Category: Technology

By: Donna Jo

Your business is in the early stages and it’s likely that you’re wearing several hats. Not only are you the accountant, but you’re also the graphic designer. You don’t know how you’re going to manage it all. But there are plenty of AI and automated tools that can help you out.

Now it’s time to worry about which tech tools to use. Starting a business includes the difficulty of using apps and tools that take up too much of your time. But here are some tech tools you’ll need before the stress of having a consistent income and dealing with office space issues sets in. Each of these tools will save you the time and stress from starting a new business.

Online Word Processor

Use Google Docs for collaborating with clients and colleagues. Most people only use 10% of the features that Microsoft Office offers. Save money and use Google Docs, which provides only the features that your startup needs for free. Everyone on your team can edit, share, and view the documents on this platform.

Google Docs is like a presentation application, spreadsheet, and word processor all in one. Moving all of your work to the cloud will increase the versatility that your business needs to move from different locations. It’s also the best storage for all of your documents, files, and photos. For a small monthly fee, you can use your domain name as your e-mail address rather than the Gmail address. You’ll also get immediate access to accountability, analytics, reports, and more.

Project Management Tool

Basecamp and Slack are two of the best project management tools on the market. They allow your teams to collaborate and communicate effectively without the need for e-mail. Both of these applications come with their own virtual chatrooms. Files, messages, and notifications are archived and indexed on a regular basis for easy access. Slack will extract each of your files into Google Docs, PDFs, and Word documents, so you can use them across various applications. These tools increase productivity and prevent your work from suffering.

Graphic Design Tool

Every startup needs its own creative tools. It’s important to communicate your mission, values, and vision to your target audience. Business cards, logos, newsletter templates, and social media icons are some of the branding options you need to create the right way. While there are agencies like 99Designs, tools like Canva and PicMonkey allow you to create a logo for cheap.

You don’t have to be a graphic designer. Now you’re just worried about your job as a security guard. You’re wondering which home security system to use. There are business security systems that come with simple features while others have more advanced features. It’s important to read online reviews before choosing the right one for your business.

Online Discussion Tool

If you want to keep an online brainstorming session going, then use Campfire. This online tool saves a copy of your entire chat history. It’s a great way to discuss any topic that comes up during work without getting distracted. It’s a mindful way to have productive work discussions. It’s also an ideal way of preventing private work conversations and secret projects from escaping out into the world.

Social Media Management

It’s tempting to hire a social media manager to help you attract more followers. Save your money and use a social media management tool such as Hootsuite or SproutSocial. It allows to post to several social networks at once, engage with followers, and schedule your posts to run at various times throughout the day. Social media can be overwhelming if you don’t manage it effectively.

Notes Manager

Start taking notes on the go. Google Keep is ideal for taking notes on your smartphone. Most business owners prefer to use Evernote, Microsoft OneNote or Quip for taking notes and saving images. The point of digital note-taking is to collect little pieces of information from websites you visit throughout the day. Google Keep is not the fanciest out of these choices, but it’s available as an app and is just a tap away. It’s impossible to run a startup without contacts, knowledge, reminders, and other pieces of information.

It’s important not to overwhelm yourself in the beginning stages of your business. The same goes for choosing the right tech tools for your startup. Choose two or three tools to get started. Eliminate the app or tool if you find that it’s not working for you.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay and change the way we live and do business forever. This may seem like a bold statement, but take a closer look. We already have self-driving cars, cashier-less grocery stores, robotic household servants, and other marvels of modern technology around us. They are much more than passing fads— they herald the dawn of the new business age.

Namely, the compound annual growth rate for global spending on AI is predicted to reach $57.6 billion by 2021. AI startups are sprouting up at a rapid pace, automation is on the roll across the industry sectors, and that is all just the beginning. Of course, small businesses have one big concern and that is the risk of blowing the budget. That is certainly not an option, but the million dollar question remains: does AI add enough value to the organization to justify spreading precious funds a bit thinner?

The Game has Changed

While advocates hail it as a game-changer and equalizer, skeptics denounce AI as a disruptive influence, even a threat to small businesses. Indeed, many entrepreneurs are leery of this development because of the allegedly steep costs of implementation. These notions echo what we have seen before: tech seismic shifts bringing disproportionate advantages to established corporations.

