If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that technology in 2021 is crucial to your success. When businesses began to close their doors last spring, entrepreneurs and business owners had to find ways to thrive in this new, more virtual world. Luckily, we are always finding new ways to connect with employees and clients through rapidly-progressing technological advances.
From implementing efficient project management tools to launching a new app to just simply being more mindful of social media usage, these entrepreneurs are finding unique ways to help their businesses succeed with technology in 2021.
(Responses have been condensed and edited for clarity.)
Clear Communication is an Important Strategic Consideration
Shira Atkins is the co-founder and CMO of Wonder Media Network, an audio-first media company based in New York. She suggests internal podcasting as a way to help employees communicate with each other while working remotely: (Ed. note: You can work with Wonder Media to create your own podcast!”)
“Given how the workplace is fundamentally changing, and how it will continue to evolve in the coming year, companies will have to arm themselves with tools to keep employees connected and informed. Internal podcasting is the best replacement for in-person meetings, training, and company announcements that get lost in the fray. Internal podcasts are internally-distributed, hyper-targeted audio content products that can serve multiple purposes, and be consumed asynchronously to meet employee’s needs. They enable employees to gain important insights and stay connected while taking their kids to school, doing dishes, or whatever else they need to make their COVID lives work.”
Tina Koenig is the founder of Florida-based Tina Koenig Communications and Literary Consulting. She intends to use a mobile payment company and e-commerce service: COMMS
“Our plans for 2021 include using Square to integrate consultation scheduling into our pages. It’s one of the options that doesn’t require a monthly fee for enabling payment processing, if you use the Square platform. And it’s super simple to drop into a website. That’s an easy one.
Our more grand roll-out will be moving to member-based and subscription services for group consulting and teaching. So, we’ll still have the one-on-one calls, but we’re also going to migrate to group learning online. A few of my non-fiction authors are in the education space so this is a natural step. And I’m also looking at this as a way to reach more clients and reader audiences. We’re looking at direct sale and delivery of PDF digital products through platforms like Sellfy.com.”
Entrepreneur Jessica Rhoades is the owner of Create IT Web Designs, a web design company based in Cincinnati. “At the end of 2020, I invested in a project management platform called ClickUp. I plan on rolling more phases of it out in 2021. This will allow me to keep track of recurring processes and communicate with clients better.”
Technology Can Help You Become More Efficient and Get More Done
Camille Chulick is the founder and CEO of Averr Aglow Skincare, an e-commerce beauty brand based in Georgia. She plans to streamline her tech processes this year by being more conscious of the platforms and applications she is using.
“In 2021, I’m going to assess my tech situation for efficiency. I’m a very busy CEO and I tend to have ‘shiny object syndrome’ when it comes to new tech or any tech that can make things better for me, my employees, and my customers. This new year, however, I want to go through and trim the fat. What am I actually using? What levels am I paying for that I might be able to move down a notch? What do some of my paid services offer that I’m not taking advantage of? Just like cleaning a house, I want to go through all of my helpful, useful tech and make sure it’s still what I need.”
Linda Mueller is a Certified Life Coach and founder of The Expat Partner Coach, LLC, a coaching and mentorship company in Chicago. She plans to utilize an automated social media calendar to help improve her social media presence.
“My business technology New Year’s resolution for 2021 is to be more present on social media to show potential clients who I am, what I’ve experienced and how I can help them. I am a certified life coach who empowers expat partners to live purposeful and fulfilling lives abroad and during transition. As my client base is globally mobile, social media is the best way to reach and engage with my audience. I am developing and automating my 2021 social media calendar to streamline the process and ensure that my messages are posted with regularity.”
Jessica Randhawa, a trained chef and founder of The Forked Spoon, a cooking website with more than one million users each month. She plans to utilize tools that can help increase traffic to her site.
“Here at The Forked Spoon, we plan to continue our growth by utilizing the latest technology made by Google to drive traffic to our website–Google Web Stories. We have been having massive success with this technology over the last week since we started using Google’s Web Story WordPress plugin. We have had a 6.5% increase in traffic since we started pumping out new stories. And from what we are seeing in our industry right now, it is a bit of a land rush that we are racing in to continue growing into 2021!”
Jessica Rhoades, the owner of Create IT Web Designs, also plans to implement a better file sharing system and to use a new project management program.
“I plan to have a better backup solution and file sharing solution for my business in 2021. I plan on investing in sync.com for laptops. This will allow me to have a backup of my files on my laptop on a very secure platform that can be shared anywhere. It also allows me to share files to
users, such as my accountant, my subcontractors, and my clients, without having to either email it to them or put it on a separate device such as Dropbox or Google drive. This will help me streamline my processes.”
But not every entrepreneur is using more technology in 2021. Lauren Rosenthal is the founder of Birdie, an app that helps people find TV shows. She plans to consciously use social media as little as possible.
“To challenge the attention economy–the concept recently illuminated by “The Social Dilemma,” where companies leverage their users’ attention for financial gain–Birdie is taking a uniquely passive social media approach. While the business has social profiles, there is purposefully no added content, posts, or stories on the feed. This approach is aligned with Birdie’s mission of helping users combat the paradox of choice by making decisions quickly and mindfully. It’s an app designed to help you put your phone down. In short, the resolution for this tech-based business…is using less technology.”
Did you make any business resolutions this year? What were they? Did you keep them? Are you using technology in 2021 to help you succeed? If not, there’s still almost a whole year still ahead of you.
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