Congratulations! Thanks to a lot of great decisions, your business has survived for those crucial first few years, and developed enough repeat business to continue to grow and thrive. You’re great at what you do, and people have taken notice. But are you truly prepared for the future?
Even if you’ve only been in business for a few months, you’ve probably accumulated thousands of pages of physical files. Each time you gain a new customer, pay a bill, or a hire a new employee, the paperwork has to go somewhere. You might be highly organized and keep good records, but when it comes to record keeping, you always owe it to yourself to use your time and office space effectively.
The modern office is changing, but a lot of things are still the same. No matter how much we do online, we still need a place to transact business, store documents, and meet our clients. Or do we? Many companies are moving away from traditional “brick and mortar” offices, and seeking new ways to do more with less.
Growing a business starts with finding ways to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Every small business has its lean months, which is why it’s always crucial to find ways to do more with less!
One of the biggest challenges a growing business faces is file storage. When you’re just starting out, a single filing cabinet might seem like plenty, but it doesn’t take long before you start running out of room. The other problem is the need to pull files and refile them later. Each time an original document is removed from the filing cabinet, it’s unavailable to other employees until it’s returned. There’s also the additional problem of documents being filed or re-filed incorrectly.