7 Ways to Grow and Manage Your Business from a Moblie Device | Business

In today’s busy world, a day at the office can be in the comfort of home, on the beach of your choice, or even at your local Starbucks. The mobile device allows us to do a lot more than just check our email. In fact, as long as you have what I like to call “the essentials”, you can do business from your cell phone.

Use Your Cell Phone as Your Business Phone

Gone are the days of needing one cell phone for personal use and a separate cell phone for business as you are out of the office. Now, you can have one business number with multiple extensions set up- all “in the cloud” with Ring Central, and have it ring multiple cell phones, office phones, or even home phones. You may be thinking, “Ok, but how will my team and I know if it’s a personal call or a business call”? Great question! When you set up your call preferences, you can opt to have all business calls show up in your caller ID as the name of your business (i.e. “Hawkes Law Group”) or you could create a special code. For instance, you could choose “555”. So, now anytime you or your team sees “555-xxx-xxx-xxxx”, instead of a 7 digit number, you know it’s a business call or someone calling your “office”. What’s even better is that when you make calls from your cell phone using the Ring Central application, your business number appears in the caller ID of the person you or your team members are calling- not your personal cell phone numbers. So, even if your office is virtual – no one has to know!

Send and Receive Faxes from Your Cell Phone

Never spend $1.50 per page to send a fax at your local “fax, copy, & print” shop again. Just get a cloud-based fax line with either Ring Central or E-Fax, download their mobile application to your phone, and begin sending and receiving faxes on your cell phone.

Get Microsoft Office for Your Mobile Device

There are multiple applications out there, which allow you to create, review, and edit Microsoft Office documents directly on your cell phone. Most have a “Trial Version” that you can license for a few days to see if it’s a fit for you. The paid version is usually around $14.99. If you get a trial version first, make sure you choose an application that is completely unlocked- meaning you can use ALL of the features. You don’t want to just be able to review a document your client sends you. You want to be able to review it and edit it.

Track Spending

Get set up with mint.com, download their app, and never be in the dark again about your operating budget. This application will let you know whether a purchase will put you over budget. Like a good mom, it will also scorn you when you HAVE gone over budget, but it scorns with love by making suggestions for ways to prevent this from happening again.

 Share Files with Your Team and Your Clients

If someone needs a file from you, you no longer have to make statements like “I stepped out, but I’ll be back in the office in 20 minutes”. With a Dropbox account, and the application on your phone, you can share files immediately.

 Capture Your Ideas

Evernote is what I like to call the “catch all app”. While jogging I’ll think, “the best way to increase profits for Client A is to create an Intellectual Property portfolio”. As entrepreneurs, I am sure you can relate to random- yet important thoughts. With the Evernote application on my phone, I can “catch” these thoughts through (a) typing, (b) voice notes (c) pictures, and (d) document attachments all in one note. When done, I’ll share this note with my assistant who then immediately starts drafting a proposal for the client. When she’s done, I’ll review, edit, and send. Massive productivity that all started with a thought…

Create a Mobile Marketing Plan

Entrepreneurs must consider mobile marketing as a way to stay competitive. Incorporating a SMS text messaging campaign, building a mobile website, and creating a QR code for your business card or product are great places to start.

 Now, go and grow your business! And, may the phone be with you!

Priscilya Hawkes-Manigo is the Founder of Hawkes Law Group P.C., a New York law firm serving small business owners and families in the entertainment industry.