Ways to Streamline Business From on Your Phone

The rise in mobile technology means that being out of the office isn’t seen as a reason to not be working on or for your business. If you’re running your own business and at the same want to spend more time with your family, this trend might have a lot of benefits for you.

You don’t have to sit at your desk all the time to get done a multitude of business tasks. Just make sure to know when to unplug. Whether you are working for yourself or someone else, you have to find work-life balance.

Having all that in mind, let’s look at some of the technological solutions which are helping to keep businesses on the go, even when their staff is on the go! 

Contacts

The trusty Rolodex is dying out. It’s easy to lose business cards, and carrying a physical folder around is impractical, to say the least. Luckily, smartphones are perfect for maintaining and updating contact lists.

To work in tandem, there are apps that can scan all the data from a physical card, and using text recognition software can save it as a new contact on your phone.

Simply take a photograph of the card and the app will scan it and extract all the necessary info. There are even apps that will search sites such as LinkedIn to add photographs and other details for new contacts. 

Meetings 

Organizing conference calls is a headache-inducing business task at the best of times. When you’re on the go, it’s basically impossible without using a conference calling app.

This simplifies the process, meaning you can simply select names from your contact list and let the app do the work – emailing, calling or texting people to schedule the call or to add them to it without the hassle of signing into a phone network.

Some apps even show profile photographs of each participant in the call – and some even highlight who is speaking at any one time. Eradicate the hassle of conference calls, and do it when you’re on the move! 

Printing and Scanning

Despite the great leaps forward in mobile and other technologies, most businesses still require printed documents. And printing hasn’t been forgotten by app developers. There are numerous apps designed to work with Android and iOS, respectively, making printing possible directly from your mobile.

Many apps are suitable for a specific brand or model of printer, but many allow the user to print on any compatible machine sitting on the network they are using. It’s possible to print photo-quality or to doctor the settings to get the perfect print.

It’s even possible to order new ink for the printer via some apps. In terms of scanning, most modern printer/scanners can send scans immediately to a smartphone via their brand-specific app, in any file format you require. 

Emailing

OK, being able to send and receive emails on your smartphone or tablet is nothing new, but the apps which are being designed and released are ever more advanced and user-friendly.

Most people used to just read their email on their phone, rather than act on it. Apps have taken this passive behavior and made it active – now it’s easier than ever to reply, forward, structure and format your email communications, and manage multiple accounts from the same app.

Being able to process your emails on the go, as one of the most common business tasks, really does enhance your remote working capabilities. 

Manage Your Projects

Many apps and platforms have been designed with mobile users in mind to stay on top of multi-faceted business projects. Whether you need to check the status of a project or a facet within it or need to assign some tasks, set deadlines or respond to queries or discrepancies there is an app available for it.

Being able to look at the broad brushstrokes of a project overview or the finely detailed minutiae of individual tasks is now something you can do on the move, and carry in your pocket. 

Planning Your Day

Keeping your calendar or diary on your smartphone is a foolproof way to make sure your day runs smoothly. You can set alerts to remind you of appointments or meetings, and even link a calendar app with one of the meeting/conference call apps mentioned above.

Sadly, unexpected changes to schedules can’t be wiped out by mobile technology. Just being able to see your weekly schedule, daily plan or even minute by minute timetable, enables you to plan for the best (and be prepared for the worst!) 

Taking Notes

If you just want to note down some ideas or details for later, most note-taking apps now link to your cloud. That means that you’ll never lose a good idea again, no matter where you might be. This feature is helpful for business tasks, as well as for your private stuff.

Just because you are on the go, doesn’t mean your business has to stop in its tracks. Today’s developers are aware of all the various needs of the modern professional.

It’s just a matter of choosing the right app for your individual needs. And once you’ve implemented them, these apps and solutions will keep your business moving as fast as you are.

Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement.

We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.

What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.

I accepted diversity in the world and the beauty of telling your honest opinion on things.

Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?

I appreciate my ability to connect with people, to share their stories.

Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.

My biggest achievements are my 4 friendships for life ( Jen, Nico, Teo, Andrea – love you)!

Photo by  Kristin Hardwick on StockSnap