With the economy continuing to struggle, many individuals have left behind their jobs - whether by their choice or not - and started profitable home businesses. Websites like Etsy, Ebay and Amazon offer prospective crafters, pickers and resellers excellent values for marketing products. The digital age has brought commercial photography setup costs to new lows. Online billing, data entry and call center jobs have also been brought in to the home with amazing ease and a high speed internet connection. This lead us to look at how the EVO can help you run your business, or even run it for you...
Staying Connected: This one is obvious. With the EVO, your entire communications suite is in the palm of your hand. Email, Voicemail, Instant messaging, Skype, Video conferencing and more are all just one app away. These valuable programs mean faster response times, less time in front of the computer and better experiences for those contacting you.
Business Presence: So, you have your Sprint cell number, but you need a business line as well. The simple answer is to set up a Google Voice account for your business. You can have it ring through as your "Business Number" so you always know that a client is calling instead of that telemarketer. You can also use Google Voice's online setup to customize a message, select ring-through days and times and more. Nothing is worse than not having an existing business number, and Google will even port your normal number for a flat $20.
Accepting Payments: Did you know that with apps like Square you can accept credit cards right on your EVO? A simple swipe of the card and 3% later, your money is on the way to the bank. No more waiting for payments, accepting checks from unknowns or having to risk carrying $100's from the flea market. Paypal is also available as a great option for those that aren't in with Square or other payment processor.
Time Management: This is often the most overlooked form of waste in companies, big or small. Time is something most don't calculate in to that bottom line figure. With a good time management program, you can easily free time in you schedule for fun, while making the most of the time you spend working. Lost items are probably the biggest form of wasted time in the office. If you can't find a document or appointment, you just lost the time you spent looking for it, plus the time to redo it. Programs like Scan2PDF, FilesAnywhere, and Docs can turn your phone into an PDF creating, Document faxing, cloud storage processing monster that keeps your data all in one place - neatly organized and ready to go.
Organization: This goes directly back to time management. If you are well organized, you will have mastered your time management. Specifically, if you aren't wasting time, you are going to be more productive. Organizing on the EVO is simple. The integration of Google Calendar allows you to create multiple calendars for business, personal and family events. A simple color change and you can easily tell what's coming and if it's a business event, personal item or even something that someone else invited you to. Use the Google Calendar integration with the HTC Agenda widget and your calendar is right on one of the 7 home screens with one touch access to everything else on the schedule.
Bids and More: Some businesses require customer bids and quotes. There is nothing faster for generating a quote on a mobile device than Google Docs. If that is a bit more than you want to deal with, you can easily download Handy Quote (full) from the Market that allows customized quotes right from your device as well. By CC'ing yourself on the email, you can also use apps like Printershare to print that invoice/estimate from anywhere right to your home PC's printer.
Replacing the Home Office: There is nothing worse than having that dedicated workspace at home, and finding it a mess on a daily basis. The EVO can help by keeping your time organized, your documents in the cloud, your calendar in your pocket and notes on your home screen. No more post it notes stuck everywhere. No more piles to be filed. Just simplistic document management, equipment management and time management.
Overall, although they aren't quite there yet, smartphones are quickly replacing our home offices, mainly because we don't want to be in our home offices. Offices clutter the home, take time away from our families and really become more of a dumping ground than a functional workspace. Our offices become our space to hate, just like the old 9-5 that we left before having a home office. The EVO really does a great job, for most business uses, of standing in for an office when we can't be there. Email, Quotes, and even printing hard copies of items are all possible from anywhere with your EVO. While you might not think so, you can actually replace your home office for one on the road.
Think of this as another excuse to order your free EVO today before they are gone. Get it at http://www.getsmartphones.info while supplies last. If you prefer a bit more horsepower for your device, the EVO3D is also available at $179.99.
