Do you run and grow your business with mobile apps? Just about the time I was getting the hang of my mobile smart phone, I moved (temporarily) to England, where I can’t get Sprint service. (It’s a pet peeve of mine that I haven’t figured out how to integrate an affordable mobile phone service for my business while I move back and forth between continents. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.)
Just because it feels like it’s holding me back right now doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider how an iPhone or Android phone and apps (short for applications) couldn’t help you run and grow your business. I’m doing my research now and experimenting with my daughter’s iPhone and a friend’s Android while I am in England. I’ll be ready with my preferred solution once I get back in the States. (Meantime, it’s Skype for me!) [Update: I’m back and learning how to run and grow my business with my Android mobile.]
Here’s a peak at my research and my thoughts about how to use mobile phone apps to help you run and grow your business:
Best Mobile Apps for Help to Run Your Business
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), the best mobile apps for business are the apps that will help you run and grow your business.
Any app that suits your recording keeping style while helping you track your income and expenses and categorize your expenses so that income tax time is easier, breezier – is worth its weight in gold.
Take a look at these:
Quicken Self Employment: Connect with your bank accounts to download transactions to the app. Swipe right for personal expenses and left for business expenses and income. Tap on the assigned category to change it, or let it continue moving left to accept the category given. Tap on the transaction itself to see more details and choose personal, business or split. You can scan and enter your receipts from your phone, too. Pretty easy and intuitive.
Evernote: I use Evernote as my central “never forget anything” organizer and notebook. There is a desktop app and a mobile app and all of your Evernote notes can be synced across devices and to the Cloud. Each note you create can be tagged for easy search and find missions. Evernote Clipper, an addition to your browser, will clip whole articles and web pages or just save a quote or web address. You can attach and save any file type, so supplement your notes with image files and audio files, for instance.
Scannable: Voted Editor’s Choice by PC Magazine, Scannable is an iPhone app by Evernote which scans your receipts and other documents. PC Magazine says The Bottom Line is:
Evernote Scannable quickly scans stacks of business cards, notes from a meeting, and documents using nothing more than your smartphone and its camera. It’s even faster than Evernote’s own in-app business card and document scanner.
Here’s an article, Managing Personal Financial Documents, from the Evernote blog– and another, very detailed look at tax management, 12 Reasons Why Evernote is THE Choice for Tax Management and Financial Organization for the Self Employed.
Best Mobile Apps for Help to Grow Your Business
The best mobile apps to help grow your business are apps that help your create content on the fly – and stay in touch with your audience. Some apps do both by making it easy to create content and then share it.
Try these:
Instagram: Take photos, filter then caption and tag them for sharing.
Social Cam and Sound Cloud: Create video and audio, then share.
For more details, see this great article by Sandi Krakowski, Apps to Grow Your Business With, at her blog, Real Change.
Your email manager probably has apps to help you create and send emails as well as manage your email from your phone.
MailChimp: MailChimp has mobile apps and here’s their web page to check out the features: MailChimp for iOS and Android.
Aweber: Aweber has a suite of mobile apps and here’s the web page – Aweber Mobile App Suite.
Here’s an article with even more suggestions for mobile blogging. Read 5 Ways to Blog from Your Mobile Device at Social Media Examiner.
Best Mobile Apps for Social Media Marketing
Rather than recommending mobile apps to automate your social posts (e.g. Buffer), it seems that you’ll get higher post engagement (especially at Facebook) with direct posts. So, use apps that help you create content that’s creative and engaging – and quick. Find the ones that boost your motivation and productivity through fun and creativity.
Here’s a great article and podcast that will help: 18 Apps and Tools for Social Media Marketers. Not all of the apps reviewed are mobile apps but if you look at iTunes and/or the Play Store you’ll find mobile apps that share some great features of the desktop apps mentioned in this article.
I hope these suggestions are helpful and fun and get you into habits that help you run and grow your business with mobile apps.
Let me know below in the comments about the mobile apps you use to run and grow your small business.
Some posts that might interest you:
Go Phone Friendly: Why You Should Create a Mobile Version of Your Website