Entrepreneurs are passionate about their businesses and work around the clock to reach their goals. Slack allows them to stay productive and keep their eyes on essential things.
Entrepreneurs of small businesses have been creative and resourceful in getting things done. This has helped them to survive and even thrive. With the economy’s future in doubt, entrepreneurs must reevaluate their digital tools to eliminate the hustle and make the most of what they have.
Growing businesses might have the best talent on their payroll but need help to afford an IT department. Forward-thinking small businesses have put Slack at their core to increase productivity and save money on staff and budget.
Three small businesses make Slack harder so they can concentrate on their bottom lines.
MANAGE THE CHANGING OF HEADCOUNTS WITHOUT THE HEADACHE
Moontower, a home renovation and construction company, often hires to meet the changing needs of customers and market demands. New hires can quickly join Slack and become familiar with current builds and documents. Moontower’s office manager Vanessa Salazar says it’s easy to browse through Slack and see what’s happening with different builds.
An admin team member can deactivate an employee’s account when they leave. This will prevent them from losing any information they might have shared with the team. This is quite a departure from Moontower’s old method of adding and removing people from messaging apps in text chains. Salazar says that when we communicated via text, adding new hires to each group chat and offboarding them was a pain. “Now, I can deactivate employees, and that’s all!”
Maintaining a culture that encourages camaraderie is essential for Moontower’s flexible and fluctuating team. Slack’s success channel celebrates small and big wins. Team members post pictures of completed builds, cheer on new clients and congratulate one another when a project moves through the design phase to construction. Celebratory emoticons on professional and personal updates make the team feel connected and welcome new hires.
KEEP YOUR EXTERNAL AND TEAM PARTNERS ORGANIZED
Fortress’s four-member team needs to be organized after it has expanded its range of handmade, fair-trade leather shoes over the years. The team must think about inventory management, supply chain issues, and product details for each style. Fortress has created specific channels to support each style.
Slack Connect allows the team to work in sync with their digital agency in London. This allows them to make a data-informed decision by integrating the tools they use internally into secure channels. Evan Streusand is the founder of Fortress. “We rely upon Slack Connect for pretty much everything,” he says. “Our inventory changes constantly, so we must keep up with our ad strategy. We also need to update what we are promoting in real time.
Fortress uses Slack to chat with its clients and share real-time information. Fortress integrates Dropbox directly into Slack, so they don’t waste data or time downloading individual product photos and sending them to each channel.
SCALE BUSINESS OPERATIONS – BRINGING ALL THINGS UNDER ONE OPERATIONAL HOUSE
Slow Clap, a San Francisco-based business founded in 2014, has seen significant growth. From Dan Lichtenberg, founder, creating video content for friends, Slow Clap has grown to include six full-time and four half-time employees and up to 30 freelancers. Slow Clap’s rapid growth required an operational hub (or digital headquarters) to keep track of the fast-moving projects and staffing requirements and ensure smooth client experiences.
Lichtenberg creates reminders in Slack to remind him of tasks with clear deadlines. Slow Clap integrates with Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Frame.io so that all company work can be done in one place.
“Slack is a part of our DNA. Lichtenberg states that he can’t imagine Slow Clap running without it. “Not all conversations should take 10 minutes. Some things can be reduced to a 30-second conversation.
