Depending on your age you may know what a fax is. This morning my son aged 16 asked me, mum what’s a fax, as it appeared on his laptop when he went to print a document to a wireless printer. It got me laughing and at the same time thinking how far we have come with technology, its accessibility and having the capability of doing things differently.
I know sometimes we resist new technology and ways of doing things because our first instinct might be that it’s too hard and I have to learn something new that I don’t have the time for. Rather than thinking of short-term pain think of the long-term rewards of implementing some all of the latest technology that is available to us.
These days you can run your own business remotely and from any location. You can have access to all your documents through systems like Dropbox and Google Drive. A lot of the software available is cloud-base, so you can log on to any computer to access your work or even on your phone.
You can even send an invoice to a customer and get paid within minutes with the use of cloud-based accounting software like Xero, the use of emails and internet banking.
Internet banking has changed the way we do things. Why spend time driving to the bank, standing in line to make a transaction and then having to drive back to the office, when you can do all this within minutes online. A customer can now pay you within minutes of you sending an invoice that also has the benefit of improving your cashflow.
Below is a diagram that demonstrates how the use of technology can speed up the process.
In a world where people have a ‘now’ rather than ‘later’ mentality, who are looking for convenience and want things at the touch of their fingers, I want you to think about your business and some of the limitations you have because of the latest technology not being used.
The time it takes to get things done can be considerably cut down, giving you more time to do the things you keep saying you don’t have time for. It also gives you the added advantage to meet timelines and could be a selling point in your service delivery. For example, a fast-food chain guaranteeing a 30-minute delivery of it’s free. In some industries it is specified in the contract that each day a project goes beyond the agreed date, a penalty fee is applied.
Thinks about how can you use the latest technology to improve processes and save you time as well as being more flexible with how you do business.
P.S. When you are ready, reach out and we can discuss the processes within your business to increase your efficiency and turnaround time.
EmpowerBeyond – Business Performance Solutions, focusing on people, process, products and services and improving productivity and cash flow www.empowerbeyond.com.au