CAREER PURSUIT 2021

EXPERT ADVICE - SELF-EMPLOYMENT 50 Outlook also has some great benefits for the ‘multi-account’- style user. As an owner of two organisations, I have a number of email accounts for business, plus personal accounts – Outlook’s ability to have all the accounts in one place and the simple facility (on a PC) of being able to drag and drop emails between them. Plus, the complex functionality behind rules really surpasses Gmail. TRELLO (BY ATLASSIAN) – FROM FREE Ok, if you’re not yet using a project management system to manage your life, now is the time! Pen and paper or whiteboards are great… until you need to share that information. Having a digitised way of organising your business, projects, or even clients is so critical in this virtual world and evenmore crucial with the rise of remote working. The great thing with Trello is it’s very visual. It’s just like using a whiteboard and sticky notes. But under those sticky notes is a notebook with a whole load of information. Trello can be used free – or you have the option to upgrade to get access to a world of possibilities. Other benefits include: • You can sync it with your Google Drive, so you can easily access further information without repeating yourself in each system/platform. • You can sync the calendar to your main calendar. • You can email your Trello board (or CC/BCC it into email conversations), and it will auto-load as a new card! • You can set reminders, you can assign cards, you can customise the look and feel of your boards. You can colour code your cards, have multi-boards… the list goes on and on! • You can even use it for personal reasons – like sharing a shopping list with your partner or to count down to them returning from deployment (if they’re in the Forces). You could even use it to help organise moving house! I could go on and on! Can you tell I’m a bit of a Trello geek?! CANVA – FROM FREE Canva is the DIY tool for business owners looking to do their own design work. The program’s popularity in recent years has just, well, exploded! The market really needed something that was easy to learn, affordable (from free), and multi-purpose. This is more than a quick selfie-editing app. I would strongly suggest using the PC version rather than the mobile app; it has much more functionality, whereas the app is rather limited. You also have greater control over finer details, which you just don’t really get from using a finger on a screen. Even designers use it. I said it − it’s true! Sometimes, when the design task is really simple, it can be done in moments using Canva. It may not be the ultimate design tool for graphic designers and illustrators, but in terms of knocking together a quick social media graphic, Canva is a really fun and easy way to get something done quickly. Canva is not just for social media graphics. You can use it to create web-based content, like interactive PDFs (you can add hyperlinks), ‘link-trees’ which can link back to your social media, or even a digital business card. Canva has recently added an option to download your designs as an SVG file, which is great for creating logos. However, bear in mind that you cannot trademark designs from Canva that use any of its own icons, shapes, etc. If you want to create work to then give to your own clients, there is a ‘template’ option, which is simply fabulous! You can design a file, an image, or a layout that you can share with the end user. Once they download it, they can do anything they like – without editing your version! This is so amazing when you want to share something with a number of people, or even produce a document you’d like to sell on. AND, WE’RE DONE! These are just a handful of options to help you and your business. I wanted to share some insider knowledge of the different uses, options and benefits of these systems. Please do not hesitate to reach out. You can find me and Dolphin Outsourcing Ltd on most social media channels, or even connect with me directly on LinkedIn. For more information, please visit our website: www.dolphin- outsourcing.co.uk. If you’d like to get in touch, please reach out via email: info@dolphin-outsourcing.co.uk or via WhatsApp: https://wa.me//447508509992.