How Can Small Business Owners Streamline Their Companies With IoT

by Lisa Michaels, Guest Contributor

If you are one of the 38 million small business entrepreneurs who have a home-based office, you may enjoy the many benefits associated with working from home. For example, maybe you have reduced overhead, and this enabled you to compete head-to-head with larger and more established companies.

As important as it is to have a healthy budget that can keep you on track with your marketing efforts, growth plans and more, you also need to take full advantage of other tools and resources available to you to improve your chances for success.
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The Internet of Things may help you level up and enable your to compete successfully.

The Internet is a connected structure that serves you the fast and easy ways to gather or share information, to access systems on different networks and more. The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the connectivity of various objects through advanced technology.

For example, entrepreneurs can use IoT to monitor and manage the home appliances, equipment in the office, lighting fixtures, climate control and security.

On a larger scale, IoT has commercial applications in many industries, such as management and monitoring of large machines and advanced machinery. Most electronic devices can interlink, and the Internet of Things continues to provide entrepreneurs with even more beneficial functions. 

When used strategically, the Internet of Things may help you level up and enable your small business to compete against larger businesses successfully regardless of the industry you are in. 

IoT Applications in The Office 
Whether your office is in a commercial building or a part of your home, it is probably where most of your business activities take place.

Understanding the applications for IoT in a workplace environment is essential if you want to maximize the company's effectiveness and efficiency.

One way you small business owners can leverage the Internet of Things in the office is to optimize energy consumption for financial savings. You may use this smart technology to control the HVAC system, appliances, lighting and more with ease.

Managing usage in these areas can help you to reduce your energy costs dramatically. Your home’s electricity meters may convey the report about your energy usage to the service provider. 

Sometimes, the Internet of Things enables a two-way communication.

For example, the energy or utility company receives inbound information about your usage patterns and notifies you about power outages and more. You may even communicate with the energy corporation, to request repair services in a digital format.

The Internet of Things may also help you bolster space efficiency. Size constraints are a challenge for many home-based business owners. Through this advanced technology, you can take full advantage of every square inch of available territory in your office.
Keep in mind that some office automation systems connect you with digital assistants. They can support you in beneficial ways, such as with calendar management, reminders and more.

Hard-Working Assistants
As your small business grows, you may find it increasingly difficult to complete all required business activities. Hiring help to work full-time or part-time may be one solution, but it also creates an on-going expense on your budget.

Having a successful small business requires you to pinch pennies and make smart financial decisions. Through the Internet of Things, you can save money while still getting the full support you need by maximizing the benefit of connected assistants. 

For example, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant can help you with schedule monitoring, online research and other similar tasks. Another idea that may work well for some small business owners is the use of Amazon Dash. Through Dash, you can even restock your office supplies quickly and easily.

While some busy professionals use virtual assistants to save time in their personal lives, such as by ordering groceries delivery, others use it on a professional level to order supplies needed for manufacturing and more. 
 
Improve the Delivery of Goods
If your company is product based, focus on delivery in each area is important, including the delivery of quality goods on time. The Internet of Things allows you to track product distribution and delivery process through a tracking sensor placed on packages. You can track the movement of your shipments in real-time to determine which aspects of logistics need to improve. 
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The Internet of Things can also use tracking tags to tell you exactly when goods were sold. Remember that it is essential to maintain a reasonable inventory at all times. Preparing too few or too many goods can be detrimental in both cases. While IoT ensures prompt delivery to your customers, it also helps to better manage inventory and cut unnecessary costs. 

Some small business owners also take advantage of many HR software solutions to advance managing a remote team. While the features vary, these programs enable easier supervision of remote teams and help them stay on track. More than that, the software works in a cost-effective way that helps you save money while enjoying a better remote team management experience.

You can see that the Internet of Things provides even the home-based entrepreneurs with exceptional benefits. These advances may improve your bottom line, your efficiency, your management efforts and more. Because this technology is affordable and cost-effective, it makes sense to inspect options available to you today and to implement their use in your regular activities.
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About the author:
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Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor and a striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.