A few months ago I found myself in a predicament where I was locked out of my house. To make matters worse, I had a project deadline and had no way of getting my laptop from in the house. It would be hours before someone would be home to let me in.
Fortunately, since I run a location independent freelance business, I’ve grown accustomed to working at weird times and in strange places. For example, It’s not unusual to find me getting some work done while I’m in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.
The reason I’m able to do this because of my favorite iPhone Business Apps. They help keep me organized and on task – even if I find myself unable to grab my laptop.
iPhone Business App #1: Basecamp
Basecamp is the project management service I use with my team to outsource tasks. It’s also a service I use with some clients who have big projects with multiple moving pieces.
What’s especially neat about Basecamp is that you have the option to receive messages placed in the project page as emails. If you respond to the email via your mail app then your message gets posted into Basecamp.
The iPhone app also allows you to snap pictures, create to-do lists, view calendars and stay in touch with your team even if you’re nowhere near a computer.
iPhone Business App #2: Trello
Trello is another project management service, expect it uses boards to help you see your projects and their progress at a glance. Consider it a project management service for visual learners.
The best way I’ve seen Trello used is as an editorial calendar. Some of my clients have their calendars and editing process set up by using boards and then “assigning” individuals to the boards. For example, a writer may upload a document into the “Needs Editing” board where an editor will make the necessary edits and then move the document to a “Ready to Publish” board.
You can add comments, move documents between boards and attach files all from your phone. Additionally, Trello also connects to Gmail and sends you push notifications.
iPhone Business App #3: Evernote
Evernote is my go-to for storing thoughts, ideas, pitches I can use for clients and some client notes. While I do have a CRM for all these things, my CRM really only works to its full capacity on a computer. As such, I have found Evernote to be very helpful with capturing client notes when I’m on the go.
iPhone Business App #4: Productive for iPhone
This has become my favorite productivity app. Productivity for iPhone is an app where you can track new habits and reocurring tasks. I admit that I don’t only use this for business. I definitely track my yoga classes and water schedule on this app, however it can be used to track reocurring business tasks such as follow-ups and content creation.
iPhone Business App #5: Clear
Clear is like the iPhone’s Reminders app on turbocharge. You can categorize your to-do lists and organize tasks by order of importance. The entire system is color coded for easy recognition and it is a beauty to look at. If you go crazy for to-do lists, then Clear is definitely an app to look into.
Final Thoughts
iPhone Business Apps can help you run your business from anywhere. Many of these apps sync seamlessly with email and other tools you’ll need to keep things running when you’re away from a computer. This list is by no means exhaustive, so make sure to check out our monster list of the best apps for freelancers.
