As a business owner, every penny you spend comes out of your paycheck. This can make spending money on technology difficult and the return better be worth the expenditure. A small scale example of this was my decision to purchase an iPhone.
I resisted purchasing an iPhone for a couple main reasons:
- Expense - I would need to add about $40/month to my phone plan, which I used sparingly as it was.
- Screen Time - Our culture forces a certain amount of screen time (computer usage, television, etc.) and I wanted to make sure I was getting time to take in the natural environment and not experience "data overload."
Before iPhone, I had a paper calendar, Google calendar, and work calendar. Plus I would come home and take care of e-mail so I was not spending the time I wanted with my family or enjoying outside events. After one week of use, the iPhone has been great. All my data is in one place and can interact with my computer. I can also spend time answering e-mails while I am waiting for lunch or when I have 5 minutes of down time instead of doing this at home. Of course, there is always the temptation of checking the weather every 5 minutes, but I've decided that temptation to waste time is everywhere. The key is to prioritize what you want to do in your day and make it happen. My goals are to live a balanced life, and the iPhone, when used properly, actually helps me get closer to that.
To bring this out to a mile high view of technology in general, here are some points worth considering when deciding on technology investment:
- The expense should be justified by creating more money for your business or creating more time. Time can be viewed as your hourly rate, assuming you can produce that hourly rate with your created time. ROI on fewer headaches because life is easier with your new technology is more difficult to calculate.
- Technology for the business owner should be easy to understand. The iPhone is probably not the most powerful smart phone out there. But there is value in it being intuitive to learn and well-built. It seems to have all the stuff you need without being confusing.
- Technology should not be the only part of your business. Use technology to run an efficient business, but don't forget personal relationships. This takes discipline, but an effective marriage of the 2 creates a satisfied client.