However, what gets overlook is the fact that this time around, we have a level playing field. The proliferation of plug-in tools, ready-made solutions, and affordable services has diminished if not eliminated the barriers to integrate AI. There are already so many nimble and agile organizations leading the way to innovation instead of playing catch up. After all, they stand to gain much and they can reap benefits faster than large and laggard companies.

To be more precise, AI has already yielded impressive results, mostly in terms of streamlining work processes and improving efficiencies across the board. For instance, in the education sector, it has reduced the men-hours spent on administrative tasks. Forward-thinking manufacturing companies have managed to trim hefty overhead costs and elsewhere, intelligent automation solutions are reshaping workflows and business models.

Creative industries are also hit by strong winds of change. You want to hire a reputable website design agency that employs AI and machine learning tools to deliver design solutions like the industry leaders. The same goes for top-performing marketing agencies that are utilizing AI for personalized marketing. They create highly-targeted ads relevant to users and are able to reach a much wider audience with automated systems.

A Strategic Approach

All of this is not to say that the AI revolution has fully unfolded. We are still in the early stages of adoption: According to Adobe, only 15% of all enterprises use AI. Things are moving fast, though, and in 12 months, this number is expected to more than double. And while many small businesses already experiment with some form of automation, 84% of enterprises believe AI holds the key to gaining a competitive edge.

Therefore, the best time to take action would be now. And I am not talking about merely buying a voice-search assistant like Siri or Alexa for your office. If you really want to become a digitally mature organization, you have to embrace innovation and put a refined AI strategy in place. The possible applications abound and range from generating employee engagement and making sales forecasts to automated end-to-end accounting and email marketing.

What you should probably consider right away is setting up AI frameworks for gathering and collecting business data, as well as producing actionable, real-time reports. Note that the process of transitioning from on-premise servers to cloud platforms is underway. Here, we see that AI leads to better and faster decision-making. The beauty of it is that one does not need to assemble huge data warehouses and carry out extensive infrastructure overhauls.

Basically, you can take advantage of third-party tools to connect your data directly to AI and machine-learning-powered solutions. That allows you to face the ocean of available data and come on top, whether you are pulling data in order to figure out product-market fit, understand consumer market segmentation, or optimize the sales funnel. Handling an endless amount of data manually is almost unimaginable in this day and age.

Providing Service Excellence

One other lucrative opportunity for small businesses is to use AI to take customer service to the next level. According to entrepreneur opinion surveys, this is the benefit that is second only to “freeing up time and getting more things done”. So far, it seems that niche services and products offered to consumer hold the most potential when it comes to improving the bottom line.

Likewise, chatbots are one facet of this trend consumers are quickly getting used to. These sophisticated virtual helpers are capable of tackling repetitive tasks like sorting tickets, answering common questions, solving practical problems, and coming up with recommendations. Not everyone is eager to “talk” with a computer program, but many companies have increased customer satisfaction and engagement with their help.

The list does not end here, but we need to conclude on one crucial note. Regardless of the specific field of implantation, AI is supposed to lead to fewer human errors, less time-consuming guesswork, and minimal resource waste. So, let automation work to your advantage, first and foremost on the back-end side of the spectrum. This should give you more time focus on priorities on the front-end, such as face-to-face customer service.

Ultimately, AI should make your life easier, not more complicated.

Time to Get Ahead of the Game

As it turns out, you do not need fat budgets and data goldmines to put AI tech to good use. The most advanced solutions and platforms are accessible to organizations of all sizes there, so there is no reason for small businesses to lag behind. They can compete at scale with top dogs and even lead the charge towards the cutting-edge frontier of the future. You have the opportunity to sustain growth while keeping expenditures in check. Thus, it is time to get down to business: move to the forefront of the industry and make strides towards your goals in 2018 and beyond.

Article Contributed by Mark Palmer

A start-up business can be demanding in terms of time and resources. You have a million and one ideas to get your business up and running, and you need to create time for each thought crossing your mind. It is at this moment when advances in technology become necessary; more especially those that will help in prioritizing and smart spending. Here are some five tech advances that will redefine your startup in future.

Augmented reality

Often referred to as AR this new advance will redefine your startup especially when it comes to brand engagement. We all hate ads popping up on our browser, and in fact, most of us turn them off with ad blockers. It is now possible to use AR to combine physical and digital experiences. If you are in the furniture business, you can make it possible for your customers to virtually redesign their homes with new furniture. There are low-cost options for augmented reality that you can use for your startup.

