Is technology stopping you from moving forward in your business?  In this blog I share the apps and services I use in my tiny time business and a couple of strategies that will take away the overwhelm technology may cause you.

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Transcript

Hey lovely, it’s Yasmin Vorajee from Tiny Time Big Results and today I wanna talk about technology.

I hear so often that people get overwhelmed with technology. There’s too much choice out there and there are so many options that I don’t blame you for getting overwhelmed with all the things that you could be doing or all the technology that you could be using.

But the thing is, technology should never be a barrier in your business.

Technology is an amazing enabler, it allows you to do so much with your tiny time.

So it can’t be a barrier, and I want to help you to stop it being a barrier and actually be the wonderful enabler that it is.

So here’s the first thing that I want you to realize about technology.

You don’t need as much as you think you do.

That’s the first thing.

Everyone always thinks ‘oh, I’m gonna need so many apps, and I’m gonna need so many platforms’.

You really don’t.

Just before I was starting to record this video, I decided to make a quick list of all the things that I use regularly in my business (and yes, there will be tools you might use occasionally), but these are the things that I use consistently and regularly.

So I’m gonna just go through the list so that it gives you an idea as to actually how little technology I use.

Tool to Create Opt In Pages, Sales Pages, Webinar Pages

So first of all, Leadpages.

Leadpages is fantastic, I highly recommend it, and it allows me to create opt-in pages very, very quickly.

They do so much of the design work and you just have to drop your words and your pictures in.

Once you get the hang of it, you can create an opt-in page and it’ll take about 10 minutes to do that.

A great tool to use and the version I use is $37 p/m.

Online Meeting, Video & Audio

I use Zoom for recording all my blogs, which gives me a video, an MP4, and it gives me audio, an MP3, for my podcast.

I also do all my client calls on Zoom along with all my webinars.

Zoom is amazing and it costs approx $15 a month (I know, breaking the bank here!) 😉

Edited Addition: I use Vimeo to host my paid video content (works out approx $16 p/m)

Website & Online Courses

I have a simple WordPress website which uses the Divi theme, I use Zippy Courses to house all my online courses which has a lovely and easy interface to use as well.

You literally just type thing in, upload pictures, and you know, once you get the hang of these things, you’re sweet.

Trackers

I use Excel to keep a log of all my client calls so that I know where I’m up to with all my clients. I use it to track all my marketing activities, to track my daily activities, to help me stay on track of what I’m doing.

Excel is fantastic, because I just use simple spreadsheets and it allows me to keep everything in one place.

Graphics

I use the free version of Canva for graphics, workbooks, infographics and to create slides for my presentations. 

Diary

 I use Acuity, for my online calendar (to automate appointments which is a massive time saver), and that’s $10 a month.

Autoresponder

I use Infusionsoft for my database and autoresponder system. I pay $199 a month for that and it’s a heavy bit of kit which most businesses don’t need – there are lots of much lower cost options if your heart starts to beat fast at the price!

I started off using Aweber which was $19 p/m.

Add It All Up

If I add it all up that’s less than $300 a month, which, if I was in a bricks and mortar business, my costs would be MUCH higher.

Take away Infusionsoft, you’re talking less than $100! 

There can be other costs involved, but from a technology perspective, it isn’t as big and hairy and ugly as you think it might be.

And you can run a successful and profitable business using some very simple tools.

I like to do things as much as possible on a shoestring because that means my profits are bigger.

Keep your costs low, profits high.

But the thing is, if you don’t know what you don’t know, and that is the case for a lot of people when it comes to technology, find someone who does know, and ask them.

And the thing is, you don’t have to do all of the things with the technology. I always recommend having a basic understanding of how the technology works, so that someone can’t say to you, oh, that’s gonna take me three hours, and charge you for those three hours when actually it could take them 15 minutes because they’re meant to be the expert.

And I say that because I’m very familiar with using Leadpages, I do them all myself, and I had somebody say to me, ‘that’ll take me two hours to create that opt-in page and it will be $90′.

My response was ‘why does it take you two hours to do something that it would take me 10, 15 minutes to do?

It’s good (advisable) to have a basic understanding of how the technology works and how long things take so that you protect yourself as well.

But here’s the thing.

Have a basic understanding, but as your business grows (and of course we have tiny time) you can get someone else to do it for you.

Outsource that particular aspect of your business out of your process.

You don’t have to do it all.

But if you let technology hold you back in your business and you are letting it stop you from actually moving forward, then that’s a bigger cost than the cost of overwhelm and the cost of delegating.

So today I want you to think about what technology do I need?

Not ‘let me think of all the technology that’s out there‘.

But just think about it, what do I need?

I need some kind of functionality for my client calls, video, you know, like Zoom for example. I need something for my webinar, so it could be GoToWebinar or it could be Instant Teleseminar, they’re a couple of other examples.

What do I need for my clients? What do I need for my graphics? You probably find that you actually don’t need as much as you think you do.

And the key thing here is, if you don’t know, go and ask someone who does, get their help.

Have a basic understanding, but then when the time is right and you’re comfortable, delegate.

Outsource that element so that it’s no longer a barrier in your business.

Please don’t let technology stop you from moving forward.

Technology is an amazing enabler and it allows you to do so much with your tiny time, so please embrace it.

And if you want my help to help you figure out the technology, this is something that I do cover in a lot of depth in my programs, you can find out more by booking a Strategy Session.

I’d be more than happy to share with you some quick ways for you to get yourself up and running.

So definitely book your free Strategy Session. 

I’m very happy to chat with you and talk you through this and get rid of the overwhelm.

Because it’s stopping you, and you have work to do!

You’ve got an important message to get out there, and I wanna be able to help you get it out there as well.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and I look forward to seeing you the next time.

Take care,

Yasmin xxx