Entrepreneurs are busy people and always on the go.
Meetings, business trips and running around can pull them away from their desk
and require them to run their business and handle the daily operations from
hotels, airports and while on the road.
Technology has advanced tremendously over the years, and one
of the most powerful tools is something that the entire population uses: an
iPhone. This little device packs as much of a punch as most laptops and desktop
computers. It allows you to do virtually any task on the go.
Knowing that the iPhone is basically the Swiss Army Knife of
the entrepreneurial and business world, we asked several people to chime in and
provide one things the iPhone enables them to do, which contributes to running
the business away from the office. Here are the responses.
Conference calls on the
road.
“You can’t always take time to set up your laptop on the
road and get ready for a conference call. Thankfully, most platforms like GoTo
Meeting have apps that you can download and install on your iPhone that allows
you to participate directly on your phone.
The experience is identical to that on a regular computer,
except you have the freedom to be mobile. I have participated on conference
calls while at the airport thanks to this app. You really have the freedom to
be connected anywhere, as long as there is an internet signal.” – Chris Moberg,
President of Slumber Search
Email accessible anywhere.
“Email communication is the lifeblood of any business, and
your iPhone gives you the ability to read and reply to emails anywhere. It
would be impossible to leave your office without it. Can you imagine leaving
for a couple of days for a business trip and not having access, only to return
to an inbox of unanswered messages?
It just can’t happen. The default email app is decent, but
if you use Gmail I suggest using their native app. The outlook app is also
good. I prefer either option over the standard one because they have more
features.” – Hyung Park, President of Abraham
Lincoln University
Video conference
capability.
“Uber Conference is one of the most widely used video
conferencing platforms, and they also have an app that allows you to view and
be seen, all while participating on your phone. Years ago, you had to be at
your desk and in front of a web camera in order to join.
Your video feed and quality is going to be dictated by your
signal strength, so I would suggest connecting to Wi-Fi for the best
performance when you can. But, if you need to jump on and you aren’t somewhere
with Wi-Fi you can still make it work just with your standard LTE connection.”
– Pat Skinner of Answer First
Manage billing and
invoices.
“Need to send an invoice while traveling and don’t want to
wait until you get back? Well, if you use a service like Freshbooks you can use
their app to access and manage your entire account. All features are available.
You can also manage your banking, with an app for your
institution and then apps for all of your credit cards. You can make payments,
monitor spending and track automatic bills, from wherever you are. The money in
and out of your business doesn’t stop when you are traveling, so it’s important
that you have the ability to monitor everything at all times. Get familiar with
all of the apps that connect you to your company’s finances.” – Michael Herron,
Law Offices of Michael R. Herron
Check-in on office via
security cameras.
“If you run a large sales floor or have a warehouse or other
type of business with a lot of people, either workers or customers, then you
more than likely have a camera system. If so, find a way to connect it to your
phone. Most systems have an app available that let you connect to the video
feed at any time to monitor activity.
Sometimes being away from the business can prove to be
stressful for some owners, so being able to watch the daily activity from afar
gives them the peace of mind that everything is fine. If this is what is
required to allow you to relax while on vacation, then by all means take
advantage of the access.” – Tad Thomas, Managing Partner of Thomas Law Offices
Access any website.
“One of the most convenient features is internet access.
It’s so common these days that it’s not even something we think about or view
as a luxury. Think back to just a few years ago, and the type of browsing power
we have in our hands was nothing like this.
We have Safari and Chrome browser apps on our iPhones that gives us the exact same experience as we have when on a laptop or desktop computer. This alone allows you to perform almost all of your business related tasks on your phone.” – Ignacio Soria, CEO of Cann & Co.
Skype and WhatsApp calls.
“These days, companies are working remotely, and they have
team members scattered throughout the world. This usually means that they are
using a chat and voice messaging option like Skype or WhatsApp, as they allow
for free voice communication. Both of these options have apps for the iPhone.
While you could make an international call using your phone,
why spend the money when you don’t have to? Skype and WhatsApp are great, and
they are encrypted as well, providing you with an extra layer of security when
messaging. This is something very important if you are discussing business
details and sending sensitive information.” – Christopher Kerr, VP Marketing at
Earnhardt Lexus
Book and manage travel.
“Not all business owners have the luxury of having a
personal assistant. Actually most don’t, so booking travel and managing
reservations while on the road at conferences or going to meetings needs to be
as simple as possible. All of the major travel sites like Travelocity and
Expedia have apps to manage all reservations.
Also, all of the rental car companies and airlines have apps
that allow you to access flight info, reservation details and make changes and
even special requests. One of the best tips is to make sure you have all of the
apps related to your trip in one place. I suggest keeping them all in one
folder, where you keep just the ones you need for your most recent travel.” – Christopher
Dziak, CEO of Pure Nootropics
Manage marketing
campaigns.
“Things like Google Ads and email marketing campaigns can all be managed on your phone. You can see what your PPC ads are doing using Google’s AdWords app, and email clients like Mailchimp have dedicated apps that allow you to login and monitor all of your active campaigns.
Sometimes you not only want to monitor this information, but
also make changes. There really isn’t anything you cannot do in terms of
changes and adjustments, on your mobile phone. You can control everything while
traveling or away from the office.” – Chad Gaynier of Clarity Clinic
Receive real-time sales
data.
“If you run an e-commerce business you can see sales and
stats in real-time. For example, if you run a Shopify store you can install
their app and receive notifications every time a new sale is generated. If that
is too much, you can silence them and use the app to monitor website traffic in
real-time.
This allows you to cross reference this data with your
marketing data and also do things like manage inventory or even adjust your
staff. When you have the ability to take a look into your business happenings
in real-time you can make the same type of instant decisions you would make if
you were there in person.” – Paul Kelly, 247 CCTV Security Ltd
