{"id":276278,"date":"2015-06-26T07:09:19","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T21:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/pro-education\/10-tips-run-small-business-without-manager\/"},"modified":"2015-06-26T07:09:19","modified_gmt":"2015-06-25T21:09:19","slug":"10-tips-run-small-business-without-manager","status":"publish","type":"au-pro-education","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/10-tips-run-small-business-without-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"10 tips for how to run your small business&#8217; IT &#8211; without an IT manager!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.easyweddings.com\/files\/2022\/02\/23155017\/ThinkstockPhotos-471363230-scaled.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3801\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.easyweddings.com\/files\/2022\/02\/23155017\/ThinkstockPhotos-471363230-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"I.T. tips for small business\" width=\"900\" height=\"900\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"lead\">According to Seek&#8217;s annual\u00a02014\u00a0salary review, &#8216;information and communication technology&#8217; was amongst the\u00a0top five highest paying industries in Australia, earning\u00a0IT professionals on average\u00a0$99,065 per year. In other words,\u00a0a big\u00a0investment\u00a0for a small business! Keeping up with the latest trends in\u00a0technology however\u00a0doesn&#8217;t have to break the bank. In fact, it can actually save you money &#8211; by doing it yourself. Here are 10 ways you can circumnavigate\u00a0the need for an\u00a0in-house IT Manager by minding\u00a0your own technology matters:<\/p>\n<h2>1. Socialise\u00a0in your sleep<\/h2>\n<p><a title=\"Content marketing: People keep telling me my business needs it but what exactly is it? - See more at: http:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/content-marketing-people-keep-telling-business-needs-exactly\/#sthash.ADQyKlYE.dpuf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/content-marketing-people-keep-telling-business-needs-exactly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creating content<\/a> for social media is one thing, but trying to keep multiple platforms current by posting regularly can become a time-consuming, around-the-clock task. By using social media scheduling software\u00a0like <a title=\"Hootsuite\" href=\"https:\/\/hootsuite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Hootsuite<\/a> or <a title=\"Buffer\" href=\"https:\/\/buffer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Buffer<\/a>, you can save time by queuing\u00a0all your content in one central location, where it waits patiently\u00a0to be released at optimal times when your audience is online and ready\u00a0to consume your content.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Select a CRM<\/h2>\n<p>A Customer Relationship Manager (CRM)\u00a0records interactions with existing\u00a0and potential\u00a0customers. Establishing a CRM early on in your business&#8217; life will open up greater marketing opportunities for you down the track, so don&#8217;t\u00a0put this off any longer! With a growing number of CRMs available, it&#8217;s difficult to know which one will work for your business, so take advantage of free trial periods, and as <a title=\"The Secret To Choosing The Best CRM For Your Sales Organization\" href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/ianaltman\/2014\/08\/18\/the-secret-to-choosing-the-best-crm-for-your-sales-organization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Forbes<\/a> suggests,\u00a0look for a solution that allows you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintain business\u00a0knowledge, with varying levels of user permissions and access<\/li>\n<li>Coordinate across departments, like sales, marketing &amp;\u00a0customer service<\/li>\n<li>Integrate seamlessly with in-house email communications &amp; external email marketing<\/li>\n<li>Access information on the road with native mobile support<\/li>\n<li>Follow-up with effective\u00a0automation<\/li>\n<li>Monitor the three things you need to know most (customers&#8217; problems, why it&#8217;s important for them to solve that problem, and how the solutions are measured).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A 2015\u00a0<a title=\"Business News Daily\" href=\"http:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/7839-best-crm-software.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Business News Daily<\/a>\u00a0review\u00a0revealed their top three CRM picks for growing small businesses:\u00a0<a title=\"Zoho CRM\" href=\"http:\/\/www.zoho.com\/crm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Zoho<\/a>, <a title=\"Insightly\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insightly.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Insightly<\/a> and <a title=\"Salesforce\" href=\"http:\/\/www.salesforce.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">SalesForce<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_3831\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3831\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.easyweddings.com\/files\/2022\/02\/23155025\/Screen-Shot-2015-06-22-at-10.27.29-am.png\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3831\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.easyweddings.com\/files\/2022\/02\/23155025\/Screen-Shot-2015-06-22-at-10.27.29-am.png\" alt=\"best CRM software\" width=\"596\" height=\"455\" title=\"\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a title=\"Business News Daily\" href=\"http:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/7839-best-crm-software.