Presentations in small business: This discussion talks about the use of google slides for presentations as opposed to licensed software. During the early days of startup, we were resource crunched making us rely on freeware. The first thing that came to my mind to make presentations was using google’s free software. Now, we have better choices such as Canva that can help make even more beautiful presentations.
This article is dedicated to bootstrapping entrepreneurs, trying to make the best of their limited resources. If you’re considering building a startup that’s going through fundraising stages, you won’t be able to escape PowerPoint. Almost all investor presentations were made using this and I continue to use them in my current role. Although I must say that there are now better options available to build out a PowerPoint deck.
Presentations in small business
I still find ppt’s a beautiful way of expressing your structured thought. You might be able to do better with story mapping based on the type of audience. But presentations by and large have established themselves as the key mode of communication.
As an early-stage startup/small business, my first recommendation would be to find out software that is available for free or with a small subscription fee. Perhaps when you grow to the level of a startup trying to expand, you can consider such expenses.
Key Advantages
- Free to use, no license costs as in Microsoft PPT
- Ties into google sheets online which makes google the complete suite to use
- Better graphical representations, 3D charts
- Ability to export into interchangeable formats – PDF, PPT, etc.
Limitations:
- Available on browser only. No desktop applications which help you mimic the web
- Tends to get a bit slow when you are using the browser. Good to have a high config on your system to avoid these restrictions.
Of course it doesn’t completely replace Microsoft powerpoint, but if you are not in a place to immediately invest on softwares, this is not actually a bad choice for you to start. Stay tuned for more thoughts on productivity for startups and bootstrapping resources.
Please leave your thoughts and questions below, we would love to be a part of the startup journey.
True that ! Especially startups can do so much with a bunch of free/inexpensive Cloud softwares.
I am looking forward for the post on Canva! :)
I agree, I will try and come up with one this week. I am sure my readers will love your insights. I tried checking your website, for some reason – I am unable to. Do you mind resharing your link?
Hey Vinay! Thanks for your insights into what we can do on Google sheets and what we can’t. I didn’t know about the ties with Google Sheets- that’ll def come in handy!
I’ve personally been using Canva and have sort of become a fan of it. Canva is primarily an online design tool predominantly used for making posters for walls, FB and Insta, website banners and many other cool stuff. When i was working for a confectionary startup, we couldn’t afford to hire designers for online marketing, or even for package design of our products- that’s when Canva with it’s collection of hundreds of designs, came in handy. You can also design your Presentation slides on Canva and copy/paste the screenshots onto on PPT- (it’s kind of raw a approach, but all my ppt slides have designs from Canva). The available bank of designs can be used to make your slides look nice and sleek!
Although it does charge about $10/month for a basic version i think it’s cost-effective.
Hi Jayasurya, very nice to hear from you. Thank you for sharing your views about Canva, I have used the website before but mainly for digital marketing, posters and facebook posts. It is very convenient to use compared to the complicated softwares like adobe photoshop. I remember designing my first logos using Canva and a lot of images corresponding to quotes on my website. I am very pleased that they brought out the cloud model and revolutionised working on designs. For a novice like me, it was really simple and easy to use. I would happily recommend it to anyone. In fact, I have a post coming up on Canva in a few days time, would love your opinion and experiences of Canva.
I have never used Canva for presentations though. I presume it will work very well for marketing presentations and posting infographs. I am not quite sure how to use data from excel sheets, charts, etc from that. But for an online tool, it is pretty fantastic for what the website can offer.
I must admit though, I am big fan of cloud softwares, they have changed the way we look at softwares and supporting hardware. Anf frankly so many of them provide some really cool basic features for free..