Big data

Forget about the traditional marketing and business operations. Big data is already applied in several aspects of our lives, and it is helping transform lives. Imagine a world where you do not have to push tens of thousands of ad impressions and hope that few of them will convert. Imagine a world where you send very specific targeted ads that are informed by your customer’s buying habits. It is more effective, less challenging and better paying way of getting to your customers.

Algorithms

Trading in the stock market can be very challenging especially if you are just a beginner. Algorithms are used to execute trades often following pre programmed criteria. Well, the use of algorithms does not stop there; there are other numerous ways that they can be used especially for startup businesses to watch the market trends. Using credit spread strategy, for example, when looking for investors in your business can help to analyze maximum gain and minimum loss from the investment they make in your business. It is a revolutionary technology that will shape how businesses will be done in the future.

Blockchain technology

Well, you must have heard of the new technology that is basically used to process cryptocurrencies payments. The potential that this technology has is immense, and its application not only to financial instruments is inevitable. It has the ability to bring a democratic value system and revolutionize the way users interact in the digital world. If your business is in e-commerce, then you are in luck because this technology is for you. Think about instant payments, decentralized corporations, enhanced communication, efficiency maximization, fraud minimization to mention but a few.

Machine learning

Think about a world where you can automate non-creative tasks with machines that are intelligent and learning the nature you do business. Well, machine learning is a disruptive technology that looks at automating aspects of your business that you never even thought possible. For a startup business, you stand to gain more by getting more done with little resources and personnel. The biggest challenge for most startups is resource allocation and management. With machine learning technology, you can complete tasks that would otherwise take five employees working all day in just a few hours. Accuracy and efficiency are guaranteed.

Conclusion

Advancement in tech is inevitable and whether or not you want to be part of is at your discretion. However, there is much to gain and everything to lose if you do not join the wagon. For startup business owner, you do not have a choice you just have to embrace the changes in technology if you are to remain relevant. Big businesses are already using some of these advancements, and you cannot compete with archaic technology. The good news is there are low-cost tech advancements that will achieve the same results and compete with the big giants. These five tech advances should give you an idea of the direction to take for your business.

Article Contributed by Elizabeth Lee

A data leak is potentially terrifying. Your ability to respond to and resolve the situation can quickly become your ability to save your business. It’s a trying time, but it doesn’t need to be the end of the world. If you approach the situation calmly and with a plan, you can overcome anything.

1. Step Back for a Second

A panic response isn’t going to help anyone in a tense situation. Though it may be counterintuitive, you need to step away and clear your head before you start talking. Impulses in a tough time rarely provide the right response. Take a minute to breathe when you learn of your data breach.

2. Notify Your Customers Immediately

The moment you realize confidential data got out, you need to put all of your customers on notice. It’s a better idea to inform everyone than it is to wait and find out who was affected. Damage can continue to be done in the meantime. Don’t take any risks, and make a direct announcement by email or phone to everyone whose data you have stored.

3. Provide Frequent Updates

Every time a significant development occurs, let your customers know. This includes details about what actually happened and where you are in the process of creating a satisfactory resolution. The worst thing you can do is keep your customers in the dark when you’re planning a fix – they’re worried, and silence on your end doesn’t look good. They need to be able to trust you with this situation.

4. Offer What You Can Offer

If you have the means to offer credit protection or resolution services for your affected customers, make it available as soon as possible. It may take a little while to allocate resources and implement something that will satisfy everyone, but doing what you can to make things right will make long term customers less inclined to disrupt their relationships with you.

5. Catch the Culprit

If hackers intercepted your data, you need to pursue them for their crime. If it was a poorly managed policy or a mistake made by an employee, it’s time to make some changes in your office. Your customers are going to want some sort of justice for what happened to them, and you need to protect your business against anyone who has done it harm – even if it was internal.

6. Make Sure You’re Safeguarded

Reinforce all of your security measures. Check how your backups are stored and change your policies on how long you retain data – you might be storing data you no longer need, and this puts more people at risk. Make sure you’re always connected through a secure network, especially if you aren’t sure whether or not the breach is still active.

7. Prevent it From Happening Again

There’s always something to be learned, even in the darkest of times. Even if the breach wasn’t your fault, you need to learn what you can do to avoid putting your data in the crosshairs. You might need to change the way you handle data entirely, and implement new security policies that you didn’t realize were necessary before. The most important thing you can do is minimize future risk – in the end, you won’t walk away feeling like you’ve taken a beating and didn’t get back up.