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Business News Daily<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n\n<h2>3.\u00a0Automate email campaigns<\/h2>\n<p>Now\u00a0you&#8217;ve got a\u00a0sophisticated CRM in place to segment your customer base into highly targeted audiences, harness the power of email automation to create, distribute\u00a0and monitor\u00a0email analytics such as open rates, click through stats and unsubscribe numbers\u00a0to establish what your audience do and don&#8217;t want. Select from a variety of\u00a0<a title=\"11 Email Marketing Solutions for Small Businesses\" href=\"http:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/5829-email-marketing-solutions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Email Marketing Solutions for Small Businesses<\/a>\u00a0and determine\u00a0your desired provider&#8217;s integration ability with your existing CRM.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Sell\u00a0online<\/h2>\n<p><a title=\"ABS\" href=\"http:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/ausstats\/abs@.nsf\/latestProducts\/8146.0Media%20Release12012-13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Three out of four<\/a> internet users were shopping online in 2012\u20132013 with\u00a0online retail\u00a0sales in Australia growing at around <a title=\"Australia - Digital Economy - Online Retailing - Trends and Statistics - See more at: http:\/\/www.budde.com.au\/Research\/Australia-Digital-Economy-Online-Retailing-Trends-and-Statistics.html#sthash.YFTDWjQf.dpuf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.budde.com.au\/Research\/Australia-Digital-Economy-Online-Retailing-Trends-and-Statistics.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">20-30% annually<\/a>. If you&#8217;re an Easy Weddings vendor and enjoying the benefits of having your products displayed\u00a0on our website, congratulations\u00a0&#8211; you&#8217;ve listed with <a title=\"It\u2019s official, Easy Weddings is No.1 \u2013 again!\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australia\u2019s No.1 wedding website<\/a>\u00a0for the sixth year straight. If you still haven&#8217;t made the move to selling online from your own website, check out these\u00a0<a title=\"6 Top Ecommerce Platforms for Do-It-Yourself Small Businesses\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cio.com\/article\/2449485\/e-commerce\/e-commerce-6-top-ecommerce-platforms-for-do-it-yourself-small-businesses.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">6 Top Ecommerce Platforms for Do-It-Yourself Small Businesses<\/a>. If\u00a0you&#8217;d prefer to enlist the services of a wedding industry expert who knows all the digital tricks of the online selling trade, chat to an <a title=\"Easy Weddings Website Design Services\" href=\"http:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/webdesign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Easy Weddings Web Designer<\/a>\u00a0about choosing the right e-commerce site for you and your brand.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Communicate like the pros<\/h2>\n<p>Transform\u00a0your team, supplier and client\u00a0meetings into a multidimensional experience with video conferencing solutions that allow you use video, audio, file transfer, screen shots, screen sharing, remote desktop control, session recording and toll-free international calling. You thought Skype was cool? Wait until you see what these Top 10 Web Conferencing Solutions can do.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_3834\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3834\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3834\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.easyweddings.com\/files\/2022\/02\/23155031\/Screen-Shot-2015-06-22-at-11.09.10-am.png\" alt=\"top 10 video conferencing solutions\" width=\"750\" height=\"138\" title=\"\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3834\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Top 10 Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>6. Digitally collaborate<\/h2>\n<p>By now you&#8217;ve almost certainly heard about this elusive &#8216;cloud&#8217; that people are putting\u00a0all their data and documents into. A <a title=\"RIGHTSCALE RELEASES 2015 STATE OF THE CLOUD REPORT\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rightscale.com\/press-releases\/rightscale-releases-2015-state-of-the-cloud-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">2015\u00a0RightScale survey<\/a>\u00a0conducted with 930 IT professionals revealed that\u00a088% of enterprises are currently using a public cloud.\u00a0One of the\u00a0key attractions\u00a0of cloud-based storage is being able to access your information from anywhere in the world with an internet commotion, and grant access to anyone in the world with just their email address.\u00a0With so many cloud\u00a0providers available, choosing one can be difficult, but here&#8217;s a neat little review by PC Advisor that compares\u00a013 of the best cloud storage services 2015: Dropbox vs Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud &amp; more.<\/p>\n<h2>7.\u00a0Back it up<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever had a computer unexpectedly die on you, we don&#8217;t need to preach\u00a0the importance of backing up your precious data &#8211; but we&#8217;re going to tell you again anyway. To be sure, Microsoft employee\u00a0Scott Hanselman swears\u00a0by\u00a0<a class=\"TitleLinkStyle\" title=\"The Computer Backup Rule Of Three\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hanselman.com\/blog\/TheComputerBackupRuleOfThree.