Now is a great time to take your business to the next level. In today’s fast moving business environment it is crucial to find ways to constantly better your offerings and your service. Clients do not care how big you are, they want solutions and results, not excuses. There are some very simple and low cost things that can be done to bring your company to the next level in the areas that matter the most. Most businesses struggle with huge up-front costs or, even worse, lost customers and sales because they make very simple mistakes that could have been avoided. We have done the research for you and can tell you some very simple, basic and, most importantly, low cost solutions to some of your biggest problems. Here are four great tools to help your business compete in productivity and professionalism with your Fortune 500 competition.

 

Who does not want their company to be more productive? Freedom.to is one of the best free sites available to keep your productivity flowing. It allows you to block distracting sites that waste time. Who hasn’t lost hours debating someone on Facebook or looking at pictures that really have no impact on the business that you do. In today’s age of information and high speed telecommunications, getting distracted is far too easy; sometimes we need some help so we can focus on our job and our success. This tool helps you block Facebook and other distracting sites and lets you get down to the business at hand - your business.

 

Instead of hounding your employees, and yourself, for wasting time; use this free service to help keep the focus on getting the job done.

 

When it comes to bringing the board together or just brainstorming sometimes you need a meeting but distance makes it impossible. Teleconferencing is the answer but where to go and how to do it is the problem. Teleconferencing is not a new idea, but the technology is moving so quickly and it is becoming more adaptive than ever.

 

One free service is UberConference. They offer the best of today’s technology with apps for Smartphones, no need for PIN numbers, the capability to share files virtually, and the ability to see who is on the call. This service does what you need when you need it. Now you can get your team on the same page quickly and easily, as well as see and hear them in real time. It’s a great free way to bring together the board outside the boardroom.

 

Nothing is more important than the ability to communicate. You always want to be perceived as professional, successful, and available. The first rule is to have a way for potential and current customers to reach you at all times. When it comes to free options, the best choice is still Google Voice. Google Voice offers you your own number that you can either forward to any other number you choose or have the messages transcribed for you. That way you can work on a job or advertise without giving out your personal phone number to everyone. Let’s face it, many small businesses work off of the owner’s cell phone. With Google Voice, you can give out a different number and have it forwarded to your cell when you are ready to talk or have it go to voice mail and be transcribed when you are unavailable. Aside from being free, the value of having the message forwarded to you means you won’t miss that emergency call that comes in when you aren’t available, putting you at risk for losing a current or potential client.

 

No one likes to be hacked. But how can you stay ahead of the hackers when so many large companies spend thousands to protect themselves. In order to stay ahead of the hackers and keep your business safe you need to take several steps: install an antivirus/antimalware program on your computer like Immunet, Avira; keep your antivirus program updated; have different passwords for every website; use two-step verification in your email; and use sites like VeraCrypt that lets you encrypt files that you share on sites like DropBox or Google Drive. If remembering too many passwords is not something you want to deal with use sites like Keepass that allow you to have one master password to remember while encrypting each of your individual passwords, storing them in a database for when you need them.These simple no cost solutions can protect you from a nasty hack and protect you from the embarrassment of having to let your customers know their information has been compromised.

 

We hope this information helps you make your business more successful. Technology is constantly changing and it seems impossible to keep up with the changes. It certainly doesn’t seem like we can afford to keep up, but with the many free and affordable programs out there, it is a great possibility.

 

How do you stay ahead of the competition by utilizing today’s technology? Let us know in the comments below.