5 Mobile Apps Every Entrepreneur Should Use

Today’s entrepreneur has a wealth of information, connectivity and resources available instantly and immediately via the Internet. This level of access has helped spawn a new renaissance for entrepreneurship, as young and experienced entrepreneurs alike find it ever easier to get exactly what they need to create ideas, execute plans and perfect their approaches.

But not all of these tools are widely known. With millions of mobile apps available, how do you know which ones are worth pursuing unless someone points you in the right direction?  I don’t claim to be a mobile app expert, nor have I personally used those millions of apps available to Apple and Android users, but I am an entrepreneur with experience seeking and vetting the tools I need to get my job done efficiently. With that experience, I bring you five apps that every entrepreneur should be using for their business:

1. Evernote 

Evernote is massively popular, and there’s a good chance you already use its app in some form. Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it, as it remains one of the best tools I’ve ever used for organizing my thoughts, insights and plans. Manifesting either as a desktop tool or a mobile app, Evernote is the perfect note-taking system. With a variety of tools that perform searches, create to-do lists and sync your devices, you can instantly turn any meeting into an instantly organized bundle of only the most important takeaways. Also worth mentioning is Skitch: It’s technically a separate app, but because it’s made by the people at Evernote, it can be conveniently added here. Skitch helps you use annotations, brief notes and even sketches to jot down the gist of multiple ideas for later use.

2. Free WiFi Finder 

If you’re like me, you’re constantly on the go, running back and forth from home to office, to clients, to offsite meetings and other random errands. As an entrepreneur, you’re forced to do work whenever you find a spare moment. And with today’s technology, that’s no great obstacle, but you still need a place with fast, free WiFi. That’s where Free WiFi Finder comes in. If an app ever delivered on exactly what it promises to do, it’s this one. Using your current location, the app generates a convenient map showing all the locations around you, from Starbucks to airports, which offer free WiFi. Of course, in many cases, that “free” comes only after you make an initial purchase, but that’s hardly a deal breaker.

3. Uber 

If you aren’t taking advantage of Uber for your business, the time to start is now. Essentially functioning as a peer-to-peer taxi service, Uber gets you wherever you need to go around the city. If you’re a startup and have limited access to funds, Uber X offers low-key transport for an inexpensive price. It also offers a black car service you can use to show up to a meeting where you really need to make an impression. And you can send a ride to someone else, should you need to bring a client to your office, for example. It’s like a limo service, but much cheaper. Lyft, a competitor of Uber’s, is also worth mentioning.

4. MobileDay

Few entrepreneurs work exclusively in an office setting. You’ll be working from home, coffee shops, client locations and other remote locales. MobileDay is there to make sure, despite your absence from the office, that you don’t miss any important meetings. It organizes all your plans, notifies you when it’s time to join a meeting and even offers one-click functionality to let you call in. If you’re running late, the app actually offers you the ability to send other attendees a note that you won’t make it on time.

5. Pocket.

I’ll describe Pocket as the world’s best bookmarking app. When active, Pocket can help you bookmark all kinds of content, from articles to images and videos, and sync that information across multiple devices so you can access it later. If you’re too busy to read an article, or you’re simply interested in giving it a more thorough reading at a later date, this app is awesome. As an entrepreneur, information and content are critical to your business’ survival, and this app makes sure you never miss an opportunity.

These apps won’t turn a flop into a million-dollar idea, nor will they ever fully automate your job, but they should at least help you stay organized, save you time and increase the efficiency of your everyday work. With those improvements in place, you should find yourself with fewer mistakes, fewer worries, and a lot more time on your hands, freeing you up to be the leader you want to be.

Reprinted from Entrepreneur.com