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5 Ways Business Automation Can Help You Outsmart Your Competition

Posted: 21 Dec 2019 11:32 AM PST

By Cristina Maria

Competition is one of the biggest reasons businesses fail, particularly small ones. Why? There are a variety of factors, but a major influence is the fact that newer, smaller businesses simply can't compete with larger enterprises when it comes to speed, flexibility, and accuracy—or can they?

Let's say you provide field services like plumbing or HVAC. How could your 50 technicians hope to go up against a company of 300? By working smarter, that's how! Look at the companies that started out only a few years ago and how they battled their way to the top: Uber went against thousands of taxi drivers, not by offering more but by offering better. It used technology to revolutionize the way people think about getting around a city.

Now, we're not saying you have to be the next Uber. These are called business "unicorns" for a reason—they rarely happen—but it's worth taking a look at their innovative mindset and applying it to your small business. Whether you're in retail, e-commerce, food, or home services, there's nothing to stop you from assessing how you can do better by your customers.

And what could be smarter than taking all the time-consuming, repetitive tasks that no one enjoys and automating them? Think sales funnels, newsletters, database management, and the likes. So read on to find out how business automation can help you win in the big leagues:

1. Business automation helps productivity skyrocket

The most obvious benefit of business automation is the increase in productivity. Managers can often underestimate just how much time is wasted on activities like recording customers or confirming emails. And if there's one thing you lack in a small business, it's time.

Increasing your productivity means you can do more tasks with the same number of people, whether it's to serve more customers or install more appliances. Naturally, if you have a higher output with the same input (i.e., the same number of employees), your profits will increase while your costs stay the same.

The trick is finding the right automation software for your industry and for your business. This way, you might have to pay a small subscription fee, but if that saves you having to hire even one extra admin person, it's still profit in your pocket.

2. Business automation facilitates scheduling

Is there any reason not to automate your scheduling? Maybe you just like spending two to three hours every Friday, staring at Excel spreadsheets and calling people to check they're fine with their shifts. Then getting around to hearing everyone complain on Monday that their rota isn't what they expected—and again on Wednesday when someone calls in sick. We reckon there aren’t too many people who enjoy this, as it's obviously not an efficient way to grow a business.

business automation tools

Scheduling simply takes a lot of time and focus, but it's essentially a repetitive task. Automation can easily save you from having to hire additional admin staff to handle it and open up your own schedule to actually working on growing your business. With a software to keep an eye on overlaps, number of hours, part-time or full-time staff, and even particular skills, scheduling can take mere minutes, instead of arduous hours.

3. Automation offers flexibility and attention to detail

One of the advantages your larger competitors have is their flexibility and ability to accommodate a wide variety of customers fast. But when you're smaller, you're much better at discerning customer needs and paying attention to the little details. It's the reason why some customers will always trust a small business with a strong brand over a nameless corporation. With the help of digital tools, however, you can easily compete with larger companies on speed as well as capacity.

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4. Automation adds transparency and accountability

That paper trail we mentioned earlier? We should have added digital just to make sure the point comes across. No use having an actual stack of papers as they're simply another thing that will hold you back from growing. A major benefit of business automation is all documentation is uploaded digitally and accessible to anyone who needs it.

Depending on the software you're using, you should be able to set authority levels. This way, only employees with certain security clearances can see sensitive information, while others will only have access to the tasks that involve them directly.

No matter what type of business you're running, it's vital to make every effort to go paperless. Not only is it better for the environment, but your company will benefit from improved transparency (you will always know who edits a document) and accountability, in case there are any issues. You need to embrace full accountability if you want to be a true business leader.

Additionally, digital files are not susceptible to spilled coffee mugs, and they can't be misplaced by forgetful employees. If you're competing with larger businesses, you need to prove to your customers that you know what you're doing. You can't be seen rolling in with a file cabinet if they inquire about your processes.

5. Automation provides a superior customer experience

Studies have shown that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price as a key decision factor. The best customer experience is, of course, a matter of preference, but analyzing and optimizing your buyer's journey is something anyone can do. Try to empathize with your customer; simply put yourself in their shoes and focus on what you think could be improved about every stage from their perspective, then assess if it's something a software could do for you.

A customer could be put off by the fact they want to schedule an appointment, but it's midnight so no one’s available to pick up the phone. Chatbots and digital calendars are the obvious solution here. Positive reviews are another area where companies struggle, specifically not having enough of them. An automated workflow where customers are emailed a review link after a purchase would be a good solution.

