Managing a small business is a joy. You’re always faced with new challenges and opportunities, and each and every sale and deal you strike is something that you can be personally proud of. But the downside to running your own business is stress: you have to juggle so many responsibilities that sometimes you feel overwhelmed. If this sounds like a familiar feeling, this article is aimed at you. Targeting your IT systems specifically, we offer four important tips to help you manage your IT in a busy, hectic business.
Keep it Simple
There’s a temptation for all business leaders to buy in all the software under the sun that promises to make them more money and optimize their business year after year. While these promises are likely to be true – new technology can help boost profits – that’s not to say you should be signing up to every new program you spot. Instead, it’s smart to think backwards from the key tasks your business needs software to take care of. If you’re an order fulfillment company, do you need marketing software? Try to strip everything back so that you just operate your core software.
Mapping it Out
If keeping it simple feels like something that you can’t do, then you should at least build a comprehensive map of the programs and software solutions you engage with. If you’ve signed up to various software subscriptions over the years, you may actually be unaware that you’re paying for programs that you and your staff barely use. Conducting a review of your digital infrastructure, becoming aware of all the software you currently engage with, will help you map out which are the most important for your firm. It should equally show you which subscriptions you can now cancel.
Outsourcing
If you’re truly very busy, all of your IT tasks might feel like time poorly spent. You might feel that you should instead be focusing on pleasing customers or sealing new deals with clients. You should be applying your specific skills – leading a business – each day, rather than messing around with digital management. There are services offered which provide an alternative: outsourcing your IT management to an expert third party firm. With years of experience helping firms like yours get on top of their IT difficulties, and with support offered 24/7, this is the way to go if you’re struggling to get to grips with your digital infrastructure.
Automation
Finally, there is one form of software that it is important for you and your business to be aware of, and that’s automation. Software is increasingly taking a new step towards productivity gains for businesses, rendering certain office workers almost entirely redundant. Automation can help you manage customer services, input and organize data, and even calculate your accounts and tax bill. All of this means that you’ll save money on human labor if you engage with automation software – saving your firm cash in the long term.
Use these four tips to establish a new relationship with your firm’s IT, helping you feel less busy and overwhelmed next time you face IT difficulties.
