Meetups and networking, do you really like it?

If you are a small business owner and don’t like meetups and networking you are missing out on opportunities for sure. What about if you are somebody who is a bit reserved and doesn’t have the outgoing personality like many around you?

If we look around we find there are two types of personalities, there are those who can join a group conversation and start talking to everybody as if they are their childhood friends and then there are those who have the “odd one out” feeling when they join a group and feel either they don’t have anything to say or don’t know what to say.

So what about if you are one of the second type of person? Here are few tips to help you out.

Take somebody with you

If you are going to a networking event find a friend who can join you there, it is always easier to start the conversation with people you already know. Most of the time you will get introduced to others in a group and they will take the lead so just follow the conversation and enjoy the company.

Start smaller groups

Another tip is to start with a smaller and informal networking group where the atmosphere is causal and friendly, there are number of meetups available on meetup.com or you may ask around to find a causal and informal networking group to start your networking journey.

Get professional help

It may not be a bad idea to attend a seminar or a training event to help you build your confidence. There are number of experts including Paula Smith and Melinda Brennan who specialise in this field and will be happy to help you build your confidence and tweak the message you are trying to get across.

Hire a sales person

Another option to consider is to hire a causal sales person who can take care of the networking and PR responsibilities, they can join you in networking and client meetings. There are number of businesses who charge an hourly rate for hiring a sales professional on an on-demand basis.

Summary

No matter what type of business you are in, business networking plays a key role in getting new customers and getting the message across. Above are some the tips that can help you start your networking journey.

YZM Technologies is a Perth based Software Company specialising in building custom software, databases and mobile apps and helping small businesses achieve better results by optimising business processes.

Job Management, You are not using a spreadsheet, right?

If you are in the service industry and have a few staff members, you could be a repair shop or a commercial cleaning service, a massage therapist or a building inspector, you need to manage bookings, staff availability, track hours and most importantly send invoices on time to get paid sooner.

If you are using a spread sheet and an outlook calendar to track your bookings and staff appointments then please read on as there are more efficient ways to manage this.

Accounting Package Add-ons

The first option to consider would be to look for add-ons for your accounting package. If you are a traditional MYOB user then there are number of options available including ServiceM8 and Smart Jobs. These solutions come with a mobile app and integrate directly to MYOB for invoicing. Their price starts from 50c a job or $20/user/month.

If you are using Xero as your accounting package, WorkflowMax is a popular choice for your job tracking, it has a very easy to use interface and also comes with a mobile app. Their price ranges from $25 for a single user to $199 for unlimited users.

Mobile Workforce Management Solutions

If you have 10+ mobile workforce staff then you may consider using a fully featured mobile workforce management software like Syncroteam, Fleetmatics Work and Connect2Field.

These products efficiently manage mobile workers, simplify their processes and optimise their costs. In addition to that they offer scheduling assistant dispatching, tracking and reporting capabilities.

If you are already using a customer relations management software like Zoho or Sugar CRM you may want to discuss integration options with your CRM specialist as these tools have built-in support for job management and tracking.

Custom Software

Ok, so you have looked around and none of the job management software suits your needs, some are too complex, require constant attention in keeping it up to date or may be it just simply does not fit with your process. This is exactly the same situation when you want to buy a house, you look around, and you might like a house but the house is may be too big or too small, has low ceilings or no storage and has no garden or too many trees. This is when you need to decide whether to compromise and get the best what is out there or build your own.

In the software world it is called custom software development which can be built exactly the way you want it. It will fit your process and can be customised according to your requirements.

Summary

If you are a small business and want to take advantage of the digital revolution it is recommended to use one of the off the shelf products to optimise your processes, however if you are not happy with the feature set offered by these off the shelf products, you can look at building your custom software solution.

YZM Technologies is a Perth based Software Company specialising in building custom software, databases and mobile apps and helping small businesses achieve better results by optimising business processes.