Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Tech is a vital component of just about any modern business plan, but it’s too often implemented before it’s properly assessed. I’ve been in countless forums that include someone declaring, “If you want success, you need to be using .” But in reality, tech is an extension of your business, not someone else’s paint-by-numbers guide for you to replicate what’s already been done.
To be sure, following someone else’s guidance can help reduce some of the decision-making phases in getting started, but may not be the best strategy once an enterprise or organization is established. So, I’m not here to tell you what tech to use because I believe the process of choosing the right is at once complex and unique to each user. You can and should feel good about the systems you’ve invested in.
Here are some signs that yours are no longer supporting you the way they should.
1. Spending too much time on setup and fixes
It is all too easy to find yourself putting in late nights, skipping out on events and spending less time with people you care about, and instead having frustrating sessions at the computer during which it feels like you’re banging your head against the wall. You may, in the end, only get as far as “good enough,” then call it a wrap.
The adage that “fighting with your tech is part of the business” simply isn’t true, or shouldn’t be anyway. The odd late-night session when you’re inspired can be productive, but these should conclude with a winning feeling, not a compromise.
Related: How to Choose the Right Tech for Your Startup
2. Depending on outside people to make adjustments
It’s common to get tech set-up by a friend or family member who is “really good at this.” The hitch is that’s is very easy for this to result in a situation in which someone else is running your business. Not having the confidence to dive into your own digital tools and/or having repeated stressful conversations with the help desk because your go-to person is unavailable simply won’t work.
3. Clients become aware of the problem
When you’re an entrepreneur, clients are typically pretty understanding. They know you’re wearing multiple hats and that tech can be tricky to navigate. But at the core of things, they are looking for your services, and unsupportive tools will get in the way of that — impacting your relationships. Your problems must never become their problems.
Related: Small Business Owners, Don’t Run From Technology — Embrace It. Here Are 5 Strategies to Succeed.
4. You avoid opening your own app
There are lots of reasons to dread opening an app. These can range from the color scheme being off to the UX not being intuitive — having to refer to help pages to do routine tasks, for example, or perhaps things glitch with frequency. This can’t happen with your digital services.
5. You’re not having fun
Not everyone loves tech like I do, but you should have a sense that yours is what I term “automagical.” That means you put in the work and reap the rewards—that tech supports you and that you feel empowered and not drained by it. The absence of such happy feelings means there’s a vital issue to be addressed.
Take note, though: Even if you’re experiencing any or all of the above, don’t simply run to invest in new software. Because the reality is that the right tech may not be built for you yet or that you’re not built for it. As any entrepreneur knows, it’s critical to know a target audience, and the same applies to technology: it isn’t designed for absolutely everyone, even if it has the most and best reviews.
Related: Which Software Solution Is Best for Your Business? Here’s How to Decide.
Some factors to consider while contemplating your needs:
Establish goals: The first step is clarifying your business goals and intentions, which hold a lot of power when implementing supportive software and other solutions. From monthly costs to ease of use, understanding what your unique needs are is crucial before investing in tools that can truly help (and never hinder) operations.
If you want to grow and scale, you need software that can support changes in data size/complexity — can adapt to more clients in different ways. And if your budget can’t afford solutions that scale in this way, then consider tech goals that may be more in tune with understanding transition points, and how to move to new systems in response to them.
Inventory: Once you’ve got goal clarity, go through each app you’re using and write down how it is helping to achieve them. And don’t forget to include what you hate about them, along with the subscription cost and how much effort they require. This process paints a picture of individual tool value and the current state of your tech stack. It also helps to highlight any gaps and opportunities.
Alignment: Your digital tools should “spark joy,” as professional organizer and consultant Marie Kondo would say. This doesn’t mean that they need to be 100% perfect, but fundamentally, they should make your life easier, not harder. Consider whether they can be juggled, optimized or downsized, or whether it’s time to trade in for something new.
Related: 5 Tech Tools To Impress Your Coworkers and Neighbors All Summer
If you keep to this assessment framework, you’ll work more productively, avoid stress, increase production, return to focus and simply enjoy what you do more. The right choices will reflect your values, be easy to use, will grow with you, offer a clear ROI and work well alongside other systems.
Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images