It’s impossible to ignore the fact that advances in technology are changing the average American office space — in a lot of ways, the benefits of using new technology are really important for businesses as they grow and connect with customers.
The problem is, many business owners — especially small business owners — hesitate to incorporate new technology into their businesses because a) there are quite a few risks involved, and b) figuring out all the details of complicated IT systems can get really overwhelming really quickly.
It doesn’t matter what industry your business is part of or even how big your business is; new technology can always be applied to your business operations. In fact, if you’ve begun working with or employing younger Millennials, you’ll probably already know that new technology is imperative for retaining these connections.
So how exactly can you begin to incorporate new technology into your business without getting in over your head? Here are a few simple suggestions that are perfect for smaller businesses:
- Telecommuting: This has become one of the biggest benefits to workers today, with over 80% of Americans saying that working from home would be a huge draw for a certain job. Moving out of the traditional office environment will require you to update how you communicate and collaborate with others.
- Virtual Office Suites: Renting a virtual office space is a simple way to get acquainted with new technology so that you can see what works and doesn’t work for your business. These offices have been on the rise since 1994, and they provide professional office spaces for on-demand use.
- Social Media: This is something that most Millennials are already pretty familiar with, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find someone who’s willing to do a few Twitter or Facebook experiments for you. A huge benefit of using social media is that it’s free; another benefit is that it can help you build up your brand over time while connecting with customers. You don’t necessarily have to run a huge marketing campaign through social media platforms; just creating a profile and experimenting with different types of posts will help you figure out what kind of content your business can be utilizing.
You don’t have to make huge changes all at once; no one is expecting your business to suddenly move over to the cloud or to convert all of your paperwork into electronic documents within a week.
Now we want to hear what you think about all of this — how has your business begun adopting new technology? What mistakes did you make, or what tips would you give to another business owner?
