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It has been about eight months since I got my Blackberry Storm and I am lovin’ it. Getting this phone and an unlimited data plan has changed how I do business, period. Not sure how I survived without it.
So the question I have is – Do small business owners need a smartphone? In general, I would say yes. Statistics are showing that more and more consumers and business owners are using and “playing” with smartphones. I read one post recently (can’t remember where) that the author predicted there would not be any more cell phone packages, just a fee for data connections. Mobile search and mobile apps are here to stay!
The two main smartphones are the iPhone and Blackberry. Each has it own pros and cons but both can accomplish the same goal-help you manage your business. As more and more apps are being created for these phones, it is becoming easier for the small business owner to do almost anything he needs to on his mobile device. You almost do not need a laptop.
As I said before, now that I have a Blackberry I can do so much while I am away from my desk. As a web marketer and webmaster from clients, I can:
- check email
- surf web
- manage my voicemails, call forwarding, etc
- manage my social networks
- read blogs
- update my own blog (began writing this post on my Blackberry!)
- ftp files to and from the server
- create, edit documents and so on.
It just amazes me, how much I can do on this small device.
As a small business owner, you need to keep an eye on what is happening in your business and community. If you find yourself on the road a lot and not in front of the computer, but you want to be able to connect with customers quickly and easily, smartphones are the way to go. When I turn on my Blackberry in the morning, I feel like I am opening for business that day. LOL.
So: do you have smartphone? what kind? what is the main thing you use it for?
I use a netbook, which for my purposes work much better than a smartphone for the following reasons:
1. when I’m away from the office, usually it’s not a good time to receive a call anyway, so a phone is not really useful. I use Google Voice to get voicemail, and either answer by email or find a convenient time to return the call.
2. when I’m not in the office, but still working, I’m in a place with free wireless (coffee shop, home, etc.).
3. a netbook (one with a keyboard that is 90% of the normal keyboard–there are some with too small keyboards) is much better for typing than a smartphone.
I do everything on your bulleted list using my netbook, with the advantage of not paying one cent for a data plan, and using a normal-sized keyboard to type.
For emergency calls/emails, my contacts know use AwayFind.com (an alert comes to both my email and work cellphone, which is rarely used but I keep in my pocket for emergencies). This makes it possible for customers to “page” me whenever they need to reach me promptly, because I’ll be notified even if the netbook is closed at the moment.