The Basic Tech You Need for Your Startup

Starting your own business is one of the most empowering things you can do. Self-employed people make up 18% the country’s disabled workforce, and this is for a variety of reasons, including having the opportunity to fully show your potential. It’s a chance in a lifetime to fulfil your dreams and demonstrate your capabilities. 

Thus, it is incredibly important that you don’t limit yourself by neglecting to research and invest properly in the fundamental tools you need to get your business off to a good start. Choosing the right tech for your startup lays the foundations for an effective and successful business. Like people, every startup is different and will need the versions that are right for them, but there are some basic technologies which no new business can be without.  

Strong Internet Quality

The first thing you need to consider is your access to the internet. Getting yourself established with a fast and reliable broadband package is going to make it so much easier to get the rest of your business up and running. As the owner of a new business, you do need to conserve money, but resist the lure of internet providers offering ‘too good to be true’ offers; it’s likely that they will turn out to be just that. Instead, the experts at Broadbands and Phones advise that you ‘be sure to only work with trusted and proven suppliers of broadband’ to ensure that ‘you’ll get the very best performance and reliability’. This is even more important when you are a start-up, because you haven’t yet established a client base invested enough in you to tolerate a few minor glitches in service. 

Phones

Having a separate business phone for you and your employees is a must. This helps to keep work and personal life separate, helping to keep business strictly professional and personal life free from unwanted interruptions. It allows you to know when and how to answer calls, which actually reduces stress levels: meaning that you and your employees will be functioning better during working hours. When you use a separate business phone, you lower the risk of data security and privacy breaches, and also make calculating your expenses much more straight-forward. Thus, while it may seem like a luxurious expense on first glance, the benefits for your startup are clear. Because not everyone has the same needs, consider your employees’ needs before purchasing to ensure that their given business phone will suit their needs. 

Team Communication Apps

As a startup owner, you will quickly realise that communication within your team is essential. Today, there are many team communication apps out there which can help you to keep track of what everyone is working on and keep team members communicating regularly. Particularly during today’s necessitated climate of sporadic remote working, Avocor’s business blog explain how such apps can ‘help remote teams stay on top of work and keep open team communication’. Integrating use of such apps into your typical working practice will help to retain consistency whether you are working together with your team or from afar. 

Accounting Software

Unless you are opening an accountancy startup, it’s a good idea to get some tech in place to help you manage your finances. The business insight website, Tech Radar, suggests that ‘accounting software is a non-negotiable if you're trying to run your own business, and the sooner you deploy one of the best accounting software products the better’. Too many businesses end up being penalised by HMRC because they failed to present their accounts at the required standard. For this reason, it’s vital to ensure that you have your financial bases covered. This includes invoicing, tax, bookkeeping, PAYE and budgeting. Luckily, there are many great free and paid-for software applications which can help you with this. 

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology, according to Worksafe is ‘any equipment, software program, or system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the capabilities of persons with disabilities.’ The goal of assistive technologies is to enable the user to achieve their potential without limitations. If you have never used assistive technologies before, or have not looked into new assistive technologies for some years, you may be surprised at how technological advancement has opened up new possibilities for disabled entrepreneurs over the last few years. No one should have to compromise on their dream of running their own business exactly how they want to, so – when deciding on your business model and practices – make sure that you do take the time to consider what assistive technologies are out there which could help you. You may be surprised at what new possibilities arise. 

Starting a business can be a great opportunity, especially for people living with disabilities. Being your own boss offers greater work flexibility and can help you achieve your overall career goals. However, it’s essential that you have the right equipment needed for your business, especially if you’re working alongside a team. This way, your business will be running as efficiently as possible. 

Sources:
www.broadbandandphones.co.uk/business-broadband/ www.avocor.com/uk/blog/best-apps-for-team-communication/ www.techradar.com/uk/best/best-accounting-software