All in all, automation is more than a gimmick for Silicon Valley darlings. Any business, regardless of size, can implement software to see if it really improves their operations. And maybe automation won't solve every problem you've ever had, but it will definitely make things easier and give you the time to think about the big picture.

As with any smart purchase, make sure you are not just buying software for the sake of buying it. Take time to assess your options properly and consult your team. You never know: business automation might just be your fast-track big leagues!

RELATED: 10 Productivity Tools That Entrepreneurs Can't Live Without

About the Author

Post by: Cristina Maria

Cristina Maria is a marketing executive at Commusoft, a premier job management software company, where she helps field service businesses discover the potential of digital solutions.

Company: Commusoft
Website: www.commusoft.us
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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10 Productivity Tools That Entrepreneurs Can’t Live Without

Posted: 21 Dec 2019 10:48 AM PST

We've all got our own favorite productivity tools, tips, and tricks that help us organize our task lists, assign projects, and manage deliverables. Today, there are more project management and productivity apps and software programs geared toward business owners than ever.

Here, 10 entrepreneurs share the productivity tools they use to stay on top of everything.

1. Monday.com: Streamline communication channels

Aalap Shah, founder of 1o8, an e-comm-focused digital agency based in Chicago, loves Monday.com for project management. 

"My business has clients, vendors, independent contractors, and full-time folks all trying to communicate, and it has streamlined our Slack, email, and file management tools into one centralized (and colorful) dashboard that allows us to glance at a project and know where it’s at, ” he says. “I love the integrations it has—be it invoicing, other communications tools, Google Drive—along with the extensive training and documentation that it has for a novice to be able to take this tool and harness it to its fullest potential."

Shah recommends diving into a few of the webinars or training videos on the site and reading a few case studies. "What’s cool about the tool is that it’s flexible for almost any business, and then within your business, you can set up boards for all sorts of different activities and tactics,” he says. “The best part (and tip I can offer) is getting into a daily habit of using it—I load up all the tasks right after a meeting, for example, so it stays fresh and gets assigned to the right team to execute against."

2. Focus To-Do: Break down tasks into bite-sized chunks

For managing time and tasks, Brandon Ackroyd, founder of UK-based Tiger Mobiles, prefers Focus To-Do.

"I primarily use it for the Pomodoro function,” he says. “The night before work, I make a to-do list of things that need to be accomplished. Then on the day, the app has a timer to break down work into intervals. I set it to 25 minutes in length and tick off tasks when they are complete. After every 25 minutes passes, I take a five-minute break. After four of these cycles, I take a 15-minute break."

3. Trello: Color-coded organization

Chloe Brittain, owner of Opal Transcription Services in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, uses Trello, a Kanban-style app, to organize new projects—from a long-term to-do list to an editorial calendar to an SEO campaign. She also uses it for simple things like keeping track of articles she wants to read later.

“I prefer Trello to other organizational tools because it’s versatile but also simple,” she explains. “I can easily rearrange items on a board or card, color code things, add checklists and deadlines, etc., and even with all these layers of complexity, it’s easy to understand visually where I’m at and what still needs to get done."

Brittain says if you need functionality beyond basic projects, you can use extensions (called Power-Ups) to help you customize the tool to your needs. "For instance, you could add custom fields to your cards or integrate your Trello boards with Dropbox," she says.

4. Teamwork: Track milestones and due dates

Shane Griffiths, partner at Clarity Online, an SEO marketing agency in Seattle, loves using Teamwork to stay organized. 

He says, "It allows us to stay organized with recurring work, due dates, and important milestones. For large projects like website redesigns, we can add the client to our project so they can always see the status and get updates. We can even assign them tasks like reviewing design mockups or delivering copy," Griffiths said. 

Griffith’s favorite tip for Teamwork is to utilize recurring tasks."That can save you a ton of time when managing a project or simply organizing your week,” he explains. “It's a very useful platform that can be used both internally and externally to organize a company." 

5. Google Tasks: Assign actions from your calendar

Taiisha Bradley, publicist and founder of Modernoire, a minority business alliance in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, uses Google Tasks to help with her productivity. 

