In 2018, our world is more of a digital world than it is a physical world. Don’t get me wrong, a face to face conversation and relationship will always beat an electronic one. But, as business owners, we tend to look one way or another, integrating the most up to date technology or being a borderline Luddite (a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery).

Making it Work

How do you balance this? What is the best type of technology to implement? I would first tell you to look at your business and your employees and how things are running internally. As a business owner, you cannot be the gatekeeper to all of the answers. You cannot be the only one who knows how to do something. You have to automate or delegate and make your process efficient. That starts with your Point of Sale (POS) or your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software; they need to be easy to use and accessible – not accessible for the world to see but easy for you or a trusted employee to hop on whenever you need them to. That means cloud-based, secure and a trusted provider that will help you if something goes wrong.

Gone are the days were a flood can destroy your whole database. Do some research. Be prepared. That being said, the employees you are hiring are getting younger and are used to different standards of software. You could be missing out on younger employees if you are not up to date. Take some time and learn the software, know what options exist out there and make this a business of the present and future. Making some of these changes can translate into running your business more efficiently than you currently are which is always good for you, your team, your customers and your bottom line.

Remember, one day you are going to want to sell the business and your business will look much more attractive if you are with the times. It’s like stainless steel appliances, you have to have them now when you put a home on the market. A technology-based company? It has to happen.