What iOS Apps Should All Small Business Owners Have?

It seems nearly impossible to run a small business without technology nowadays, and smartphones and tablets have gained a firm foothold in this market. When speaking with small business owners, they almost always ask which apps I consider “must haves.” Here are the top three iOS (meaning for Apple products) apps I recommend for people either running or looking to start a small business:

iWork/Quickoffice Pro- Every small business owner needs to look at and sometimes edit documents. Be it text documents, spreadsheets or presentations, being able to view and change them on the go is very helpful. If you own a Mac and use iWork, using the iWork apps will make for a seamless document transition between your iPhone/iPad and your Mac. If you use Microsoft Office either on the Mac or Windows machine, Quickoffice Pro will offer a similar experience for your Office documents.

TurboScan- Are you currently using your device’s camera to take pictures of documents? With TurboScan, you can turn those photos into multipage PDFs that you can then either save or email. That means you could take pictures of your receipts while you’re away on a business trip,  turn them into a single PDF and email them to your secretary or simply keep them on your device for your records.

Square Card Reader- If you do any sales, either products or services, the Square Card Reader is highly recommended because it allows you scan credit cards and have the funds transferred right into your account. Now, as a quick side note here, Square makes their money on the 2.75% fee on every charge you make on their app, but they do also give you a free credit card scanner when you download their free app. Yes, a free scanner for downloading their free app.

Practical Tip of the Day:

Looking to connect with other professionals you know in a forum more formal than Facebook or Twitter? LinkedIn is a website that allows professionals to connect, keep in contact with each other and even offer referrals to each other. LinkedIn, in addition to their website also have a free app. 

If you'd like more information about these apps and how to utilize them in your business, feel free to contact me at www.TechKNOWLEDGEyToday.com and I'd be more than happy to help walk you through the decision. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates and periodic tips and tricks to help you with the technology you use daily.

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TechKNOWLEDGEy Today was founded on the idea that through better understanding of technology you can empower people to better their lives more than they ever thought possible. It is with this in mind that we strive to better our communities through the services we offer.

We provide personalized group or individual training on technology in your home or office. Specializing in Apple products like the iPhone, iPad and Mac, we offer purchasing and implementation consultations, software training and instruction on computing basics like the Internet, email and smartphones.

What is LinkedIn?

Of all the social networks, LinkedIn is often thought of as the highest form. There aren't any 12 year olds, it's not covered in ads for trendy new clothes, and the interface is low-key instead of eye-popping. While I have no reports to support this, I would go out on a limb and say the average age of a LinkedIn user is higher than either Facebook or Twitter. While being a more refined social network, many of it's users don't fully understand what LinkedIn is for and therefore don't use it to it's full potential.

The biggest social networking aspect of LinkedIn is the ability to connect with people you know ala Facebook, but instead of keeping in the know about how their pet turtle is doing, you're able to track their career and job information. LinkedIn focuses less on a person's personal life and more on their work life. Filling in a LinkedIn profile is not too unlike filling out an online resume. You enter your current and past work experiences, awards, certifications, etc. From there LinkedIn helps you find former coworkers you might be interested in business networking with.

LinkedIn also has a job search function very much akin to other job search websites like Monster.com or online classified ads. Once you search for a job, it'll give you a description of the job, tell you how to apply, give you options to save this job so you can read it later, and even let you share this job opening with your friends on other popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twiter. LinkedIn will also look at the people you're connected with, and offer you job opportunities it thinks you might be interested in. Used to work at Circuit City? There's a new Best Buy opening up around you, and they're hiring. Things like that, but not only for smaller retail jobs. They also list high-level copies and high-level jobs. In conclusion, if you're in the market for a new job, or you're thinking of ways you might be able to expand your professional network LinkedIn is a good solution for you.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Whenever you sign up for a new website, even the most well respected ones, be careful how much personal information you give out. Only put on the Internet what you're comfortable letting everyone in the world know. Your parents, children, pastor, coworkers, boss, strangers, I mean EVERYONE!