Running a small business can often mean you’re a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’ some days. You might be the designer, accountant, office manager, marketing exec and customer service advisor all before lunch-time. So, for you busy entrepreneurs here are seven useful apps which will allow you to work from anywhere, get things done quicker and remember to do the things you said you would!
1. Work from anywhere
Running your own business sometimes means longer hours and pressure to meet your deadlines. Help yourself reduce this overtime by backing up your business documents to a cloud platform; such as the iCloud or Dropbox. This will allow you to work from anywhere, squeezing in ten minutes of emails in the taxi or a few hours admin on a train could just give you your evenings back.
2. Super-size your social media
Social Media can be time consuming and often doesn’t seem financially rewarding at first. Despite this, it is essential to have an online presence for your business. Although paying someone to do this for you is an excellent idea, in early start-up ventures this isn’t always affordable.
To save time, and your daily (distracting) scrolling, you need to automate. You can use free apps such as IFTTT and Hootsuite to schedule your posts weeks in advance. Working ahead like this will also give you time to find relevant hashtags and plan your strategy.
3. Turn paper into data
All those business cards you collect at networking events and trade fairs can finally have a use, other than lining the bottom of your bag! Camcard is a free app which allows you to take a quick snap of that perfectly designed card, store the info and be free of pesky paper.
4. Smart calendars to sync your life
Working harder, demanding more, we are all squeezing so many activities into our weeks now. Work meetings, nights out, family visits, school runs, deliveries; and if your running your own business you may feel pulled all over the place. Synchronise your life by downloading the relevant app on your mobile to work alongside your work calendar. Outlook, Google and Apple all have their versions you can match up on multiple devices. Then, you will always know where you’re heading to and when you can squeeze in that cheeky lunch date.
5. Sign on the move
For those documents that get emailed over while you’re out of the office, Docusign will speed things up and get the job done there and then. No more flagging, printing, scanning and emailing the next time you’re at your desk. Ready..Set..Sign!
6. Scan from anywhere
Another clever app to speed up your workflow is CamScanner. It allows you to scan important documents, crop to perfection and have them ready to email or print. Not just a clever photograph system, this app will also allow you to select text from the final PDF which is a clever tool if you need to select a paragraph to paste into an email.
7. One for the list lovers
Are you one of those people who has an ongoing list for everything? From marketing ideas to the weekly food shop, sales leads to DIY. Well, Wunderlist has you covered. You can also set up shared lists through the app by adding the persons email address. Then, they can see and add to that list too. That way, your business partner can see that revolutionary idea and your other half will know to pick up milk on the way home.