Bill Gluth is the guy you want to talk to if your business is a little rusty around the edges. Maybe you have great ideas and brilliant strategies in place but you’re just not getting that work done. Maybe you’re not growing fast enough and everyone on your team suspects you could be doing better.
Or maybe your business is so new you haven’t established any workflow models at all, good or bad. As an Evernote Certified Consultant based in Tempe, Arizona, Bill has seen it all and he’s here to help.
“In my practice, I work with sole proprietorships and small to mid-sized businesses to make the path to success clearer and attainable, faster,” he says. “I prize my strong relationships with my partners. Our work is based on total trust and an all-cards-on-the-table approach to solving problems.”
We asked Bill to share some of the biggest tips he and his company, Creative Thinking for Business, recommend to new clients, and how Evernote factors in. Here’s what he told us:
1. You need an information hub
“With so many platforms and far-flung clouds, it’s no wonder a lot of important information slips through the cracks,” Bill says. “One of my clients was missing out on new business because sales information was scattered all over the place. In this case, the sales team was spending an enormous amount of time ‘hunting things down’ which gets even worse when you don’t even know what you’re looking for. I introduced them to Evernote Business and in a few weeks, all the tasks, workflow, and background information was in one place and instantly searchable.” That means less time spent on overhead and more time making progress. “No doubt, you can store files in a million different places, but when you put stuff in Evernote you can actually use it.”
2. Keep your goals in focus
“Very often when I sit down with a new client there is no shortage of ambition. I wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t a destination,” says Bill. “It could be sales growth, lowering costs, opening 10 more stores, hiring new people… there are always goals. Which is great. That means the business has the energy and the desire to move forward. What often happens is that goals tend to drown in a sea of details. When what has to get done today is in the way of where you want to be tomorrow, you have a problem.”
Bill finds that Evernote takes care of this in a number of ways: “First, the everyday stuff will be better managed and less stressful. When people have a strong understanding of what is expected of them, the daily chaos factor is greatly reduced. Key individuals might actually have a few minutes each day to look ahead, instead of putting out fires.”
Second, making sure that goals have a place to live makes them more likely to become a reality. ”Goals are written down, agreed upon, and not messed with,” Bill says. “The ordinary bumps in the road cannot get in the way of a notebook called ‘Goals’. No matter how crazy things get, everyone can always refer back to the big picture and ask ‘what are we trying to do here?’ Ignorance of the goals is no longer an excuse!”
3. Treat Evernote like a colleague
Bill also recommends treating shared information as part and parcel of how your team operates. “Evernote is on your desktop as an app. It’s on a web page if you’re away from your office. And it’s mobile,” he says.“The smartphone app is a full-featured beauty. And they all stay in sync. How’s that for simple. Anything you add or edit is available everywhere, instantly. For you privately or for your whole team. Your choice. When my clients start to think of Evernote almost like a colleague, or a staff member, things change. There’s a little more calm and lot more stability in an office powered by Evernote.”
Take the next step
If you’ve been thinking about bringing Evernote into your business but don’t have enough time for a deep dive, get in touch with an Evernote Certified Consultant. Bring a mental list of business issues you’d like to solve and get ready for a very pleasant surprise.