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer nofollow\">The Computer Backup Rule of Three<\/a>, which explains:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Backing up your laptop\u00a0<em>to an SD Card in the same laptop<\/em>\u00a0is #notabackup<\/li>\n<li>Backing up to a hard drive that is 6 inches away from your computer is #notabackup<\/li>\n<li>Backing up your Gmail to\u00a0<em>another Gmail account\u00a0<\/em>is #notabackup<\/li>\n<li>Backing up your book by copying it to another folder is #notabackup<\/li>\n<li>The photos that are still in your camera memory are #notabackup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are\u00a0<a title=\"5 Extremely Easy Ways To Backup Your Computer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lifehack.org\/articles\/technology\/5-extremely-easy-ways-backup-your-computer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">5 Extremely Easy Ways To Backup Your Computer<\/a>\u00a0from which you should choose THREE to keep your important client, strategic, photographic and financial files safe from theft and spontaneous combustion &#8211; it happens!<\/p>\n<h2>8. Install\u00a0live chat<\/h2>\n<p>Installing a live chat feature on your website offers visitors on-demand customer service without having to pick up the phone or wait hours (even days) for an email response. Live chat is designed to\u00a0improve\u00a0customers&#8217; experience and hold their hand along the purchase pathway to your shopping cart.\u00a0Unfortunately, as Business News Daily points out, many live chat solutions aren&#8217;t designed with small business in mind, but they&#8217;ve scouted out\u00a0<a title=\"5 Live Chat Solutions for Small Businesses\" href=\"http:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/7025-live-chat-solutions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">5 Live Chat Solutions<\/a>\u00a0that offer great features at a price even small businesses can accommodate. Can&#8217;t monitor your live chat 24\/7? Refer to point 10.<\/p>\n<h2>9.\u00a0Safe &amp; sound<\/h2>\n<p>Despite a recent <a title=\"LastPass Security Notice\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.lastpass.com\/2015\/06\/lastpass-security-notice.html\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">breach of security<\/a>\u00a0to online password manager provider\u00a0<a title=\"Last Pass\" href=\"https:\/\/lastpass.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">LastPass<\/a>, Microsoft&#8217;s Most Valuable Professional\u00a0for Developer Security, <a title=\"Security Sense: The Sky is Falling and Password Managers are Risky\" href=\"http:\/\/windowsitpro.com\/troy-hunts-security-sense\/security-sense-sky-falling-and-password-managers-are-risky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Troy Hunt<\/a>, believes &#8220;the real world risk posed to the passwords protected by LastPass is\u00a0<em>very<\/em>\u00a0close to zero&#8221;, and the benefits of using an online password manager like LastPass (when considering the risks of simply memorising weak or recycled passwords to memory) are still a strong, and he has no reservations recommending either LastPass, or his preferred and slightly more expensive option\u00a0<a title=\"1Password\" href=\"https:\/\/agilebits.com\/onepassword\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">1Password<\/a>,\u00a0to any small business owner.<\/p>\n<h2>10.\u00a0Outsource<\/h2>\n<p>As part of our\u00a0<a title=\"10 business New Year\u2019s resolutions every business owner should make - See more at: http:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/10-business-new-years-resolutions-every-business-owner-make\/#sthash.cV69rNkF.dpuf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/10-business-new-years-resolutions-every-business-owner-make\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10 business New Year\u2019s resolutions every business owner should make<\/a>, we recommended outsourcing. Why? It saves time, and time is money.\u00a0Outsourcing platforms like <a title=\"UpWork\" href=\"https:\/\/www.upwork.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Upwork<\/a>, <a title=\"Elance\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elance.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Elance<\/a> and <a title=\"Fiver\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiverr.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Fiver<\/a> exist to provide incredibly affordable support including\u00a0IT to small business owners who don&#8217;t have the time or expertise to undertake such technical and\u00a0specialist\u00a0tasks &#8211; or the budget to hire a full-time IT Manager. With ratings and reviews\u00a0about\u00a0contractors\u2019 previous jobs, you\u00a0can make an informed decision about applicants&#8217; IT\u00a0skills, reliability and suitability to work with you and your business.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What&#8217;s the biggest IT or technical challenge facing your business? Let us know in the comments and we&#8217;ll point you in the right direction for assistance to ensure your business\u00a0keeps up with the dynamic nature of the IT world.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":268936,"template":"","au_pro_edu_tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-pro-education\/276278"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-pro-education"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-pro-education"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_pro_edu_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_pro_edu_tags?post=276278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}