A sure fire way to reach overwhelm really quickly in your business is when you have lots of different tools and platforms to perform all your tasks and processes.
There are so many platforms to help you run your business now and there will be more and more appearing I’m sure. Each promising their own unique feature that will save you hours every day, increase your productivity and make you more organised. And if their persuasive advertising catches you on a day when things are feeling a bit messy then I can guarantee you’ll be on a free trial before you know it!
But then fast forward a couple of months and the novelty has worn off. You can’t really remember why you chose that platform in the first place, but now you have a lot of information in it you’d better keep on using it, and you’re now paying anyway.
Is this sounding familiar? We’ve all been there!
Trying to learn and integrate a new platform into a business takes time and energy to set up and for it to start to serve you and your business as it promises.
What we don’t often realise is that it’s quite possible your existing platforms will do a lot of what you’ve actually just bought a shiny new platform to do.
I’m a great advocate for having as much as possible handled by the same platform. It might be the trendiest way to do things, but it works, and it keeps things ruthlessly simple.
Take one of the many project management platforms you might be familiar with; Asana, Teamwork or Clickup. These do so much more than just create a list of what you need to do every day.
Social Media Management platforms also come with a host of other features and capabilities such as handling comments, better analytics and increased posting functionality.
How to keep up to date with what you already have in your business
- Read their newsletters: if you’re not on their list then subscribe as this is where you’ll find out what they’re up to, and what they’re trying to win new customers with.
- Look for their development roadmap: most online platforms will have public development roadmaps showing what updates or new features are in the pipeline.
- Ask them! If you have a need that is in the same field as the platform you using and you’re wondering if there is functionality, reach out to their support team and ask. They may say yes, have a work around, or let you know it’s coming.
By keeping up to date and making use of the tools that you are already using you will increase your business efficiency much quicker than trying to introduce something new. And you’ll also be able to spot when you really do need to switch platforms and what for. Identifying a specific need helps your decision making when moving or introducing something new (rather than just picking it because it seems to be what is hot right now!).
If you need a review of your business operations, my Business Audit could be just what you need. It’s quality time taking a step back from your business, reviewing what you have, and what you need to get where you need to go. Operations are the secret sauce in your business, the sooner you get them working for you, the sooner you’ll reach your goals (and much more easily!).
Need another pair of eyes on your tech, check out Hello Headspace and say hello to getting more done, simply!