"Like many small business owners, I am constantly in my inbox, “she says. “It’s so easy to list my tasks and to-dos right there in my email screen as I read through my emails. My Tasks even adds dates and times to my Gmail calendar so I don’t have to take another action to update my calendar or to create a deadline. The ability to add subtasks to main tasks is even more helpful when a task has many parts to completion."  

Bradley suggests watching YouTube videos of how to use Tasks. "I always learn something new from watching the most recent shortcuts and hacks from “techies” on YouTube," she says.

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6. MeisterTask: Simple task management

 Jose Gomez, CTO and co-founder of Newport Beach, California-based digital marketing agency Evinex, uses productivity tools like MeisterTask to manage and organize his daily tasks, as well as see where other team members are on a project. 

Gomez likes being able to assign each project its own Kanban board that enables project managers to track a project's progress in real-time. He says, "My personal recommendation for MeisterTask is to have separate projects (Kanban boards) and set alerts for task changes (especially if you work within a team)."

7. Evernote: Great multitasker

Shuman Roy, a freelance writer and owner of a School of Rock franchise in Orangeburg, New York, frequently finds himself jumping from one task to the next, operating on three different frequencies, as so many entrepreneurs do. He finds that Evernote helps him do so much more than take notes, as it was designed to do. He says, "Evernote can capture photo, video, and voice. Great features for documenting lesson plans, song ideas, or technical document notation. The app also lets you track internal and external links."

Roy says being able to connect to Google drives, audio files, video files, and even sketch handwritten notes is helpful when working in multimedia formats where he and his team are recording meeting notes, taking pictures of whiteboards, and following slides. 

8. Zapier: Easier task automation

Samantha Odo is COO of Precondo, a company that helps people research and purchase new condominiums in Toronto. She loves Zapier because it creates a web of all the apps that she uses for storing information and it connects them through automated processes. Odo explains, “For example, if you intend to save a file in Google Drive, you can create a zap and upload it on Zapier, then the document will be automatically saved to Drive."

9. Calendly: Meeting scheduling simplified

Productivity, time management, and leadership coach Alexis Haselberger hated the time-wasting back-and-forth of trying to schedule meeting times and dates, especially with external parties. Then the San Francisco entrepreneur discovered Calendly, a meeting scheduling software. She says, "Calendly is inexpensive and allows for multiple different meeting types so that you can have the right amount of buffer time built in for travel related to in-person meetings versus calls or in-house meetings."  

10. Expensify: Keep track of receipts

Gone are the days of stuffing receipts in your laptop bag until you can get back to the office to file them. Expensify is a mobile app that makes it easy to scan and track receipts. As a small business owner, this is a lifesaver for Connie Heintz, founder of DIYoffer in Toronto.

Heints says, “I used to carry my receipts around in my pocket and file them at the end of the night, but I found myself losing them and putting them through the wash. With this app, all you have to do is photograph the receipt with your phone and it's uploaded directly to a spreadsheet."

She loves being able to share her spreadsheet at the end of each quarter directly with her accountant. 

RELATED: 6 Productivity Hacks to Try (That Don't Require Technology)

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Why Startup Investors Need Billion-Dollar Exits and Entrepreneurs Don’t

Posted: 21 Dec 2019 10:13 AM PST

By Alejandro Cremades

Billion-dollar startup exits are cool. Yet, are they really as great for startup entrepreneurs as they are for startup investors such as VCs?

The new California gold rush has definitely been in “ludicrous mode” for a while. Who knows, unicorn farms may soon become the new norm. Yet, it's worth pausing for a moment to really think about the math and mechanics of startups to figure out the smartest strategy for you as a founder before you take another dime in funding.

Which is the better exit?

Is it better to have a one-billion-dollar exit, but only own 2% of the company on the sale, or to keep 20% of the company, and be willing to exit at $100 million?

They’re the same thing. Both would theoretically give you a gross of $20 million to walk with. In practice, aside from the street cred and bragging rights, there are likely to be other substantial differences as well.

The cons of going all in for the unicorn

As a founder, there are some drawbacks to holding out for the biggest possible IPO or acquisition:

  • Odds are you will mistime the market.
  • The odds of failure are higher than the odds of selling for $1 billion.
  • It may take five times longer to reach a billion for the same amount of cash.
  • Your net may be depleted by bad earnout clauses.
  • The higher the dollar amount, the more limited you'll be in what you can do after the sale.
  • You'll need to raise more money, hire more, and dilute more.
  • You'll have increasingly far less control of the venture as you go.

