Monthly Archives: August 2016

What Tech does your Business need?

 

 
What Tech does your Business need?
Business owners often ask me, what technology do I absolutely have to use in my business? The truth is, none (yes really). A business can operate without technology,  but achieve far better results in a shorter amount of time if they do. 

Cloud based tech, and technology in general are tools business owners can use to accomplish so much more, in a shorter time frames and for less financial outlay, and this is particularly true for start-ups. Businesses are now able to scale in ways that just weren’t possible before, accessing talent globally while still offering flexibility to its workforce.

Technology is evolving so fast that the tools we use today are going to look vastly different to the tools we use in 2 years, and this can sometimes feel overwhelming. It can be hard to determine what will move the needle for your business right now. I have put together a list below of areas I see technology making a difference in businesses today:

Financial – You need to have a means of storing, monitoring and tracking your finances. It has to be user friendly and this could be cloud based, such as Xero. I use the app Receipt Bank to upload my receipts, and this integrates with my accounting software. Your business may also need a payment gateway, a method for accepting payment online from your customers such as Eway or Ezidebit.

Administrative – As we move more towards virtual teams, storing data, documents and standard operating procedures (SOP’s) in a way that can be accessed online is becoming more and more important – Google Drive, Google Sites, and Sweet Process come instantly to mind here. Scheduling software such as ScheduleOnce and Calendar apps can be particularly useful to the day to day running of your business.

Communication – As we move towards a more flexible and diverse workforce, we need more than just email and text messaging for effective internal communication. Apps such as Slack, WhatsApp and Voxer are great.  Technology means we are better able to communicate not only with our virtual teams, but also our customers. Video […]

Growing sustainable teams – An Intro to 5 Key Principles

 
Growing sustainable teams – An Intro to 5 Key Principles
 

 

A common complaint I hear from business owners is that they just don’t have enough time. Flat out with the day to day running of the business they spend all their time working in the business, with no time left over to work on the business. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

The truth is even if we could magically add an extra couple of hours to a 24 hour day, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference – because the problem isn’t time, it’s team. If you find yourself saying you don’t have enough time,  what you are really saying is you don’t have the right team supporting you.

 

Much like the movie Ocean’s 11 where Brad Pitt assembles a handpicked group of individuals, each with their own unique skill set to pull off the ‘job’ – a business owner has to build the right team around them in order for the business to gain traction, and flourish. But how? So many business owners were never trained on how to be a leader, and with no clear leadership framework, it results in poor leadership effectiveness.

 

Three of the most common problems I see owners encounter in growing a team are :

The old school, top down hierarchy is missing the mark. Telling people what to do just doesn’t work anymore. It doesn’t invite fresh thinking, and it doesn’t encourage innovation.
People do not want to wait in line for 10 years. Nobody has the time or patience to be held back from growing within the business. Great employees leave, seeking opportunity to grow elsewhere.
The team is not engaged. Employees who are not engaged become dissatisfied when their job lacks meaning and the team stagnates.  

 

What I have found is that there are 5 key principles for growing a successful and sustainable team.

 

Common Goal & ‘Why’. Clearly define the the business’s goals and what is is hoping to achieve, and also its essence, its ‘Why’. Establishing these two things help build an office culture that resonates with your team
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