Top Tech Tools for Up and Coming Entrepreneurs

May 7, 20140 Comments
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Many entrepreneurs began their careers in business as specialists with certain areas of expertise but have, as is often the nature of entrepreneurialism, gradually drifted towards becoming more of a generalist with their fingers in multiple pies.

This calls for tech tools that empower entrepreneurs to bridge gaps in experience, knowledge and specialisation and there are many excellent tech tools that can help them do just that.

A cartoon of people collaborating

What tech tools do you need for your business?

Organisational tech tools

Organisational finesse is essential to successful entrepreneurialism but if you
weren’t a business manager in your previous incarnation, organising yourself and others can be tough going at times.

Of the many aspects of organisation that entrepreneurs need to take note of, keeping track of their finances and tax obligations are two of many and the tech tools to keep organised here are bookkeeping tools like Xero, paperwork organisational tools like File This and travel management tools like TripIt.

Collaboration software

Entrepreneurs frequently collaborate and work with others and some also work on hi-tech projects where they’ve assembled a team of ‘boffins’ and need to oversee their progress.

Mendix is a good choice as a free collaborative tool for entrepreneurs working on technical projects, as is Podio for customer and lead management and Moxtra, which is seemingly great for everything an entrepreneur could collaborate with others on.

Video conferencing tools

Whilst savvy entrepreneurs realise that nothing can take the place of the face-to-face meeting, they’ll generally need to be able to videoconference in the office and on the move.

The easy-to-use Skype platform is still one of the best free videoconferencing tools available to entrepreneurs – they can upgrade to a paid version if they want to conduct videoconferences with more than one person – and Google+ is also increasingly popular as a free videoconferencing tool.

Enterprise solutions

Many entrepreneurs have an aversion to traditional payment methods because they’re somewhat restrictive and stifling.

Fortunately there are some excellent tech tools available that enable entrepreneurs to accept cost effective and safe payments, most notably the increasing number of mobile payment apps that empower entrepreneurs to accept payments with a credit card reader and their smartphone.

Phone Swipe is a popular one – it’s currently only available in the US – as is the better known and more accessible Square and the more versatile and cost effective Intuit GoPayment.

These solutions enable entrepreneurs to increase their payment acceptance options and save them time and money.

Cloud services

There are likely to be countless instances in which entrepreneurs need to collaborate or share information with others and one of the most outstanding tech tools now available to them are cloud services.

Cloud services used by savvy entrepreneurs are often as simple as the free Google Drive, OneBox and Dropbox, all of which are excellent tools for storing and sharing information so that entrepreneurs can access important information when away from their professional serviced office space and share it with others.

Event management tools

Whether an entrepreneur has many events to attend or an event to organise and promote, event management tools can help them manage and navigate their event related needs.

Flavorus is an excellent tool for managing RSVPs and also boasts payment processing options that are both secure and cost effective. Eventbase is another excellent event organisation app entrepreneurs can use to provide smartphone event maps and schedules for attendees.

Achieving any degree of success as an entrepreneur is often, in the increasingly digitalised world in which we live and work, dependent upon utilising technology effectively – these tech tools are just a taste of the technology accessible to entrepreneurs that can empower them to achieve great things.

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About the Author ()

Juliet Martin is writing in a freelance basis for Regus, a company that specialises in providing meeting rooms, work pods, and business lounges across the globe.

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