Must-Have Tech For Entrepreneurs
In this world of technology, there is some tried and true things that I use and rely on on a daily basis. These pieces of technology are devices, apps, and software that I have been using and enjoying for years and I highly recommend it to any entrepreneur or small business owner I talk to. To get this list started, I figured I would talk about one of the simplest and biggest upgrades I made within my business and that is;
AirPods/Wireless headphones - Yes I know, these have been on the market for quite some time and I never understood the hype of these little gadgets until I owned them. I couldn’t justify spending money on them (I’m frugal) but then I was convinced to go out and do it and I’m incredibly glad I did! So, let me tell you how they made my work days better and much easier. If you’re like me, you’re a busy multi-tasking machine and you only have so much time and energy in a day. What I love about my AirPods is that I can go hands-free and listen to music, podcast which I’m working that pump me up (without getting tangled in wires). I use these to talk on the phone and answer ALL of my phone calls and be hands-free (I pace when I talk… so this is super convenient because I also don’t like to hold my phone in my hand). I also communicate to my trades and colleagues through a ton of voice messages cause your girl Markie does not have time to type. So these come in handy when needed and to be honest, I take them everywhere and us them probably like 8-10 hours a day (even when there is nothing playing through them, I use them to block out my surrounding environment).
Tripod + Light with a Remote - This seems like a no-brainer to have if you’re creating content but a lot of people I know have never invested in one. The reason I love having a tripod is because you can record and document all your content without needing someone to help you (I appreciate this as a solo-preneur). I also get asked quite a bit about how I am so comfortable talking on my Instagram stories and the answer to this is a tripod (okay and a speaking course). My tripod allows me to start and stop recording easily, it has a remote that connects to my phone and most importantly it let’s me throw my hands around in various motions because I’m a hand-talker which in most cases, makes me feel very comfortable speaking on camera.
External Hard-drive - This is also one that I never 100% got on board with when I started my business and then I had a scary incident with a cup of coffee and my laptop and I immediately got one. The reason being is; you have things you want to save and hold onto and store; I’m talking files, receipts, photos, videos, like literally most things for your business you save. With an external hard-drive, I save all my items in my computer and then back that computer up once a week to ensure if anything (knock on wood) ever happened to my laptop or social media accounts etc… I have a back-up. Now I also use cloud services because I’m a bit paranoid about losing my most valuable assets within my business (Que me crying in Best Buy as they had to take my old coffee covered laptop apart to see if files were salvageable).
Mileage IQ - Driving is time consuming but you know what is even more time consuming? Tracking your mileage and receipts. This is why for the past five years, I’ve implemented using Mileage IQ to track all of my drives for the business (and personal). This makes it quick cut and dry at tax season when the big man asks “where did you drive and how much and when?” I can quickly print off a yearly report and hand it off to my accountant. If you don’t have Mileage IQ… Get it.
Dext - Woof… more tax/bookkeeping talk but this seems to be the most common dreaded task for entrepreneurs and that’s because nobody in their right mind wants to spend hours, heck even days organizing receipts. Now I can’t take all the credit for this one because my lovely accountants got me set-up on Dext but the coles-notes version of this app is, you take a picture of your receipts, some magic happens and all the necessary data is extracted and put into your accounting software/system and voila; expenses are tracked and documented. I’m sure there is more behind the scenes work but even if there is… this has got to make it five thousand times more enjoyable.
HotSpot - This isn’t something that is technically an app or a piece of technology you have to purchase but I’ve had enough internet issues to know that having the ability to connect to your HotSpot on your phone so you have internet access if your main internet/wifi is down is crucial! If you don’t know what this is, it’s a switch you turn on on your phone and you can connect to your phones data to access the internet. Don’t worry it’s password protected and it’s pretty safe… I can’t count how many times this has saved me when in dire need of answering emails back and sourcing fixtures for my clients. So yeah, if you have this I also note to make sure you have enough data so you don’t go over and end up owing your cellphone provider your first-born child.
I could honestly go on and on about upgrades I’ve made over the years and what I would do as an entrepreneur today that I didn’t do in the beginning but alas I want you to make it through this blog and still have time in your day to do the tasks you have to do!
So…If you enjoyed reading, please let me know!
Your encouragement lights that fire in my heart (and under my a**) to keep writing and sharing my knowledge and areas of expertise… and sharing is my love language. Blog writing is so fun and expressive, so if you have a topic you would love to hear about (or write about - come join me as a blog-writer), send me a message.
Anyways, thanks for reading friends and buy the damn AirPods.
Markie.