By Kevin Dennis, Fantasy Sound Event Services
If you operate your own creative business, you surely understand and agree with the age-old adage – “time is money.” We’re always looking for that 25th hour in the day, when we should be looking for ways to carve out extra time in our day-to- day processes.
If you haven’t started incorporating tech apps into your daily business, you’re missing out on some great timesaving techniques. Here are my favorites:
1. Dropbox
If you take only one piece of advice from this, let it be this – use Dropbox! Not only does it allow you to easily share files with team members and clients, but its cloud-based service also provides you with access to everything you have on file while on the go. It comes in handy when you need to send a file that is larger than your email’s pesky file restriction too.
2. Doodle
How many times have you been caught in the back-and- forth of trying to narrow down an appointment time that works for everyone? A simple app like Doodle can save you from that headache by streamlining the process. Clients are able to look at your availability and pick a time that works for them and voila – your appointment will show up on your calendar! It really doesn’t get any easier than that.
3. Adobe Sign Services
Getting contracts signed and returned can be a pain, right? Not everyone has a scanner and waiting for a signature can hold up the process. With an e-sign service like Adobe’s, you can easily sign and send contracts from your computer or your smartphone. Encourage your clients to jump on the bandwagon to simplify the process – you’ll be surprised at how efficient the contracting process can be.
4. Schedugram
Schedugram allows you to preschedule all of your Instagram posts in advance and will notify you when it’s time to go live. Rather than finding time each day to be active on Instagram, all you need to do is set aside a bit of time at the end of each month to map out your social media plan for the month ahead. Then, you can take a step back and let the app handle it for you!
It’s safe to say that everyone could use a little extra time in the day, whether it’s spent on business or personal matters. Take note of these apps and try others as well – everyone has different preferences, so keep testing apps until you find the ones that work for your business model.
Kevin Dennis is the owner of Fantasy Sound Event Services, a full-service event company based in Livermore, California. Dennis is the current chapter president for Silicon Valley NACE, and the immediate past national president for WIPA.
