Peace of Mind and a Small Business
How to Have Peace of Mind and a Small Business
Using available business tools such as email accounts, cell phones and software
to their maximum advantage can make all the difference in the running of your small
business. Peace of mind and running a small business don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
However, the secret to discovering that elusive “healthy balance” lies in learning
to do things differently. Putting efficient business systems in place will eliminate
that feeling of “I must be there 24/!” So your burning question as a small business
owner is, “How can I make sure that time-sensitive issues are dealt with immediately,
and still have a life?” Try using some of these time-saving and stress-reducing
tips.
Use Email Account Calendars
Make use of only one central calendar, preferably one that can be accessed if you
are out of the office. Try to use email accounts that are equipped with a calendar
feature that is both easy to use and easy to access through remote email. Most allow
you to view more than one year which is very important if you need to check to see
when you last contacted someone or make notes to
follow up next year. Use your calendar to schedule time todeal with administrative
tasks, business developments, research and time for yourself.
Make Things Uniform and Efficient
Standardise your tasks so things are efficiently done. Prepare form letters that
can be cut and pasted, then tailored, for requests, orders and questions you receive.
Decide that each piece of paper that enters your office will be dealt with no more
than twice. Paperwork can steal away valuable work time. Having shared file software
so that you and your support team can access each other’s files can be an incredibly
effective communication tool.
Security for Peace of Mind
Security, especially email security, is a concern for small businesses, because
of the shear bulk of work done through email. A lot of damage can be done if your
business email accounts are hacked. For this reason, choose your passwords and usernames
carefully and when possible use alpha/numeric combinations to avoid easy access
to your information. Be sure you are familiar with the email security features of
any email accounts you may use.
Remote Email Provides Solutions
Having anytime and anywhere access to emails and other documents, using remote email
capabilities, is also a major step towards peace of mind. While free email, such
as hotmail and yahoo email, allow for remote access to email accounts, using them
as a primary business email account is not always the best business decision. They
detract from the professional image of your business, have limited capacity for
large files, are risky to company privacy and may be less reliable than you need.
Remote email using your own domain name is the way to go.
Ideally, anywhere email that you can access if you are at home, on vacation or at
a child’s game is the answer to your communication needs. Cost effective Software
as a Service (SaaS) options can be the perfect solution for your peace of mind.
All your documents are online and available wherever you choose to work from. Everything
is always up to date and downloading is unnecessary. The benefits of remote email
can give you the peace of mind to even get away from your business but still be
available for the things that need your immediate attention.
Rodney Alison has served as Systems Architect on many international projects
for over a decade before turning his expertise in engineering, physics and technology
into the development of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, the Quincerto Group. To
find out more about the mobile technologies that Rodney and his team offer
small business owners across Australia and New Zealand go to
www.teamanywhere.com.au.