Some of these drawbacks might be considered “selfish,” so whatever you decide should be about doing what is best for your customers, your employees, and your early backers.

Why VCs need billion-dollar exits

VC firms don't just crave billion-dollar exits, they need them. While news about companies like Uber make it sound like every startup should be worth billions, they aren't.

Micah Rosenbloom, managing partner of seed-stage VC fund Founder Collective, says that out of 270 startup investments his company invested in, only 60 had achieved an exit and 30 had gone bankrupt. He also says that data shows the average startup with an exit sells for just around $150 million.

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The bottom line is VCs need really big wins, because those wins are very few and far between. They have to make up for all their losses and mediocre returns. VCs also are making much bigger investments, meaning they need big dollars back to create acceptable multiples. You might also say VCs can afford to take a gamble and risk going long more often—versus the founder who has just one horse in the race.

Why founders don't need billion-dollar exits

I've interviewed several founders with billion-dollar exits, and some founders have had even more than one exit. As humble and modest as these people are, I'm sure they would not have preferred to sell for less. Yet, that doesn't mean they are going to insist on ten-figure exits for future ventures.

Firstly, most successful founders don't launch startups just for the money. Typically they already have well-paying, comfortable, and enviable jobs with lots of options. A startup is a sizable risk with few guarantees. More often it’s about the impact they can have on the world, and that may or may not require a really big exit.

The one recurring factor I have seen that tips entrepreneurs into accepting a big buyout offer is receiving a life- changing sum of money. A life changing amount depends a lot on what you start out with. For example, $10 million would probably be enough money for most people to retire on or at least to not have to worry about money. However, it won't go far if you like spending money on flashy things.

Most often, exiting founders just want to move on to the next project. The faster they are in and out of projects, the more they will make, instead of holding out for one big exit. In fact, startups one and two are often just school for the really big one. They’re a chance to learn about fundraising, making the right connections, and choosing the right startup investors and team. Data shows “super founders” are more successful in their later ventures.

Even if the money is your thing, if you have multiple startups and average $100 million a year, you'll still be better paid than seven of the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world. Best of all, going short means you can really deliver for your family, the friends who provided seed money, your team, and your customers. And it’s more of a sure thing than gambling.

What's right for you? It helps to have an idea of “your number,” your limits, your timeline, and major milestones, as well as remembering your original mission. If that mission is to evolve into a unicorn, then don't quit; follow the dream. And if that isn't your main driver, a sub $150 million exit can still fulfill everything you want.

RELATED: The 17 Biggest Mistakes Startups Make With Their Investor Pitch Deck

About the Author

Post by: Alejandro Cremades

Alejandro Cremades is a serial entrepreneur and the author of the The Art of Startup Fundraising, which offers a step-by-step guide to today’s way of raising money for entrepreneurs. Most recently, he built and exited CoFoundersLab, one of the largest communities of founders online; prior to that he worked as a lawyer at King & Spalding. Alejandro is an active speaker and has given guest lectures at the Wharton School, Columbia Business School, and at NYU Stern School of Business. He also has been involved with the JOBS Act since its inception and was invited to the White House and Congress to provide his stands on the new regulatory changes concerning fundraising online. Check out case studies of founders with the biggest exits, and serial founders and why they exited when they did on his M&A blog.

Company: Panthera Advisors
Website: http://alejandrocremades.com
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Prepare Your Business for a Successful Year Ahead with an Annual Goals Meeting

Posted: 21 Dec 2019 09:14 AM PST

This is the time of year for both reflecting on the past and planning for the future. As the calendar year winds down, many small business owners use this relatively slow time of year to set goals for the year ahead with an annual goals meeting. 

Coming up with budgets, forecasts, and goals for an entire year can feel not just ambitious, but impossible. How will you know what your business will look like in June, much less December of next year? 

Setting annual goals is important, however, even if you fall short of your own expectations (or blow right past them). Without benchmarks for each team member or the business as a whole, you'll lack a sense of direction, or the strength to push on when the going gets tough. You also won't know what expenses you can forgo the next year, or what investments you need to make to get your numbers where they need to be. 

So if you're feeling daunted by the task of setting and running an annual goals meeting, it's understandable—but don't despair. Here are six tips on how to run a goals meeting effectively:  

1. Dedicate a full day to your annual goals meeting

Setting goals for the next 12 months is serious business and requires your undivided attention. But because planning for months down the road doesn't feel like it's productive in the moment (i.e., it's not making you any sales this week), some people try to jam it in alongside the rest of their work. Have a few minutes before a meeting? Why not update that spreadsheet for next year? 

