5 Ways to Simplify Your Business | Intuit Small Business Blog

No one likes to waste time, and for small-business owners, wasted time almost always means wasted money.

Here are five ways to streamline and simplify your business — and save time and money in the process.

  1. Get Organized.
  2. Delegate!
  3. Schedule fewer meetings.
  4. Go Paperless.
  5. Relax.

small business reduce technology costs

The average small business in the United States has 18–25 applications (on premise or in the cloud) that process orders, manage a customer database, or track finances, according to research by Waterstone Management Group. On average, each user generates about 10GB of data, and the management of this data has become critical to businesses. In addition, small businesses are bearing the brunt of the BYOD trend, which further complicates data management, network security, e-mail access, and access to business applications, not to mention introducing the risk of the loss or theft of the device, as well as the data it stores. That is, your business’s data.

Here are three ways to reduce your business’s IT costs:

  1. Transition to the cloud.
  2. Consolidate spend with a one-stop provider.
  3. Fix problems before they start.

The IT environment is changing quickly for CFOs of small businesses. While new technologies present tremendous opportunities to facilitate growth and improve efficiency, there are downsides including higher costs and greater business risk. But the cloud, vendor consolidation, and proactive management can reduce your overall IT spend.

7 Low-Budget Small Business Marketing Ideas

There are a few different ways to market a small business with little or no money. A modest marketing budget doesn’t mean that a smaller company can’t get off the ground. Here are seven free or inexpensive marketing ideas perfect for any small business:

  1. Email communication
  2. Free Stuff
  3. Business Cards
  4. ‘Thank You’ notes
  5. Invoices
  6. Online Offers
  7. Referral Encouragement

Creating Innovators: Why America's Education System Is Obsolete

America’s last competitive advantage — its ability to innovate — is at risk as a result of the country’s lackluster education system, according to research by Harvard Innovation Education Fellow Tony Wagner.

He identified five ways in which America’s education system is stunting innovation:

  1. Individual achievement is the focus.
  2. Specialization is celebrated and rewarded.
  3. Risk aversion is the norm.
  4. Learning is profoundly passive.
  5. Extrinsic incentives drive learning.

Wagner is not suggesting we change a few processes and update a few manuals. He says, “The system has become obsolete. It needs reinventing, not reforming.”