Why the iPhone is an Entrepreneur’s Swiss Army Knife
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
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