Planning Time

We went from cassette tape to cd to download and now to streaming. The music industry, as with all other industries, has had to adapt and change. As time goes on, as technology improves and advances, we have to adapt and keep up or get left behind. As, the year comes to an end, be thinking about how you could improve. What technology could be implemented? How could you make your business more efficient, more effective? This will look different for everyone, regardless of whether or not you’re in the same industry.

The following are a few things to remember and to help guide you in your thoughts about planning:

  • Adapting to new technology is becoming increasingly more important. We’re moving faster than ever and new technology gives us the tools to be more efficient and effective at both our daily tasks and big picture strategy.
  • Online tools are amazing and can give us access from anywhere we need it. The downside? With more and more web based apps will inevitably come more cyber attacks. This means that security protocols will become increasingly important.
  • Cloud strategy. I know that we sound like a broken record, but things happen. Every company needs to have a disaster plan and part of that could and probably should be a cloud service. Whether all information is hosted and/or run off of a hosted server or all files (not just the critical ones, space is cheap) are backed up and accessible from off site, every company strategy plan should involve the cloud.

Just remember that even a small step is still a step, so take that step forward as we plan for and get ready to move into a new year.

Proper Tools make all the Difference

Having the proper tools can make all the difference in how my day goes. For instance, I'm not a designer, which is why I got excited when I heard about the site Canva. I was listening to a webinar and the speaker talked about it as a design site for non-designers. This instantly got my attention and, after some investigation, I was impressed. The site offered exactly what the person had described. Essentially, this company has designers create the foundation and then the end user can come in and tweak that design by adding their content and pictures. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, then take some time and rearrange the elements. It doesn't have everything, however, it’s great for specific things like setting up an email template, social media post, or infographics. This tool may not be the ultimate design tool, but it might help you and your team to better portray a message to customers. Also, it’s a given that, in smaller businesses, most people on the team will wear multiple hats. Tools like these help those of us that are juggling multiple jobs to do them better, faster, and more efficiently. As always, if you have any questions about this newsletter or suggestions to make it better, please feel welcome to send those our way!