2020 has been a tough year for a lot of businesses, and there are loads of things that play a part in this, but the global pandemic has been the biggest. Because of this, companies are having to find new ways of adapting and staying ahead of the curve. You are going to need to come up with ideas that will help you to make improvements and take things to the next level as much as possible.
Try to look at what it takes to find the best possible business approaches and use them to take the company forward. If you can stand out and make the most of the opportunities you have, there are a lot of things that you need to focus on. Check out these essential business hacks that are going to go a long way toward moving the company forward and making key improvements.
Hire an Accountant
Hiring an accountant is one of the best things you can do as a business owner when it comes to improving the company and looking after your future. There are a lot of things you’re going to need to get right at this stage, and this is a great way of being able to make things better. Try to think about some of the best ways of being able to achieve this, and there are a lot of elements that play a part in this. Hiring a business accountant is essential, and this is something you need to make sure you get right as much as possible.
Be Fully Operational
Trying to make sure you are fully operational as a company is one of the best things you can do. Now, there are a lot of ways of being able to do this, and one of the key ones is to make sure you focus on trying to operate the company in the best way you possibly can. Now, there are a lot of factors that you need to keep in mind here, and something like Vertical Consultants who can sort out cell tower leasing that will help you ensure constant communication throughout your business right now.
Make the Right Investments
You also need to try to ensure you are making the right investments as a business right now, as this is going to have several benefits long-term. This means thinking about the elements that are crucial to the running of a successful modern brand and investing time, money, and effort into those areas. There are plenty of great investments that small businesses can make, and it is important to get this right so that you can be sure you think about right now.
Any business that is looking to be successful is going to need to take steps to improve and evolve, and there are a lot of things that play a part in this. Make sure you do as much as possible to come up with some of the best ways of being able to achieve this. Try to figure out what it takes to improve your business as much as possible right now.
A number of small businesses are looking at developing some new technology that can help aspects of healthcare, and the provision that healthcare providers will be able to offer. With a population that isn’t getting any younger, the current global COVID-19 health crisis, we are seeing just how much technology can help to boost healthcare, and also just how much it is needed.
For example, being able to communicate simply and easily with others in the healthcare provision, can really improve the day to day of things with a medical professional. So when there are things like secure and instant messaging that are available, it can be a big benefit as a workflow tool for medical and healthcare professionals. In fact, there is one instant messaging tool called Forward that was created by a junior doctor. They know how the job works, and how a tool like that could be a real benefit. Gone are the days of needing to call a pager, for them to have to get to a phone to call you back. Instant, quick, and in real-time is what medical professionals really need.
Many will use a messaging tool like WhatsApp. However, because of the confidential and sensitive nature of a lot of the information that would be shared around an app like this, and to be able to adhere to legal requirements, having some bespoke for doctors is a must. So there is a need for technology and software in the medical industry to change, upgrade, and become more functional. When medical professionals and practitioners can work more efficiently, isn’t it going to be worth all of the time and money?
So with that in mind, here are some of the latest upgrades in technology in the medical sector, and why it is worth looking into, for your medical practice or care facility.
Manage work schedules
When you have a large team, there is a lot of juggling going on. People may be swapping shifts, and there are a lot of different needs and requirements to rearrange and organize. In an effort to combat this, there was an app created in 2016 called Florence (in a nod to Florence Nightingale), that uses technology to help to deal with the care sector’s crisis in nursing.
Again, designed by a doctor, it was created in order to combat a lot of inefficiencies with how they dealt with staffing and temporary staffing. Using the app, you can fill any shift vacancies much more efficiently, and it also allows nurses to have much greater control over the work that they do. So it is a benefit all round, and makes sure that nurses are in place in care homes, as and when they need to be. Patients are still number one, and it helps them to be cared for more efficiently. Small changes can make the day to day life of medical practitioners much simple and much more efficient. Of course staff schedules need to be done, but not at the detriment of patients. So this is a really positive move.
