From time to time, I will talk about a subject that is completely off the beaten path regarding search engine optimization. Enter Google Docs! It is free to use, has powerful functionality and can be easily
viewed with most devices.
As a small business owner, many of us repeatedly try to find the proper document/file sharing system and/or business software which will help us run our business better and faster. There are hundreds, if not thousands of ‘pay for’ software applications out there that claim to help manage your business more effectively. Personally, I have tried at least 6 different ones over the last 10 years and none have worked.
This is what happens: I get the “free trial” version (limited number of days), then load my company information into the system, and then train my company members on how to use the application. At first, things go pretty smooth… and then you eventually run into a problem: The software will not do/manage a particular critical business function that you need. You see, +99% of business software functions much like a giant Swiss Army knife; it is good for many things and the versatility is superb– but a multi-purpose tool is not great at any one particular thing. What do I mean by this? Since your business is uniquely tailored to your preferences (market, region, type, special leverages, etc…), there are certain ‘custom features’ the software must have in order for your company to continue to hum along, and to also grow. And this is where the Swiss Army knife always fails. You can contact your software vendor and ask them for special programming, but this can be very costly and is almost always weighed against their existing workload, how the upgrade will benefit their other clients, etc… As you can imagine, you almost never get what you ask for. Eventually, you abandon it and go back to the previous way of doing business.
Enter Google Docs. You can create a ‘company whiteboard’ via an online spreadsheet and collaborate in real time from multiple locations. What am I talking about? You simply invite users to the system and give them various levels of control (per your rules) and you can actually see people typing in the document as you are speaking to them. It’s really cool, free and gives the flexibility to create documents/spreadsheets that are tailored exactly to your business model.
Try it, I bet you like it. If you have any questions about ways to use Google Docs, let me know.
About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner of PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Georgia and Greater Carolina areas.
