4 Remote Working Tools to help your small business go mobile

Mobile Business

The idea of having a physical space for an office, even for small to medium businesses, still sticks to many minds of business owners today. Sometimes, a small office space is being sought and leased just for the purpose of having a place where the team can come and work together.

However, with the latest technologies, you do not really need a physical office to work because mobile technology and remote working have come so far that you can do your business practically anywhere – with the right tools.

If you are exploring the option of going mobile with your business or even working from home, here are 5 tools that can help you achieve it.

[1] A powerful Email Client – Microsoft Outlook, Newton Mail

Microsoft Outlook

Checking and sending emails are probably going to be your primary activities daily. Emails to/from vendors, customers, suppliers, or from your networking channels can be quite overwhelming at times.

While having a basic Email client may sound sufficient, you definitely need more if you receive a medium to high volume of emails

A powerful email client can handle multiple email accounts (if you handle multiple businesses), bundle emails into a single conversation thread, and even snooze emails until a specified date and time which keeps your Inbox clean.

[2] Video/Audio Conference Tool – Skype

Skype

If you have a team, there are times when you need to get everyone together into a meeting to discuss a project’s progress, or to brainstorm some ideas.

Meeting face-to-face is great but if your team members are spread all over the world, doing a virtual meet-up through a video or audio conference is the only solution you have.

Nowadays, you can just use your mobile device and do not need an actual computer for this purpose.

[3] Communication Tool – Chat Apps

Setting aside time for a conference call is not always easy and if your team has to struggle with different timezones, there are plenty of chat apps that can be used to communicate and stay in touch with the team members.

Messaging is a great, subtle way to make sure everyone gets to know one another and are comfortable working with each other.

[4] Online Document Collaboration – Evernote, Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office 365

Believe it or not, most of us are still collaborating on documents by sending them attached via emails back and forth. This actually takes time and isn’t really efficient if you have more than 2 people working on the same document.

If you are working on a document or spreadsheet with another team member, it is much better to collaborate together through an online document collaboration service. You can see the changes live and can usually live chat at the same time to discuss the proposed changes.

There are many ways to do business, but you should be happy to know that going mobile and not having to stick on a physical location are more than possible now.

It is better to have it all set up now so when you have to work from home (for family emergencies) or travel to see a client interstate, you’ll be safe to know the right tools are in place to keep your business running whilst you’re away.

I’ve also read a story where many business owners stay in Bali for a few months, having a holiday and work at the same time for a fresh change of air.

Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of Telstra or its staff



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