Time-Saving
Technology Techniques
Personal telecomputers:
productivity in the palm of your hand
Futurists have been predicting
the wave of personal telecomputers for some time now. Eventually everyone
in an office, home or on the road will be able to have a telecomputer
small enough for the briefcase or purse, to send and receive communications
by voice and video as well as to transmit data.
Rather than notes stuck
all over your desk amid a Rolodex, to-do lists and an appointment
calendar, the personal digital assistant (PDA) - or personal telecomputer
- contains all of these items plus a database in a portable package
about the size of a calculator. The PDA also uses software packages
that can produce travel information and keep track of travel expenses.
With a fax modem card, a PDA can connect you to on-line services,
allowing you to send and receive e-mail and faxes or do research.
E-Mail from anywhere
Telecomputers which use
satellite technology provide wireless connections for entrepreneurs.
Jake Reynolds is negotiating
a contract for an important new customer in Texas while he is attending
an industry conference in Chicago. He receives an e-mail message from
the customer on his wireless, handheld, personal telecomputer regarding
some changes the customer wants. He pulls up the contract he had on
file in the hard drive, makes the necessary changes and sends it out
to the customer. The customer receives the document instantly, reads
it, signs it, and sends it back via e-mail. A symbol on the screen
of his telecomputer lets Jake know he has new mail. Without leaving
the conference to find a post office or telephone booth, Jake receives
the document and secures a new contract.
Time really is money
Time is a valuable commodity
in the business world. Time saved by the entrepreneur in making decisions,
developing products, making sales and managing the business can mean
more outcome and more profits. Saving time for the customer also means
an added value to your product or service.
Managing the business
New entrepreneurs often
underestimate the time needed to manage a business. Record-keeping
and managing information can tax the energy and creativity of any
business owner. Effective use of technology and telecommunications
can help to save time and money while providing more complete and
accurate business records. Software programs for functions likeaccounting
and data management have become easier to use in recent years.
Computers help business
owners to improve their productivity with programs that:
- Keep financial records
and perform accounting functions, including developing financial
statements.
- Develop bills and statements
directly from customer order information.
- Build budgets and track
expenses.
- Track sales and categorize
the places from which they come.
- Keep customer information,
including purchasing history.
- Keep employee files,
vacation and sick leave.
- Design sales brochures
and product informational pieces.
- Build graphs and charts.
Computers have been useful
to entrepreneurs for almost a decade. New and emerging telecommunications
linkages to the processing capabilities of computers multiply the
benefits
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