As you become more used to working on the web you’re going to want to find ways to save your company money and save yourself some time. Here are 10 tips to cut costs while giving you more time to spend with the family or on the golf course.
Organize your digital self — this one step alone can save you hours of wandering around your office aimlessly looking for that file you need. Make a digital copy of everything. Many printers have scanning functionality today which means you can take every piece of paper that comes into your office and make a digital version of it to store online.
This one step alone provide you with security because you can back up your files to the cloud and always have them available to you no matter what computer you’re using while affording you the luxury of maintaining all of your information in one place. My entire business operates out of one folder on my desktop and everything I do winds up in that folder.
Trash the fax machine — many businesses can save hundreds of dollars a year on paper and toner costs if they would just move to a digital fax service like eFax. This move could also help you organize your digital self (see above).
Corral your communications — redirect all of your e-mail addresses and point them to one e-mail that you check regularly. This saves you time by not having to check multiple e-mail accounts and counts as a step toward organizing your digital self. If you have a smart phone like a Blackberry or iPhone then you have the ability to check your e-mail and respond on-the-fly in real-time anywhere you go.
Automate your office systems — one of the easiest ways to automate your office is true the use of e-mail auto responders. Use different e-mail addresses for different products or services and then utilize an auto-responder service like a Weber to get information in your prospects hands immediately. This gives you the ability to stay in touch with prospects even when you’re not in front of the computer ensures your prospects that you’re interested in them.
Outsource — I used to spend countless hours developing websites for clients. I did this because it was a function of the overall service my company provides to help businesses advertise on the Web, but wasn’t a critical function of my company. It would take me 6 to 8 hours to create a five-page site, now it costs $30 and a phone call to Singapore. The point is outsource everything that doesn’t generate revenue for your business.
Planning ahead — using services like Google calendar and tasks and syncing them with your Smartphone is a fantastic way to plan your business day and be proactive instead of reactive.
Record everything — by using video or audio recordings of your presentations or daily tasks you provide yourself with the content needed to train someone else to perform these tasks for you or improve your skills.
Use banking online — it’s so much easier to transfer money from one account to another with a click of the mouse instead of getting in your car, writing out a check to cash, and depositing the money another account. If you’re afraid of banking online or using sensitive information on the Internet ask yourself this question — did you have any more information about the waiter who took your credit card last night at dinner or the valet that you gave your keys to? The point here is that the sooner you put your arms around the fact that you have already lost your identity due to the Internet, the better your life will be in using the Internet.
These really are just a few things you can use to simplify your day and make yourself a better business person, if you can think of any to add to the list by all means leave a comment below and I’ll make sure to add it!