At the end of the day, medical practitioners are there for their patients, and so if they can do their job more efficiently, but help patients in a better way, then it is going to see a huge improvement in the industry. Something that could be a big benefit for medical practitioners is getting a new and improved EEG, to help with problems in the electrical activity of the brain, which can occur because of a brain disorder. An EEG reading is used to confirm, or to rule out, a variety of conditions, including things like epilepsy or other seizure disorders, as well as head injuries. If medical practitioners have an updated EEG, then it allows for readings in real-time. This helps medical practitioners to be able to make much quicker decisions for their patient, helping their overall patient management. Using technology to improve how they can help patients is something that is so important.
Buffer between appointments
Technology, when used in the right way, really can help to save time, and to help patients choose the right kind of healthcare that they need, the support that they need, and also plays a part in early intervention for some patients. Many medical practices are using video technology to talk with patients in-between consultations, and even for appointments. An app called LIVI has been used and trialed in the UK, and it allows people to have an appointment in the comfort of their own home, or on their travels, just using their smartphones. Connected to a medical practice it means that they can get prescriptions, and the doctor on the end of the phone can see the patient’s information, to best provide and advise.
Not only can it help patients, but having some electronic notes can actually be of benefit to the practice, as they are much more convenient to store. Of course, there are a variety of video call software that you can use, with many of them recording calls and consultation, which means that clinical governance or audits won’t be a problem. Although this shouldn’t fully replace having a face-to-face consultation between doctors and patients, it can be a big benefit for some immediate peace of mind, relief, or quick access to a particular prescription.
Technology impacts our lives in so many ways, and if you are a medical professional, then you really need to think about the technology that you use to make life simpler, and more efficient, for yourselves. Being able to take care of patients better, and make your daily life better, makes complete sense, and it is great that we live in such a time when we do have access to such technologies. Who knows what the future will bring, and how much more access we will have to improved technology, to help to improve our jobs. Have you any thoughts on this? It would be great to hear what you think.
Having a strong online presence is crucial for success and can make or break you, no matter your business, whether big or small. After all, even if you have the best product in the world, if you don’t have an online presence, your customers will never be able to find you.
Online presence helps to form a significant part of your online identity and influences how your target audience and clients interact with you. If you are not actively engaging and targeting potential customers online, then your business will be missing out on a massive chunk of potential revenue.
Here are some tips to boost your online presence to avoid your business becoming obsolete on the web.
With the unlimited number of businesses and users popping up all over the place, if you don’t make a noise, no one will notice you in the background. Engage with your customers and clients and respond to queries and feedback to build relationships and a rapport. If there are any negative reviews or suggestions on how you could improve things, show that you are there and willing to actively listen and help with their problems. Being active online will show your customers that you care about their needs, and boost your reputation at the same time.
Use Social Media
What was once used primarily to connect family and friends, has now been adopted by nearly every successful business in the market. Social media offers businesses unlimited potential interactions with clients and customers every day, helping to build awareness around their brand and boost their revenue. Get creative with your social media – create various ad campaigns and share relevant stories explicitly aimed at your audience. Do some research and discover which channels they are more likely to use (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), and make them your primary focus. Likewise, don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to your customers through comments and messages to solidify your presence even more.
Create a professional website
Aside from social media, your website will be the very first place that people will go to find out more about you and your brand so it’s crucial that it is fully functioning, professional looking and mobile friendly. Lastly, if you are creating your website yourself, you will be spending a lot of your time online so make sure to protect yourself and compare internet providers to get the best deal in your area.
Be adaptable
Whatever your business or industry, the only thing that you can be certain of is that trends rapidly evolve, new technologies are continuously being developed and things are constantly changing. In order to survive and thrive in the world of business you have to make sure that you are open to new ways of doing things, while being open-minded and adaptable or else run the risk of falling behind. The most successful businesses are the ones who are always evolving to cater to the needs of their customers, so make sure to do frequent research into the latest consumer and marketing trends to stay ahead of the competition.
Running a company is a massive commitment, especially if you have a team of employees looking to you for strong leadership. Doing this alongside a family throws up even more demands on your time and emotions. So how can you balance the two and ensure you have time for yourself too?
