Microsoft Word Templates Will Save You Time In Your Small
Business!
One of the issues that most small business owners overlook when
starting out in business is the use of technology. Whilst
computer technology may require a significant investment when
starting out; Overtime, if your systems are built correctly they
will in fact save you very large sums of money, in particular in
the area of staff wages.
When I first started my business, One-on-One Personal Computer
Training, I started out with a $3,000 Credit Card, which when
you talk to any business adviser or business-coach is absolutely
the worst thing you could do. One of the issues I have been most
conscious of is the cost of having a large number of staff. The
way I achieved a high level of efficiency in such a competitive
market was to automate as many of the day-to-day tasks as I
could. The best tasks for business automation are those that are
repetitive.
As soon as I mention the word Business Automation, most
technophobes will put up a barrier and go into a minor or major
fit. Business automation can be as simple as creating just a few
Microsoft Word templates. Business automation doesn't
necessarily mean hiring a huge plethora of software developers
and toiling day and night to build some monsterous and complex
system. It can and should be simple so that you as a business
owner can in fact do it yourself. Let me explain!
Microsoft for all its good and bad issues, has provided
business one of the most awesome tools - Microsoft Word allows
you to build templates that you can reuse as many times as you
wish.
What Is A Microsoft Word Template? Essentially, a Microsoft Word
Template is like any traditional word document, the difference
is that it is designed to be reused as many times as you
require. Why not create a normal word document then. Well, the
difference is that when you use a Microsoft Word Template, you
can store the template under the New dialogue box, so that each
time you want to use the document you go to that one point and
it will be available.
Did you know that you can even create your own folders in the
New dialog box? If you didn't know this, all you have to do is
to simply create a new folder where all your templates are
stored. On each of our company's computers we have a special
folder called one-on-one where we store each of our templates
for use by our staff
What Sort Of Templates Might You Need? This is one of the key
questions I get asked the most. The most common templates I see
small businesses require are items like Sick Leave Forms, Leave
Applications, Order Forms, Sales Letters, Purchase Order Forms
and so forth.
One of the reasons why I chose to build Microsoft Word Templates
in my business was to ensure a level of continuity of contact
with our customers. By building a series of Templates such as:
- A Company Letter Head - A Company Fax Sheet - A Company Leave
Application - A Company Thank You Letter - A Company Weekly
Timesheet - A Company Sales Letter - A Company Visitor Sign-in
Sheet - A Company Purchase Order Form - A Company Order Form
By having these forms in a central place I have ensured that my
staff don't need to be recreating these styles of documents each
time they have to send a letter or fax. Further to this, I know
that certain sales letters used by my staff will achieve the
sales outcomes that I am looking for. By using a Microsoft Word
Template, they know that when they get and enquiry that they can
simply fill-in the customer details and the letter is done.
In our sales letter templates we use Microsoft Word's Fill-in
field to prompt our staff for key information like the Customers
Name, Address and Company Name ensuring that the information
does get put into the letter. Once they have completed that they
simply press the Print button and its ready to go to the
customer. As a business owner, knowing that that's all my staff
have to do to achieve the sales makes me feel far more
comfortable than them having to write their own customised
letters each time a customer enquires about our training.
Microsoft Word templates are an incredibly useful tool in
automating common documents that your staff maybe creating and I
believe that this is the first process that all business owners
should be using in automating their business.