New ways to work

Technology is constantly changing and new online business tools are being developed all of the time in order to make small businesses more efficient, faster, slicker and quicker.

New technology has transformed the way that we do things here at The Entrepreneur’s Godmother. A lot of the changes have come about from having such a young and innovative team and I must say that it has changed the company for the better, especially in terms of time management.  Alison recommends the following online business tools:

1. Trello

‘Trello lets you work more collaboratively and get more done’

Trello allows you to organise and prioritise your tasks into different boards, lists and cards so you can see an overview of everything that needs to be done, making it great for time management and working together. We use Trello all of the time here at The Entrepreneur’s Godmother and use my quadrant system for delegating tasks called ‘Alison Edgar’s Big Balls’. Anything that is important/ urgent is a basketball, something that it important but not so urgent is a tennis ball and something that is less important is a ping pong ball (the reason they are in ball sizes is that the most important job, the basketball, would hurt the most if you were to get hit in the face with it!).

2. Slack

‘Where work happens’

Slack provides a simple way for teams to communicate with each other. There are different channels to organise conversations, making sure that the right people are involved at the right time. We use slack to contact each other every day because it’s quick, easy and it unblocks our emails (one of the biggest time thieves of any small business owner!).

3. 9 Spokes

‘The smart dashboard for easier business decisions’

The 9 Spokes smart dashboard is an amazing tool as it connects all of your business software in one place, revealing key metrics across essential areas of your business such as cash flow, website traffic, social media followers and even more. Having these simple insights gives you a great overview of how your business is performing, so it’s easier for you to make the right calls. For transparency, 9 Spokes have sponsored our Guide to Starting a Business online course and the reason we chose to work with them is because we really believe that their product is great for the entrepreneurial community and it’s free!

Read about the further 7 online tool recommendations here.