Afghan Wireless founder Dr. Ehsan Bayat knows that being an entrepreneur can be a difficult job: there’s so much to manage and so few hours in the day. Happily, today’s sophisticated smartphones are functioning more and more as well-rounded personal assistants, which can go a long way toward helping entrepreneurs stay on top of their massive to-do lists.
A huge range of smartphone apps allow entrepreneurs to conduct research, sell products, connect with customers, and keep track of accounts, all while on the go between business meetings and conference calls. Read on for a round-up of 11 of our favorite entrepreneurial apps.
1. Accompany
Some entrepreneurs don’t just need a digital assistant—they need a digital chief of staff. That’s where Accompany comes in. The app helps you prep for major meetings by mining your personal data and other online information to create and send you a briefing prior to the meeting.
2. Slack
If you’re an entrepreneur who’s lucky enough to have a team of collaborators on board, chances are they are just as busy as you are, making effective group communication a challenge. The cloud-based team communication tool Slack helps solve this problem by gathering group exchanges in a single location that’s remotely accessible and searchable. The app is ideal for teams whose members are regularly on the go or working from different locations. At present, Slack is the fastest-growing B2B app, with over 4 million active daily users.
3. Buffer
Connecting with fans and customers regularly on social media is an important part of building a successful business, but it can be hard to make time for Facebook posts in the middle of everything else you’ve got going on. Buffer helps to streamline the process of reaching out to followers by allowing you to post content to social media on a pre-set schedule. Just one click allows you to publish content at the best time for reaching the most followers, and to easily share content across multiple networks.
4. Salesforce1
Can you really run your business just from your phone? With Salesforce1, you can. This app channels and consolidates all your customer information—such as details related to sales, marketing, customer service, and business analysis—into a single, integrated platform. Having all this information at your fingertips enhances your understanding of your customers and allows you to make smarter, real-time decisions, from any location, based on data-driven insights.
5. Square
Credit card-processing apps like Square are becoming must-haves for entrepreneurs and small businesses as customers are increasingly less likely to carry cash. For one reasonable rate, Square allows businesses of any size to accept customer payments via a number of different credit cards. The app can be used either with an iPad in a “Square Stand” or in combination with a magstripe reader provided free of charge.
6. Toggl
As an entrepreneur, you’re likely working on multiple projects at once, and it can be difficult to make sure you’re keeping track of your time accurately. Whether you need to log your time for billing reasons, or just in order to know how long a particular task took to complete, Toggl allows you to quickly organize your time by project or tag without having to use a cumbersome timesheet. The app syncs easily across desktop browsers and smartphones.
7. Wave
Tracking income and expenses can be a big headache for entrepreneurs, especially if you don’t come from a business or accounting background. Wave keeps this part of your operation running smoothly thanks to its suite of online small business tools and software products, including customizable charts of accounts and journal transactions, invoice and receipt generators, and direct bank-data imports.
8. HelloSign
With HelloSign, you can sign and forward any PDF file just using your fingertips. A great tool for handling contracts and agreements on the go, HelloSign provides confidential and secure signing power without the hassle of printing, signing, or scanning a document.
9. MindMeister and Mindnode
Entrepreneurs certainly need apps to help them with the practical aspects of launching a business, but they can also use some help with more abstract tasks as well. MindMeister and Mindnode are both widely used “mind-mapping” or brainstorming apps. They’re great tools that can help individuals or teams generate and connect creative ideas during brainstorming sessions.
10. 1Password
As an entrepreneur, you not only need to keep your own information safe and secure, you also have to protect your customer data. 1Password keeps all passwords, as well as other information like credit card or bank account details, behind a secure master password. 1Password is useable as an extension or plug-in on all major browsers.
11. Pocket
Entrepreneurs never know when inspiration might strike; it could be when you’re reading an e-mail from a colleague or watching a video on YouTube. To store any type of online content for more in-depth exploration later, all you need to do is put it in your Pocket, so to speak. The “save for later” app Pocket allows you to save and access content across multiple devices, even without an Internet connection.