Leveraging Technology for Entrepreneurs

I’m often asked about what I believe are some of the most impactful moves a novice entrepreneur can make to help contribute to their long-term business success. I think there are quite a few great answers to this question, but I find myself returning again and again to one area in particular when prompted on this topic — the power of technology. That’s probably unsurprising, considering much of my work has relied on utilizing the internet to help connect consumers to new and useful products. Continue reading for my take on why technology is so crucial to business and how it can be leveraged to increase one’s chances for success.

Working faster

Any entrepreneur with experience in the business world will tell you that one of their most precious resources is their own time. We’ve all got a huge range of ideas and new business concepts we want to pursue, the limiting factor tends to be our time. Because of that, many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs are often people who are able to maximize their time in the most productive way possible. One of the ways to do this is through the smart use of technology.

There’s a seemingly endless stream of new productivity tools available these days and I’m not here to sell you on a specific one. Rather, I want to emphasize the positive benefits that can be attained from utilizing a few of these tools in a directed fashion. I think it’s a great idea to start searching for some tools that can help you with staying organized, scheduling your time, and staying on track, at the very least. These tools can have the ultimate effect of saving you time and allowing you to spend more of your mental energy on your actual business pursuits.

Collaborating more effectively

Most businesses are not the product of a lone wolf. In my work, I’ve had plenty of extremely talented and smart partners who have helped me build companies to heights of which I’m quite proud. Whenever you’re in a situation where you’re working alongside one or more team members, there’s always the question of how you can best work together. Again, there’s no one right answer here, but this is another space in which technology can be a huge asset.

I’m not just talking about tools that enable communication, such as phones, computers, email, etc. Those tools are so ubiquitous at this point that I’m sure you’re all using them. I’m talking about tools that can help you communicate and collaborate effectively. To this end, I love tools that allow teams to weigh in on issues together, such as by iteratively building an important document or planning out a product release timeline. When smart tools are used to facilitate these processes, it allows the logistical hurdles of team collaboration to fall by the wayside and builds space for your team’s creativity and expertise to shine.

Analyzing data

Data’s the lifeblood of many thriving businesses. Collecting and storing data allows us to build critical insights that can inform our business decisions. For instance, a greater understanding of customer purchasing habits can help us learn what the market desires and how we can better meet that demand. Tools that can help us build these insights can be invaluable in a wide range of industries. Consider investing some resources in finding the right tool for you in this space so that you can grow your business through the realities of commerce in your chosen field.

Marketing your idea

You may have the best product in the world that solves some of the most difficult problems imaginable, but if no one knows about it, you’re going to have a hard time building your business. That’s where marketing comes in and, fortunately for the fledgling entrepreneur, this practice has arguably become more accessible than ever. We have social media to thank for that.

It behooves any new business owner to think critically about how they want to market their business and how social media might be able to play a role in that process. With its unprecedented ability to connect us to customers all over the world, this technology can make a real and enduring impact on businesses from all corners of the economy.

That’s a brief attempt at highlighting the roles that different technologies can play in the work of a novice entrepreneur. I hope it can serve as motivation for you to start finding tools that can satisfy some or all of the above roles in your own work. Doing so can be a great asset to businesses of many sizes and areas of focus.