Who is going to admit to it?

When you are new to the world of digital it can feel like having to learn four languages at once.

It is a bit like having to go back to school and start all over again but this time in Swahili, maybe with Chinese lettering, advanced statistics and a creative arts degree thrown in.

To communicate online effectively you do need to learn a lot of skills, some completely new and some you may be used to doing already, but perhaps not online.

My aim is to introduce anyone who feels they may have left it a bit late, or who needs to take their business online for the first time into the digital world in simple language, simple stages and remembering to adapt the information to match the skills of my clients.

My start point is to divide digital into four manageable sections. Explain why each of them is important and how they all fit together to create your online space.

It is perfectly OK to admit you find it complicated when you start.

Especially for the generation who have had limited digital education and experience, there is not enough recognition that this can be very challenging.

We start at the very beginning, and take it from there!

What happened to the Grey Men?

When I started my career as a late Baby Boomer, it was “the men in grey” who were aspired to, respected and the people we turned to for mentorship and support to “climb the ladder” even if you were a shoulder padded woman attempting to “break the glass ceiling”.

The men in grey, had grey hair, grey suits and mostly a great deal of experience, dignity, and power within the workplace. They had the assurance of a lifetimes experience, the quiet knowledge that they could retire having devoted their life to their work.

And then the digital revolution took hold. You see I am old enough to remember the first fax machines, mobile phones as big a brick, blackberries, the first personal computers and then the tremendous excitement of the first computer design programs, oh my goodness they were eye wateringly expensive!

Fast forward to today and the speed and development of the digital revolution, if you have lived through the changes are quite extraordinary.

My personal digital journey began with the clumsy, large, (as in almost as big as a room!) design programs and fortunately for me continued from there as I become a relatively early adopter of trading entirely online when I became an entrepreneur and opened my own business in 2004.

I continued with my digital education out of necessity, rather than choice, updating continuously to even keep up, let alone stay ahead of the latest developments and skills required to operate effectively and commercially online.

If you were not thrown into the digital ring, and escaped this stage, and find yourself a late arrival at the digital party, it can be a scary place.

Do you ever feel like a digital dinosaur when you see two three- and four-year-olds happily manipulate their parents’ mobile phones and confidently operate their own bounce proof tablets? Then you have anyone over the age of ten who will grab any piece of digital equipment from you, swipe it about aggressively and hand it back to you with contempt if you dare to ask them for help.

Catching up on a digital education if you missed out on the early stages and have never quite reached a stage you are confident and comfortable, coupled with a seismic shift in digital led changes in workplace culture has created an entire generation of “Grey people” in a state of uncertainty, and certainly not in the assured and respected place they expected to be.

( I’m not sure if there is a politically correct expression for people who are not digitally up to date…..answers on a postcard / DM / email please! Digital Luddite sounds derogatory and mean.)

If you do not have sufficient digital skills and are struggling or unable to catch up today you might find the digital restrictions increase and in turn your value reduces, almost by the minute.

Walking into a class on “Facebook advertising for beginners” or “SEO for beginners “can feel like landing in the jungle of Borneo without an interpreter!

There is such a lot to learn if you have gaps in your digital development, and often its hard to find a reliable start point, or even to recognise what stage you have already managed to achieve. I am constantly surprised by people who claim to have no digital confidence but are perfectly able to book a holiday online!

When I started Your Simple Digital as a service to support people taking their businesses online, I decided to focus on anyone who has digital gaps, remembering how challenging it was when I started out.

If you are looking for a digital developer to help you take your business online for the first time who is willing to recognise your stage of digital development and work at an appropriate pace, then maybe #thenonscarytechylady will be a suitable match for you.

Digital disruption has shattered the “glass ceiling” and along with it the “grey people” ( we can’t say men anymore) leaving a generation of Baby Boomers with unexpected challenges. If this all makes sense to you and you are ready to take up the challenge, remember its not too late, you are not too old, you just need to find the right person who has experienced some of the same challenges to help you out!

If you are not sure about taking your business online in Ireland, take a look at this.

It is hard to ignore the impact Covid-19 has had on Irish Business.

A recent report* looks in detail at how Irish consumers attitudes and behaviors have changed in response to the pandemic.

These are the key points from the report, that could be of interest if you have not taken your business online, or are still thinking about it.

The number of SMEs that have invested in their online presence has increased massively, from 21% in 2020 to 55% in 2021. The majority recognise that the future of their business depends on adding some kind of digital offering.

30% of SMEs sell a physical product via an online store, up from 25% in 2020. Of these, the vast majority—almost 9 in 10—have noticed an increase in their sales numbers since the Covid crisis began.

78% of SMEs that have invested in their online services say they are busier than or as busy as before the Covid crisis, up from 46% in 2020. SMEs opinions on consumer purchasing habits are changing; more believe that consumers will do the majority of their shopping online.

61% of SMEs said online services will be more important to their business in 2021 than they were in 2020. A greater number of SMEs now accept that their business model is likely to be permanently changed by the pandemic.

The report also highlights the 3 key reasons that people struggle to take their businesses online

1. 31% lack of time

2. 21% lack of expertise

3. 19% lack of equipment or resources

The data is clear: SMEs that invest in a website and e-commerce reap the rewards. Those that have put money and time into digital have generally fared better than those that have not.

An increasing proportion of businesses recognise that a digital channel is key to their survival while the pandemic continues. Consumers are spending more online, and SMEs with an online store have benefited. 86% say they have experienced an increase in sales or sales enquiries from their online store since the pandemic began.

If you would like to read the rest of the report you can see it here.

If you are struggling with time, expertise or resources than maybe I can help. #thenonscarytechylady.

*The .IE Tipping Point Report 2021: Irish e-commerce and digital business in the Covid vaccine era, in partnership with Digital Business Ireland assessed the attitudes and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic of 1,000 Irish consumers and 500 retail and consumer-facing professional services SMEs.