Guest Article
Many days as a small business owner you might feel like a one-armed wallpaper hanger with a crazy person for a boss. But this might just be because you are not leveraging technology in your business. When twenty-four hours in a day, is just not enough, it’s time to see if there’s an app for your biggest headache tasks. Fortunately we live in a society that is constantly evolving and providing us with devices and applications to make our lives and businesses run smoothly. Here are the 8 best apps to make your small businesses more productive.
1. Dropbox
Dropbox is a handy app that lets you easily save and retrieve these files on the go. By using smartphones, you can capture video of your excursions, audio clips of speakers at conventions or MP3s to add to the company blog. It is also the household name for group collaboration and cloud storage.
2. Due
Chances are that when your new business is launched, you won’t have a colossal staff. If you are lucky you will at least have an accountable secretary. But just in case you don’t, you should take five minutes to check out an app called, Due. It’s a gift from the Gods, programmed and designed for the procrastinators and overly extended entrepreneur.
If you have a meeting or deadline scheduled months away, you have nothing to worry about with the Due app. It’s sort of like the nagging mother of scheduling apps. Reminders and notifications will continue to display on your screen until you mark them as a finished task. You can also postpone certain tasks and remind co-workers of upcoming due dates.
3. Workshare
Workshare is the solution to effortless group collaboration. You no longer have to worry about being the guy who updated his work on the wrong version of the document. Workshare employees heard your prayers and answered them. Documents can be shared without compromising confidentiality. And as an added bonus, businesses can use the app to compare multiple versions of the same document and also includes an auto sync feature.
4. Evernote
This app is the perfect solution when you’re away from the desk and find the perfect article to write about but don’t have the time to research and post on it. Evernote saves Web pages, images, text and voice notes so you can retrieve them when it’s more convenient to research and share your insight with the rest of your company. Evernote is popular with new entrepreneurs and investors for its ease of use and convenience.
5. Catch
Catch is the perfect app for the businessman or woman, who might physically leave the office, but their mind is always on their work. With Catch, you can record the random moments of genius you have away from the office through voice recordings, photos and text notes. There’s no need to worry about everything getting mixed up within the app. You can organize those random moments by hash tags or create “spaces” for future collaborations.
As an added security feature, you can secure Catch with a pin code. Just in case you somehow forget your T-Mobile no contract phone at the next client meeting or business outing.
6. Meeting Mapper
Meeting Mapper is for the company appointed note taker, who is not so great at taking notes. Meeting Mapper basically outlines everyone involved in your client or business meetings. Along with adding photos, a drawing board, flyout notes and an intuitive user interface. It is one of the few apps that has been proven to provide a return on investment for businesses.
7. Robin
Robin is the necessary app for not only business but also life. It has been called, “the Siri Challenger” and considered the top voice app on the market. Robin is more of a personal assistant rather than just another voice app. She can email your clients, find you the closest parking garage, the cheapest gas prices in town and communicate with your Facebook and Twitter network.
8. EchoSign
This is the app that makes tree lovers happy with glee, because it gets rid of the need for paper. It’s sort of like a having miniature post office built into your mobile phone. Simply email your clients with their contract, designate a signature box and hit send. The client then has the responsibility of reviewing the document and placing their electronic signature. And as a keepsake, EchoSign automatically delivers a copy of the signed contract to all parties involved.
Most of these apps are free, and the paid ones are less than $5 per download. Mobile apps are an affordable way to enhance your business, please your clients and motivate your staff. Not to mention, you can have them all without breaking the bank or holding interviews for the perfect assistant. These apps will help you have the most reliable personal assistant in your pocket or briefcase.
Do you have any other app suggestions that are saving you time and money?
About the Author: Kristina Jackson is a freelance writer in technology. Currently her only problem is pulling away from her T-Mobile no contract phone, in order to get her work done. Image via Flickr by Johan Larsson
Why have all these separate apps to manage all your businesses. For me that doesn’t sound like saving time and working more efficient.
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These are great resources. I am going to share them 🙂
Great list–I would also recommend google Drive! So useful and you can edit spreadsheets.
I would recommend checking out Gtdagenda for an online productivity tool.
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote, and also comes with mobile-web version, and Android and iPhone apps.