Efficient Small Business

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...