This "context switching," however, kills your productivity: It can take you 25 minutes, on average, to get back to a task after you let something interrupt you, from taking a phone call to tackling a different project altogether. 

Rather than drawing out the process of annual goal planning, not to mention disrupting your daily workflow, put aside an entire day dedicated solely to this task. That may seem like a lot of time not spent "working," but this investment of your time is worth it. Accept the cost of bringing employees in on an off day, or suspend normal operations during the work week, but whatever you do, get people to come to this meeting with a clear schedule. This might also mean catering breakfast and lunch to keep people in seat and focused. 

If you finish early? Great. If not, you'll be glad you gave yourself all this time to plan. 

2. Create an agenda and stick to it

As the leader, it's up to you to dictate how you'll spend this valuable time. Don't just gather everyone in the conference room, plop down, and say, "Great, so what are we doing?" 

Set an agenda before the meeting, outlining the amount of time you'll spend on each task, when you'll break for lunch, and what you're expecting each person to have ready when the time comes to discuss each topic. When it's time to move on, move on—you can return to outstanding issues once everything has been covered. Otherwise, you might find yourself needing yet another day to plan. 

3. Define your OKRs and outline a plan for hitting them

Objectives and Key Results, also known as OKRs, is a common framework for setting big-picture goals that everyone in the company can work toward. Companies like Google and Twitter are known for using OKRs. 

OKRs should be simple, clear, and easy to build additional "tactical" OKRs off of in order to accomplish each goal. An example of an objective for an OKR is: "Increase revenue by 100%." In order to do this, your sales, marketing, and operations teams may set additional team-specific OKRs that, when put together, will boost revenue to 100% and beyond. 

Come up with at least three OKRs for the company as a whole, then work to create additional tactical OKRs for each team that are ambitious without being unrealistic. Keep in mind that reaching an OKR is not always the point—getting to 60% to 70% of an OKR should still be considered a success. If you reach an OKR with ease, you weren't aspirational enough. 

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4. Set aside time for discussing personal goals

Company-wide goals are important and—let's face it—the reason you're having this meeting in the first place. 

That's not to say that verbalizing and formalizing personal goals for team leaders and management isn't an important part of setting annual goals. The personal and professional development of your team is crucial to your business's long-term success, so don't overlook it. 

Give your team the encouragement and impetus to come up with personal goals, whether that's developing new skills, being a better manager to their direct reports, or better organizing their time so they can take much-needed paid time off when the time comes.   

5. Don't forget about culture and communication

Running a business is about a lot more than making sales and finding more customers. As your small business grows—even from just one person to two, or from five to 25—it's important to take stock of how your team communicates and relates to one another. 

What tools do you use to keep track of projects? How do you maintain visibility cross-functionally? How often should you meet to discuss progress on your OKRs? And then there's that ongoing question that plagues almost every business: Did we really need to call a meeting to discuss that when an email or Slack message would have been fine? Everything about how, when, and why you communicate should be up for review in this meeting. 

Additionally, making plans around developing and maintaining culture is also an important point of order. Money and benefits might be how you attract talent, but culture is how you keep talent. Putting aside time and capital for events, parties, volunteer opportunities, and fringe benefits like office snacks can go a long way toward improving employee retention and happiness. 

6. Don't forget to celebrate afterward

If you dedicated an entire day to planning for the future, and did so successfully, congratulations—it's time to celebrate. Take your team out for drinks and/or dinner afterward to show your appreciation for their dedication to the cause. This is an excellent way to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to culture and communication. It's time to build that culture and communicate with each other as humans, not just as coworkers. 

Giving your team this reward is a good way to motivate them for the task of planning the future of your business. Don't overlook it! 

There are lots of other little things you can do to make sure your annual goals meeting runs smoothly. Take lots of breaks so people stay engaged. Ensure you have buy-in from everyone on the agenda before you proceed. Give each team member the chance to voice concerns or offer alternatives to certain OKRs. 

An annual goals meeting is an ambitious undertaking, but it's well worth the time and effort to make sure everyone is on the same page heading into the new year. Now, it's time to plan the company retreat. 

RELATED: 4 Ways to Move Past the Toughest Part of Any Goal—Getting Started

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