with a registered Starbucks card and you get at least 2 hours free wifi every day – even the days you don’t buy anything! (more…)
