Technology Brings Efficiencies To Small Businesses | G&G Technologies

Jill Cruickshank of J.S. Cruickshank Business Services is the help that many small businesses desperately need. Jill uses her years of expertise to help small organizations run their businesses smoothly. Jill manages back-office functions, operations, and bookkeeping so businesses, like small law firms and other service-oriented business, can concentrate on what they do best. To be effective, Jill relies on technology.

Q: What devices do you use daily?

A: Jill’s list of technology is pretty standard – a mobile phone and her laptop. “And the internet,” she adds, “if that counts as a device.”

Q: What technology do you use to get ahead of your competition?

A: Jill’s business is still very new, so she’s still navigating her competitive differences when it comes to technology. But much of what she does in helping small businesses involves the use of technology and SaaS applications.

Q: Is technology a significant enabler for your business?

A: “Absolutely,” Jill responds. She works remotely with clients, making technology an important communications and operations tool. Many of the apps she uses to help clients are internet-based.

“My business is remote and almost all the work I do is using SaaS, and I communicate with clients through email and online communication platforms,” she explains.

But the importance of technology bears even more importance for Jill because she uses it to improve clients’ businesses as well. “I help small businesses improve efficiencies in their operations implementing technological solutions.”

Q: Has social media influenced your business at all, from internal employee policies to the way you promote your company?

A: Social media has had a slight influence on Jill’s business. Having just started out, Jill doesn’t yet have a website, but she relies on social media for the moment to fill that gap. “‘I’m currently using LinkedIn as my interim website,” she says. She also uses Meetup to find opportunities to network and get introduced to new clients.

Q: Have you had to adapt your business because of security concerns brought about by the increased use of technology?

A: “Given that nearly all my work is done via the internet, I constantly have security concerns,” Jill explains.

Exchanging information with clients via email and cloud-based document solutions requires that Jill use the most secure solutions. Foremost in her mind is protecting client data.

But making sure that she’s using the best solution with her clients is challenging, and something she constantly keeps an eye on. “I find the biggest challenge is that the research I have done produces contradictory results when it comes to ranking the safety of email and cloud-based document storage options.”