These days, every business owner needs to see themselves as the founder of a tech company.  Even traditional businesses like physiotherapists, real estate agents, sales trainers or florists need to navigate the complex waters of technology if they want to stay competitive.

I often present on the topic of increasing your ability to influence by leveraging tech, which is probably why I was recently contacted by the team at Microsoft asking if I could work with them on a Small Business makeover they’re undertaking.

Imagine a reality TV show engineered by Microsoft. Take a small business that’s already well established with a strong team, but struggling with profit and growth.  Add in tailored guidance from some savvy mentors, multiply it with an injection of advanced technology and you will start to get a sense of the perfect storm I’ve found myself in the middle of. It’s going to be a radical business transformation.

Now, anyone who’s heard me speak knows that I’m a bit of a Steve Jobs enthusiast, but Microsoft’s interest in the small business community and entrepreneurial community has really got me excited.

For the next 3 months I’ll be working alongside three key influencers; Angela Vithoulkas, Paul Wallbank and Valerie Khoo, as we mentor Ossie Pisanu, founder of the award-winning SME Guardian Strata and some of his team members. We’ll be specifically helping them to focus on simplifying the business while increasing its impact through leveraging technology with Microsoft’s latest range of business tools.

The makeover intends to explore how technology can improve efficiency and effectiveness in 4 key areas of Guardian Strata:

• Winning New Business: How technology can help a business better understand their customers and ultimately increase sales
• Controlling Costs: Adapting to change and getting the most out of technology
• Doing Business Anywhere: Maintaining productivity from anywhere and digital collaboration for dispersed teams
• Protecting Your Assets: Preparing for the unexpected and protecting and controlling your intellectual Property

Over the coming months I’ll be personally mentoring Moe Serdal one of the employees at Guardian Strata. Coming from a corporate background Moe wants to get the business modern and technologically savvy. I’ll be working with Moe on getting him to a point where he is a true person of influence within the business, enabling him to achieve these goals.

I’ll be blogging about what we do, how we do it and the results Moe and Guardian Strata experiences as a result – watch this space…

Checkout the Microsoft Small Business Makeover at www.modernbiz.com.au #ModernBiz