Let your data breach bring your company and customers closer together. Customer service is more important during a breach than it ever has been before. Make sure to reward your support staff and IT professionals for all the hard work they’ll be doing on your behalf.

Author’s Bio

Elizabeth Lee is a business blogger, deeply interested in logistics, customer relations and marketing. Currently, she is supporting PACK & SEND, experts in the field of logistics. Feel free to visit PACK & SEND on Aubiz.

That tradies can greatly benefit from technology is a fact that’s easy to prove. Technology creates several advantages for tradies. Most notably, these advantages are demonstrated when it comes to marketing, communication, scheduling/organization, payments, and mobility.

1. Exploiting the Use of Mobile Technology

Mobile technology has greatly advanced over the years that business can already be conducted through mobile phones. With mobile devices capable of doing more than just calls and the sending/receiving of text messages, there are many ways to use mobile technology to improve business. There are many apps that can be installed on mobile devices to make doing business easier. With a web-connected smartphone or tablet computer, it’s easy setting appointments, interacting with customers, processing documents, communicating with customers and employees, and doing many other related tasks from anywhere. On the other hand, the popular use of web-connected mobile devices also creates opportunities for tradies to more easily find and reach out to prospective customers who regularly connect online through their smartphones or tablets.

2. Social Networking and Marketing

When it comes to looking for prospective clients and marketing, it only makes sense for tradies to take advantage of the popularity of social media. Social media networking and marketing should be an integral part of tradies’ promotional efforts.  Regardless of the extent of the marketing campaign, it’s always advisable to incorporate social media.  Self-employed or individual tradies can market their services even by just using their mobile phones. Larger companies or tradies groups/unions/cooperatives can come up with more systematic and sophisticated social media marketing efforts. Social media marketing is a confluence of internet.

3. Software/Apps for Tradies

Tradies should also consider the use of software or apps. There are many of these available for desktop and mobile devices. There are software applications designed to suit specific tradies industries, for example: electrician service software.These applications come with varying specialized functions and features to suit specific tradesman needs. They are designed to make it easy organizing tasks and monitoring availability or progress. They can also be used to take notes, send invoices, and get a heads up on important details such as the availability supplies needed for rendering services. Many of these software/apps support integration with other business software. You can find apps that can be quickly integrated with accounting software such as MYOB, Xero, and QuickBooks Online. This simplifies the process generating financial reports or taking a real time peek at financial performance at any time.

4. Improving Communication

Communication is essential for tradies. They need to master the art of communication as they look for and interact with their prospective and current customers. Fortunately, modern technology provides advantageous new ways for communication. Technology makes it easier, faster, and clearer to communicate through different means. Now, it’s easier answering customer inquiries sent through a website on your phone or desktop computer. Answering to requests for price quotes for the services being offered can now be automated. It has also become way easier setting up appointments as it can be done by phone, email, chat, special apps, or even through social media. It would be advisable for tradies to make use of all possible communication channels in interfacing with customers.

5. Facilitating Various Payment Options

Certainly, doing business nowadays is no longer limited to cash and checks. Technological advances have led to the creation of various new ways to make payments. Aside from making payments through credit cards, there are numerous e-payment options available worldwide. PayPal and other similar services have been working with banks in different parts of the world to facilitate more convenient ways to pay. Additionally, cryptocurrency such as bitcoin may be used to pay for services. It’s not necessary to do bitcoin-to-bitcoin transactions as bitcoins can now be converted to fiat currency through bitcoin exchanges or through bitcoin debit card services.

Payments can now be done through the internet and via mobile technologies. It’s possible to accept credit card payments using mobile devices even in the same manner as how it is done at stores (swiping a card). Tradies can invest in good web-enabled POS systems that can be used as standalone systems or used alongside smartphones. Some of the most commendable options include Square Register, PayPal Here, Innerfence, and GoPayment.

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A combination of the five points briefly discussed above will surely improve the way tradies do business. Imagine how more efficient things can get if tradies use social media to target customers, employ desktop and mobile apps to organize operations/tasks, and make use of mobile technology to communicate with customers and employees/contractors from anywhere as well as to receive payments. Using these tech-based ways will definltely improve the business and efficiency of tradies.