Tools for Business: How to evaluate if a tool is right for your small business

This blog is about tools for your small business, I promise, but first, let me take a tiny detour before I bring it all back.

Some of you may know that I am a powerlifter. Last week I had a max-out day in my program - which means I lifted the heaviest weight I possibly could in bench, squat and deadlift. It was an incredibly fun night. I was challenging myself in a way that made me proud. I was surrounded by my coach, other members who knew me by name & were there to cheer me on, and my husband who is my lifting buddy. I put up some big numbers, and I got a personal record on my squat!! High fives all around. Reflecting on this I thought, how did I become a person who lifts 100-200 lbs 4 times a week?!

I remember a time when I had a gym membership because I knew I wanted to be stronger. It was a big gym that had everything I could possibly want, a bunch of people I knew went there - it was a well-known spot, the price was affordable...

And I never went.

Or I would start and stop until I gave up but kept on paying for it because having a gym membership is a good thing right?!

Fast forward I don’t know how many years and here I am calling myself an athlete, a powerlifter. I have a gym that is my gym.

But here’s the thing, the gym is just the tool... Ah, see what I did there? Now we’re back 😁.

There is an abundance of tools out there - some of them are super shiny and have everything you could possibly want, so you sign up for them. Sometimes it works out (high five!). Sometimes it lingers like that gym membership.

The problem is not the tool. The tool is just that, a tool.

If you are starting from the place of “that’s a thing I should have” or “everybody is using this thing, so maybe I should too” you miss out on some critical questions. You need to start with:

• What are you trying to achieve?

• What is the thing you are trying to solve for?

• Where is the gap?

These are the starting questions. If this tool fills the gap, maybe you move forward. That’s what I did with that first gym - what went wrong? There is a difference between learning how to use a tool and understanding how to use that tool in a way that will benefit both you and your small business. Just because a tool fills a gap doesn’t mean you are in a place to use that tool effectively.

You need to put yourself, the human behind the business, into the evaluation equation.

• Do you have the time/energy/motivation to learn how to use this tool?

• How convenient is it for you to continue using this tool? Are you motivated to use it?

• Is closing this gap important to your business right now?

• Is the effort worth the reward?

• How does this tool meet your specific needs vs other options out there?

If you are clear about your goals and can get super specific on your needs - including your own personal needs - you will be in a better position to evaluate that shiny new tool. It will no longer be that shiny new tool with all the bells and whistles that’s just getting dusty on your shelf, or making you feel bad for not using it. It will be the tool that works for you. That moves you forward in your goals.

Remember, it’s just a tool. You are running the business. It needs to be a good fit for you, not the other way around.