Planning for 2025: Small Business Technology

[To start at the beginning of the series, click here: Planning for 2025 Series: Intro]

In an era where technological agility can make or break a business, we would be remiss if we left out technology planning for 2025. From leveraging cloud computing to harnessing the power of AI, every small business can adopt some simple, key strategies that will not only streamline your operations but also position your business for unprecedented growth in 2025 and beyond. Discover how simple yet powerful tech upgrades can transform your customer relationships, fortify your cybersecurity, and unlock new levels of productivity—all while keeping costs in check.

• Digital Transformation: Invest in technology that enhances operational efficiency, such as cloud computing, website updates, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. There are more low cost / no cost technology solutions available in 2024 than ever in history. Find the ones that make sense for your business.

Be honest - when was the last time you updated your website? Does it really represent what you do in 2024 or what you want to do in 2025? And where is all of your customer data? On individual computers? In employees heads? That isn’t serving the business well.

Simple Start: Make 2025 the year that you start to store all of the customer contact and interaction data in a CRM. This isn’t hard, it serves the business when employees aren’t available, and adds value to your business if you actually make use of the technology.

You don’t need a fancy, expensive system, but it does need to be available to - and used by - everyone.

• Cybersecurity Measures: Prioritize cybersecurity to protect sensitive data and maintain customer trust, especially as online transactions increase. This can mean anything from enacting 2-Factor Authentication to ensuring that you’ve got a firewall in place between your business computers and the Internet, and having employees log out or lock their screen (Windows-L for the PC or Command-Control-Q for the Mac] when they walk away are all simple ways to provide good security.

Simple Start: Set up regular backing up of every computer, every server (if you still have standalone), and every cloud storage location in your company. Why something as simple as a backup? First, employees have been known to delete files, folders, and entire drives by accident. Secondly, if you ever get hit with ransomware, natural disaster, or random power surge, you’ve got the ability to be back in business within hours.

Just remember that backups that are never tested can’t be relied upon. Create a regular schedule of backups and quarterly test-reloads.

• AI / Automation Tools: Utilize automation to streamline repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on higher-value activities. For automation, you can use what is called “RPA Tools” (Robotic Process Automation) to recreate any repetitive computer-based process that your employees have to do manually.

On the AI side, we’re just at the beginning. You could have AI create full bid packages for your business, do analysis on large groups of numbers, or even set up a full schedule of sales letters / e-mails. The number of tools coming and going can make your head spin, so just start looking at which of the processes your employees are doing that create the most revenue.

There’s a good chance that AI can take over at least a portion of those high-value processes through AI integration. Focus on just those items and your AI search will be much more fruitful.

Simple Start: The low-hanging fruit for automation are repeated tasks that can be flowcharted. Almost every report fits into this category as well as most repeated spreadsheet creations. If you just look to automate these two categories, you will free up more than than you can imagine.

• Suggested Key Masters for Technology Adoption: Within the Keystone Mastermind Small Business Community, we’ve got some well-known experts in Technology that come free with your membership. These folks are:

James Lucente - James Lucente is a digital marketing expert and the CEO of Lucente Entertainment, with over 20 years of experience in guiding artists and brands to success through strategic social media campaigns. His ability to craft compelling content and leverage data-driven insights has made him a sought-after strategist, driving brand visibility and measurable business growth in the entertainment industry.

Karen Hite - Karen Hite is the co-founder of Hite Digital, an award-winning digital marketing agency known for its innovative franchise model that helps marketing agencies scale effectively. Committed to creating jobs in Latin America and empowering entrepreneurs through her role at Committed Mastermind, Karen combines her expertise in operations and project management to drive growth and improve business outcomes.

Mark de Grasse - Mark de Grasse is a marketing innovator and CEO of AI-Branding Academy, dedicated to transforming marketing education for over 20,000 professionals with his extensive experience in digital marketing and content strategy. Formerly the President of DigitalMarketer, he has authored thousands of tutorials and is recognized for his advocacy of data-driven and AI-enhanced marketing strategies, while also contributing to causes supporting individuals with autism.

You can see all of our Key Masters - successful business professionals who provide advice specifically for small business owners - here: The Key Masters

If you’re a small business owner who could use more expert-level information on how to create more growth, make your business a more fun place for you: the owner, and learn how to reduce the amount of time you spend in the business without harming it, the Keystone Community is the right place for you.

For less than the price of a low-level business coach, you have access to the amazing people above and more actionable small business tips than you can shake a stick at. Check it all out here: The Keys Community – The Keys Community is a thriving 24/7 network of like-minded small business owners and entrepreneurs.