How do you keep it all straight? How do you keep ideas flowing? How do you remember who’s who?
There’s An App For That
Luckily, you probably already have the single most valuable tool at your side: a phone. Here are some of the critical apps that entrepreneurs should use:
- Evernote. This free app combines the best features from half a dozen apps that come standard on every phone. If you’re wondering, “Then why should I bother with an app if they already exist on my phone?”, there is a very good answer.
The reason Evernote succeeds is that it does those same things, only it does them all better. Whether you want to add to your task list by typing, recording an audio, taking a photo, or handwriting it with a stylus or your finger, Evernote can do it. You can tag your notes to keep them organized between work, travel, personal, or any other tags you want. You can take notes on your phone and then review/check them off on your PC, tablet, or iPad; Evernote follows you on any device. Best of all, it’s free.
- CamCard. Entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for new customers, suppliers, partners, or just contacts who may become future business. Hence the stacks of business cards piling at the bottom of your desk drawer. Enter CamCard.
This app allows your phone to photograph each card and then does a remarkable job sorting out the data (contact name, business name, phone number, address, website, and other important information) into an electronic file. After every photo, you can review and correct if needed. The ease and accuracy of this app is vital for keeping and (most importantly) using your contact list.
- TripIt. If your business takes you on the road, TripIt keeps you on the right path. Point Tripit to your email address, and it will automatically pull confirmations for air, car, and hotel reservations and assemble your itinerary in one place.
Gone are the days of searching through emails for a confirmation number when you arrive at the hotel at 1 am and just want to get some sleep!
- Even if your business is 100% domestic in scope, chances are that you are going to have a contact or customer who speaks another language. If you are international, the value of this free app soars.
The app lets you speak into the phone using your language, press a button, and listen as your device speaks in your contact’s language. They can speak back into your device, and your device will tell you what they said. With over 100 languages in its library, and 32 that can be translated in ‘conversation mode,’ Google Translate is invaluable in an ever-growing global economy.
With these 4 apps at your fingertips, keep your new business a little more organized, your contacts a little more accessible, and your time a little more well-spent, all of which adds up to success for an entrepreneur.
