If you have a virtual team, you need this tool. I love tech tools.  Well, wait…I love tech tools that are easy to implement and provide increased efficiency that I can either feel or see in a short period of time. One of my personal favorites is Slack.  I recommend this to every client who has a virtual team. It is a game-changer. 

Reasons Why I Love Slack

As far as tech tools go, it is one of the easiest to implement with a team.  And trust me, if I say it’s easy…It. Is. Easy. Here are a few reasons why I love it:

• It does not discriminate when it comes to devices.  Mac, PC, iPhone, Android…it’s seamless. 
• It syncs – really well.  The conversations that I’m having on my Macbook’s desktop Slack will be on my iPhone Slack app, so when I have to run out the door to make a face-to-face meeting, I can keep the conversation going without losing my train of thought. 
• Their support team rocks.  And they listen to suggestions and are constantly adding tools and features.  Side note…if you like simplicity, and don’t want a bunch of “bells and whistles” you don’t have to use them.  You can keep it as simple or make it as robust as you’d like.
• File sharing is simple! It integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.  The drag and drop feature is so so easy as well. 
• The search feature is fantastic.  You know you had a conversation about an upcoming conference that you want to attend – but when was that conversation, let alone who was it with?  Fear not – just search and Slack will find that conversation for you. 

The integrations are endless.  If you are a tech-minded person or have a great tech-savvy virtual assistant, your possibilities are unlimited.  Google Drive, Zapier, Loom video, you name it – it integrates.

Why You, The Entrepreneur, Need This Tool

If you have a virtual team, or you’re an online business manager with a team across the United States, you need this tool.  I have it for my team and I couldn’t live without it. I set it up for EVERY. SINGLE. CLIENT I work with.  It’s part of my permanent toolbox. Here are a few things I share with clients when we are setting it up for the first time:

To wrap your head around using it at first:  if you would text it, put it in Slack instead. This alleviates the annoyance of using your personal cell phone for work conversations, wondering where in the H-E double hockey sticks you had a conversation (was it in a text message? on the phone? via email?)  

It is super easy to organize conversations in channels.  You can create client-centric or project-specific channels that serves as a virtual filing cabinet for conversations.  

But…Don’t go overboard with channels.  The goal is to streamline your conversations.  Limit yourself to no more than 10 channels, as a general rule of thumb. 

Alright, alright. I know I’ve said plenty of things that encourage everyone to use Slack. However, do you use it yourself in your online business? Do you intend to? Let me know! The best part of blogging is hearing your feedback! Drop me a line here or in the comments below!