It’s challenging to separate work from home when you run a business, you have your work family, all of whom need your advice, guidance and support. You also have your actual family, your partner and your children. These guys also require you to support them emotionally. Freeing up time is possible, but you might need to invest a little more into your work to make it happen.
A virtual assistant is a great place to start. Using someone who will look after all of your daily communications. This could mean diverting your phone line, so they take all calls coming into your office, forwarding only the most important ones to you. It could also be managing your office inbox. On average, we spend over 2 hours a day dealing with emails, and many of these aren’t vital. Your virtual assistant can organise everything that comes into your inbox. They will work with you to create template responses and ensure you only need to deal with the most urgent communications. There are other managed services you can use too. Outsourcing to IT companies will save you money on employing staff and help relieve some of the pressures.
If you don’t already have a time management system in place, then it’s worth looking into one. There are multiple companies online that offer systems to help you plan project timelines. The time blocking method is a great way to increase productivity in the workplace. It will also help you to get out of the office at set times every day. You need to work with your employees to create a healthy time block plan. Get everyone together and work out which tasks you have that are the most critical. Your team will be vital in this process. You will highlight your most productive hours and use these to perform the essential jobs. Time blocking ensures everyone is focussed and dedicated to a particular project, and you can use this to manage multiple project deadlines.
You should also set rules for the office and home when it comes to your phone. Your family shouldn’t call you during the day unless it is an emergency. When you get home, you should switch your phone off and not take any work calls. A good solution is to have a work phone and a family phone. Give managers at work more responsibility and steer any late-night emergencies to them. If you rotate this, then all of you will have an equal share should something go wrong. Don’t give your employees your personal phone number. A supervisor should be the only person who has this number, and it should only be used for situations that can’t be controlled without you.
There are many ways you can create a division between your two worlds. Just make sure you set enough time for yourself too. Without you, everyone will suffer.
If you’re in the process of growing a small business and seeing real success, you want to continue on that upward trajectory. Investing in some great software, outsourcing to a professional sub-contractor, or putting some money into security are all great ideas to help keep your business not only growing, but thriving.
Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. Below, we’ve outlined some ideas for great investments for your small business: programs, software and more that are guaranteed to propel your business forward.
IT Services
Sure, big corporations and huge companies have dedicated teams of professional IT staff, but you have probably been going it alone, choosing instead to handle most IT issues yourself or with the help of your small staff. As your business grows, however, you may be finding that it’s harder to tackle those IT issues as they arise, as you lack both the time and the experience/knowledge necessary to handle those issues.
Hiring or outsourcing a dedicated IT team is a really good idea. For starters, they’ll keep your business safe and secure, making sure all your confidential and sensitive data is protected at all times, as well as safeguarding you from any security breaches, fraud, viruses, and more.
In addition to these safety measures, IT staff can help make sure your data is streamlined into the cloud or other databases, can integrate and sync up all your technology to keep it running smoothly and efficiently, will manage your internet, websites, apps and social media, and so much more.
Hiring an IT staff is well worth the money, whether you hire one local individual or outsource to an online firm. Click here to learn more about some of the great outsource IT companies you can work with.
POS and other Software
Some local retail companies have gotten by without POS that’s integrated with their internet, but these days, most retail companies simply have to have it. Even the most local and small of businesses should have a website and the ability to sell their wares nationally. Investing in a great POS program (via software and/or an app) is a really good idea. Most POS programs come in a variety of options depending on your needs, and you can often subscribe to these services for different pricing options (many even include a free trial so you can test them out). So there’s no reason not to try one!
Email Platforms
Every business should have an email platform to help them manage their marketing emails, newsletters, client list and more. Some more intuitive email platforms can even help you draft your marketing emails, as well as weed out spam, create replies, help you manage your appointments and deadlines, and so much more. It’s a must-have for any business person.
These are just a few examples of ways you can bring your business up to an efficient standard so you can focus on what’s important: growing that business even bigger. Consider investing in some great software or outsourcing to a fabulous IT firm today.
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