In a rapidly changing digital world, it is more important than ever for small business owners to work smarter not harder.
Between maintaining an online presence, managing IT services, and keeping on top of electronic payments, there’s a lot to handle on top of core businesses operations.
Telstra has a suite of services specifically for businesses of any size to help manage your digital life, so you can focus on growing your business and serving your customers.
Lockyer Valley Communications manager Sarah Burgess said small business owners, especially in regional and rural communities, must assume multiple roles to make their business succeed.
“These small business owners have to wear multiple hats,” she said.
“They’re their own accountants, they have to do their own marketing, they have to run the businesses, and sometimes they’re running it on their own.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported there were 2.5 billion active businesses in Australia at the end of the last financial year.
There are roughly 400,000 new business per year and most of them are small businesses, meaning a staff of fewer than 15 people.
These small businesses, particularly sole traders, small retail operations, and service providers working from home, can lighten their load with these Telstra services.
“What we’re finding is these small businesses have such a big job ahead of them,” Sarah said.
“The statistics of small businesses failing is really high as well.
“They have such a big task ahead of them but there are different ways to make that a lot easier and a lot better.”
MAKE YOUR MARK ONLINE
To reach customers wherever they are, it is important to have and maintain an online presence.
“Only half of businesses have a website,” Sarah said.
“As people are time poor and can’t get out much, an online presence can put your business in front of people when they’re in their own home.”
Telstra’s Business Website Services can take the hassle out of website building, maintenance, digital marketing and social media for you.
Websites are built in collaboration with your business from design all the way to launch.
“Even if you’ve got an existing domain they can then come in and redesign,” Sarah said.
“They also do quarterly coaching calls and performance reports, so you can see how you are tracking.”
Telstra have many different packages to suit your needs.
The packages can cover website services, design, IT support, and your website can be tailored to include an online store, appointment booking, plus they’ll help you with marketing, digital advertising, and you can add social media packages as well.
“Businesses are always changing and products are always changing,” Sarah said.
“It’s not just website creation and changes, we’re also going to help you market this in the best way for you.”
GET SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT
“The other hat owners are also wearing is they’re their own IT support,” Sarah said.
Nothing’s fool proof, unfortunately, and when IT systems need troubleshooting it can be a very stressful experience.
“Telstra have also got an IT service,” Sarah said.
“They’re based in Townsville so they’re all local.
“It’s 24/7 support and it can be everything from storage backup, security, devices and hardware, point of sale systems, EFTPOS troubleshooting, printers, and full internet networks including mesh and wifi.”
Too often, we’ll often find a DIY hack or just call the smartest person we know to help us troubleshoot the problem.
This can be time consuming, not to mention frustrating, and a dedicated IT support service can make sure your time is better spent.
“It’s exactly when that term ‘time is money’ becomes very prominent,” Sarah said.
“Everything’s getting more expensive, but the more time you waste is also time and money lost from you actually running your business.”
PAYMENTS ARE EASIER THAN EVER
Every business owner also needs to be on top of their finances.
Integral to most retail and service businesses is their EFTPOS facilities.
“Telstra have partnered with a brand called Tyro,” Sarah said.
“They cover a lot of businesses and business needs.
“It does all of your digital receipts, so your accounting is really easy, as well as taking all of your standard payments as well.”
Tyro has EFTPOS solutions to suit a variety of businesses.
Most critically, the ability to take payments on the go.
“We’re all trying to save time, and the easier access it is, the more portable it is, the easier it gets to run your business smoothly,” Sarah said.
Their portability is ideal for businesses who make house calls, are mobile, or have no fixed address.
“It’s great for tradies taking payment on the job,” Sarah said.
“It saves them having to invoice, then chase up payments, they’ve got it all there ready to go.”
The Tyro Go is great for markets, or as a backup EFTPOS device.
“Most people don’t have a backup EFTPOS,” Sarah said.
“We’ve all been in a situation when EFTPOS has failed, whether that’s the banks have had an outage, but it could also have internet issues, your device could be malfunctioning, anything like that.
“Tyro can be a portable backup solution if the bank goes down.”
GET BACK TO WHAT YOU LOVE
There’s a host of support and solutions to help lighten the load.
Sometimes it is just about knowing where to start.
Whether you’re about to embark on a new business venture, your business is growing, or you’re an established business looking for a boost, Telstra’s business services can help you streamline your efficiency.
“When you’re time efficient, you’re less stressed,” Sarah said.
“There are ways we can help streamline their business, and making things a little bit easier for them, in these areas.”
Instead of spending valuable time fixing a broken website, or getting the printer working again, or losing incoming because the EFTPOS is down, have a specialist take care of this side of the business for you, so you can focus on doing what you love.
Visit Lockyer Valley Communications to find out more.
