Evernote for Business

If you’re a note taker you’ve probably heard of Evernote. It’s a note taking app available on all devices, but not just any note taking app, in fact thats an understatement. Evernote has stood the test of time because of how well it syncs with all of your devices. In this blog post I’m going to cover how I use Evernote to remain productive in the busy world we live in today.

Ok so what is Evernote first? It is cloud storage productivity app that organizes your life. Evernote makes it easy to snap a photo of a slide deck, record a meeting, keep track of tasks, share a document, and the list goes on. To learn all of Evernote’s features go here.

Top 5 Tips

#1 Organize everything

Think of Evernote as your digital backpack. It stores everything you need in one neat little app on all of your devices. Yes all of them (with subscription, it’s totally worth). First things first, create notebooks for all the different categories you’d like to keep organized. Personal, Work, School, etc.

#2 Creating Tags

One of the Evernotes key features is it’s ability to tag notes. By using the tags correctly, you can take notes with out having to search as deeply with in the notebook. Not only will tags help you stay organized they can also do the opposite if you put too many tags that never get used, to prevent this I would recommend simplifying them to only a few per notebook.

For example: Tags you might use for work would be are: Projects, Events, promotions, meetings, taxes, receipts, schedule, etc.

#3 Remove the Clutter (other apps)

This was a game changer for me. When I started using Evernote, I was only using it partially to take my notes, I found myself still using the iphone notes app. That became a problem when it came time to search for things, I’d have to check both apps and it became a headache at the end of the day. I finally ended my relationship with Notes and devoted myself to Evernote. The transition took some time to move all my notes into one place but soon as I did. I was a like a well oiled machine. I recommend this for that reason and all the features that other notes app lacks, Evernote picks up with ease.

Team Tip: Evernote has a feature called Stacks it allows you to organize multiple notebooks under one “Stack” to further clean up the interface. If you have more than one job you might have a stack Titled Work and within that stack have all your work notebooks together. It’s important to note that stacks are put together for you and you only so you won’t be able to share stacks however notebooks and notes with in the stacks may still be shared.

#4 Share notes/ notebooks

Keep those close to you up to date with cloud storage sharing. I share notebooks with friends for vacation itineraries (save passports for extra protection while traveling internationally), project notebooks amongst colleagues, school assignments with your classmates, there is no limit to the number of shared notebooks you have.

The original creator has access to permissions. This is perfect for team members that need access to important information on a project.

Team Tip: Brangerine has a shared folder for client projects, brand guidelines, design tips, social media, & meetings.

#5 Use it Daily

This might feel like over kill at first so take your time and just get used to the habit of taking notes. My first notes with Evernote were back in 2009 literally a decade ago. From what I’ve learned is I could have saved plenty of time fumbling through paperwork, journals, if I would of organized those early on using Evernote. Between the voice, photo, and text based tools Evernote makes it easy to capture something that is important to you and makes easy to find later.

Team Tip: If you want to take it one step further and up your note taking experience to the next level check this out 8 tips on going paperless with Evernote! Save the Trees!

Find the Right People For Your Business

ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Maybe this whole time, we've been asking ourselves the wrong question:

"How do I find the right people?"

Having the right team is crucial to success in business. More importantly, having a proper ecosystem breeds replication. In this article, we will discuss why having the right people running your business can make all the difference.

Let's take it from the top, shall we? Or, the bottom, rather. Let's dissect your business from the roots and see what we can dig up.

Many businesses find themselves in a purgatory between stagnating and breaking barriers. Some are losing money every day while others are in a place where productivity is electric. But remember, even if you're standing on top of a mountain, the earth is still 238,900 miles away from the moon. (yes, I googled it)

Speaking of the $527 billion giant, (googled that, too) how does an idea turn into the world's second largest company? What manifested the concept?

Aside from technology - which we'll get to later - people are the driving force behind a successful company. Let's look at a two part concept of an ecosystem:

Biology + Environment

- "Jellyfish have been proven to be the most energy efficient swimmers of all animals."

