The Business of Building a Business

Note: This is a cross-post from ideas, startups, tech: banterant

Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.

- Peter Drucker

You've started something or you're helping to start something. A great idea grew in your mind like a tidal wave and you have no choice but to jump on for the ride! ...but it turns out you might have to do more paddling than you thought.

You thought you'd spend all or at least most of your time working on your new product or service, but chances are as you grow, more and more of your time is consumed by the chores that surround building a small business. Time tracking, expense tracking, business development, document storage and collaboration, signing documents, etc. Increasingly you may find managing these "side" items taking up a majority of your day.

Here are some Apps that can help.

Google Apps for Business, your foundation

Chances are you're using Google Apps already, a vast majority of new businesses do. Google Apps provides that custom branding and identity you need to present yourself professionally to the rest of the world. If you're using Google Apps but don't think you're leveraging the platform to its full potential, check out Learn.GoogleApps.com and GoogleGooru.com to take your skills to the next level.

Make sure you take advantage of the Drive desktop app, the iOS and Android versions of Gmail, Drive and Quickoffice Pro for Google Apps. Google Apps for Business also includes Google+ Hangouts with 15 person video chat, screen sharing, remote desktop support and realtime collaboration. Don't email Excel spreadsheets around, use Google Sheets to create a single source of the truth and collaborate in realtime. With Google Apps you can also have endless "alias" email addresses at no cost, support@, sales@, info@, fakeemployee@, etc. This can help you look a bit bigger if need be and gives you a wide range of flexibility when it comes to managing messaging and identify in and out of your organization.

Gmail and Google Docs also allow the ability to create custom mail merge messages. You can find the tutorial here. This allows you to send a highly customized message to a large number of recipients very efficiently. (Apps is my day job, so you if you need help just email me.)

Google Apps covers the basics and will save you hundreds of hours per year when leveraged effectively.

Business Development

If you have a great idea, the apathy and lack of response from the glacial-paced world around you can be maddening. You know you've solved a problem, people know they have the problem, yet nothing moves and nothing changes. Welcome to the world of sales!!!

You have to sell your new product, service or idea to somebody. Everyone is busy which makes this work extremely time consuming. Here are some freemium tools that can help. (I'm assuming you're using Google Apps, see step 1 above.)

• YesWare. This app sits right inside Gmail and offers a wide range of functionality. Most importantly it allows you to track email opens, set email reminders (i.e. follow up in 2 weeks). YesWare also provides an extremely easy way to track "opportunities", helping you set and keep your priorities straight. Prioritization is the most critical skill you must practice daily. 

•  Boomerang or Right Inbox. These apps are pretty similar. Both offer the ability to schedule email to be sent at a certain time (hint: don't email busy people in the middle of the day) and these apps also allow you to set reminders. Don't hear back from someone? Have these apps remind you in a week or 2 or in 6 months depending on what you're working on. 

• Insightly or Streak. These are both relatively light weight CRM platforms. CRM often gets a bad rap, but building good CRM practices into the culture of your firm early can make all the difference in the world. Who are the people, partners, customers, and opportunities most critical to the success of your firm this week, next month and next year? Are you keeping track of your important conversations? How do you share this information with other team members? Both these applications integrate tightly with Gmail; Streak actually "lives" within Gmail. 

• Rapportive. Rapportive is a "social context" application and was recently acquired by Linkedin. Rapportive sits in the right side bar of Gmail and shows you a picture, profile information and recent social interactions of the people you're emailing with. Relationships are all about context; Rapportive can help you learn more about those people you're working to get to know. Do you share similar interests? Root for the same sports team? Enjoy the same music? etc. 

• Linkedin.  You have to use Linkedin. You have to keep your profile up to date and interesting. Linkedin is much more important than any paper resume or PR blast. Create an authentic presence on Linkedin and you'll be amazed at how much value you'll find within the community. Join and contribute content to relevant Groups, share interesting content with like minded people, learn more about your industry, etc. etc. etc.  

Accounting, Expenses and Signatures

Taxes are a huge pain in the a$$, no question about it. A great aspect of starting something new and often making little or no money is the reduction of your tax burden. Depending on how you organized your firm, much of your daily activity is now a deductible tax expense. These apps can help. 

• Expensify. To deduct it, you have to know it's there. Mileage, meals, networking, drinks, marketing material, biz dev meetings, advertising, software, hardware, etc. As an entrepreneur you're living in your business all day, this makes your day deductible. Stop throwing money out the window because keeping track of everything is a pain in the a$$. Expensify can help make this tracking much easier. 

• Freshbooks. Hopefully you're sending out invoices or plan to do so soon ... if not, you need to work on that business plan a bit more. How many invoices are outstanding, how old are they? How much did you invoice last year at this time? Who pays fast, who's pokey? Who's really your biggest client, how much did they spend last year? What's your most popular product? Where are you spending your most time? Are your projects taking you more or less time than you thought? You have to know this information, the sooner you get it organized the better. This is the information you need to make decisions about growth, about which clients to love and which customers to kick to the curb. 

• HelloSign. After working in paperless environment for a few years, the act of printing something so it can be signed, scanned and then sent back electronically is more than just a little annoying. HelloSign sits in Gmail, when you get an attachment it gives you another option of "sign" next to "download" and "view". If you sign anything regularly, this will save you tons of time. 

Additional applications...

I've intentionally focused on applications that serve as the foundation of any business. What if you're looking for something different or more specific?

• Google Apps Marketplace. The Apps Marketplace is a one-stop shop for tools to run your business - accounting, project management, customer management - to name a few. You don’t need to download anything - just add to your Google Apps account and use right from your browser.

• Chrome Web Store. Here you can find extensions and applications specifically for business.