Prep Talk:

Tech is a Bicycle

(Not a Rocket Ship)

From Permanent Equity’s Ops Desk

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

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How do you

get where you

want to go?

What’s the most efficient mode of transportation?*

*Measured in total energy expended per mile per passenger

A high capacity passenger jet? A diesel train? A metro rail system? An electric car?

It’s actually the humble bicycle, and it’s not even close.

Invented in 1817, the bicycle is an incredible piece of technology whose efficiency as a mode of transport is nearly impossible to beat.

But why?

Because it leverages an already incredibly efficient system (the human body) and amplifies its capabilities.

Do you need

a rocket ship?

Rocket ships are scary.

If you’ve worked in or operated the same business for a long time, you’ve developed a familiarity and comfort level with its processes and workflows.

You’ve learned over time what routines work best for your employees, customers, and vendors.

And in a lot of these cases, you might recognize that there are things you could do better, faster, or more efficiently.

But when someone comes along and suggests that you “buy software” or “automate this process” or, worse, “put this in the cloud,” it sounds on its surface like buying a rocket ship.

Rocket ships are expensive, complicated, unintuitive, and, frankly, tend to blow up every once in a while.

And, not everyone is trying to go to outer space.

Do you need

a Bicycle?

Bicycles are not scary.

Technology solutions fall on a spectrum.

There are incredibly complex rocket ships out there that will run an entire multi-billion dollar multinational business on a single platform.

And, there are small “bicycle” pieces of software that do what a real-life bicycle does – take a system you’re already using and make it faster and more efficient.

As your business grows and matures, the vast majority of your technology purchases should be bicycles.

They should multiply the output of the great work you’ve already done, not reimagine it from the ground up.

They should automate “grunt work.”

They should connect systems together that are currently connected by a person cutting and pasting data.

They should remind you when to communicate with customers and send emails for you.

They should make data entry ten times faster, or unnecessary altogether.

What if you

actually need

A rocket ship?

What if you need a rocket ship?

Once in a blue moon, your business is going to hit an inflection point where it needs a rocket ship.

Maybe you actually do need a super massive "do it all" ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) platform like SAS or NetSuite or even Salesforce to transform your operations.

That’s a rocket ship.

When that time comes, get help.

Find a trusted advisor to walk with you through the process, or a friend who has done a similar implementation.

Anyone trying to fly a rocket ship needs to go to Space Camp.

You probably need

A bicycle.

But most of the time, you’re buying a bicycle.

Lots and lots of tech issues can be solved with bubblegum and bailing wire (like Google Sheets and Zapier).

Just like learning to ride a bike, try it somewhere safe first by doing circles in the driveway before you take it on the road.

Practice using it with a couple of trusted customers, or 2 or 3 flexible employees.

You’re going to fall the first few times, so give it time to prove its worth.

If it’s still not the right solution, move on and try another.

When you find the right fit, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly and efficiently you move your business forward.

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