- "Jellyfish lifespans typically range from a few hours (in the case of some very small hydromedusae) to several months; there are some indications that deep sea species may live on the order of years."

Biology

What kind of people do you want on your team?

Are they energy efficient, but maintain a short life span?

Are they spineless and reckless?

Are they fearless, yet tactful?

What is more important to you, intellectual nature or proactive nature?

Are they master communicators?

Do you want sheep or lions?

How many hunters do you need?

And they can't all hunt, someone must tend to the village, so who are your homemakers?

Here's a tough question: WHAT DOES THEIR LEADER LOOK LIKE?

THAT'S YOU!!

I hope you can answer that question without hesitation. Did you notice how none of those questions asked about a person's resume? Now, understand that experience and qualifications are essential, but not the most important part.

These organisms that interact and work together on a daily basis are all part of the ecosystem. As business owners, we need a clear vision for the type of people we need. This is about culture.

If you are a restaurant looking for expansion and leadership, then it doesn't matter what grades a person got in college. It's irrelevant when the pressure is insurmountable and you need a lion instead of a parrot. The kid with something to prove to himself will outwork the one who's trying to prove something to others.

Let's change lenses for a second to get a different view. If you are a technology-based company, then maybe now, we weigh data set and knowledge a little heavier. A brain that can scale numbers and formulas is a great tool for productivity.

Environment

- "Most jellyfish are marine animals, although a few hydromedusa inhabit freshwater."

What does your work space look like?

What kind of resources does your team have?

Are they doing things the old fashioned way on pen and paper or using Macbooks and apps?

What environment is necessary, old and rustic for effect?

Or is it new and trendy for aesthetics?

Is your team hungry all the time?

Do they stare at the clock all day waiting to get off, or do they stick around for office/team building functions?

Do they WANT TO BE HERE?

If you take nothing else away from this article, then at least chew on this one: you can motivate almost any "millenial" with food and a stimulating office space.

We are a rare species that has evolved from the depths of elderly skepticism, predicated on the assumption of status-quo as an end-all-be-all format for societal acceptance. We are a paradoxical organism. On one hand, we eat organic and lean. On the other, we will take a whole pizza to the face. One day we're hitting the gym and taking care of our health, the next we're destroying it with a few nights out. And our body is 63.5% coffee.

All jokes aside, it isn't impossible to meet your people where they want to be met. We could spend all day discussing what it means to establish the right ecosystem, but understand that culture creates consistency. A predetermined ecosystem, before someone is hired, will communicate proper expectations. You now have a living and breathing mission statement/ mantra/ motto.

- "Jellyfish adversely affect humanity by interfering with public systems and harming swimmers. The most obvious consequences are human injury or death and reduced coastal tourism. Jellies destroy fish nets, poison or crush captured fish, and consume fish eggs and young fish. The most venomous jellyfish is the box jellyfish which produces enough poison to kill 60 humans and is the reason for 1 death per year."

It's simple, let's stop hiring jellyfish if business doesn't call for it.

Some Helpful Statistics:

1) Some 73 percent of organizations revamp their on-boarding to improve their employee retention.

2) One third of new hires quit their job after about six (6) months.

3) Referred employees have a 45 percent retention rate after two years.

4) Nearly four out of five (78 percent) of business leaders rank employee retention as important or urgent.

5) Remote workers are 50 percent less likely to quit.

6) One third (33 percent) of employees knew whether they would stay with their company long-term after their first week.

7) Some 35 percent of employees will start looking for a job if they don’t receive a pay raise in the next 12 months.

8) One third (33 percent) of leaders at companies with 100 plus employees are currently looking for jobs.

9) 32 percent of employers say they expect employees to job-hop.

So back to our original question:

"How do I find the right people?"

A better question is:

"How do I get the right people to find me?"

Remember, Culture Creates Consistency

We're experts on culture. Let's work together to build a fluid ecosystem, so that your business runs like a well-oiled machine! Personalized business consulting with Brangerine can revive and expand any business, all it takes is a little juice. We're here to help, request your appointment