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According to a report from Emergent Research and Intuit, nearly 80 percent of U.S. small businesses will be fully adapted to cloud computing by 2020. It’s no longer necessary for entrepreneurs and startups to look to brick and mortar businesses to get their business up and running. Gallup’s annual Work and Education poll found nearly 37 percent of U.S. workers say they have telecommuted, a figure that’s climbed from just 9 percent since 1995. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools from robust back-up systems to lead magnet opt-ins to launch your business and keep it thriving. Here are five ways to get started.
Choose a backup system
Safeguarding your data by choosing a reliable and encrypted backup system is crucial to your business. Juniper Research found the cost of data breaches could reach $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, increasing to almost four times the estimated cost of breaches since 2015. A data breach can range from hardware failure to having your system hacked. Combat the looming threat of any data loss by using a system like Mozy. Their system can automatically sync up to changes in your files and encrypts it with military-grade security. This lets you set it and forget it so you can work on your business instead of in it.
Announce your services
There’s no one way to announce your services, but there are plenty of cloud-based resources to do it. Build a simple landing page designed to convert passersby into customers with a tool like LeadPages. Get up and running in minutes and connect it to your own domain. Create 10 high-quality, in-depth blog posts that better explain your services and mission to educate potential customers. Facebook ads are another way to announce your services, all while directing potential customers back to your landing page.
Organize your accounting
Keep your business financially fit by using tools that keep things organized. SageOne offers cloud-based accounting tools for reporting and bank reconciliation. You can also produce professional-looking estimates for your clients and convert them to invoices in a single click. Email to your clients or print and send along with your proposals to keep your business looking professional and streamlined instead of a money-making hobby.
Engage your customers
It’s not enough to just meet people, hand over a business card and commit their face and story to memory. As your business grows and shifts, so do your customers. Keep up with what they’re looking for, where they’re working and what they need with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. CRMs are ideal for cloud-based computing and don’t require software or hardware. Salesforce is one place to start in your CRM journey to build meaningful customer relationships and brings a 43 percent increase to marketing ROI.
Manage a virtual team
Your entire support staff can work remotely from around the world without ever meeting face to face thanks to online communication tools. Slack keeps tabs on projects and communication, and allows you to set permissions based on who needs to see what. You can also send messages directly, share files and store communication and notifications in an easy-to-access archive.
Starting a business in the cloud doesn’t have to be complicated with the right strategy and tools in place. Make the hard work about providing incredible value to your clients, instead of how to keep your business running behind the scenes.
