I recently hosted a Technology Workshop and wanted to share a few take aways with you! There are so many ways to run your business, but paperless is by far the best. It’s easier, less risky and more efficient. Using a laptop is much more convenient than writing with a pen, fumbling through papers or having your planner stolen. It’s easy to see that no matter what you’re doing or where you are, you can have iCal, a Mac and a whole lot of apps (most of them are FREE).
Saving time, space, security and money makes going paperless all worth the hype. However, technology isn’t always easy to understand. To save time, follow these 7 highlights from our recent Tech Savvy Workshop!
1. Invest in yourself
Understanding technology and going paperless are two things that cannot happen overnight. Take the time to watch videos and learn how to use your technology. Remember that this is your business and your life. Invest in what you want to get out by prioritizing your efforts.
2. Know your products
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 5% of the US population falls under the strongest level of computer literacy ranking. Take small steps into getting to know your devices, and before you know it, you’ll be the one teaching everyone else how to use their new device.
3. Your calendar is your rainbow lifeline
Wedding planner or not, your calendar is your best friend. Coordinating your calendar helps you manage time for your meetings, workouts, phone calls and everything in between. Following your calendar and staying precise will help you to set boundaries in your schedule to be more efficient. Making sure your devices are synced correctly is the key. Taking it to the next level, I love to use different colors for all of my calendars. For example, the red color on my calendar are all meetings I have to attend. Green is billable time that is done for clients behind the scenes. Blue is my personal calendar (mainly things that I need to do at home). Brown is a shared calendar between my family. I also subscribe to the sun up/sun down calendar, Holiday calendar and Jewish holiday calendar (since we have clients that are of all religious backgrounds).
4. Email Jail
It’s not rare to find someone with about 3,000 unread emails in their inbox. In order to stay on top of important business and personal emails, there are many ways take a huge chunk of unimportant emails out of your inbox. For example, unroll.me collects marketing emails into one “roll-up” at the end of every day. SaneBox (my favorite is Black hole) can really help drive those wanted emails, but not important emails to a Sane Later inbox. Beware of unsubscribing from mailing list as some companies will sell to third parties. They know you are a real person if you unsubscribe. Just something to think about. Who reads the fine print anyway when we are sharing our email address.
5. Use the apps
It’s true that there is an app for everything. So, if something is taking you too long or causes you any inconvenience, there’s an app for that! Some of our favorite apps help us schedule appointments, keep documents organized, take notes and post to social media!
6. Instagram
Instagram is by far my favorite social media app and the number one driver for business in the wedding industry (at least for us!). Choose a theme, pick a filter and color coordinate to your brand! Instagram is a huge marketing tool for businesses today. Creating an aesthetically attractive page allows potential clients to be more interested in your company and even your life. It’s a great platform to get analytics on how your unique branding and strategizing is doing. Be sure your business account is an actual business account, otherwise you won’t get the benefits of the analytics.
7. All you need is organization
The more organized you are, the more efficient you can be! Organization keeps you less stressed and creates a more relaxing and enjoyable work environment. Organizing your devices is much better than searching your phone in front of clients or stepping around piles of papers in your office. Your brain gets used to the way your phone is set up, so take advantage of folders and icons to organize what is important to you and your success.
Photo: Details Nashville
