Future-proofing should be one of your main priorities. In a world that is constantly evolving, you cannot afford to get left behind. 

New technologies and changes to working culture, these are just a couple of factors that influence how businesses – big or small – operate in modern times. Smart business owners monitor these changes and emerging trends to ensure they can keep their business future-proof and stay ahead of the curve.

However, some business owners believe that future-proofing is a hard task, or too much of a financial investment – you might even be one of these owners. The good news is this: future-proofing is easily achievable and not as expensive as you think. 

Here are some easy-to-follow tips on how you can build your business for the future. 

Use Excel for scheduling 

Keeping track of your schedule can be hard. From zoom meetings to customer appointments, working life is filled with tasks that can be too much for the brain to remember. 

To help you with this, you probably use a note app on your android or iPhone. This is fine, but it is not efficient or built for the future. 

Instead, it is a good idea to use Microsoft Excel for your daily schedule, you can learn Excel online free. 

Excel lets you create simple, easy schedules with automatic updates (you can even make it visually appealing with your favorite colors). The headings and columns enable you to list all your tasks for each day, month, and year, along with which employees are overseeing each specific task. 

You can also include other relevant information, such as: 

• Project deadlines 
• Phone numbers and emails 

It is all super helpful and allows your entire team to work from one schedule: ending confusion and producing consistency. 

Hire a virtual assistant

For what seems like forever, working life has followed the same formulae: an office filled with desks, where employees work 9-5.  However, the times are changing fast. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic, people have gotten to experience what it is like working remotely from home – and many of them like it. Because of this, it is highly likely that the days of busy offices filled with employees are over. Instead, business owners will allow people to work from home, and even employ people they have never met– like virtual assistants. 

Outsourcing to a virtual assistant is a modern concept that many businesses have invested in. A virtual assistant works from their office at home, assisting your customers online. Some of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant include: 

• Cost savings 
• More time 
• Reduced workload 
• Scalability 

Invest in technology 

It is important that your business invests in high-quality technology, from phones to computers, to ensure you can work to your maximum potential. Having the right technology is going to benefit everyone and you do not need to break the bank to get it. 

Think about your business and the industry you are in: which technologies are most suited for you? For example, if you have several customer service employees who spend all day on the phone, provide them with high-quality Bluetooth headsets. 

Research your industry to see the current technology trends taking place and make further investment decisions from there.