Any business owner can tell you, it is impossible to run a business without any outside assistance. No matter what type of business you own, you will need other employees, online resources, and business tools to help you keep your business successful.
As the fourth quarter of 2020 comes to a close, you likely will be finalizing your 2021 business budget. Before you lock in your business budget for the new year, consider incorporating some of these top business tools into your plan for 2021.
Modern Financing Partners
Whether you need some additional cash to fund a new venture, invest in these new business tools, or if you are fearful that COVID-19 has impacted your bottom line, taking advantage of modern financing options can empower your business in 2021.
Modern technology has made business financing more convenient and customizable than ever before. Technology has empowered a new generation of online lenders to become the main alternative to traditional lending sources. These new lending companies offer online-based business loans that are completely tailored to fit your organizational needs. Before applying for a business loan, be sure to know specific financial information about your business, such as your business credit score, and annual revenue.
When applying for any financial product, consider meeting with your financial advisor, or business consultants to make sure that the loan is the right fit for your business needs.
More Secure Phone System
Make no mistake, this year has been the year of remote work. As remote work becomes more accepted, staying up-to-date with your technology offerings will be imperative to your success. If you are still using an old tower PC, or if you still are making calls using a landline, your business could be negatively impacted in a few ways.
Making the switch to a cloud-based VoIP can benefit your business across multiple fronts. Some advantages of using a VoIP over a traditional landline are that VoIPs are more secure, less costly, and allow for more nuanced features.
If you are interested in learning more about what a VoIP can do for your business, feel free to contact us today!
Social Media Scheduling Platform
Social media once used to be a trivialized space, but now, it has become a marketing powerhouse that every business is trying to leverage. Almost half of the world’s population is on social media, and that number is just going to grow. Now is the time to develop a more detailed social media plan.
Marketing on social media is not as easy as it seems. You cannot just post a cool graphic or a sale and expect to resonate with your audience. Your social media efforts need to be as thought out as your other marketing plans are. Think critically about different ways to reach your target audience. Content should be robust and diversified over time.
As your social media efforts ramp up, it can be hard to keep completely organized. Using a social media scheduling tool can help you keep track of what is being posted, and when. Most social media management tools will provide you with extensive data about all of your past posts, making it easier to see what is working, and what is not.
Remote Human Resources Software
As mentioned, remote work is here to stay for some businesses. Like anything new, remote work seemed to be perfect, but now, as we enter almost a year of remote work, business owners are starting to see some of the drawbacks associated with leaving the office.
Out of all departments, the human resources team is going to face the most challenges when it comes to implementing remote work policies. Everything from hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, firings, and everything in-between, is going to need to be updated to accommodate remote employees. Using an HR management platform can help modernize your HR approach, which will only help make implementing remote work even easier.
Cloud File Storage
As everything moves to be housed online, storing, organizing, and accessing each and every file within your business can come with a list of issues. To best categorize and organize your files, we recommend using a cloud file management platform.
Cloud storage platforms allow any employee within an organization to upload, organize, view, and download almost any type of file, completely online. Cloud storage will help further implement remote work as it promotes collaboration across all departments. Cloud file storage is backed up, which will provide peace of mind for any business as files are much more difficult to lose.
One of the biggest hurdles of incorporating cloud storage within your business will be making the transition. Transitioning from storing all of your files on a hard-drive to moving them to the cloud will be tedious, but worth it once it's all finished. Once done, using cloud storage moving forward will be easy and will help your team save time and energy when dealing with file sharing.
Tech-Powered Safety Equipment
It’s hard to ignore that the virus is still going to be a hot-button issue moving into 2021. While opinions may vary about the severity of the virus, as a business owner, you must put your personal opinions aside and provide your employees and customers with a safe environment when interacting with your brand.
This year, consider incorporating some more advanced personal protective equipment within your workplace. Some out-of-the-box ways to improve workplace safety include:
Anytime an individual, employee or not, enters your workplace, make sure to take their temperature. Using a thermal camera kiosk will save you time when following safety guidelines.
Office Air Purification System
COVID-19 is predominantly spread through the air, so making an effort to cleanse the air in your workplace can help prevent the spread. When comparing, look at the MERV rating of the filtration system to see the size of particles it will filter out of the air.
Investing in touch-free doors will allow both employees and customers to enter your workplace without coming in contact with high-risk surfaces.
Purchasing modern safety equipment will help prevent any spread from taking place at your workplace, while also providing peace-of-mind to your employees.
When purchasing PPE equipment, be sure to familiarize yourself with the latest CDC guidelines, as well as guidelines from local health officials.
