Bootstrapp’s team of experts are routinely questioned about how to grow a small business. This used to mean hitting the streets to drum up business, marketing yourself via word-of-mouth, and hiring the best employees in your area to run things. Today, the world has changed, and the majority of your business projects likely take place online. If you’re not already working with the internet to grow, it’s going to work for your competitors.
Understanding the Digital Age
Things move at a much faster pace and considerably more anonymously today than they did just 20 years ago. Because of this, business owners must take greater care to understand the subtle nuances that go along with running a business online. Cybersecurity is one area where entrepreneurs as well as managers should pay close attention. Scams, data breaches, review attacks, and other unfortunate—yet preventable—events are commonplace, and hackers can enter a business via vulnerable networks or devices.
Slow Growth
Although the internet makes it possible to grow quickly, business owners must still remember not to jump at full speed once they obtain growth capital. While a quick injection of money is an obvious benefit of having working capital, it always pays to keep some aside and to grow sustainably. This should include things like investing in marketing and ensuring that your company can keep up with demand and react to customer wants and needs.
Tools of Today
The greatest tools business owners have in this day and age are all directly related to the way the internet has changed the way we function day to day. A great website is one example. Unfortunately, until you know exactly what you need and how many functions your site will serve, it’s difficult to determine your overall operational costs. As WebFX explains, a site launched can cost $12,000 or more on the low end with maintenance running the gamut from about $35 per month to $5000 per month.
Keeping with the mindset of prioritizing cybersecurity, the safety of your company’s assets are also crucial. As a business owner, you’ll want to hire someone to act as webmaster, which is an individual that will keep your site up, running, and functional. They may also handle some of your cybersecurity needs. However, you may also need to invest in someone that can handle digital security exclusively. This would include services like ensuring your antivirus and firewalls are up-to-date, monitoring any cloud services you utilize, and keeping a close watch on your networks.
Other digital tools for today’s business owner include:
- Social media. Social media is the word-of-mouth of today. However, unlike in times gone by, the world can know in an instant if you’ve done something wrong, and if you do not react quickly you may never get a chance to rectify issues. A social media specialist can help you do just that while maintaining brand awareness and staying in constant contact with your customers.
- Workflow systems. Workflow management software is one of the most efficient ways to monitor efficiency. These systems allow you to create custom workflows that you can share with your employees no matter where they are. This is crucial in an age where you may have a workforce spread out across the country.
This is just a small sampling of the types of digital help that a business owner may need. They are crucial, however, to success in an ever-changing digital age. The main takeaway here is to prioritize growth, but do so in a way that both keeps pace with the times but also gives you the room to make smart decisions at every benchmark. The internet and other tools can help you find the balance you need to do just that.
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