Google Workspace is a game-changer for small business owners seeking to organise, streamline, and propel their growth. Tailored for businesses aiming to digitise and thrive, it offers a wealth of resources to enhance productivity, collaboration, and integration.
However, the question is, as a Google Workspace user, are you harnessing the full potential of these tools and apps to systemise and supercharge your business?
In this comprehensive blog, we'll dive into the magic of Google Workspace apps, specifically Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Forms, Google Sheets, and Google Docs. We'll explore what each of these apps is all about, how they can benefit your business, and offer in-depth, real-world examples to help you get started. So, let's dive right in!
Google Drive: Your Digital Filing Cabinet
What it is: Google Drive is like your trusty digital filing cabinet, where you can store and organise all your business documents, files, spreadsheets, pdfs images and more in the cloud.
How it helps your business: Google Drive doesn't just store your files; it allows you to access them from anywhere with an internet connection, making it an ideal solution for remote work. Collaboration is easy – you can share files with team members, partners or clients and even collaborate on documents in real-time.
In-Depth Example: Let's say you're collaborating on a client proposal. With Google Drive, you can create a folder for the project, store all relevant files like images, templates, and previous proposals. You invite your team to access this folder, and everyone can simultaneously work on the proposal document using Google Docs, have access to the images and even upload additional assets. Furthermore, Google Drive automatically saves versions of your documents, so you can track changes and revert to previous versions if needed (Amazing!).
Google Calendar: Master Your Time
What it is: Google Calendar is your digital planner, helping you schedule, manage, and keep track of your appointments, client work, project planning and other commitments.
How it helps your business: Google Calendar is more than just a scheduling tool. It sends you reminders, integrates with other apps, and even offers you the option to create different calendars for various aspects of your business or personal life. Again, you can share your calendar with your team and/or clients.
In-Depth Example: Let's say you're hosting a webinar next month. You can create a dedicated calendar for all your webinar-related tasks, set up email reminders for planning, promote it on social media using reminders, and even create time blocks in your calendar for dedicated webinar preparation. You can also integrate it with other tools like Zoom and Calendly to schedule and join meetings directly from your Google Calendar events. Clients can book in calls with you and your calendar will not only show them when you are available, it will also automatically update as soon as a meeting has been booked in.
Google Forms: Gather Data with Ease
What it is: Google Forms is a simple tool for creating surveys, questionnaires, and feedback forms.
How it helps your business: Google Forms simplifies data collection, automating the process of gathering valuable information from your clients, team, or prospects. The forms can be branded in your colours and display your business logo. You can ask a variety of questions; multiple-choice, checkbox, dropdown, short/long answer and give the form-fillers the opportunity to receive a copy of their answers. You’ll also be notified when someone completes one of your forms.
In-Depth Example: Suppose you're offering a new service, and you want to gather feedback from your existing clients to fine-tune it. You can create a detailed survey using Google Forms, send it out to your clients, and collect their feedback effortlessly. The responses are neatly organised either in report form (with pie charts and linear graphs) or in Google Sheets. Making it easy for you to analyse and act on the feedback.
Google Sheets: Crunching Numbers Made Simple
What it is: Google Sheets is a spreadsheet tool that lets you analyse and manage data, track expenses, plan projects and more.
How it helps your business: Google Sheets is like having your own financial analyst. It helps you organise and analyse data, make informed decisions, and keep a close eye on your business's financial health. Again you can customise your Sheets with brand colours and logos, share with your team and clients, and they are great for project plans or content creation tracking.
In-Depth Example: You can create a budget tracker using Google Sheets. It can automatically update expenses and income, giving you a clear picture of your financial situation at any given time, helping you make financial decisions proactively. You can also use built-in functions to perform complex calculations and create customised reports to track your business's performance over time.
Google Docs: Collaborative Content Creation
What it is: Google Docs is a word processing tool that allows for real-time collaboration on documents. Like a Word doc but much better!
How it helps your business: Google Docs is your go-to tool for creating content, SOPs, proposals, and project plans. You can add tables, images, charts and drawings. The beauty lies in its collaborative abilities, where team members can work together in real time.
In-Depth Example: Let's say you're crafting a project plan for a new product or offer launch. Use Google docs to create the project overview, timeline and task list. Share the document with your team and everyone can provide input, make comments, and see changes happening in real time. You can also use the built-in commenting feature to give and receive feedback without cluttering the document.
By using all the Google Workspace tools and applications you’ll quickly declutter your back-office, automate processes, and boost your business's efficiency. I can’t wait to hear about your transformation! Drop me a line and let me know how you’re making Google Workspace work for you.
If you would like help in setting up your Google Workspace then consider booking in a power hour with me. We can work through the process together. The session will be recorded and I’ll share with you any useful resources I have that will help you stay more organised. Click here to find out more.