Articles

The Evolution of “Things”

Categories: Innovations, Trends & Technology

You can fight it, but you can’t stop it, no matter how hard you try. Yes, the evolution of “things” impacts all of us.

When I launched my cleaning and restoration company many years ago, it was normal to keep track of clients on paper using something you might see now in a museum — a Rolodex. And we scheduled jobs by writing them on a paper calendar. When we wrote letters (You call them emails now), we fed paper into a device called a typewriter, and, when we made a typo, we painted over it with a brush and blew on it until it dried.

You can stop scoffing and giggling right now. It isn’t polite.  

As years went by, what I call the evolution of “things” hit hard. I didn’t like it. I fought it. But these “things” prevailed. Computers decided to make a visit, and soon I purchased one that took two men to carry, and I was ushered into the era of using software to keep track of my clientele.

Next came the pager. My wife can tell you how tough it was to pry my pager from my fingers. I think in the struggle she lost a fingernail.

After the initial panic, “things” were OK. Technology was something to get used to, but I did it. I learned how new tools and “things” made business life a little bit easier.

How about now? You are fortunate to be in business right now. There are all kinds of time-saving options for running your business — automated technology that can spit things out and do a lot of your work for you and tasks that we had to do by hand years ago. I bet you have never licked a stamp. Am I right?

From job tasking to client management to social media marketing and much, much more, automatic marketing is now a solid part of our lives. Are you taking advantage of what’s available? Or are you missing out on what your peers and competitors are finding works for them and their companies?

Now is the time to make sure you have all the right “things” for your business.

About the Author.

Jeff Cross is the ISSA media director, with media brands that include ISSA Today, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, and Cleanfax. He can be reached at [email protected] or 740-973-4236.