Today, we have so much technology that can help our businesses grow. Whether you’re a home based business owner or run a more traditional business, you deserve to have a smart phone. Doing business without one will only cost you more time. Which, in an entrepreneurs world, that means money or time away from your family.
Now this post may sound extremely out dated to those of us who already use a smart phone, and that’s okay. This post is targeting those entrepreneurs who are still stuck in the dinosaur days. Admit it. How many people over the age of fifty actually use a smart phone? And how many of those people own businesses or could benefit from the technology smart phones have to offer? Off the top of my head, I can personally think of at least twenty people, and you probably can as well.
Benefits of Owning a Smart Phone
Depending on the nature of your business, a smart phone can benefit you in many different areas, but here are a few.
- Email Management – Smart phones can be setup to receive email from as many email accounts that you may have. I currently have around ten different email accounts set up on my phone, and I can tell you from experience, it save’s me a ton of time. Instead of having to turn on the PC, log into my email and sort through the emails, I get notified of them on my phone. When it’s deleted on my phone, it’s deleted from my email accounts online. It sure beats sorting through all of them later.
- Bank Account Information – Most banks have created apps that make checking your account balances, taking payments, transferring funds and depositing funds so much easier. Personally, I use PayPal and can send and receive payments through my smart phone just as easily as I can on my PC, no matter where I am. When my son had to spend a week in the Tucson Medical Center, I was able to receive payment for my services while at his bedside. My smart phone kept things running smoothly.
- Social Interaction – If you are a business owner and aren’t involved in social marketing online, you should start….today. A smart phone like t-mobile android phones, can help you interact with your community on a more regular basis. Again, every major social network has created an app that will allow you to update your social profiles and pages and keep your return customers coming.
- Online Businesses – For those of use who primarily earn an income online, there are multiple benefits beyond those mentioned above. For one, if you own and operate a blog, there are some very nice wordpress apps that make updating your blog a cinch. You can track and manage your Adsense or affiliate revenue. If you’re a webmaster, there are FTP and HTML editors that will allow you to update your client websites on the fly.
There are apps that can assist you in managing your inventory, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, leads and so much more. As a business owner, if you have a need, chances are, there’s an app that can fulfill that need.
iPhone or Droid?
So which operating system should you choose? You’ve probably heard others saying that the iPhone is the best or the Droid phones have more capabilities. For me, when it all comes down to it, the easiest way to choose is to match it to your computers operating system. If you use Windows, then get an android phone. If you own a Mac, get an iPhone. They will sync better with each other and cause you less of a headache in the long run.
Once you know your operating system, it’s all about choosing a phone from the brand you respect the most. Personally, I currently own a Motorola X2 and love it. Some people don’t. My PC’s operating system is Windows, so they work perfectly together. My advice when choosing a phone is to read the reviews but beware. Reviews are often overflowing with those who are upset with their choice. Those who are happy with their choice have no reason to go online and complain. They’re too busy enjoying their phone. So for every negative review online, just know that there are ten more unwritten positive’s.
As always, I’d like to hear from you. In what ways has owning a smart phone helped your business and which apps do you recommend?
David Allred is the author and creator of CFW. David has been teaching entrepreneur minded people how to earn a full time income working from the comfort of home for nearly a decade.
Think about it. Never miss your kids’ events, set your own schedule, choose your own income and enjoy a lifestyle and income which most people only drool over!
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