Efficient Small Business

If you are looking for faster, more efficient ways to run your business (or to help your employees work), there are thousands of services that can automate or manage different aspects of its. Everything from human resources and accounting, to inventory management and receptionist, can be outsourced or automated. These services can save you a significant amount of time, but they often charge a monthly or annual fee. What if you could save the same amount of time without recurring fees or spending anything at all? Spreadsheets to the rescue! You’re probably aware that spreadsheets are one of the most powerful tools for any small business, and the spreadsheets you’re using have likely saved you a significant amount of time. Without them you would be using a pen, paper, and calculator to run your sales reports (ain’t nobody got time for that). The real power that spreadsheets provide is the ability to automate tasks. This includes calculating your reports, but it is only limited by your im...

If you've been looking for a program to create brochures and flyers, look no further than Google Slides! This member of the Google Docs family is designed for presentations, but it's easy-to-use drag & drop functionality make it perfect for designing small scale marketing collateral. In this video tutorial, I will show you tips and tricks to give your brochures a professional touch using this free online program. How to create a professional brochure with Google Docs: As you can see, Google Slides makes it very easy to create beautiful marketing content. When you are finished with your brochure, you can download it as a JPEG or SVG. Are you getting the most out of the programs your business is using? Find out by taking our free online Evaluation.

Many small businesses utilize online surveys to learn about their customers. Surveys are a great way to get direct feedback about your products, services, and customer satisfaction. If you have ever used an online survey, you may know there is no shortage of free options for creating them. However, these are usually “freemium” - meaning their free version restricts access to certain functions unless you pay. But what if you’re on a budget, and you don’t want to work around a bunch of restrictions? Google Forms to the rescue! Here’s what you need to know about Google Forms: It’s Free! Google Forms is a completely free online form that is available to all Gmail users. Unlimited Form Responses (Sort of) Technically, there isn’t a limit on form entries. However, if you are connecting your responses to a Google Sheet, accepting more than 100k responses may pose an issue (this number varies greatly, depending on the number of questions in your form). You also have the option to downloa...

If you use spreadsheets to hold customer, you have probably wanted send emails or text messages directly from your spreadsheet. If you haven’t wanted to, maybe you do now! In this two-part video tutorial, I will show you how make a Google Sheet send an email or text message at the click of a button. In Part 1 of the Employee Database tutorial, I explain how to format your Google Sheet.   Part 2 explains how to use Google Apps Script to automate sending emails and text messages directly from your spreadsheet. Click here to access the sample sheet. Script: function topRow() { var rowNum = 8; // Row 7 is the actual top row, but it is being skipped, so new rows will copy the data validation rules   return rowNum } function menuRow() { var rowNum = 6; // Column title row   return rowNum } function eSubject() { var cellAddr = "F1"; // Cell address   return cellAddr } function eMessage() { var cellAddr = "F3"; // Cell address...

In “Where Is Your Money Going (Part 1)”, I touched on three of the most common areas where small businesses throw away money. In Part 2, I will give a brief overview of three of the more unknown areas in which small businesses throw away money. Service/Software Installation When you begin using a new software or online service, the company you hire will typically provide onsite or remote assistance to get you up and running with their product. However, when this new service has replaced an old service, the new support team will not help you deactivate or unsubscribe from your previous service.  Many small businesses get caught up with with the transition and onboarding process (and a million other things), and forget about their previous expense. Unless this is a large monthly expense, it frequently goes unnoticed. Service Subscriptions: Multiple Purchasers This is probably the sneakiest way money disappears, because it’s looks like a completely legiti...

When we, as entrepreneurs, start a new business, we get passionate about creating something new. Building a business is a whirlwind. We work long hours and and spend our time thinking about how to improve on our accomplishments. While we’re thinking about other things, our money silently sneaks away. “Now Wait!”, you say, “I track every penny that leaves my business.” I know you approve every receipt and look over every bank statement. But what if we told you that you’re needlessly spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars every year? Here are a few examples: Web Hosting You pay for web hosting and website administration, but did you know that many web administrators offer hosting at no additional fee? This means you are spending $50-$150/year with no benefit to your business. Program Subscriptions Do you pay for a subscription to use your spreadsheets and word processor? Unless you are using the advanced features unique to these programs, there are several high-qu...

Over the last few decades, technology has changed rapidly, and this has had a huge impact on how small businesses operate. Your business is able to take on more work than ever, thanks to software and online services. However, your employees don’t always know how to get the most out of the software they’re using. A little training could save you thousands of dollars a year. Here is our list of the three most common programs that are frequently used inefficiently by employees. Spreadsheets This is the number one offender. Spreadsheets are extremely powerful tools for any small business.They are capable of providing business analytics, automated workflows, automatic complex calculations, and more. I can’t count how often I see employees use spreadsheets to simply make lists. I actually saw someone input numbers into a spreadsheet, only to use their calculator to add them (I immediately showed this individual the SUM function). These inefficient uses cost businesses countless ho...

Introduction Microsoft Office is the standard for operating a small business. It provides products for number crunching, document creation, presentations, email, and databases. It’s the bee’s knees. But few small businesses come close to utilizing the full strength and unique features of Excel and Word. Fewer still use PowerPoint or even know what to do with Access (except bang their heads against a wall). In general, very few small businesses are getting their money’s worth out of these programs. This is because cheap and free options exist which perfectly meet the needs of most small businesses. I am a self-proclaimed spreadsheet enthusiast. Excel may be my favorite computer program (I’m not even kidding). So when I tell someone they don’t need to pay for Excel, or any other Office product, it’s not coming from a place of: “Don’t use that! Use MY favorite product!” The recommendation comes from a place of: “Don’t pay for something you don’t need.” So instead of tellin...