If you’re a small business owner, it’s likely that time is one of your most precious commodities, especially if you’re taking on multiple roles within your business. You may be the CEO, bookkeeper, financial controller, chief marketing officer and sales manager all rolled into one.
Entrepreneurs are notorious for working hard. Doing it all yourself not only saves on overhead, but no one else will understand your business quite like you will. Yet if you’re wearing yourself too thin or taking on tasks where you lack expertise, it can halt your revenue growth. Making the decision to hire outside help is a key decision. Sure you can find a specialist to do a particular job faster, but is it cost effective? Making that decision requires finding the right balance between time, cost and results. But where do you find that time? Business owners can now make the most of cloud-based tools to help them achieve this balance.
There’s an app to help with that
Cloud-based apps are helping small business owners exercise more muscle in ways that previously weren’t available, so they can take on the multiple roles in their business with greater efficiency.
Ellen Wong, co-owner of BoxiChef, uses a suite of apps to run her businesses, including time management and accounting tools, to save her both valuable time and money.
“As a small business owner you’re only one person wearing every hat possible. The apps I use help me be the jack of all trades,” she says.
Using Google spreadsheets, Ellen can collaborate with her customers on menus in real-time. She uses Xero to create and send invoices, all from her phone, and her customers can pay using PayPal. Best of all, because everything is stored in the cloud, she can do this anytime of day, from anywhere.
